RRC3 Issue

I have been having issues with my RRC3. When I hook it up to MDACS, it shows continuity most of the time on main even though nothing is connected (drogue is acting fine). I hook up an igniter, and test fire it with MDACS, and it fires perfectly.


I bring it out to the launch pad, and I can only get drogue continutiy. I figure it has the same issue as with what happened in mDACS, and proceeded to fly it (the rocket I flew it in could survive a drogue descent with no main).


Anyway, the main didn't fire. I hooked it up after flight and it showed main continuity. I then test fired the charge with a battery and it was fine.




Any suggestions as to why this may have happened?

why guess? call Jim.

Check your settings to be sure you've got all the right beeps...

I will assume 2 things.

1. In your bench test, the e-match was connected directly to the RRC3 terminal blocks (drogue and main)
2. In your rocket, you have a separate wire running from the RRC3 terminal blocks to a separate terminal block outside of the altimeter bay.

In case #2, odds are you have a corroded or broken intermediary wire or terminal block. While everything may appear to be fine and hooked up securely, something is preventing you from getting continuity. This could also result in positive continuity if you fiddle around with the wires a bit, only to lose continuity later when it's least convenient.

Dan,
I had the exact same setup (ematch running directly to altimeter) with the exact same igniters (the ones crazy jim sells). I also tested continuity with a multimeter to double check my setup before it was loaded into the rocket.

I have contacted Jim already.


Thanks for the suggestion.

Ummmmmm......... I hope it's not like my experience with a Raven altimeter. I was stupid and used a spring clamp to hold the large capacitor to the board while the epoxy underneath it set. Clamp slipped and snapped on the board.
After that, the slightest torsion/shock of the board caused the unit to reset and generally mis-behave. Now of course not flyable. My fault entirely and not worth making the makers' life tedious over it.

I hope a gremlin/malfunction didn't enter into your RRC3 although the cost is more tenable as opposed to a Raven III. Kurt

If I'm reading your post correctly, you show continuity with nothing connected? Sometimes, or always? That indicates a short. You should contact MissileWorks about having them bench test it for you. If it indicates continuity without an igniter, even sometimes, it should not be flown.

I had an RRC2 back in the day direct from Missileworks. Similar type of deal. Turned out there was a solder bridge between two pins of the drogue connector.