I've been hesitating to mention this. But since Mg has come up. I put Ti sponge in my pyrogen. The starters burn like sparklers.
Another explanation for that stubborn D motor is that there was a bit of clay from the formation of the nozzle at least partially blocking the bottom of the propellant and that you got the Sonic in to exposed powder on that third try. If I have two misfires in a row (and the igniter is not shorted) I suspect, and usually find, clay where there shouldn't be any. I've lately had a couple of A10s with this issue and have seen it in other motors up to and including F15s (29mm motors) on occasion.
We've fired hundreds of the current generation Solar Starters from our club system which was powered for years with a 12V garden tractor battery, but more recently from a 5Ah 3 cell LiPoly battery (12.6V at full charge) and not had repeated misfires unless there were installation issues (again, shorts). Now our club system has pretty small gauge wiring going from the panel to the pad (and it is NOT a relay setup) so we may effectively be doing what you suggest.
On the other hand, I also have a 3-pad system I built which has 16 gauge speaker wire for the panel-to-pad wiring, which I use at small launches, and misfire rates are similar. It, too, is powered with a 3-cell LiPoly pack.
That one will have to wait until I have more of them....which I hope to be able to get at NSL. I assume you mean three at once, as in a cluster application.I would just like to see 3 new ones at a time, at 240 fps. That should be enough to give us an idea about consistency.
Originally I thought that NiMH AAs (which I have tons of lying around) would have has much juice as alkaline C batteries, so I rigged it up to give that a try. I did not have good luck with it, possibly because my rechargeables are too old. Dunno.6 AAs in the PSII controller? Not Cs? If I may ask...why?
I don't buy C's or D's anymore. I have adapters that you plug 3 AAs (for a C) and 4 AAs (for a D) into.Originally I thought that NiMH AAs (which I have tons of lying around) would have has much juice as alkaline C batteries, so I rigged it up to give that a try. I did not have good luck with it, possibly because my rechargeables are too old. Dunno.
Subsequently, because I never use the thing to actually launch rockets, I just threw some AA alkalines in there which seems more than adequate for a paperweight. Yes, I wish I had some proper C batteries to try it with, but I don't want to buy them just to sit and rot.
Originally I thought that NiMH AAs (which I have tons of lying around) would have has much juice as alkaline C batteries, so I rigged it up to give that a try. I did not have good luck with it, possibly because my rechargeables are too old. Dunno.
Subsequently, because I never use the thing to actually launch rockets, I just threw some AA alkalines in there which seems more than adequate for a paperweight. Yes, I wish I had some proper C batteries to try it with, but I don't want to buy them just to sit and rot.
Related to the general discussion, my EmeterII can sample at up to 8 times per second, so I may try to set up some current measurements of the various types here....
When I performed all fire testing on the Estes Solar igniter I recorded the current using a DATAQ DI-194 system. Too slow (240SPS) to pick up some things like oscillation in the current source but fast enough once that was tamed. The data was disgustingly predictable since the bridgewire never burned through with my tests near the all fire current. Always a 100ms pulse at whatever the selected current was.I for one, would be quite interested in seeing current vs time measurement graphs for the various starters. 8 samples per second seems like it should show a good amount of information for comparison of the different starter types.
When I performed all fire testing on the Estes Solar igniter I recorded the current using a DATAQ DI-194 system. Too slow (240SPS) to pick up some things like oscillation in the current source but fast enough once that was tamed. The data was disgustingly predictable since the bridgewire never burned through with my tests near the all fire current. Always a 100ms pulse at whatever the selected current was.
Since I used a regulated current source, voltage mattered not at all.
If I used 1 Volt then the regulator would not be able to reach the set current. If I used 1,000 Volts then the regulator would dissipate several kilowatts of power. Except that the parts it was built from aren't capable of that and it would generate a loud bang.What if you used only 1 Volt? Or 1,000 Volts?
If I used 1 Volt then the regulator would not be able to reach the set current. If I used 1,000 Volts then the regulator would dissipate several kilowatts of power. Except that the parts it was built from aren't capable of that and it would generate a loud bang.
Power (in Watts) = I^2 * R
To verify that the applied current had the expected magnitude and limited duration.If you are using a regulated current source then what's the purpose of graphing current vs time?
Some time ago I looked at some Energizer spec sheets to see how different the internal resistance is between AA, C, and D cells. Much to my surprise, they're not different at all. The bigger cells will last longer, but the short circuit current (or low resistance load current) from fresh ones should all be the same.Subsequently, because I never use the thing to actually launch rockets, I just threw some AA alkalines in there which seems more than adequate for a paperweight. Yes, I wish I had some proper C batteries to try it with, but I don't want to buy them just to sit and rot.
That means putting three of four internal resistances in parallel, which means three or four times the short circuit current. Which is not always better, but often is, soI'm glad that I've learned today about these adapters. I might want to get some.I don't buy C's or D's anymore. I have adapters that you plug 3 AAs (for a C) and 4 AAs (for a D) into.
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Paral...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
Years ago Quest had the best igniters for BP Motors and certainly the best igniters for cluster motor launches.
Now they have to reinvent the wheel.
Why ? “Regulatory advice” is the phrase Bill Stine used at the NARAM Manufacturers Forum in 2014. Since then the China sourced Q2G2s disappeared and Estes went to the clear tipped starters that are being phased out now. No mystery, no conspiracy.Huh? Why? If you have a product that works (and works well), why would you have to improve on it?
Why ? “Regulatory advice” is the phrase Bill Stine used at the NARAM Manufacturers Forum in 2014. Since then the China sourced Q2G2s disappeared and Estes went to the clear tipped starters that are being phased out now. No mystery, no conspiracy.
Ha ! Only for you Ez ! Whatcha gonna do ? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you ?In other words, here comes the BATFE again ?
Dave F.
What? How I am supposed to keep up? What was wrong with the good, old “Solar” igniter?
I have a big box of the old Solar Igniters (collection left over from many launches). I will save those for my cluster launches.As soon as I can get my hands on some I'm trying them out on clusters.
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