Goggle fan solution - best thing I found so far

[LUTNIT]

I sat there trying to think of ways to extend the battery life since the 9V I was running it off of was only lasting 3-4 hours (rechargable 9V's dont last as long as non-rechargable 9V's). This meant I was burning through two batteries a game the whole time with this old mini pack I dont need any more sitting right in front of me. The fans only need 5V each but I rigged them in series so their wanting a 10V supply so with a mini 8.4V pack their running slower than their optimum which is fine since I was looking for minimum noise. Last game was a cool day so I only ended up running it for maybe 2 hours the whole day. Afterwards the battery took almost as long to discharge as it does when its completly full and its only 600mAh. Just an idea for those out there who want to know. The little switch is really necessary as I only run the fans when I need it. If I'm hiding in a bush off a path waiting to assassinate the VIP I dont want the fans buzzing away but when I'm sitting still like that they aernt required anyway.

Yes I know the wires are blue, green, and a big red connector but its just a prototype, I'm going to be airbrushing it all black soon.

Their Sunon 5V 0.9W 25mm computer fans, actually not that easy to find and cost almost $15-20 each. 35 000 RPM thus why I wanted to run them under powered.

Problems:
-I had to adjust the head strap a bit tighter so the goggles didnt slide down because of the weight of the battery pack
-The battery gets in the way of my earpiece for my radio, I need to switch which side the battery pack is on or stick it at the back.

For the nay sayers who hate fans:
-I cant afford better goggles with RX inserts
-I tried spitting in my goggles and my glasses fog even worse
-I dont want to use anti-fog wipes on my glasses since they have a bunch of special coatings and the optomitrist told me to only use actual lens cleaning solution on it as the coatings aernt to chemically stable and can dissolve easily
-I've tried anti-fog stuff on my goggles but the anti-fog stuff doesnt prevent condensation which causes massive distortion. This is actually the one huge reason I wanted fans, even on cool days when my goggles dont fog at all I still get butt loads of condensation inside the goggles in the forum of large water droplets on the lens.

[Greylocks]

Nice job. Does the weight of the battery cause any problems with the strap moving? Have you thought of other types of batteries?

What could work would be a battery in your webbing and a flexible wire going up the back of your head along the strap... Then I guess you could use any AEG battery.

[Skruface]

Damn. Nice work. I found that on my setup (1 fan, 1 9v battery) the battery lasted almost a full 24hrs straight at Operation: Capital Thunder II, but that the weight of the battery often shifted the goggle strap, especially when running. I wonder if one of those newfangled Li-Poly battery packs might be good for this application, being so small and light.

[LUTNIT]

A battery in my webbing with a longer wire was my next thought. This works for now though. There is some shifting caused by it but I tightened the goggles a bit (still completly comfortable) and now the only problem is the battery pack slides around on the strap its self. The wire I got is the same silicone coated wire used in AEG's, the super flexible stuff, hard to find but so worth the search. I also considered making a strap that goes around my neck and keep the battery on that but it would still limit it to a mini unless I really wanted it to literally be a choker. :smack:

I had thought about LiPo packs but wanted to keep this cheap. I only used the mini pack because its what I had sitting around spare as I just sold my only gun that uses minis.

[Greylocks]

There's a hobby shop in the Collonade road area, near where the Eurocom store is (same side road). I forget the name of the place but they have batteries.

[Gerkraz]

If you wear a helmet you can probably fit the battery somewhere in/on there.

I'm thinking back to some VN setups I've seen, where players stick a pack of cigs in their helmet's band...maybe instead of cigs you could stick a battery there. (or better yet, a battery IN a cigarette pack!)

[Slick]

Holy man you must have some serious fogging problems. I find I only have to run the fan for about 5 minutes now and then when my googles start fogging. Sometimes I just run it for a few seconds and then turn it off.

Here are some pictures of my setup.



It was a really simple and light setup. I put the switch facing the inside of the googles. At first I thought that it was going to be a problem but its really easy to slip my finger in from the side a flick the switch.

Doesnt ESS sell a goggle fan. I dont mean the goggles with the fan built in. I mean sold serperately. I thought I saw them at some point or another. I remember they had two speed setting. Best part was they had a button you could just press and it would run the fan for a certain amount of time and then turn itself off.