Ballistic details (bullet weight, speed, drop, wind, temparature,
humitdy, penetration, etc) are not considered. The
simulations calculates with a flat trajectory without bullet drop, and its usefulness for long range
and/or precision shooting training is limited.
Moving Targets: Target hit/miss detection can be inaccurate with moving
targets dependign on your internet connection speed.
Shot Timer: the time measured between shots is subject to multiple
technical constraints. The estimated
average precision of the shot timer is +/- 0.1 seconds
Shot Timer: the time measured between shots is subject to rounding
(millisecond .000 to .00). It means
that
adding up all the part times might slightly differ from the Total Time
Flinch Detection: Due to technical constraints the flinch detection
shows the general direction of the
barrel movement. The length of the flinch trace line also depends on 1) the actual framerate of your
camera 2) how long your laser cartridge emits laser upon firing 3) brightness / visibility / dimnes of
the laser dot
Point shooting: Use the sights to aim: 1) your eyes, 2) the sights on
the gun 3) and the point-of-aim on the target shall be on the same line. Just like any other training
simulator with projected targets: point shooting,
intuitive shooting, instinctive shooting and shooting from the hip using virtual projected
targets might develop wrong habits that can result inaccurate shot placement on real world targets
depending on target distance (beyond 5-10 yards) and target size.
Realistically Scaled Targets
Most new shooters are surprised by how small a target is at 25 yards downrange!
It is important to train as realistic as possible, including the targets. E.g. if you want to train with a
target that is 25 yards from you (target distance), the target on the screen
should appear as small as a real target at 25 yards would be on the range.
Notice that all targets below have the same size from the shooter's point of
view, no matter how big the screen is, or how far the shooter stands from the screen.
If the target distance is 10 yards, and you stand 2 yards from the screen, then depending on the screen
size, that's what you are going to see (see the first row). Note that the
targets have the same size on both screens.
If you step back from the screen - target distance is still 10 yards, but the screen distance is now 3
yards - the target will be bigger on the screen, but - since you moved back, and you see the screens
smaller - the targets seem to you again the same like when you stood 2
yards from the screen (second row)
Screen Diagonal Size
This is the screen diagonal. It is nothing special, that's how the screen size is measured. If you have a
flat screen TV it is probably written on the TV or on the package. If you have a projector, you can measure
the projected image or the canvas. Just make sure the projected image is rectangular and projected onto a
flat surface.
Screen Distance
The screen distance is how far you stand from the screen. Note the following:
You have to stand far enough to be able to raise and stretch your arms with a gun in your hands, without
reaching (and probably breaking) the screen. Don’t stand 1-2 feet from the screen.
You also should not stand too far from the screen. The typical screen distance during dry fire is about
1-4 yards (or meters) depending on the size of you screen and the size of the room.
The screen distance is not the target distance. The target is something behind the screen, so your
screen distance is always smaller (the screen is closer) than the target distance. People who set up
their 40 inch screen 40 yards (screen distance) away - probably do something wrong. It is like shooting
through a tiny porthole.
Shooter Eye Height
The ‘shooter eye height’ is ideally the height of your eyes (viewpoint, camera, whatever) from the ground.
Note the following:
It is not the (body) height of the shooter, just the height to the eyeballs
It is the height of your eyeballs in your preferred shooting stance. If you shoot standing straight,
then it is the normal height of your eyeballs, if you shoot in crouched hunchback position then it is
even lower.
Set up the screen
For the best experience switch your browser to full screen (instead of some windowed) mode. The center of
the screen is ideally on the same height as the ‘shooter eye height’. In other words, when the shooter
naturally looks ahead, the center of the screen is right in front of his face.
Dry firing from a prone position works best when the screen is placed on the ground. If you want to practice
long distance shooting, you can put a notebook or a tablet in front of you, since the target silhouette will
be small and can fit on a smaller screen.
Mechanical offset
Dry Fire Online is a simulator and - just like any other simulators - it suffers from the mechanical
offset (or height over bore or sight height) of your gun. There are some great articles available
about this topic here
and here,
but a picture is worth a thousand words:
Example: You aim for the head of the target, that's where your Point of Aim
(POA) is. Due to the
mechanical offset the laser is going to appear below your POA - that's
where the Camera App is going to detect the laser and register a shot, that's where the Point of Impact
(POI) is.
But that's not where you were aiming for.
You can deal with this problem by simply telling the simulator to register the shots NOT where the laser
appears, but where your Point of Aims is, so the POA will
be the same as the POI. See here how .
We do not recommend zeroing the physical sights of your firearm
on the screen distance. It's okay if the laser appears below the center of your crosshairs.
The Range Screen can automatically "shift" the detected shots. It means, you can adjust where hitmarkers
appear relative to the place where the camera detects the laser dot.
It enables you to train with firearms that have a noticeable mechanical offset (or height over bore or
sight height), like an AR-15 with a
laser training bolt, or handguns with a high red dot sight.
There are two ways to shift the Point of Impact:
Zeroing: #1 The Manual Way
These settings are available on the Quickstart and on the Range Builder screens under "Shift Point of
Impact"
You can measure the mechanical offset on your training gun, then set X and Y accordingly.
Prerequisite: The Screen Diagonal Size shall contain your real screen size, otherwise the entered X and
Y values might not shift the POI realistically.
X is the Windage: Positive X values push the shots to the right. Negative X values push the shots to
the left.
Y is the Elevation: Positive Y values push the shots upwards. Negative X values push the shots
downwards.
It is recommended to test the detection precision with X=0 and Y=0 settings, and see if the hitmarkers
appear exactly where the laser dot appears. If yes, you can move on and adjust the point of impact.
Once the Laser Calibration is completed,
the "Zero" button will be available on the menu bar.
Shoot the Zeroing Target 5 times. Aim for the center, take your time and try to be accurate and
precise.
During zeroing the hitmarkers appear where the laser appears (POI), but later during the normal
training it will be shifted to the POA.
The measured technical offset will be updated even on the Quickstart and on the Range Builder screens
under "Shift Point of
Impact".
Note that the measure values will be realistic only if you have entered your real and actual screen size
in the Screen Diagonal Size field before starting the stage.
If you don't want to shoot 5 times, you can click on the "Stop Zeroing" button anytime.
If you would like to skip Zeroing without updating your POI, then click on the "Stop Zeroing" button
without
firing a single shot.
The Toolbar is a row of buttons that influence the behavior of the Range Screen. The Toolbar consists of the
following buttons
Back
Leaves the Range Screen and takes you back to the Stage Builder or to the Quickstart screen.
Useful when your browser is in full screen mode.
Pause
Pauses the Range Screen giving you more between rounds and a chance to analyze your results.
Important: It does not immediately
suspend the current round, and
does not stop the timer. It waits until the current round is over and
pauses at the Range Counter pop-up
between two rounds. Then the Range Screen waits at the Range Counter pop-up until you actively
click on
the Continue button.
Audio
Turns on and off the sound effects
The button is visible only if you selected some sound effects
at the
Audio section of the Stage Builder before starting the stage.
Important: this button controls the audio of the Range Screen
(in the browser) and it is independent of the Sounds button of the Camera App.
Timer
Hides and displays the Ammo Counter and the Shot Timer
The Ammo counter is relevant only if you train with the Camera App (laser training) otherwise
it
is set to null.
The amount of available Ammo is influenced by your Subscription.
The Timer displays your hit scores and part shot times only if you have Expert Subscription.
The Total (time) is the time between the start signal and the last detected shot.
Hitmarkers
Hides and displays the markers that show where your shots are placed
You might want to hide the hitmarkers when
You prefer a more realistic experience (no markers in real life)
You shoot many rounds at the same target, and the hitmarkers
would cover the entire target that you find disturbing. At the end of the round you can
display again the hitmarkers and evaluate your shot placement
The button is visible only if you train with the Camera App
Flinch
Hides and displays the flinch markers
Important: This button merely hides or displays the flinch
tracers on the Range Screen, but the Flinch Detection shall be enabled
in the Camera App. If you want to display the barrel trace you have to activate both.
The button is visible only if you train with the Camera App and if you
have Expert Subscription
Zero
Starts the Point of Impact - Point of Aim calibration. Learn more about how Zeroing works.
Important: This button is available only after the Laser
Calibration has been completed and the camera can detect the laser.
Help
Displays the Camera App Quick Setup Guide directly at the Range Screen
The button is visible only if you train with the Camera App
Fullscreen
Switch the browser to fullscreen mode by hiding any browser toolbars, menu bar and the address
bar, so the Range Screen can fill the entire screen. Fullscreen mode also improves the
effectiveness of the Screen Detection and enables the Camera App to detect the screen
borders
more precisely when the green screen is displayed.
Important: Don’t switch to or leave fullscreen mode after the
Screen Calibration has been completed. Fullscreen mode changes the size of the Range Screen that
will no longer match the previously detected screen borders. In this case, repeat the Screen
Calibration.
Target Positioning
Target positions are defined by 3 parameters:
Distance: distance from the shooter
Sideways (lateral) distance: distance either left or right measured from the center line.
