I build airsoft props every now and then for a friend of mine who runs pretty large events on a weekly basis.
For one of the next props, we want to have a device that needs to be transported around and then plugged in to activate a terminal (details really don't matter that much).
In order to easily detect the connection is made I just wanted to have the device output a simple square wave at a certain frequency (on the order of a few kHz) such that it can be detected, and perhaps different devices can be used (say each team gets such a device, and to recognise what team it is, a different frequency is used for each).
This means I need a connector to interface the two, which is what I am stuck on now.
These props need to take a beating. You can tell the guys to "be gentle" as often as you want, but they will forget everything you told them when they are in the heat of the moment and adrenaline is flowing.
Since the events take place in horrible weather in forests, it needs to be able to take mud, water, whatever and still work. It doesn't need a tonne of cycles - even a few hundred is more than enough since it might be plugged in and out one or two times every weekend, and once it is used for a few dozen times it will no longer be used anyways since the players will want new props.
Any suggestions? Something that "looks" military/industrial-like is a bonus. I've thought about N-connectors (that I can get off of aliexpress for cheap) but I think they won't be able to take enough regarding the mud/dirt part.
It's allowed to be a big metal part, this is gonna be a big box. Just needs to not cost 500 bucks for a connector - maybe 10-15 Euro's per connector is a good start? But if that is unreasonable I can always look at alternatives.