A Leading question

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Elbmod

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Hi folks

I have a question, nay a wondering, or perhaps it might be better described as a musing.....

What do you do with your leads??

I have a multipad relay launcher and spent today sorting out my range boxes, that is until I hit the problem of the leads. There are:
5 Control leads - 20 metres long
5 distributed power leads 10 metres long.
10 igniter connectors - 1 metre long each
1 set of power leads for the launch controller.
ALl in all that's a lot of cable and a pain to sort out and carry around.

Any suggestions?
 
Originally posted by elbmod
Hi folks

I have a question, nay a wondering, or perhaps it might be better described as a musing.....

What do you do with your leads??

I have a multipad relay launcher and spent today sorting out my range boxes, that is until I hit the problem of the leads. There are:
5 Control leads - 20 metres long
5 distributed power leads 10 metres long.
10 igniter connectors - 1 metre long each
1 set of power leads for the launch controller.
ALl in all that's a lot of cable and a pain to sort out and carry around.

Any suggestions?

My wires and my chutes get the samed treatment. They get folded up and stuck in toilet paper or paper towel tubes, and the tubes labeled. The tubes take a bit more room than tightly coiled wire, but they stack neatly. Clips get clipped to the edge of the tube so I can see what's what, and ends other than clips get left protruding for the same reason.
 
I use CD carriers and cake plates....

When/if you buy CDR's by the 50 or 100 pack, they come in a containner shapped like a small cake carrier. It's the diameter of a CD, about 5" tall with a center spindal for the CD. I coil up all my short leads and lay them inside the cover then snap the base on.

FOr long cords, I do the same thing with a cake carrier. It's a plastic dish with a basket type handel and a large plastic cover that is supposed to cover the cake. Makes for a great way to store and carry coiled up cables and whatnot

jim\
 
Elbmod,
I've just made up a 20m control lead for my relay launcher. I'm gonna make a simple spool type thing out of scrap, just two bits of wood with two dowels going paralell between them. Cable just wraps round and round.
 
Hmm...

I like the idea of the cake carrier/spindle box but I'm not convinced they will be big enough. Currently I have a spool from a mains extension lead that held 50 m of cable and it waaaay too small.

The solution I think may lie in multiple approaches, but keep those answers coming....
 
My battery and relay are built into a box that has space inside and in the lid for the hand controller, clip, sandpaper, spare igniters etc, and the cable from the box to the clips.

The long cable lives on the reel it was on when I bought it. I dont think I've ever rolled out all 100m of it!
 
I build all launch systems to be as self-contained as possible. My Relay pad with 8 motor clip leads, 2 sets of special effects leads and 50 feet of control cable, 1/8,3/16 and 1/4" x 36" launch rods all bundle together into a single upside down stack with everything except the battery in one hand.
6 and 12 pad rack systems have 1 or 2 84" u channel rack with a attached 36" capped PVC launch rod holder and a large tote box that contains 3 smaller boxes, one for Clip leads, Blast deflectors/cloths pins standoffs, and alt-az. pad heads, 4 - 30" tube legs, 1 or 2 50 feet of 7 conductor control cables and the launch controller, throw in some fanstatic and a roll of paper towels and a battery the system is 3 pieces
My Solar launcher can be completely self-contained if you only want to use solar energy for launching single estes motors. or if you add and external 12V gel cell has a built-in relay system and capacitor for firing up to 8 motor clusters. 36" x 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4" rods store in one leg, External battery drop leads in the second and the custom made controller with 50 feet of cable store in the third.
My 17 satellite pad system with 30 and 35 foot contol cable and at-the-pad continuity check/ micro-clip leads has the most component pieces, a large box with all 18 (one spare) cable leads, a small tool box with the deflectors, pad heads, aa battries for the check boxes, a long 4" x 4" x 48" box containing 17 42" pad stakes, a PVC capped launch rod tube, Launch controller with canvas carring case and of coarse at least one 12v H/D Battery.
All in all I think its a matter of planning what you want to haul around, how many rockets you'll be launching and How many people will be with you:)
Heres a few pics of the systems.
 
I don't have a single photo of the entire satellite system, here's a pic of a 3/8"= 1'-0" Scale model of the system layout. Kinda dorkie but it was a long cold winter back then;)
next to pics will be the system controller and then one of the complete pads.
 
Micromister - wow. With all that kit to set up how do you find tim to fly??
 
Originally posted by elbmod
Micromister - wow. With all that kit to set up how do you find tim to fly??

Elbmod:
You decide what the Need is for the day, only take the ground support equiment that will fill the bill, gotta ask the Who, what, where and when questions to determine which set-up will best serve the flyers leaving plenty of time to fly;)
 
Extension cord windup reel from Home depot works good for my 100' 15 conductor cable.
 
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