Height: height of the top border or edge of the target from the ground. The default height of the
target is set automatically when you change the target type
Note also
Currently you can create a maximum of 30 target and 5 waypoints for each target.
The distance and lateral distance define the position of the target center. Keep that in mind if later
you want to align targets edge-to-edge (will come back to this later).
Setting the sideways (lateral) distance to 0, is going to position the target right in front of the
viewer. In this case the selected side (left/right) doesn't matter.
Pushing a target into the ground (like when the default target height is 2 feet, but setting its height
to just 1 foot), is not going to hide the bottom part of the target. Target images are always visible,
the 'ground' plane is invisible, and not going to obscure anything.
Combining different unit of measures like Distance should be 6’6” is not possible (but you can
enter 6.5').
Target Alignment
Keep in mind that in Dry Fire Online the targets are positioned by - and the target parameters define - the
center of the target.
If your stage description defines the relative target distances by edge-to-edge, then you have to transform
it to center-to-center distances by considering the width of the targets. In this case it can be useful to
change the unit of measure, for instance to define the values in inches instead of feet.
Setup moving targets and waypoints
If you change the target transition mode from 'static' to 'moving', you can define waypoints that describe
the path of the target. For every waypoint you can define:
The target position (distance, sideways distance, height)
The time in seconds the target need to get to the new waypoint
Currently you can create a maximum of 5 waypoints for each target
The distance of two waypoints and the time the target has to cover this distance defines the speed of the
target. Currently there is no way to define the speed instead of the time, so if you want to precisely set the
speed of the target, you have to do the math, and convert it to time.
When creating a complex path, you have to consider the Target Expose Time. It is defined in the stage header
and it is the upper limit of how long a stage is displayed before the next round. Example: you have a target
path with 3 waypoints, each with 10 seconds, means your target needs 30 seconds to reach the last waypoint.
If the Target Expose Time is set to 20 seconds, then your target will never reach its last waypoint, since
the stage terminates after 20 seconds.
After the last waypoint, you can define what the target should do when it reaches the last waypoint:
Stop: the target remains on the last waypoint, stops, no further movement: P1 → P2 → P3
Restart: the target jumps back to the starting position, starts over again: P1 → P2 → P3 →P1 → P2 → P3 →
… and so on, until the Target Expose Time is reached.
Reverse: the target starts moving backwards on its path back to the starting position, starts over
again: P1 → P2 → P3 → P2 → P1 → P2 → P3 → … and so on, until the Target Expose Time is reached.
If you want to make a target ‘wait’ for a certain amount of time at a waypoint, you can create a repeat the
waypoint with the exact same parameters (create two waypoints with the same distances, height).
Stage Builder
In the Stage Builder you can create new stages from scratch or change existing Quickstart or Shared stages.
Selecting Stage Builder on the menu bar displays the Stage Builder menu in an additional menu line.
The Stage Builder Menu contains the following options:
Stage The Stage panel contains global settings for the entire stage.
Range Background: Select the range background wallpaper image.
Preparation Time: Time between rounds (stage attempts). Later
on the Range Screen you will have
the option to pause the training between rounds.
Target Expose Time: Defines how long the targets are displayed,
in other words how much time you
have to shoot.
Audio: Enable optional sound effects and range commands
Targets
Displays the Target Editor of the Stage Builder where you can add,
change and remove targets and waypoints. The features of the Target Editor are described here.
Save
You can save your stages to My Stages. This option is available only
for users who have registered and signed in to Dry Fire Online.
Share
You can share your stages on Facebook and Twitter or copy-paste the Stage Perma(nent)link to any
website, email, instant message or forum. People who click on the Stage share link are going to see the
latest saved stage, that is saved into the selected Stage Save Slot. This option is available only for
users who have registered and signed in to Dry Fire Online.
Start
Enter your screen parameters (screen diagonal size, screen distance) and start training!
Target Editor
In the Target Editor of the Stage Builder you can add, change and remove targets and waypoints.
Selecting Targets on the Stage Builder Menu displays the Target Editor Menu
in an additional menu line and
the Stage itself where you can click on the targets.
Click on a target to select it
Drag a target to move it
Double-click
on a target to display the Target Details panel
on an emtpy area to quickly show/hide the Target Details panel
The Target Editor Menu contains the following options:
Target Selector Arrows: Left, Right
Move the Target Selector to the previous/next target or waypoint. Hint: Can be used to select even
hidden targets and waypoints that cannot be clicked on.
Details
Shows / hide the Target Details panel that contains the detailed parameters of the selected target
and its waypoints. The features of the Target Detals panel are described here.
Add
Adds a new target to the stage. The new target will be a copy of the currently selected target.
Delete
Removes the selected target from the stage. The stage must always have at least 1 target. You cannot
delete the last target, but you can change its type via the Target Details panel.
Grid
Show / hide the Grid that visualizes the ground level plane of the stage. The density of the grid
is defined by the unit of measure settings of the selected target. The unit of measure settings of the
waypoints don’t influence the grid density.
Snap to Grid
When moving the target, Snap to Grid restricts the target position to grid intersections only, that
makes the target jump between grid nodes. It enables positioning the targets quickly and easily on whole
numbers (coordinates), e.g. it’s useful when you want to place a target at 15 yards or 20 yards, but not
at 15.75 yards. Deactivating Snap to Grid enables smooth, gradual positioning of the targets anywhere on
the grid, even between nodes, e.g. even at 15.75 yards. Note: Another way to precisely set the target
position is to change the values manually on the Target Details panel.
Guides
Display / hide the blue guides that show the target height and position when moved.
Waypoints
Show / hide the waypoints of the selected target.
Target Details
The Target Details panel provides a detailed insight into the properties of the selected target. The panel
can be displayed / hidden by the
Details button on Target Editor menu bar
double-click on a target
double-click on an empty area
When a target is moved around on the stage, the Target Details panel automatically changes its position and
automaticaly
docks to the left or right side of the screen to avoid obscuring the target.
If you move the target to the left, the panel is going to jump to the right:
The Target Details panel can be scrolled up/down to display all properties.
Type (Silhouette): Select the target type from the drop-down list.
Changing the target type is going to adjust the Target Height to the default height of the new target.
Target position: Read more about how targets can be positioned on the
stage in this section.
Target Height
Distance
Sideways Distance
Presence: The probability of the target appearing on the stage. The
chance of a target appearing on the stage is evaluated in each round, thereby enabling the creation of
simple random stages with random appearing targets. This function can also be combined with selecting
random target types.
When hit: Defines how the target should react when it’s hit by a shot.
Works only when laser training is activated.
Target: Static / Moving: If a target is set to Moving, additional
sub-panels appear on the Target Details panel to define the waypoint positions. The waypoints of the
current target are also visible on the stage. Read more about how moving targets and waypoints behave in
this section.
The Camera App was designed with simplicity in mind
Put it down, calibrate it once, then you should not bother it much during the training
The buttons on the left are the main
functions
The buttons on the right are the sub
functions
Which buttons appear on the right depend on what you choose on the left
Buttons may change their color: green is good, red is, well, that's bad
Setting up the camera involves two calibration steps
1) Screen Calibration means that the Camera App needs to know where the
screen is, where it should scan for the laser
2) Laser Calibration means that the Camera App needs to adjust the
exposure settings to a level where the image is neither too bright (false hits detected) nor too dark
(no laser would be detected at all)
Both steps can be performed automatically via Automatic Calibration,
and that works fine under most conditions
But not always: In this case there is Manual Calibration for both steps
You can recalibrate anytime, should conditions can change during the
training session, like when the sun comes up, shines at your screen, that messes up the laser detection
Step 1) Download the DryFireOnline app on the Apple App Store or get it on Google Play
Try it for FREE: Unlimited stages and 2 shots (double tap) per round
even without a subscription!
Step 2) Watch the videos below and learn more about the setup process. Find more tips and tricks in the
How-To and Troubleshooting sections of the Manual.
Let’s check if you have everything required to train with the Camera App! You need:
Internet connection - possibly a fast one
An Apple iOS or Android smartphone or table where you can install the
DryFireOnline Camera App and that will serve as your camera
Camera mount or something that can hold the camera steady
A separate notebook, tablet (or anything) with a web browser,
where you can display the
dryfireonline.com website and start the stage
A laser training cartridge or a training gun that emits a laser
light in the visible spectrum
and creates a visible (most often red or green) dot on the wall read
more
A projector or a flat screen display, that's connected to the notebook
or tablet (or
anything) read more
Same as above, but here the Camera App is installed on a tablet instead of a smart phone
5) Large flat screen range
Did you know most Smart TVs have a built-in web browser and can directly connect to the
dryfireonline.com website and display targets?
If you do not have a Smart TV or a projector, you can still use a common flat screen TV or computer
screen - just hook it to a notebook / tablet / game console or anything with a built-in web browser.
Be aware that most flat screen displays do not reflect laser well, and you might have to apply a laser
reflecting film to the screen, read our flat screen setup
tips
Dry Fire Online is a laser training simulator - we do no produce our own laser cartridges because Dry Fire
Online it was designed to work with any laser cartridge that fits your needs, gun and budget.
