I created a target camera system for a 100 yard indoor range

Shark92651

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Hi, I'm new here and joined to forum to help me design and spec out a 32-camera system for an indoor shooting range that is currently under construction. We own a firearms retail store and we are finally adding a range and will be moving the entire operation to the new building next summer.

One of the features I have been wanting to do is to have fixed cameras, mounted above one of the protective steel baffles down range, to provide live-view camera feeds to the shooters in each lane. The camera will be mounted in such a position that it will provide a nice view of the target when it is sent out to 100 yards. This should be great for sighting in a new scope or to just allow the shooter to see their shot placement without the need to retrieve the target or to use a spotting scope. The system uses the displaycameras package for Raspbian Buster, which utilizes the RTSP camera feed. I didn't come up with this system myself but basically just replicated what someone else detailed in this youtube video: Raspberry Pi Surveillance Monitor v2

We will have 4 100yd lanes for rifle so I built a system that utilizes 4 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with POE hats, 4 50mm varifocal bullet cameras, 4 10" 1080p LCD monitors with VESA mounts, and a 16-port POE switch that can power the cameras and the Pi's. The nice thing about how this is configured is that the Pi will boot right back into the live-view on a power cycle so hopefully maintenance will be at a minimum. Because of the height of the camera looking down onto the target I needed to move the camera far enough away to eliminate a "keystone" view of the target. Because of the distance, I decided I needed a 50mm camera to zoom onto the target to completely fill the display screen.

Equipment I used:
Urban Security Group 5-50mm Motorized Auto-Focus Remote Zoom Telephoto Lens 5MP Mega HD H.265 IP PoE Bullet Security Camera
Element14 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Motherboard
LoveRPi Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE) HAT for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
GeauxRobot Raspberry Pi 3 Model B 4-layer Dog Bone Stack Clear Case Box Enclosure
Elecrow 10.1 Inch Raspberry Pi 1920X1080p Resolution HDMI VGA Display Monitor
Linksys LGS116P 16-Port Business Desktop Gigabit PoE+ Switch



Screenshot of the target image at the simulated distance to target and height above the steel baffle at 100 yards. I found that rotating the camera and the LCD 90 degrees provides a full view of the entire target. I'm sure it will take a bit of tweaking to optimize the position and zoom when I install the system, but not expecting any surprises since I have already simulated the camera position and distance to target using a tall ladder in my warehouse.

 
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TonyR

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Man, that's going to be nice. Thanks for the post.

What type of lighting will be used on the targets and have you tested with that as well?
 

Shark92651

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We opened the range in July, 2020. We have LED lighting. Since the 100 yard bay is so dang long, we raised the baffles on this one up to 10' high so it isn't so much "tunnel vision". Here is a shot from one of the tables showing the installed camera system with the target down at 100 yards. The target carriers also project light onto the target and the brightness can be controlled by the user. It can also simulate flashing red/blue lights for police training scenarios. The range system is InVeris (formally Meggitt). They are actually using a photo of our range on their website: InVeris Commercial Range

100yard.png
 
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