There is a minor error in the production wiring which injects unwanted noise into the 360-degree receiver. It is a very simple fix, but unfortunately, making the fix simply puts you at a disadvantage versus those who have not made it, since you will now have a more sensitive receiver than them, and as a result they will be able to tag you from farther away than you can tag them.
But if you are a Lazer Tag Purist and want your Tagger to be more sensitive than the stock version, here is how to do the mod. Note that the pictures show the red IR Dome removed -- do not remove it, this was done just for the sake of some testing I was performing at the time.
On the left side of the tagger
Remove the two small self-tapping screws in the reload lever
Remove the two small machine screws holding the buttplate in place
Remove the 9 large self-tapping screws holding the body halves together
Flip the Tagger over so that it is lying right-side up, then seperate the halves carefully (the barrels assembly should stay with the lower, or left, half). The two halves are still joined by some wiring, so gently rotate the right-side half downward and out of the way, as shown in this photo:
[THAT WHITE THING INSIDE THE RELOAD HANDLE IS THE CLACKER -- FOR SILENT RELOADING, *CAREFULLY* REMOVE IT, WATCH OUT THERE IS A SPRING INSIDE IT UNDER COMPRESSION]
Remove the redundant ground wiring loop:
CUT the two heavy black ground wires on the underside of the transceiver board
Cut the now-unused forward ground wire from the battery contact
Cut the now-unused rear ground wire from the main (LCD) board
It is important that you CUT these two wires -- do not unsolder them, the ends are needed to make the connection from the transistor to the ground plane.
There are two heavy black ground wires coming from the battery contact. Cut away the one whose other end you have just cut from the transceiver board.
Finally, cut away the remnant of the heavy black ground wire that used to connect the main board to the transceiver board. Be VERY carefull, there are two such wires quite close together here. You want to remove the one that you just cut away from the transceiver board, not the one that goes forward to the IR-LED.
The wiring mod is now completed, and should result in roughly a 100 foot range increase.
Re-assemble the body halves, being carefull not to catch any wires between the screw posts, in the battery-tray channel, or between the distrubution board (in the pistol grip) and the right side of the body.
I usually find it best to start with the one large screw near the butt of the pistol grip, so that it will hold the body halves together while I install the two machine screws holding the buttplate on. Then I do the two small screws in the reload lever, and finally the remaining 8 large screws holding the body halves together.
Remember, if the body halves don't go cleanly back together, you've got something trapped in between! Tightening the screws down to "force it back together" is likely to cut one or more of the delicate internal wires. Take your time and investigate anything that doesn't go back together exactly the way it came apart.