Still, there are differences between the lasers that are available on the market, and we receive many
questions about the lasers we use. Here we share our personal experiences and subjective opinions - your
experience and opinion may differ. Make your own research and choose the product that best fits your needs.
We cannot guarantee that a each ann every laser cartridge is going to work with your setup (room,
ambient light conditions,
projector,
gun, phone, cartridge), but we do know which ones perform well (and not so well) with our setup.
Dry Fire Online was designed to work with visible red and green laser cartridges.
Both our iTarget and the Pink Rhino cartridges are 9mm chamber insert cartridges, but available in other
calibers as well. Here is the iTarget:
Mantis Pink Rhino 9mm:
These cartridges work great with the Camera App
We got the iTarget first, then, when we purchased the Mantis Pink Rhino it turned out that these
cartridges are the same, just branded differently. Same dimensions, same internals, same spare
batteries. There are also similarly looking cartridges on the market under some exotic names, but we
suspect that all these cartridges come from the same factory.
We are really happy with the quality: the iTarget survived 10000+ dry fire shots, the battery had to be
replaced once, but the laser is still bright and running - no detection issues.
The price is also great - these are one of the most affordable cartridges. Good quality + good price =
great value.
These cartridges emit the laser as long as the rubber button keeps pressed - it’s a simple on/off
button. It means that the duration of the laser shot depends on the firing pin of the gun and the spring
- and that might differ from one gun to another, but it wasn’t a problem for us. In our tests, with all
our guns, these cartridges perform great.
The Laser Ammo SureStrike was the first cartridge we bought. In fact the very first iOS version of the
Camera App was based on and tested with the StureStrike cartridge.
It shows that the SureStrike works well out of the box and the Camera App has no issues with detecting
the laser. We still have mixed feelings about this cartridge.
The price is higher than what an iTarget or a Mantis Pink Rhino costs.
The SureStrike is also technically superior: it emits the laser for a fixed (ca. 0.1 sec) duration. When
the rubber button is pressed once - it doesn’t matter if you keep (and how long) the button pressed -
the red dot always appears for the same amount of time. It means that the duration of the laser impulse
does NOT depend on the firing pin and its spring. This way the SureStrike can provide consistent results
in different guns and that is better than a simple on/off button of budget cartridges.
As an added bonus the 9mm SureStrike laser module is interchangeable with the one that is inside the
SureStrike Spider with a vibration cap.
But we had some quality issues: The first cartridge got dimmer after about 2000 dry fire shots: the red
dot was still visible to the naked eye, but it was noticeably weaker and that caused detection issues
with the Camera App. Replacing the batteries
didn’t help, it must have been the laser module. Maybe we
got a lemon, it can happen, no manufacturer is 100% perfect, it was replaced under warranty. The second
one was much better, it lasted for 5000 shots before it got dim. Now we use the third one.
Don’t get me wrong: the SureStrike performs very well as long as it works. 5000 shots lifetime is still
good, and it is still much cheaper to train with it than with actual ammo. But when it comes to
price/performance value, some budget cartridges seem to perform better. Check out the ratings (and read
the reviews) on Amazon: as of writing this article SureStrike is at 3.9 stars - that’s
not bad but less
than the 4.5 stars of Pink Rhino. We
hope that Laser Ammo can improve quality in the future and we can use a US made cartridge.
Striker fired handguns, like Glocks or the SIG P320, don't have double strike capability. That means once the
striker is under tension and the trigger is pulled, the firing pin can hit the cartridge one just once.
Pulling the trigger repeatedly (without racking the slide and cycling the gun) cannot tension the firing pin
again and hit the same cartridge multiple times - like double action handguns can do.
That's a huge problem with laser training, because training with a simple laser cartridge (Pink Rhino,
iTarget, SureStrike) means that the slide shall be manually racked after each shot. Training multi-shot
scenarios you have to rack the slide after each shot, that makes the training cumbersome, slow and builds
the bad habit of racking the slide after each shot which is unnecessary (or even bad) in real life.
The company DryFireMag (not to be confused with Dry Fire Online) is known for their product line of
trigger resetting magazines. What's new is that they released a laser capable version of their product:
the Smart DryFireMag.
They have tested it with Dry Fire Online and sent us a product sample, so we could also test if the Smart
DryFireMag works well with our Camera App: Yes.
The new system consists of two parts: 1) a new trigger resetting magazine and 2) a proprietary chamber
insert
laser cartridge with red laser.
Made in the USA.
The magazine wirelessly connects to the laser cartridge, that makes using it really simple. Just
insert the laser cartridge into the chamber then insert the mag and it's ready to go. No
need to modify the gun, replace the barrel or any internal components or to connect wires. Note that the
laser cartridge doesn't have a rubber button on its back. It's not activated by the firing pin, but by
the DryFireMag.
There's no stuff sticking out/attached to/from the barrel, so you can even use your own holster. After
the training, just push the laser cartridge out of the barrel (barrel plunger included) and remove the
mag - that's it!
The product is currently (2022) available for 9mm Glocks - since it's a great product we hope it's going
to be successful, and DryFireMag is going to release it for different calibre Glocks and other striker
fired guns, SIGs, CZs, S&W, etc in the near future.
The DryFireMag is set to simulate a factory Glock 5.5 - 6lb trigger weight. The trigger is replaceable,
and there's a spring kit available to simulate different trigger weights.
The trigger pull and the trigger travel (where the trigger breaks) can also be adjusted on the mag with
the included Allen wrench.
The mag has a built-in USB rechargeable battery - charging cable included. The laser cartridge comes
with button (watch) batteries. The manual advices to remove the batteries from the cartridge after each
training.
The slide cannot be racked once the DryFireMag is inserted - training reload scenarios and malfunction
drills is limited, but we can live with that. Being able to pull the tigger repeatedly is far more
importnat.
The laser appears to be somewhat weaker than the Pink Rhino/iTarget/Blackbeard so it might require
Manual Laser Calibration in case of detection issues. In our tests we had a few undetected shots, but
overall it worked very well. We like it!
We saw multiple videos from our users who use AR-15 setups with the Mantis Blackbeard, so we purchased
one to test how well it works with Dry Fire Online.
The Blackbeard has two parts: the battery that replaces the AR magazine, and the laser module that
replaces the bolt carrier group and the charging handle. Easy to install, no modifications required, and
safe to train with.
The windage and the elevation of the laser can be simply adjusted, and there's an Always-on switch that
turns the Blackbeard into a bore sighting laser.
A great feature is that the Blackbeard
automatically resets the trigger, so you don't have to pull the charging handle after each shot.
It works great, the Camera App can detect the laser without any issues. That's true for both the red and
the green laser.
We purchased the Laser Ammo Spider adapter to explore how blowback airsoft/BB guns could improve the
training by
adding recoil.
It is a small device that can be attached to the picatinny rail. Internally it contains a 9mm Laser Ammo
SureStrike cartridge. The laser module is the same as on the normal 9mm chamber insert cartridge, but it
has a rounded vibration back cap that can detect when the airsoft gun is fired.
Laser Ammo also offers a Flash Kit. The housing is similar to an AR flash suppressor and can be attached
to the end of the barrel. Internally the flash kit contains the same 9mm cartridge with a vibration back
cap like the Spider.
The vibration back cap is so sensitive that it can detect the strike of the firing pin in a normal DA/SA
gun. In fact it is so sensitive that it could detect even the trigger reset, resulting in an unwanted
second shot like if the gun had a binary trigger.
We had some detection issues with the Spider since the Camera App missed some of the shots. We got in
touch with Laser Ammo and they confirmed that the vibration back cap is tuned differently, and the laser
impulse is shorter (harder to detect) with the vibration back cap compared to the firing pin activated
back cap - that’s the one with the rubber button on the 9mm SureStrike.
The Spider Kit is still usable with the Camera App, but with some limitations. You might have to:
Put the camera closer to the screen. That makes the laser dot bigger for the camera, an easier
to detect
Reduce the screen brightness and/or make the room darker. That makes the laser dot brighter
relative to the screen and the environment and easier to detect.
Tweak the exposure and detection settings manually.
You have to pay extra attention to safety: Since the Spider is just a picatinny attachment, you have to
make sure that there are NO live rounds in the chamber or in the magazine.
After all, we could make the Spider work with the Camera App, but it requires more tinkering, has some
limitations and the
trigger reset issue can also cause some headaches.
As an added bonus the 9mm SureStrike laser module is interchangeable with the one that is inside the
SureStrike Spider with a vibration cap.
If you want to use the Camera App for laser training we recommend using a
projector instead of a flat
screen (TV, monitor, LED, LCD, etc) for the following reasons:
Flat screen TVs, monitors, tablet and notebooks can have different filters built-in into their screen
panel, like
anti-glare and polarizing filters. These filters reduce the visibility (size and angle) of the reflected
laser dot
on the screen, the dot is going to loose it brightness.
Some flat screen TVs and monitors might be damaged by high powered laser pointers. Check the
manufacturers recommendations of your screen and the “class” of the laser device.
Flat screen means a screen that is physically flat. Curved LCD screens might cause precision issues.
