geof
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I'm doing my first DD, which is also first time with electronics. Generally, I'm doing ok but I feel confused about the switch. Schematically, the contents of my av bay look like the sketch (ignoring the drogue). I want a switch on the side of the rocket, accessible from the outside, to turn the altimeter (RRC2) on/off.
The guy who sold me the altimeter also gave me a switch, shown in the photo. He said that when the lever is depressed, the switch is "off", and when the lever is up, it's "on". Left alone, the switch springs to the "on" position, as shown in the photo. If I use some sort of pin inserted from the outside to keep the switch depressed, then I could pull the pin to arm the device.
1. How would I attach the switch to the interior altimeter wall, position it, etc, so that a pin would have enough guidance and assurance of keeping the lever down? I have positioned the switch next to a piece of scrap tube in the orientation that I think things would need to be set up (but inside the tube, of course!).
2. In the shown position, the up-down motion of the lever is in the same forward/aft direction of travel of the rocket. This seems bad to me in case the g-force compresses the switch during liftoff, unintentionally powering down the device. However, imagine rotating the switch 90 degrees on its long axis (i.e., "rolling" the switch one side towards you in the photo). Then the switch lever would not have this problem. Is that advisable?
3. The switch has 3 prongs, numbered 1, 3, 2. It is my understanding that I attach the + and - wires to the 1 and 2 prongs (which way, or does it matter?) and I leave 3 alone. Is that right?
4. This whole pull-the-pin setup scares me because it seems sort of delicate. Would it be preferable to get a rotating key switch or a rocker switch that illuminates when "on"? If so, what's a good vendor link?
Thanks for any help you can offer.
The guy who sold me the altimeter also gave me a switch, shown in the photo. He said that when the lever is depressed, the switch is "off", and when the lever is up, it's "on". Left alone, the switch springs to the "on" position, as shown in the photo. If I use some sort of pin inserted from the outside to keep the switch depressed, then I could pull the pin to arm the device.
1. How would I attach the switch to the interior altimeter wall, position it, etc, so that a pin would have enough guidance and assurance of keeping the lever down? I have positioned the switch next to a piece of scrap tube in the orientation that I think things would need to be set up (but inside the tube, of course!).
2. In the shown position, the up-down motion of the lever is in the same forward/aft direction of travel of the rocket. This seems bad to me in case the g-force compresses the switch during liftoff, unintentionally powering down the device. However, imagine rotating the switch 90 degrees on its long axis (i.e., "rolling" the switch one side towards you in the photo). Then the switch lever would not have this problem. Is that advisable?
3. The switch has 3 prongs, numbered 1, 3, 2. It is my understanding that I attach the + and - wires to the 1 and 2 prongs (which way, or does it matter?) and I leave 3 alone. Is that right?
4. This whole pull-the-pin setup scares me because it seems sort of delicate. Would it be preferable to get a rotating key switch or a rocker switch that illuminates when "on"? If so, what's a good vendor link?
Thanks for any help you can offer.