"Death from above": Electo-Mortar

[wanna-b-ballin']

why wont it work? and what are LOS restrictions?

[frop]

Line Of Sight. Any curvature provided by the Flatline will not overcome more than the slightest of 'mounds'. Basically, the round is still being shot, not lobbed. Mortar vs howitzer vs cannon (naval guns don't count).

[ScatterPlot]

You know, something I saw in a really old book one time would be cool to have here, if you could get a powerful enough light source. Basically what you do is get two lights (probably better to use lasers) to shine parallell to each other, and mount a camera slightly below it so you will get some image shifting. In level ground, if you can filter out just the reflected lines, the camera will just see two lines going towards each other in a triangle (like those drawings we all used to make as a kid with converging traintracks.) When you add a ditch in there with them, the lines will end up kinda skewed through there, and shifting sideways randomly (if the camera is a little below the source). Using the distance to where the lines shifted and how much they did will let you determine how far away and how far back the holes go (you can't get the depth with this method though). So if you attached a couple powerful lights or lasers or something (lasers with a spreader on them like those laser levels) and a camera, you could wire it up with some capacitors and have the camera flash trigger the lines, so all you'd do is take a picture at the end of a pole, pull it back down, and poof you have a nice little ranged picture of what's in front of you.

I'll see if I can get some pics, I realize that's pretty confusing. But if you get it, e-cookie for you!

[ScatterPlot]

You know now that I think about it- In my above post, it might be better to place the lights just about 5 inches to the left and right of the camera, instead of above it. I honestly can't remember how it was in the book.

[frop]

Sounds like parallax to me.

[Lohman446]

I think its getting overly complex - set up a system with a series of degrees (both angle and direction) - have a way to lock a rotating barrel in there, yet still be able to move it. Use the "shotgun" effect mentioned before to rain paint on your enemies... use a spotter and a radio to direct fire. That would take away the complexity of the idea, and still allow you to be effective.

"Shots were short... raise two degrees and one degree left"

[ScatterPlot]

I think it does have to do with parallax. The idea is kinda farfetched, but it would be cool to be able to do it by yourself, i.e. with no spotter. But the spotter thing is definately way simpler.

[frop]

easier way for a paint grenade "mortar". Take a mechanical target thrower, modify it to safely launch grenades, apply protractor, etc for aiming & test to create a range table :)

[jamescell]

I just ran in to this http://www.cops911.com/product.asp?id=10768

[frop]

so much for originality of my idea

[jamescell]

sorry

[DGBaller]

A potato cannon actual works very nicely for this but it looks like it would hurt a lot.

[doc_Zox]

http://www.tippmannordnance.com/mortars.html

http://www.tippmannordnance.com/howitzer.html



http://www.tippmannordnance.com/launchers.html