Originally Posted by
sumorai
Makes sense. Thanks for the input. I was also reading about running Arduinos from 9V batteries, as we almost always do in paintball guns, and the added circuitry really drains batteries fast.
Got my transistors and diodes in, and that all seemed to work when I set it up with an LED to test it. Then I learned about voltage regulation and the need for that, so I'm now waiting on some 5V LDO voltage regulators and capacitors before I continue further with the hardware side of things.
Also realized there was a simpler way to hook up the trigger switch than I was doing previously.
I went by the only actual electronics store I could find in the area, You-Do-It Electronics, this weekend. Picked up a couple things, but honestly, it's only slightly better than RadioShack used to be 15-20 years ago. I won't likely be going there often.