| FEATURE |
|
OTHER LASER TAG COMPANIES |
| Programmable Tri-Colors |
Our vests can change colors before or during the game. |
Some cannot change, or require the removal of a cover. Some can only change before a game. |
| Colors Available |
Red, Green, and Blue |
Red, Green, Yellow, Blue. Systems with yellow vests are easily confused with green vests. |
| Price per Vest |
Approx. $1,200 per vest/phaser |
$1,400 $2,200, and higher |
| Phaser Cable Drop Strap |
Rugged nylon strap prevents dropped phasers from hitting the ground. |
Dropped phasers lead to phaser damage |
| Phaser Board Mounting |
LaserBlast engineers utilized rugged shock isolated circuit board mounting |
Non shock mounted circuit board solder joints fatigue in a few years. |
| Chest and Back Material |
Thick, Clear, Polycarbonate Injection Molded Chest and Back Plastics. Completely unbreakable. |
Most other companies use vacuum formed plastics that break often. |
| Phaser Cable |
4 signals, including power and ground. All signals have redundant wires. We use NO connectors on the phaser cable, therefore NO connector breakage. |
Some companies use cables with as many as 22 conductors. Some companies use phone cords with cheap connectors that fail within weeks. |
| Board Construction |
LaserBlast uses older thru hole technology. It is more expensive, but the solder joints are much stronger than surface mount. |
Many use surface mount to save cost. |
| Battery Connector |
Military grade low insertion force rated at 20,000 cycles. (20,000 days). They cost more, but they are worth it. |
Some companies use battery connectors rated at 50 cycles. We should know, we tried the same connector on our first system. What a mess. |
| Battery Charge Rate |
16 hour charge time. This eliminates ni-cad memory problems. |
Fast Charge systems are convenient, but ni-cads wear out much faster and require weekly conditioning to restore battery life. |
| Game Data Retention during battery change |
LaserBlast equipment remembers the game information even when you remove the battery during a game. |
Some systems lose their game data when the battery dies. Players learn to boost their scores by unplugging their phaser. |
| Sensor Coverage |
LaserBlast uses 13 sensors to make it impossible for players to cover their sensors. LaserBlast puts 6 sensors in the shoulders as standard equipment. |
Some systems allow players to do contorted twists and cover their sensors. Some systems price shoulders as options. |
| Low Battery Indicator |
LaserBlast puts a low battery indicator in each shoulder giving instant high visibility to the referee at a distance. |
Some systems do not even have low battery indicators. |
| Interactive Bases |
LaserBlast maze peripherals have 11 digital sound effects that can store and play any "wave" file in high quality stereo. They are network connected. |
Some bases do not have interactive sound effects. |
| Special Effects Relays |
LaserBlast maze peripherals have a 10 amp special effects relay so you can add smoke, strobes, police beacons, etc.. |
Relays are often optional or not available. |
| Score Sheet Messages |
LaserBlast score sheets print your promotional message and also analyzes the players score and provides hints on how to improve. |
Not all systems have this. |
| Absentee Owner Reporting |
LaserBlast stores the number of games played in each phaser. This information cannot be altered or tampered with to allow an absentee owner to check on cash flow. |
Some systems can be tampered with. |
| Membership |
LaserBlast offers optional membership buttons and readers on each vest using rugged, proven smart button technology. Members can load their own "wave" file that plays when they scan out at the end of a game. |
Some systems use magnetic cards, or don't offer membership ID's at all. |
| 2nd Lobby Monitor |
LaserBlast offers an optional 2nd monitor with scrolling marquee messages. |
Some don't offer this. |
| Music Player System |
LaserBlast offers optional MP3 or CD audio player software that is linked to the game start and stop times. The system comes with some MP3 files and an easy way to add your own. This frees up valuable employee time. |
If offered, most MP3 systems are not tied into the game. |
| Game Setup Flexibility |
With the LaserBlast system, you can control over 30 different game parameters, such as "limited ammo", shields, grenades, stun time, etc. 98% of games played with our equipment use the standard settings. |
Some offer more settings, some offer less. |
| Vest Names |
LaserBlast uses fantasy names for the vests that are easily remembered and offer personalities. |
Most use vest numbers, like "Red 1". Players often do not remember their numbers when picking up their score sheets. |
| Warranty |
We offer 1 year parts and labor. Extended warranties are available. |
3 months to 2 years |
| License Fees |
None. We believe the money you earn is yours to keep. |
Some systems charge very large annual license fees. |
| Manufacturing Overhead |
LaserBlast uses the same high quality circuit board contract manufacturer as huge industrial controls companies do in Detroit. Most large OEMs are using contract manufacturers and it makes even more sense for a small company. LaserBlast maintains control over final assembly and test. |
The volume is not high enough to justify the expense of a state of the art board assembly machine and automatic soldering equipment. |
| Company Stability |
Advanced Avionics has been in business since 1992. Our low fixed costs allow us to remain in business for decades to come even with low numbers of system sales per year. We enjoy the sport and want to be your supplier in the year 2004 and beyond. |
Many laser tag companies that were created in the early and mid 90's charged very high prices. As the price of equipment has fallen, their high fixed costs have caused many of them to close or merge. |