Some advices if you decide to use a flat screen display for laser training
Using flat screen displays is better, because you don't have to worry about casting shadows
Class 1 lasers that emit laser just for a short period of time are generally OK for flat screen
displays, and not going to damage the screen, but use them at
your own risk (we do).
Apply a thin transparent plastic film to the screen that was designed for laser pointers
The budget solution is one of these. Can be
used on notebooks and tablets, can be easily applied and removed and do not leave adhesives behind.
Privacy filters are not good, these are essentially polarizing filters, that in fact reflect less laser
light, and even reduce the reflection angle.
Test your filter at different angles, at the center of the screen as well as in the corners
Some advices if you decide to use a projector for laser training
Project onto a flat and continuous surface where the entire image is
visible like in a movie
theater.
If the projected image is broken or disturbed by objects (furniture, plants) the screen calibration
might
fail: use manual screen calibration and manually mark the screen
boundaries read more
The projection surface shall reflect the laser back to the camera:
Certain materials absorb too much light and do not reflect enough light back to the camera.
If the projection surface is rough or uneven, it might disperse the light into unwanted
directions resulting in detection and precision issues.
Resolution: The higher the better. Projectors with higher resolution
produce a sharper image, but
watch out: some manufacturers
advertise their projectors as high-resolution projectors because the projector can accept
high-resolution input, but its native resolution is lower, creating a blurry low-resolution image on the
wall.
Brightness (lumens): Brighter is not always better since it might cause
laser detection issues if your
projector is too bright relative to your laser suppressing the
reflecting laser.
Example: If you have a Class 1 laser then a 100-1000 lumens projector might work fine but a 3000 lumens
projector
might be too bright.
If the camera cannot detect the laser on the screen, try the following:
Move the camera closer to the projected image - but it shall
still see all four corners
Avoid using bright white (steel) targets, use darker targets
for testing and training
Avoid using bright range background like images with white
clouds - use the solid gray
backgrounds for testing and training
Reduce the brightness of the projected image:
Reduce the lamp brightness of the projector (depends on the model)
Switch the projector to Power Saving / Eco / Green Mode
Put an ND
filter in front of the projector lens that makes the projected image darker. In
our tests budget level variable
(adjustable) ND filters worked fine.
Since many of you asked our advice on choosing a projector we decided to write a few words about the
projectors we use.
Please note that we are not expert on projectors, and the following is neither a buying advice nor a
recommendation of any sort - it's just an introduction of the projectors we have and our experiences with
them.
Philips PicoPix Micro
Cost around $200
It is small, lightweight and portable
Has a built-in battery that lasts for about an hour - it's OK for a training session - but can
be powered via a USB port
Comes with an own tripod and it has a standard thread - could mount it on any tripods
It has built-in WiFi and supports Apple AirPlay - but we use it with a HDMI cable, since the
wireless connection causes a noticeable delay
It has a simple lens, no zoom, no keystone
The brightness is 150 lumens - can be used in gloomy/dark rooms, and it is not too bright for
our laser catridges
qHD 960x540 resolution - it can accept Full HD 1920x1080 input signal, but it is going to
downscale it to 960x540 - that's okayish. When the projected screen is 65"+ the target contours
are not so sharp. That's OK with USPSA/IDPA and Steel targets, but not ideal for NRA-B18
precision shooting (screen distance 2 yards, target distance 25-30 yards) where the bullseye
zone becomes blurry.
Epson EB-U05
Cost around $500
It is a typical office projector - not so portable
Great colors and contrast thanks to its 3 LCD technology
The lens has an optical zoom - it's great if you want to fine adjust the image size to perfectly
match a certain canvas size (like when mounting it on the ceiling)
The lens has both horizonal and vertical keystone correction - when setting up the range the
projector can be placed on the side, left/right from the center of the screen, does not have to
be right at front of the screen
The brightness is 3400 lumens - great bright picture, but with a downside: it is too bright for
our laser cartridge that caused detection issues since the light form the projector suppresses
the laser. It was solved by a cheap $30 variable ND
filter and two rubber bands (see the photo). Update: As it turned out, the 3400 lumen wasn't
too bright for our laser, but the battery was weak in the laser. Replaced the batteries, and now
the laser works fine with the Epson even without the ND filters. No more rubbers!
Resolution is 1920x1200, that's above Full HD - sharp target contours even on a 80" screen
The room where you setup your virtual range has an impact on your experience:
Safety first: The walls are thick
enough to stop a bullet.
Most laser training cartridges work best indoors.
It is best if you train in a room with controllable and stable lighting
conditions.
When training in a room with large
windows, keep in mind that lighting conditions can change rapidly as clouds move, leading to false laser
detections. You
might have to recalibrate your camera even during the training the session.
In dark environments the sensor of the camera captures a noisy image (higher ISO). If you train in
a dark room, automatic exposure calibration might fail and you have to manually adjust the exposure
levels.
Ideally you can adjust the lighting conditions: there are curtains,
shades, sun screens, or you can turn on/off or dim the lights.
Check the light sources in the room. Look for glares on the screen,
reflections, sources of sharp light (like alarm clocks or the standby
light of the TV) that the automatic exposure calibration might not compensate or overcompensate.
If you are using wireless connections: good wireless and Wi-Fi
reception. Interferences can lead to slow
connection and a delay between detecting and displaying your shots.
If you are projecting onto the wall: project onto a flat smooth
surface. Do not project onto curved wall with cracks. The laser dot (red or green laser)
shall be clearly visible on
the surface from all angles, use
non-absorbing, non-reflecting (mirror like) surfaces.
If you are using a projector: do not block the projected image, do not cast
shadows over the canvas - that can
lead to false laser detections.
Do not block the view of the camera, not even when you move, draw or
raise the gun - that can lead to missed and/or false laser detections.
Do not move the camera, after Screen Calibration is completed. If you
move the camera you have to perform Screen Calibration again.
You have to put down the camera somewhere before the screen, at latest before Screen Calibration:
The camera can be placed anywhere as long as the camera can see all four corners of the
screen.
Use a stable cameara mount or tripod.
You don't have to measure how far is the camera from the screen, because it doesn't influence how the
targets appear.
Some examples:
That's how a normal setup looks like:
Pinch to zoom if the camera is too far from the screen:
Extreme angles can also work - as long as all four corners are
visible for the camera - but the
cramped view might reduce the precision of detection in the farthest corners:
That's too much. Screen Calibration is going to fail since the
camera cannot see all corners of the projected image:
The best for precision is to place the camera right in front of the
screen - although it might hinder
your movement if you have a camera on a tripod in the middle of the room:
First, connect the Camera App to your training session
In the Camera App: tap on the Connect button
Enter your Connection ID. The Connection ID of your training
session is displayed at the bottom
left
corner of the Range Screen. Note: Make sure the laser training is enabled before you start the
stage
It is a 4-digit (new) or 9-digit (old) number.
Once the Camera App is connected to the Training Session, the Connect button turns green.
The Range screen will display the green Camera Connected
status message.
You need a subscription to be able to train with the camera app.
Limited offer: Unlimited stages and 2 shots (double tap) per round even
without a subscription!
A Free Trial with Free
Cancellation is available. Use it to test the Camera App without
spending any money. You are free to
cancel your subscription before the end of the trial period.
If the “Not Subscribed” message appears at the bottom of the Range Screen, then you need to
subscribe
first.
In case you have an App Store Promo Code or Offer Code here is how to
redeem
it:
Tap on the App Store icon
On the “Today” screen scroll all-all-all the way down
There you find the “Redeem” button
In case you do not have a Promo Code continue as follows:
In the Camera App tap on Train on the left, then on Subscribe on the right.
On the subscription screen, select the membership level you prefer.
You can train as much as you want with any subscription level, but the number of laser shots
-
your “ammo” - is limited per round. Watch this video to see what it means:
Are you a certified firearms instructor? You might be eligible to use Dry
Fire Online for free! Get in touch with us for more details!
All subscriptions are auto-renew subscriptions with monthly prices. All prices are in USD. You price
may vary depending on exchange rates and your local taxes.
How to subscribe in the Camera App:
Free Training - No Subscription: 2 shots per round
Recommended for:
Double tap drills
Testing Dry Fire Online with no strings attached
Note: Free access might be temporarily/permanently suspended depending on server load -
sever resources in peak times are reserved for paying subscribers
Beginner Subscription: 5 shots per round
Recommended for:
New gun owners
Double tap and Mozambique drills
Steel Challenge stages
SASP stages
Advanced Subscription: 30 shots per round
Recommended for:
El President drill
USPSA, IDPA, IPSC medium courses and classifiers
Reload drills
Falling Plates
Expert Subscription: 50 shots per round
Recommended for:
USPSA, IDPA, IPSC long courses and classifiers
Additional features of the Expert Subscription:
Hit Scoring
Score to Speech
Shot Timer
Flinch Detection
It is recommended to test if your setup (laser, projector, screen, phone) works fine with Dry Fire
Online before subscribing. Use a trial subscription or the free double tap training to test Dry
Fire Online free of charge.
Hint: If you have a Beginner or an Advanced subscription
and you shoot at steel targets and
enable the gunshot sound effects, you will hear “bang-cling” effect when you hit the steel
target.
