Escape Room TechsIn almost all cases, they can be fully enclosed. All electronics, when they are on, generate heat. However, the power these devices draw is very minimal and there is not any concern enclosing them as long as they are not located next to another heat source.
When in doubt, please contact us and we’ll be happy to offer safety advice specific to your situation.
Its works more like a flashlight against a wall. The closer you get, the brighter, but at a faster rate than the distance [inverse square relationship]. What this means is that as a magnet gets closer to the sensor, the magnet field gets much larger than the distance. Here is a quick table of our 1/2″ cylindrical magnet.
| Distance between sensor and magnet (closest surface) | Magnet Field |
| 1.25″ | 68 Gauss |
| 1.00″ | 93 Gauss |
| 0.75″ | 231 Gauss |
| 0.50″ | 549 Gauss |
| 0.25″ | 1751 Gauss |
We have this all outlined in a Google Doc for you. Or if you want to experiment more, K and J have a nice calculator.
Based on the above information, we can see that the sensing distance is important. Think of the magnet as the signal to the board. You don’t want a weak signal (like under 50 Gauss) and you don’t want to overpower it (1000 Gauss is the sensor limit).
This brings us to the last bit. If you are not happy with the range a particular magnet gets you, use a different magnet! A smaller magnet of the same type (there are different types, so please consider what kind you are using) will be weaker up close. If you need more range, get a larger magnet and move it away further.
The newest versions of the FX51D have a built in feedback mechanism to show you when you are too weak or over powering it.
The Bad Ass Controller is a standard Ethernet-enabled device, just like other home networking products you might be used to. To keep it connected and running smoothly, we recommend:
Connect your controller via a high quality (CAT5e or better) cable directly to your router or switch only.
Connecting it directly to your computer requires complex setup steps and is not recommended or supported. If you want to try anyway, we’ve documented one approach here: How do I set up a BAC if I can’t plug it into my router?
The Bad Ass Controller acquires its network address (“IP Address”) directly from a special service called a DHCP server built into your router. In most cases, this is automatic and you do not need to take special action for it to work.
While Bad Ass Manager can detect when your controller changes IP address, we still recommend using your router’s “Static” or “Fixed” reservations feature to assign it a consistent address that never changes. This setting can usually be found in the “Advanced”, “LAN” or “DHCP” section of your router’s configuration page.
To ensure your computer can talk to your Bad Ass Controller, some additional configuration steps may be needed. Most computers come standard with a ‘firewall’ that blocks communication on your local network – great for security, but bad for connecting to a controller!
For Windows users, be sure your network connection type is not Public. Setting to Private or Domain is the recommended setting. Windows networks marked as Public with extra security which hinders controller communications. If you do need to have your network type Public, then contact us for how to configure your firewall – we’re happy to help.
Typically, selecting the correct network setting will get everything working – but if you’re a firewall configuration wizard, the short answer is that you need to add a inbound firewall rule allowing UDP traffic to the BadASSManager server application.
As is typical for industrial automation, the Bad Ass Controller is designed to be used on a trusted local network and does not have required authentication. This means anyone who has access to your network can use Bad Ass Manager to control your games.
If you provide Wi-Fi access to your guests, we strongly recommend that you use your router’s guest network feature to create a separate Wi-Fi network that only allows access to the Internet, blocking access to other local devices.
You should also ensure devices on your local network are inaccessible to inbound traffic from the Internet. In nearly all cases, this will happen automatically if you are using a standard router.
The Bad Ass Controller can upgrade its internal software (known as firmware) over the Internet (with bootloader versions 1.2 and greater). To upgrade, simply go to the system screen in Bad Ass Manager and click the firmware update button. New firmware will automatically be downloaded and installed, which may include bug fixes and new games or capabilities.
While we make every effort to improve our products with each upgrade, new versions of software may cause subtle changes to how your escape room operates. We recommend only upgrading your firmware when necessary, and doing so during a time when you have enough time to resolve any issues that may arise before your next booking.
After a firmware upgrade:
Sometimes, a factory reset of a BAC V/Bad Ass Controller is necessary. Perhaps you are repurposing it for a new room, or maybe you want to start fresh as a troubleshooting step.
The reset procedure uses the buttons visible inside the recessed holes on the faceplate of the controller. They are accessible by pushing a long, non-conductive object through the holes to press the button underneath, or by removing the cover of the controller.
To reset the Bad Ass Controller:
The BAC uses the concept of a ‘game’, defined as the logic for puzzles like sequence games (press buttons or trigger inputs in order), or a Simon Says, a RFID match game, knock-knock, etc.
Even when the ‘game’ is selected and running, each BAC also always has ‘Room Controller’ mode running. Room Controller mode is for simple logic and sequences and is all event driven (defined in the Event System page).
Both modes can overlap. For instance, you can have an Simon Says game running on 5 inputs and outputs and a 2 other sensors and maglocks all wired up. The Simon Says game will trigger events to maybe trigger sounds, and the other two sensors and trigger inputs in the Event System to trigger maglocks or solenoids, etc.
So while only one ‘game’ can be running at a time, the Room Controller mode can allow additional simple puzzles to be implemented, subject to available capacity of inputs and outputs.
The Bad ASS Controller will allow for tags to be swapped out dynamically for easy swapping of spare RFID tagged game pieces.
Video demonstration:
Yes, you can access the Bad Ass Manager (BAM) on your phone! Any phone that has access to the same Wi-Fi network as your controller and computer on can also display your BAM screen. You will also need to use Chrome as your browser (or Safari on iOS devices).
Side note for security: if you provide Wi-Fi to your guests, you should make sure they are on a separate Wi-Fi network.
First, start BAM on your computer. You should get a screen that looks something like this:
A closer look in the red circled area will show you the IP address of your computer. The 8080 is the port number and is important.
Now open Chrome on your phone. Type in the exact address and port number with the colon, just like you see it there (but on your computer).
BAM! There you go.
Enjoy!
Also, for you M3 users, you can do the same thing, you’ll just use port ‘1860’ instead of ‘8080’.