TangoJuliet
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2016
- Messages
- 1,239
- Reaction score
- 13
Howdy Y'all! I haven't flown model rockets in almost 30 years and Holy Cow! a lot has changed! In my pre-teens and teens I competed in NAR sanctioned events with the Summit City Aerospace Modelers (SCAM) in Ft. Wayne, IN, where I grew up, until I joined the USAF in 1989 and could afford R/C airplanes - which I still enjoy. Anywho... I recently found myself reminiscing about my rocket days while watching some YouTube videos. I decided I wanted to re-live some of that fun, and pulled the trigger on a North Coast Rocketry Laserhawk kit from Apogee Rockets.
After all these years away, I need to replenish my Ground Support Equipment. I could easily purchase a launch controller that would handle LPR/MPR, but I'm wondering if I could make one for less? What I'd like to have is one that uses a 12V Gel-cell (that I already own for my R/C field box), and perhaps have the expandability to launch 3 rockets at once (ala "Drag Race") if I were to use it in conjunction with some of the local school programs.
My biggest challenge to attempting this is that I'm electronically ignorant! Simply... I've never had a course in electronics. I haven't even used a multimeter in over 20 years! I can solder two wires together with good results, but I can't read a wiring diagram, and I don't have the comprehension required to understand the requisite components necessary to create what I want/need.
I'm kind of hoping someone here has already done this a time or two and can provide me with a Bill of Materials and a "Diagram For Dummies" that I could follow to build my own. Assembling all the parts doesn't appear too difficult to me, but knowing what parts to get, and how to properly create the circuit with the required "Safety" measures is beyond me.
After all these years away, I need to replenish my Ground Support Equipment. I could easily purchase a launch controller that would handle LPR/MPR, but I'm wondering if I could make one for less? What I'd like to have is one that uses a 12V Gel-cell (that I already own for my R/C field box), and perhaps have the expandability to launch 3 rockets at once (ala "Drag Race") if I were to use it in conjunction with some of the local school programs.
My biggest challenge to attempting this is that I'm electronically ignorant! Simply... I've never had a course in electronics. I haven't even used a multimeter in over 20 years! I can solder two wires together with good results, but I can't read a wiring diagram, and I don't have the comprehension required to understand the requisite components necessary to create what I want/need.
I'm kind of hoping someone here has already done this a time or two and can provide me with a Bill of Materials and a "Diagram For Dummies" that I could follow to build my own. Assembling all the parts doesn't appear too difficult to me, but knowing what parts to get, and how to properly create the circuit with the required "Safety" measures is beyond me.