Hint: If you are not sure which is the right subscription
for you, it is recommended to
start
your free trial with the Expert Subscription. It enables you to test all its
extra features
and
then cancel your subscription or downgrade
to Beginner or Advanced.
Once you completed the purchasing process via the App Store, the Subscribe button is going to
turn green.
The active subscription level can be seen at the bottom of the Range Screen.
The payment and subscription process including all payments, renewals,
cancellations and
refunds are managed by your app store: Apple App Store or Google Play
without the participation of Dry Fire
Online.
In a nutshell: You send the subscription fee to Apple or Google and they forward it to us. Dry Fire Online
doesn't see your name, billing address or credit card number.
If you would like to cancel your subscription, you have to take action.
Screen Calibration means that the Camera App needs to know where your screen is located. Luckily,
there is a
button for that.
Now it is time to put your camera into a stable mount that can
hold it steady. Good:
Not so good:
Tap on Screen Calibration
Make sure the Range Screen is (about) at the center of the
viewfinder. Use the crosshairs. Make
sure that all four corners of the Range Screen are visible within the
viewfinder, and each corner is
within the separate quadrant of the viewfinder, e.g.: the top/left corner is within
the
top-left
quadrant and so on.
Hint: You can place the camera left or right, above or
below the screen, it does not really matter. It does not have to be placed
right in front of the screen - as long as all four corners are visible.
Hint: You can pinch to zoom in, but all four corners of the
Range Screen shall be within the
viewfinder.
Might sound complicated, but it is simple. Should look something like this - centered, zoomed,
all four corners:
Tap on Auto Calibrate
The Range Screen is going to display a green screen and the calibration process begins.
Do not move, dance or jump around before the camera at this point. Do not disrupt the
calibration process.
Wait until the progress counter reaches 100%.
Once the calibration has been successfully completed the Screen
Calibration button
on the left turns green and
the borders of the green area should be marked by purple lines
If the automatic screen calibration fails:
Check if there are any objects (flowers, books, furniture, anything) that might break or
obscure
the smooth continuous straight borders of the green screen.
Here a flower pot covers the bottom right corner of the green sceen.
And the calibration fails to detect the bottom right screen:
Check if all 4 corners are visible on the camera
The image what the camera sees lacks contrast: it is too bright in the room and/or the
projector is not bright enough (check its Lumens rating): temporarily darken the room,
at least for
the
period of the screen calibration. In a darker room, the projected image seems brighter,
that means more contrast, that means better detection.
Then tap again on Auto Calibrate. If it still doesn’t work, use Manual Calibration (read
below)
There is one thing to watch out for after Screen Calibration:
The automatic screen calibration should find the borders of the green screen, NOT the entire
image that's projected onto the wall. So, what is the difference?
It means, if your browser has a toolbar above or below the green area, or anything that does
not belong
to
the range screen (green area), that shall not be part of the detected screen area.
On the image below, you see an example where the automatic screen calibration completed and
found all borders of the screen. Except in the top left corner where it included even a part
of the
browser toolbar.
That's wrong, and
it is the most frequent cause of precision
issues
Automatic screen detection
should find only the borders of the green area, not more.
See? That browser toolbar was not green during the automatic screen calibration.
Here is how to fix it:
Switch the browser to full-screen mode and make the toolbar disappear
You can start the automatic screen calibration again
Darken the room, and start automatic screen calibration again
In Manual Screen Calibration you can move the corners of the detected screen area by dragging
them with your fingertips.
Tap on “Manual”
Tap on any of the corners, hold and drag them on the screen until the corners and the
borders
correctly align with the green area of the Range Screen.
Hint: you do not have to tap exactly onto the corner
marker, it is OK if you tap close to
it.
Otherwise your fingers would cover the corner, and you would not see where you are dragging
to.
In this case the top left corner was moved a bit downwards onto the correct corner.
The second most common calibration issue is moving the camera after the screen has been already
calibrated
do not move the camera after it has been
calibrated
Even tapping hard on the camera screen, or using a makeshift wobbly camera mount can misalign the
camera causing precision and detection issues. If you notice that your shots are off, take a look at
the camera, and check if the purple frame still aligns with the Range Screen.
Here it is already is a bit off:
In this case, repeat the Screen Calibration process.
This is the end of the Quick Setup Guide. If you have reached this point, the Camera App is ready to use.
You can start the stage on the Range Screen.
At the beginning of each stage, the Range Screen displays a special calibration screen and asks the Camera
App to perform Automatic Exposure Calibration that is going to set the right exposure levels. Then you are
ready to go!
Read the rest of the Manual in case you have issues like:
Exposure Calibration means that the Camera App needs to capture images where the laser dot is recognizable.
The captured images shall be balanced and match
the current lighting conditions: shall neither be too dark (no laser detected) nor too bright
(false laser detected). Luckily, there is a
button for that.
At the beginning of each stage, the Range Screen displays a special
Calibration Screen and asks the
Camera App to perform Automatic Exposure Calibration that is going to set the right exposure levels.
That's how it looks:
Important: This calibration step takes place unless you have
switched the Camera App to Manual Exposure. In that case the values you have set manually have
priority and will not be overridden by
the automatic calibration.
The Automatic Exposure Calibration at the beginning of each stage provides acceptable exposure
settings
under most circumstances. However, in some situations (like when the room is dark, the targets are
bright, the camera ISO settings are high, there is noticeable noise/grain on the image) the
automatic calibration is not good enough.
In such cases you can manually start the Automatic Exposure
Calibration by tapping on Laser Calibration:
Then tap on Auto:
You can start Automatic Exposure Calibration anytime, even
without
the special calibration screen being
displayed, even at the middle of a stage when the targets are
displayed.
Actually, in some cases this
approach is even better than calibrating on the Calibration Screen. Example: you
train
in a
dark room and you have a lot of bright white targets on the screen. Calibrating mid-stage:
Whenever you start Automatic Exposure Calibration manually, remember
to
switch back the Camera App to Train mode!
In order to test if the camera can correctly detect the laser dots, switch the Camera App to
Train
mode, then take a look at the viewfinder.
Step 1:
DO NOT fire with the laser.
The Camera App SHALL NOT detect any laser dots.
A '+' marker SHALL NOT BE visible on the viewfinder
Step 2:
DO FIRE with the laser.
The Camera App SHALL this time detect a single laser dot.
A '+' marker SHALL now appear briefly on the viewfinder marking the spot where the Camera
App
detected
the laser
Notice the '+' on the image below
You might want to repeat these steps on:
The center of the screen where most targets appear - that
is
the most important area of the screen.
The corners and edges of the screen - especially if you
have a
big screen.
Note that detection issues can be due to a number of various factors, like:
How much laser light the screen surface absorbs and reflects, and reflects into
which
direction.
It can be that you see a bright laser (red or green) dot on the screen, but from the
camera the same
laser
dot is
not even visible (rough surfaces, anti-glare and polarizing screen coatings, etc.).
See
Projector or Flat Screen
The distance of the camera and the screen - the closer the better, but remember: the
camera must
see all four corners of the screen
The resolution and the frame rate of your camera
The brightness of the laser dot and how long it is emitted
Ambient lighting relative to the brightness of the screen
Changing lighting conditions (sun comes up and shines through the window), exposure
levels
change, glares, bright spots appear on the screen
Error #1: If the '+' hitmarker
appears (either continuously or just periodically blinking) on the viewfinder even when you DO NOT fire, then the Camera
App detects false laser dots . Certain parts of the image are too bright. In this
case
you can repeat the Automatic Screen Calibration, or you can set the exposure levels maunally by
Manual Exposure Calibration.
Error #2: If the '+' hitmarker DOES
NOT
appear at all, not even when you DO fire, then the
Camera
App cannot detect the laser. The image can be too dark, and you can repeat the exposure
calibration.
In some cases, this problem has other root causes: like the
battery
of the laser cartridge is dying, some cartridges might wear out, the laser dot gets dim, or
the
surface where the laser dot should appear absorbs too much
laser and does not reflect enough back to the camera. If you are using a projector: your projector might be too bright compared to your
laser.
Hint: You can perform exposure calibration in the app even when the range screen displays the
targets. Sometimes, when the automatic exposure calibration does not work well enough (dark
room,
bright white targets) it is better to restart the exposure calibration manually once the
targets are on the screen. Tap on Automatic Exposure Calibration in the Camera App, wait until
the
calibration completes, then (remember to) switch the Camera App back to Train mode!
To adjust the exposure calibration values manually, tap on
Manual
A panel appears at the bottom of the viewfinder where you can adjust the exposure values.
The values represent the brightness of the image and are measured on a scale of 0-255, where 0 is black and 255 is white.
Laser Threshold: points above this brightness are seen as
laser
dots. Ideally no parts of the
image (other than the actual laser dot) shall be brighter than this, otherwise that will be
seen
as a laser dot.
Brightness: is the brightness of the brightest spot on the
image
Notice that the value next to brightness slightly
fluctuates
depending on how much noise the
image contains (darker room, higher ISO, more nosie)
You can change both values but changing the sliders
Important: If you change any of the values, the exposure
calibration will change to manual mode
and the Manual button turns green. That means, from now on
the
values you set manually have
priority, and the automatic exposure calibration at the beginning of each stage will be
skipped.
