Working AR Ammo counter

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kanniba1istic

Active Member
Ok, i was wanting to make an ammo counter for an AR, anyone have any clue what materials i would need to make one? I'm talking electronics and everything, i want it to actually count rounds in a magazine.
 
Ok, i was wanting to make an ammo counter for an AR, anyone have any clue what materials i would need to make one? I'm talking electronics and everything, i want it to actually count rounds in a magazine.

Click the MA37 link in my signature, the last few pages should give you some ideas.

To sum it up: You will most likely want to use some sort of microcontroller and program it to do whatever you have in mind (like wait for a button to be pressed and then count down). Any one will do, but Arduinos are really easy to use, so if you don't already know about microcontrollers and have a preference, they're a pretty good choice to start with.
You'll also need some sort of display, of course (7-segments are easiest to use), and a bit of circuitry and small parts (switch, resistors, maybe another IC or two to run the displays) to wire the whole thing up.

EDIT: Now that I re-read it, I'm not sure I had understood the question right. Do you mean just counting down, or do you want to sense the presence of physical rounds within the magazine?
 
thatDecade has an ammo counter that is wicked awesome and can count down via pulse input via switch. You can get the number starting at any number you want down to zero.

send him a PM, said James sent ya!

~James
 
If you figure out what you want I may be able to at least program a 8 pin dip chip for ya with my microcontroller programmer
 
im talking like, attaching it to a magazine, and have it add each round going in and subtract each round going out.

MY electronics teacher and i had the idea to use passive infrared detectors, a timing shift, a logic chip, and a 7-segment display. sounds like a good idea to me
 
im talking like, attaching it to a magazine, and have it add each round going in and subtract each round going out.

MY electronics teacher and i had the idea to use passive infrared detectors, a timing shift, a logic chip, and a 7-segment display. sounds like a good idea to me

I see, so it's about counting actual cartridges. I'd say that it depends a lot on the cartridge, which way is best. You can use a photo interrupter (active IR is probably more reliable here than passive IR) to count how many cartridges pass (should use it on the tips of the bullets though, otherwise it's going to be interrupted permanently) and I guess you could also do something with these variable-resistor-push-strips to follow the movement of a plate below the lowest cartridge by interpreting its resistance. Or you could use a force sensor below that plate, there's going to be a spring there pushing upwards, and the more bullets are loaded into the magazine, the higher the pressure will be. You would have to interpret the resulting resistance here as well.

However, all these methods leave you with one major problem: Getting the things back out. There's no point in counting how many cartridges go in, if the only way to change the amount is to take the mag out and manually add or remove rounds. This, in turn, can lead to the next problem: Depending on the model, the mag might not be large enough for the canon amount of cartridges. You would have to work around that somehow.
 
yeah darn the canon 32 rounds. I think i like the idea of having a display that reads 32, and have it go down when i push a trigger, at whichever rate an AR actually fires at. Is it possible to do that and actually have it reset back to 32 easily?
 
yeah darn the canon 32 rounds. I think i like the idea of having a display that reads 32, and have it go down when i push a trigger, at whichever rate an AR actually fires at. Is it possible to do that and actually have it reset back to 32 easily?

The counting itself is a piece of cake. If you have all the parts ready and a little programming experience (not necessarily microcontroller related), you can learn and do it in as little as one day.

You still haven't mentioned which rifle you're actually talking about. Halo's whole MA5 family fires at a relatively slow rate, with the exception of the MA5B. You can check the Halowiki for exact numbers.
 
I cant decide between the MA5C or the MA37 =3 theyre both pretty sweet. I'll go with the MA5C.

In more precise terms, i need a display that says 32, and goes down at the firing rate needed. But, i also want it to stop if i release the trigger. Also, maybe another button to make it reset back to 32? like i reloaded.
 
oh it is, i intend to make an AR when i get the proper materials, i just want it to have a trigger, and a cool looking ammo counter that appears to work.
 
Another Idea you could try, if your wanting a truly working AR as a Fire arm, would be to take the Skeleton of an exsisting Weapon and buils around it. The Walther G22 is a pretty versatile Frame and you could mock up about 3 different weapons with it. AR, BR, and the DMR if you just want one to play around with. The FN2000 would also be your best bet to build around also. These are Just Bullpup Ideas I'm throwin at ya. This is just me thinking you're trying to make an actual firearm by the sound of it. Or an Airsoft version.
 
As of right now, id just like the electronics, however, i may mount it on an airsoft gun i have when i'm finished. But i'd really like to make sure i know how to do it before i make any set plans. To be honest it sounds do-able.
 
You can use a photo interrupter (active IR is probably more reliable here than passive IR) to count how many cartridges pass.
Photo transistor?

Agree with the first suggestion, a microcontroller would make design a breeze.



I know somebody earlier said something about somebody on here makes them. Might be the same guy. But anyway, here's a link to a store that sells them as well as triggers and other cool stuff: http://www.westaby.net/store/
lol, thanks for the plug
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top