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Braintree Rifle and Pistol Club
- Thread starter junfn68
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Agreed. Even easier.
For any chance of this moving forward, we need someone to come to the monthly members meeting with some proof of concept. I’m great with theory and why… not the technical implementation. Chatting here is a good start though.
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ROs can't/don't leave the gate up. We went thru and the gate closed behind us. So this wouldn't work.
You folks have some great ideas. Why don’t you attend a meeting at the club, recommend the idea to the board, and offer to lead a committee to implement the idea, including training the ROs to use whatever solution you develop?
I’ve wondered to myself too, why there’s a second gate for the outdoor when the main gate prevents unauthorized access. Guessing for accountability to know who’s out there since the buildings require their own badge scan too.
It would probably be easier to have a switch next to the badge scanner than an RO can flip that is open/closed. Anyone coming into the open range that notices it hasn’t been flipped can do the same. Similar to turn on/off the lights and HVCA when you’re alone inside.
That would be the big challenge, privacy. Easy option but probably the one most ripe for abuse.
That is usually what happens.
I like this idea. If someone wants to head this up with me (especially if you have any computer programming skills etc) that would be helpful. I don't know much about computer programming but am willing to learn and perhaps we can propose a plan to the BOD.
True, good point.
So as M1911 said:
1.) Find out when next meeting is
2.)Write a quick speech/idea to see if board likes the idea (need to see what other members of NES know to see what is feasible)
3.)Work with someone with computer skills to make it happen
4.)Train RO's on the use
etc?
So as M1911 said:
1.) Find out when next meeting is
2.)Write a quick speech/idea to see if board likes the idea (need to see what other members of NES know to see what is feasible)
3.)Work with someone with computer skills to make it happen
4.)Train RO's on the use
etc?
That’s the easy part.
You expect membership to attend boring meetings?!
They might even haven to shower and use prepared remarks and stuff to explain things or answer questions.
The hard part is designing, building, and testing a workable, secure solution.
The original clubhouse before the current two was almost next to the outdoor ranges according to 1957 aerial photos. There's remnants of the septic and well system for it and it's why the road to the outdoor ranges has the reverse curve to it. I wonder if it would make sense to build a mini-club house close to the outdoor ranges to encourage more RSO volunteers and provide bathrooms.
Plot thickens. LOL. Nice research. Would probably be good since the RO shift is 5 hours... and even as a young guy 5 hours without a bathroom break is a long time, let alone in the winter as an old guy I am sure it is much worse haha
The simpler, cheaper solution is just to rent a portapottie.
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BOD meetings are the 1st Monday.
To train ROs, you need to take the NRA RO course and then the Chief RO course.
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We all managed. There are 2 unofficial urinary areas up there.
I meant to train the existing ROs on how to use the new system to indicate that the range is open.
300-400sf prefab cabin for a RSO office (store first aid in it too?), member warming/cooling station + common bathroom. Use the building as a wifi hub for security/access control at the outdoor range. Biggest cost would probably be the septic & well for it. Or bring water & sewer to it under the access road the next time it is due to be repaved. Maybe club could sell coffee and ice tea out of it with vending machines or something.
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This is a classic example of scope creep.
We started talking about the primary pain point — not knowing whether the outdoor range would be open. Instead of just solving that one problem, you’re off talking about spending tens of thousands of dollars on features unrelated to that one issue.
In software, we have the concept of minimum viable product— what is the smallest amount of work that we can do that solves the problem. That’s what you should focus on. How can you inform members about the status of the outdoor range. JUST SOLVE THAT ONE ISSUE FIRST.
If you solve that, then you can start thinking about the rest of your wish list. But going straight to the board with a $50k project and no track record? In the boxing world, they call that leading with your chin.
Start with a better climate controlled parking attendant booth with power for a WiFi router to connect a communications device for RSOs to clock in their duty status and add a locking RSO only portapotty. If it works to improve volunteering and notify members on website of status, next time the road is repaved lay the utility infrastructure. In a 10 year infrastructure campaign thereafter fundraise to build the mini-club house and maybe sell naming rights or shop an endowment. Prove and test incremental improvements to the concept while building out the capability to execute a refined finished product.
An embedded Twitter widget on the website would be the simplest solution. ROs could log into a shared account to post updates.
Another option would be to update the website upon receiving an SMS. Meaning, the RO would text "open" to a phone number and a widget on the website would auto update. A quick search didn't show any out of the box solutions for this so it would likely need to be developed.
Now if you really wanted to make it easy for the ROs a Raspberry Pi with an internet connection at the range would work. They would hit a button and a Twitter account would update. Note that we would still need a Twitter widget on the website. I'm a very amateur programmer but this doesn't seem all that difficult. But I'm uncertain how these electronics would hold up outside over time. I imagine this would need to be a replaceable item. I'm estimating cost would be several hundred a year for multiple devices and a cellular plan.
Doing some more research and I think the button idea is simpler than I had thought. There are already Smart Buttons that can be linked to IFTTT for automation. So you have a Smart Button linked to its hub and connected to a mobile hotspot. Using IFTTT, it's set up to do something (i.e. post on twitter) when the button is pressed. The amount of programming required for this is little to none.
Minimal security concerns. IFTTT is a cloud based service so they would have access to the device's IP address, which they could approximate a location. If the IFTTT account were to become compromised, it could mean the Twitter account is compromised as well.
As for the hardware itself, there would be no cameras or microphones. It wouldn't be much different than activating an app on your phone, except this is reduced to a physical button and requires no software installation for the user.
Ultimately it's as safe as the smart thermostat in your house...which isn't exactly "safe" from the NSA or someone very motivated but nothing is 100% secure when it comes to internet connected devices.
Edit: Since everyone at the range would have physical access to the hardware, someone could potentially re-program it to do other things like posting something offensive on the Twitter account. Locking up the hub would probably alleviate that. The button itself can stay out in the open. I haven't used this type of home automation before so someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. And then there's the hotspot that someone could physically reset and possibly gain access to though all they would gain is the ability to connect to its wifi network. That would probably need to be locked up as well.
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Be aware: WiFi at the club doesn't even work reliably in the old clubhouse. No way that it would work at the outdoor ranges.
Hey everyone. Went to Braintree for my Tuesday RO shift and found the outdoor range closed.
From the website
The outdoor ranges will be experiencing intermittent closures due to construction. Once we have a schedule, it will be posted on the web site. While we apologize for any inconvenience the work being performed is important. We are extending the overhead baffles and the dividing walls. Work is expected take 2 to 3 weeks. We will open ranges not affected by the work when we are able.
If I get any updates I will post them. Both indoor ranges open.
From the website
The outdoor ranges will be experiencing intermittent closures due to construction. Once we have a schedule, it will be posted on the web site. While we apologize for any inconvenience the work being performed is important. We are extending the overhead baffles and the dividing walls. Work is expected take 2 to 3 weeks. We will open ranges not affected by the work when we are able.
If I get any updates I will post them. Both indoor ranges open.