If you want to switch back to Automatic Exposure
Calibration
again, tap on Auto, the automatic
calibration will be performed, and the Auto button turns green again.
The goal is that the image should be neither to dark nor too
bright,
and if you fire the laser, the
laser dot (an only that) shall be the brightest spot on the image.
If the Brightness is below the Laser Threshold then you
can
test the laser. If the image is not too
dark, and the laser dot is bright enough, the brightness of the laser will be above the
threshold
and it will be marked with a '+' at the viewfinder. That's good!
If the Brightness is above the Threshold (without firing
the
laser) that would lead to false
detections. The brightest spot on the image is marked by a '+', so you will se which is
the
problematic part of the image. In this case either reduce the
Brightness or increase the
Laser Threshold.
If the Brightness is fluctuating around the Threshold
(sometimes bellow sometimes above) that
would lead to false detections. The brightest spot on the image is marked by a '+', so
you
will
se which is the problematic part of the image. In this case either reduce the Brightness or increase the
Laser Threshold.
If the Brightness is 255 then it is too high, the burned
areas are highlighted by pink. In this
case either reduce the Brightness or increase the
Laser Threshold.
Once you find the settings acceptable, switch back to Train, test the laser detection and
continue training.
The Scan Grid button changes the density of the laser scanning pattern. The denser the better the
detection
quality but also makes the scanning slower. You do not need to change this setting unless the "Frame
Dropped" warning frequently appears.
The Laser Color button changes the color of the laser the camera app is trying to detect. The default
setting is red (for red laser), but it can be changed to green (for green lasers) that gives priority to the
green RGB
component.
The Sound button enables the Camera App sound feature. When enabled, the Camera App
plays a
gunshot when it detects a laser dot in Train mode.
The Camera App Sounds button is independent of the Audio button on the Range Screen Toolbar. Enabling or
disabling sounds in the Camera App does not influence the sounds of the Range Screen, and
vice
versa.
The Camera App plays the gunshot sound only when it is switched to
Train mode. Make sure your phone or tablet is not in
Silent
Mode.
When the Camera App plays a gunshot sound the detected hit is sent to the Range Screen, but
the
Range Screen is going to display it only during the Commence Fire
phase (when the clock is running).
When the Camera App plays a gunshot sound the detected hit is going to appear on the Range
Screen
after a short delay depending on network latency.
The Flinch button activates the flinch detection feature of the Camera App, that is
useful
if
you
want to know if you jerk the trigger, and into which direction the barrel moves.
Flinch Detection shall be activated both in the Camera App
(if
trace detection is active), and on the
Range screen as well (if the trace is displayed or hidden). See the Flinch button on the Toolbar
The length of the Flinch Trace depends on how much you move
the
barrel and how long your laser
cartridge emits laser.
Flinch Detection works better in dark, so make the room
darker for better Flinch detection.
When something doesn't work
If something does not work, try another browser, and make sure you do not use some old obsolete browser but
a recent version. It is a good idea to use one of the well known browsers like Chrome or Safari instead of
some lesser-known browsers like Opera. You can also check the System
Requirements and the supported browsers.
On the Stage Builder a message appears "If this message stays on the
screen..."
In this case something does not work with your internet browser.
Have you enabled JavaScript in the browser? Dry Fire online requires JavaScript to run.
Do you have a supported internet browser? Check out what we wrote about supported web-browsers above,
and make sure you use one of the supported browsers, and make sure your browser is updated (do not use
an old browser). If it still does not work, let us know your problems by filling the Contact form.
If you cannot click or tap on a target because the target is off-screen, you can use the Details button to
display the target Details panel and then use the target selector arrows buttons to step among the selected
target until the off-screen appears in the the Details panel. The properties of the target can be changed
manually via the Details panel even if the target is off-screen.
Stuck on the grey "Loading" screen
In this case something does not work with your internet browser.
Have you enabled some of the audio features? Note that enabling sounds or audio effects might cause some
browsers to hang on the Loading screen.
Have you enabled JavaScript in the browser? Dry Fire online requires JavaScript to run.
Do you have a supported internet browser? Check out what we wrote about supported web-browsers,
and make sure you use one of the supported browsers, and your browser is updated (do not use
an old browser). If it still doesn't work, let is know your problems via the Contact form.
Update, May 2022: Safari 15.4 on macOS Monterey since the last Apple update seems to be unstable and has
some issues that can lead to freezing the browser. Please use Google Chrome or Firefox until this issue
is fixed.
The Back button doesn't work
Your browser has a built in Back button, but besides that, Dry Fire Online also has a black Back button in
the top left corner of the Range screen. Some internet browsers have issues (like Safari) might not go back
properly if you click on the Back button OF THE BROWSER. In this case use the black Back button on the Range
screen. The black Back button is also useful if you dry fire in full screen when the toolbar of your browser
is hidden.
The Pause button doesn't work
The Pause button does not immediately stop the current round, rather it stops one the current round is over
at the Rang Counter pop-up. Check out how the Toolbar buttons work.
The Flinch button doesn't work
The Flinch button on the Range Screen works only if Flinch Detection is activated even in the Camera App.
Check out how the Toolbar buttons work.
The Fullscreen button doesn't work
The Fullscreen button should work in the supported browsers (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox) - please get in
touch with us if you notice any problems using a supported browser.
In other unsupported browsers it might not always work properly:
The Fullscreen button on the Range Screen just requests the browser to switch to fullscreen, so it works
only if your browser supports fullscreen mode.
Some browsers don't support fullscreen mode or have some
elements (buttons, address bar, tool bar) that are always visible, even in fullscreen mode.
If your browser was already in fullscreen mode before starting a Stage, the Fullscreen button might not
switch properly between fullscreen and windowed modes.
On some Android smartphones and tables the Fullscreen button in Chrome is disabled due to some technical
issues on these platforms
The Audio button is missing
The Audio button on the Range Screen apperas only if you have selected some sound effects in the Stage
Builder. Check out how the Toolbar buttons work.
Quickstart Scenarios: check the Audio and Sound Effect settings below the selected Scenario
Stage Builder: check the Audio and Sound Effect settings on the Stage tab / Configure Stage
panel
Check the volume
Check if the device is in Silent Mode / Mute
Note that enabling sounds or audio effects might cause some browsers to hang on the Loading screen.
Audio does not work in all browsers depending on the web engine (like WebKit 537 on LG WebOS).
As an alternative, you might consider using the Camera App Sound
feature instead of
browser audio.
Safari is notorious for having audio problems. Depending on the browser version, enabling sound effects
might even freeze the entire browser.
Or it might sometimes just "skip" playing sound effects. If you experience such issues, you might switch
to Google Chrome
or Firefox.
In Safari on macOS, check if Auto-Play is allowed for Dry Fire Online: on top menu select Safari /
Preferences,
then in the preferences window, select the Websites tab, Auto-Play on the left and allow
dryfireonline.com. You can allow Auto-Play for all other websites in the bottom right
corner.
Target size is wrong, the target is not scaled properly
Check if the Zoom settings in your browser are set to Default / 100% / Actual Size. Enabling zooming can
result incorrectly sized targets.
Check if target scaling works at all in your browser: start a drill with two targets, one is at a fixed
distance of 15 yards, and another one at 50 yards. If the target image at 50 yards is noticeably smaller
then scaling technically works.
Check if target scaling is precise enough #1: perform a Screen
Calibration test using one of the predefined Quickstart Screen Calibration scenarios
Check if target scaling is precise enough #2: compare the on-screen target to a real life (printed)
paper target. Minor differences can be due to: 1) Your printed paper target is not scaled properly: like
you print an IPSC target from a PDF that's the scaled to "20 yards as seen from 3 yards" but something
went wrong at printing the target. Not that some printers have settings like "Scale to Page", "Fit to
Page", "Page Margins" (Do you use Letter or A4 sized paper by the way?) that might slightly change the
size of the printed target and make it less perfect. 2) When you enter the Diagonal size of your screen,
small differences might occur, like when your 15" notebook screen is actually 15.4".
Check if your display has a pixel aspect ratio of 1:1. It basically it means, that the pixels are
"squares" and not "rectangles". Check your display aspect ratio settings look for something like: 16:9,
4:3, "cinema mode", fitting, cropping, letterboxing, that might result in distorted, disproportional
picture dimensions, and incorretly scaled targets.
Check your the picture and image quality settings of your display. Some TVs can be switched to different
picture modes (like: "cinema", "theater", "game", "sport" etc.) that might change the image size
(zooming, cropping) that in turn impacts the displayed target size.
Some browsers on a dual screen setup where the two screens are of different size and resolution. Staring
the browser on the smaller screen and then moving the browser to the bigger screen is going to result in
incorrect screen dimensions, because the browser still thinks that it is running on the smaller screen.
On some mobile devices (like on Apple iOS tablets, smartphones) starting the range screen and then
rotating the device and/or splitting the view of the mobile browser might provide inaccurate screen
resolution, resulting incorrectly sized or positioned targets. Do not rotate the device once you are on
the range screen.
The message means the total roundtrip time from the Range Screen to the Camera App and back is higher
than desired, or less than ideal for the training
It can casue hitmarkers to appear with a delay (even sounds played with a delay) that can be
disturbing: you pull the trigger, and the hit marker appears seconds later
Good to know: Dry Fire Online requires little bandwidth, but it is sensitive to network latency. Prefer
to
use a low
latency network connection.
Note that our servers are located in the US and users from other countries might experience higher
response times. The average network response time in the US is around 0.2 seconds and we frequently
measure 0.3 seconds with users from Europe and 0.5 seconds from Australia. As it seems, most users who
experience high response times have some problems in their local home or office networks, and the
latency is not due to
the geographical distance.
Prefer to use cable based (Ethernet) network connections
If you are using a Wi-Fi wireless connection on any of your devices, make sure the reception quality is
at its maximum level. The same stands for mobile 3G, 4G, 5G connections as well. Local Wi-Fi connections
and interferences area common cause of network latency issues.
Restart your devices and/or close other programs that might be running in the background
and might be using the same internet connection (browsers,
chat clients, torrent clients, weather apps, traffic apps, internet radio, etc)
Other users (family members, streaming clients like Netflix, Spotify, etc.) might be using the
same
internet connection
Other devices using Wi-Fi (like you neighbors security camera, printer, etc.) can also cause
interferences and network lags
Check if you are behind a firewall, router, or proxy that might cause problem.
Restart your router. Faulty routers and hardware
components can also cause network problems.
Using wireless projectors can also cause delays even if your Internet connection is perfect.
I don't have a code (Connection ID) for the laser training
If you don’t know where to find the Connection ID that you have to enter in the Camera App, make sure the
laser training is enabled before you start the stage:
After you start the stage and confirm that your gun is unloaded, the Connection ID will be displayed in a
popup and even at the bottom left corner of the screen. Use this number to connect the Camera App to the
training session.
Make sure you have entered the correct Connection ID in the Camera
App
Reload the page in your browser where the Connection ID is displayed
Remember that your training session expires after a few hours. If you return later to Dry Fire
Online, the Range Screen is going to display a new Connection ID. Use the new Connection ID to
connect the Camera App to the training session.
There are a few dos and don'ts in case you have problems with the
Screen Calibration. First, that’s how Screen Calibration should work:
The Camera App is already connected to the Range Screen: the
Connection button
in the top left corner is in Connected state and green.
Center the Range Screen in the viewfinder of the Camera App
All four corners of the Range Screen must be within the viewfinder.
Tap on the Calibrate button on the left, then on Auto Calibrate on the right
The Range Screen turns green and the Camera App tries to find the borders of the green rectangle.
Once the calibration process is completed, you have to visually inspect on
the phone if the Camera App could correctly detect the borders.
Don’t touch, don’t pick-up and don’t move the phone when doing so.
You might not
be able to put it back exactly into the same position where it was. If you move the phone after the
screen has been already calibrated, you have to repeat the Screen
Calibration again.
Your phone doesn’t have to be right in front of the screen. You can freely
place the phone
below/above/left/right of the screen, wherever it’s the best for you.
Remember: All four corners shall be within the viewfinder.
Screen Calibration successful:
If you don’t use Dry Fire Online in full screen mode - means the browser window occupies just a part
of the entire screen, like this:
Screen Calibration should detect just the green area and not the
entire screen:
If you use Dry Fire Online in full screen mode, but it's not 100% full
screen, because the browser still has some visible elements, like the browser toolbar,
address bar, etc. above the Range Screen:
Screen Calibration should detect just the green area and not the
entire screen. The browser toolbar,
address bar, etc. should NOT be included in the detected area:
When you check after the calibration if the borders have been detected correctly, make sure that the
browser toolbar is NOT included in the detected area. Screen
Calibration should detect just the green area.
Here to top right corner is incorrect, because the Camera App incorrectly detected even the toolbar
as part of the screen. It can happen, since the browser toolbar is very often too bright (see what
we wrote about contrast and brightness).
If that would happen, you can do the following:
Hide the browser toolbar and restart the Automatic Screen
Calibration, or
If you cannot hide the
toolbar: Restart the Automatic Screen Calibration, and hope that
next time
it will detect just the green area
without the toolbar
If none of these would help, you can always manually adjust the top
right corner in Manual Screen Calibration
Once the calibration process is completed, you have to visually inspect on
the phone if the Camera App could correctly detect the borders.
Don’t touch, don’t pick-up and don’t move the phone when doing so.
You might not
be able to put it back exactly into the same position where it was. If you move the phone after the
screen has been already calibrated, you have to repeat the Screen
Calibration again.
Here the phone was moved a bit and the borders are already misaligned
Here the borders are definitely misaligned - It leads to precision issues during
training.
If phone is moved the Screen Calibration has to be repeated.
Remember: All four corners shall be within the viewfinder.
The bottom right corner is not visible for the Camera App - it should be within the viewfinder.
When one of the corners is close to the edges of the viewfinder or off the viewfinder the Screen
Calibraiton is going to fail.
Use pinch to zoom in and out, if that's not enough move the camera further/closer to the screen.
If you have a projector make sure there are no shadows on the screen. Here the camera and my head
cast shadows:
There shall be no objects (doors, curtains, furniture, plants) that disturb/cover the edges or cast
shadows, like here on the left and on the right side of the screen:
If the surface of the green screen is not continuous but broken and fragmented:
The Autmatic Screen Calibraiton fails to detect the borders of the green area.
Watch out for ambient lightning. The green area shall be contrasting to the background and shall have
good recognizable borders. Ideally something like this:
Easy to detect the borders:
As the Range Screen becomes less bright and dull (relative to the environment), detecting the borders
becomes gradually more and more unreliable:
Until a point, where it becomes impossible for the Camera App to find the borders.
No wonder the Automatic Screen Calibration fails to detect the borders.
You can make it easier for the Camera App to detect the borders, by
Making the room darker, so the screen appears brighter in a
darker room
Increasing the screen brightness - if it's adjustable - so
again, the screen appears brighter
There is a trade-off between the Screen Calibration (detecting the screen
borders) and the Laser
Calibration (detecting the laser dot) increasing the screen brightness
can help with the Screen Calibration and can make the green screen more contrasting, and it's
easier to detect the borders BUT
BUT a too bright screen is later on bad for the laser detection, since it makes the laser dot
less bright (less detectable) relative to a bright screen.
It is recommended to increase the screen brightness temporarily just
for the Screen Detection, then
reduce
it back again during the actual training once you start shooting with the laser.
Before the Screen Calibration would begin, you can pinch to zoom in and
out.
Remember: All four corners shall be within the viewfinder.
Great zoom - it is going to make the laser dot bigger for the Camera
App and it helps later on with
the laser detection / shot precision.
If you zoom in too much, the borders might the too close the the boundaries of the viewfinder -
Screen Calibration might fail:
Too much zoom is bad - Screen Calibration is going to fail. Here the
Range Screen completely fills
the viewfinder, but it also means that all 4 corners are off.
Remember: All four corners shall be within the viewfinder.
If you still have problems, you can get in touch with our support.
We might ask you to send us a few
photos/videos about how exactly you try to calibrate the screen.
No laser detected, hits do not appear on the Range Screen
Make sure nothing blocks the view of the camera
Check if the Range Screen is connected to the Camera App: green
Camera Connected message displayed at the bottom left corner
Check if the Range Screen is in Commence Fire phase: shots are displayed only then the clock is
running
Check on the Range Screen if you have any Ammo left: shots are displayed only if you have Ammo. The
amount of Ammo available per round depends on your Subscription level
On some phones/tablets the Automatic Laser Calibration might not work properly and tend to
over/undercalibrate. You can switch to Manual calibration anytime and
simply override the Laser Calibration settings
Check if your Camera App is switched to Train mode
Check if the Camera App is detecting a laser dot even when you do NOT fire. In this case a "+" marks
the
spot where the Camera App continuously detects a laser dot. Your exposure settings might be off,
repeat
the automatic or manual Exposure
Calibration
Test the laser training cartridge, make sure the batteries are charged, and the laser
dot is bright
and
visible. Note that some cartridges wear out and as their power output reduces the laser dot gets
dimmer.
No laser detected, Camera App screen goes dark
during Laser Calibration
The Camera App might undercalibrate on some phones/tablets. If the Camera App screen goes dark during Laser
Calibration and it doesn't register any shots, there's a simple workaround by manually adjusting the
calibration settings. This video shows you how:
False shots are detected, even when I do NOT shoot
Check if the Camera App is detecting a laser dot even when you do NOT fire. In this case a "+" marks
the
spot where the Camera App continuously detects a laser dot. Your exposure settings might be off,
repeat
the automatic or manual Exposure
Calibration.
This video shows the difference in laser brightness when the batteries are old vs. fresh.
You might
see a tiny red dot even when the batteries are weak, but it doesn't mean that it's bright enough for
the camera - and it can lead to laser detection issues, missed shots.
It's even worse when the power
reduces gradually - the first few shots will be OK, but after some training you're going to
experience more and more missed shots because the brightness sinks below the detection level.
Prefer to train on smooth screen surfaces. If you project the range onto a rough wall surface, the
uneven wall surface might reflect the laser into unpredictable directions creating false flares, and
leading to imprecise shot detection.
Check if the Zoom settings in your browser are set to Default / 100% / Actual Size. Enabling zooming
can result in precision issues.
Check your the picture and image quality settings of your display. Some TVs can be switched to
different picture modes (like: "cinema", "theater", "game", "sport" etc.) that might change the
image size (zooming, cropping) that in turn can also cause precision issues.
Check if the camera has been moved
since the last Screen Calibration. Check if in Screen Calibration, the purple lines are still
aligned with the borders of the Range Screen. Here it is already a bit off:
How much does it cost? Is it free?
The dryfireonline.com website can be used for free. Displaying targets on your computer screen, projector or
TV, starting Quickstart stages, registration, using the Stage Builder to create, save and share your own
stages - it’s all free!
You have to pay only if you would like to use our Camera App for laser training. Our prices are super
affordable with free trial and free cancellation.
Find our current prices here.
Why is it subscription-only?
The laser training is available only in a subscription based model and we have a few good reasons why:
We want to make it affordable for everyone, and our prices are indeed affordable - much-much lower than
a one-time upfront price would be. Find our current prices
here.
Would you like to try to app for free? A free trial is available!
You don't like it or it doesn't work for you? Cancel for free!
Would you like to change your package? Up- or downgrade your subscription anytime!
The Devs get a modest but more stable income. You keep them motivated, they keep on developing and you
get future updates without additional costs. You never have to buy a new version!
Can I use Dry Fire Online on my tablet or smartphone?
Yes, you can use Dry Fire Online on any device that has a compatible web browser. On the other hand, the
screen of tablets and smartphones is typically too small to display properly sized targets while leaving you
enough distance in front of the screen to draw you gun, but tablets are OK for small portable setups.
Check out our tablet setup here.
What devices are supported?
The Dry Fire Online website (to display targets) can be used on a number of devices including, notebooks,
PCs, devices with an attached
external screen or projector, smart TV’s, game console-s - basically on any device with a built-in web
browser and
a large enough screen.
The Camera App for laser training is available on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets.
Read here more about the possible combinations.
What browsers are supported?
Dry Fire Online is tested with Safari, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer. Note that internet browsers are
slightly different and some features might not be available in all browsers, like Dry Fire Online has some
known problems with Internet Explorer 11 but it works fine with Internet Explorer Edge, the Back button
works differently in Safari and Chrome, certain browsers have problems with audio playback and so on.
Can I use Dry Fire Online with IR (infrared) laser?
No, you can't. The Dry Fire Online Camera App works with common red and green laser cartridges.
The reason is simple: Dry Fire Online was designed to be as accessible and simple to use as possible. It
uses the camera of common Android and Apple smartphones to detect the laser dot, without the need to buy a
special IR capable external camera. Since most smartphone cameras can detect a simple visible red or green
laser dot,
but
have issues with invisible infrared light, IR cartridges are not supported.
Can I use my webcam for laser detection?
No you can't. Dry Fire Online was designed to be as accessible and simple to use as possible, so it uses the
camera of commonly available Android and Apple smart phone to detect the laser. Just take your smartphone,
put it down in front of your screen and it's going to work like a webcam.
Laser Training works only with the Dry Fire Online Camera App that is available on Android and Apple iOS. It
is not available on Windows, Mac OS X nor Linux.
Can I use Dry Fire Online with with scopes?
If you want to practice long range shooting with a scope, you are going to see the pixelated image of the
target - depending on the distance and on the screen resolution it will be more or less usable. It is like
watching TV via binoculars. You are not going to see more details, but you are going to see the pixels of
the LCD panel. Note also that the focal distance is also much shorter since the screen is closer than the
simulated target.
Can I upload my range background photo or target images?
No, you can't. But you can send us a message if you would like us to add an additional target, or
range photo to our collection.
Terms of Use
The creators of Dry Fire Online do not take any responsibility and are not liable for any damage, injury or
death caused during dry fire or through the use of Dry Fire Online. Firearm safety is the user's
responsibility. Firearm safety always comes first.
ALWAYS FOLLOW THE FIREARM SAFETY RULES! Unload your gun before dry firing!
Here are some guidelines for safe dry fire practice:
Use airsoft, BB or plastic guns for dry fire drills. Some drills do NOT require real guns.
When using real gun: Make sure your gun is unloaded.
No live rounds left in the magazine or in the chamber.
Make sure no live ammo left in the practice area.
When using dummy rounds/blank rounds/snap caps: do not mix these with live rounds, make sure you are
actually using dummy rounds/blank rounds/snap caps.
Always safety check your gun after leaving it unattended.
The wall behind you screen shall capable to stop any live rounds fired accidentally.
Do not dry fire if you are, or have been, drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
Ensure you are mentally and physically fit to follow the firearm safety rules.
If you are unsure if your gun is loaded, do not use Dry Fire Online and do not dry fire.
For more information consult with your local firearm experts.
User-Generated Content
User-Generated Content is any Stage or Stage Description created, stored and shared at/from/via Dry Fire
Online by any registered User of Dry Fire Online.
User-Generated Content shall not contain any offensive, obscene, defamatory, fraudulent or illegal
material including hate speech, racism, sexism, threats, harassment.
Dry Fire Online users are responsible for their User-Generated Content.
Dry Fire Online is an open platform. Users shall be aware that any shared Stages might be viewed, copied
and modified by other users.
The creators of Dry Fire Online do not take any responsibility for any User Generated-Content.
Concerns and violations can be reported at Dry Fire Online via the Contact form.
In case of violations, Dry Fire Online might suspend or delete the affected Content or even the creators
Account.
Registration at the Dry Fire Online website is optional. The registration does not require personal
information like name and address.
The Dry Fire Online website uses cookies and collects anonymous usage information regarding user
activity. We use this information to analyze errors and to improve our services. The collected
information will not be shared with unauthorized third parties. In addition, we also use the
collected information to display offers on the website and advertisement that is relevant for our target
audience.
Personal details like name and address are not collected and not required for the usage of the website.
Data that might indirectly identify the user's identity is either not stored in our logs or stored in a
secure encrypted way. IP addresses are logged without the last octet. Passwords, email addresses are
stored as an encrypted string. Users are also advised to use an anonymous email address in case they
wish to register, which cannot be linked to their identity.
Dry Fire Online uses Google Analytics that might create its own cookies, log your IP address and collect
other information about user sessions in accordance to Google’s privacy policies.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and our Privacy Policy.
The Camera App analyzes the video stream of the camera device to detect laser dots. The analyzed frames
are neither stored locally on the camera device nor forwarded to the Dry Fire Online server.
The Camera App connects to the Dry Fire Online server via an anonymous Connection ID, and exchanges only
training relevant information with the server: detected hit coordinates, screen resolution, calibration
requests, measured network roundtrip time, status and error codes.
The payment and subscription process of the Camera App including all payments, renewals, cancellations
and
refunds are managed by the respective App Store without the participation of Dry Fire Online. Payment
details like credit card number or billing address are not shared with and not managed by Dry Fire
Online.
Dry Fire Online uses cookies and collects anonymous usage information.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and our Terms of Use & Privacy
Policy.
This is the screen diagonal. It is nothing special, that's how the screen size is measured. If you have a
flat screen TV it is probably written on the TV or on the package. If you have a projector, you can measure
the projected image or the canvas. Just make sure the projected image is rectangular and projected onto a
flat surface.
The screen distance is how far you stand from the screen. Note the following:
The ‘shooter eye height’ is ideally the height of your eyes (viewpoint, camera, whatever) from the ground.
Note the following:
For the best experience switch your browser to full screen (instead of some windowed) mode. The center of
the screen is ideally on the same height as the ‘shooter eye height’. In other words, when the shooter
naturally looks ahead, the center of the screen is right in front of his face.
Target positions are defined by 3 parameters:
Keep in mind that in Dry Fire Online the targets are positioned by - and the target parameters define - the
center of the target.
If your stage description defines the relative target distances by edge-to-edge, then you have to transform
it to center-to-center distances by considering the width of the targets. In this case it can be useful to
change the unit of measure, for instance to define the values in inches instead of feet.
If you change the target transition mode from 'static' to 'moving', you can define waypoints that describe
the path of the target. For every waypoint you can define:
The Stage Builder Menu contains the following options:
The Target Details panel can be scrolled up/down to display all properties.
Hey, there is a video about this one: 
Hey, there is a video about this one: 
Not so good:
After you start the stage and confirm that your gun is unloaded, the Connection ID will be displayed in a
popup and even at the bottom left corner of the screen. Use this number to connect the Camera App to the
training session.
If that would happen, you can do the following:
If you want to practice long range shooting with a scope, you are going to see the pixelated image of the
target - depending on the distance and on the screen resolution it will be more or less usable. It is like
watching TV via binoculars. You are not going to see more details, but you are going to see the pixels of
the LCD panel. Note also that the focal distance is also much shorter since the screen is closer than the
simulated target.
