Altimeter Bay Setup Kit?

[davalf]

I had ordered an altimeter wiring kit from someone on the rocketryplanet auctions. It came with electrical quick disconnects, terminals, and instructions. It is a great buy. It had got me thinking. The biggest pain on my current project was ordering so many different things from so many different places. The shipping costs quickly added up.

I was thinking of putting together an altimeter bay set up kit. It would contain the same things as the wiring kit plus a battery holder, key switch, shear pins, altimeter mounting hardware, and plastic rivets.

If I did this, would anybody be interested in buying it. I am not looking to make a lot of money, I would just be doing it for my own enjoyment. If people show interest, I will make a couple and ship them out at no charge for a couple of people to review them. Let me know what you think.

Thanks
Dave

 

[OverLord]

I have a build or two working and will give a kit a shot. I'll do a complete build thread here with your kit. Just waiting on my airfarame to get started!

Mike

 

[n5wd]

I was thinking of putting together an altimeter bay set up kit...would anybody be interested in buying it.

Probably. I've bought six or seven of the kits off the auction and though I could put the stuff together myself, I (a) don't have enough time to go scrounging now and (b) it's nice to have a bag of stuff ready to go at 3AM when I get a wild desire to work.

 

[Mikus]

I had ordered an altimeter wiring kit from someone on the rocketryplanet auctions. It came with electrical quick disconnects, terminals, and instructions. It is a great buy. It had got me thinking. The biggest pain on my current project was ordering so many different things from so many different places. The shipping costs quickly added up.

I was thinking of putting together an altimeter bay set up kit. It would contain the same things as the wiring kit plus a battery holder, key switch, shear pins, altimeter mounting hardware, and plastic rivets.

If I did this, would anybody be interested in buying it. I am not looking to make a lot of money, I would just be doing it for my own enjoyment. If people show interest, I will make a couple and ship them out at no charge for a couple of people to review them. Let me know what you think.

Thanks
Dave

Depends on the price but I would definitely be interested. :2:

 

[Adrian A]

Depends on the price but I would definitely be interested. :2:

Funny you should mention that... I'm working on some prototypes now for Raven av-bays. An altimeter connector, a battery, 2 bulkheads, deployment charge terminals and magnet-activated arm switch will be included, for 24mm, 29mm, and 38mm. Maybe couplers, too. All av-bays are 2" long, bulkhead to bulkhead, and the 38mm version will have a built-in battery charger.

See

https://www.rocketryplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5959

for the development thread.

 

[cwbullet]

I am goign to give the raven a tets in 2 weeks. I can't wait to try out the AV bay when they are read.

 

[davalf]

Adrien that seems like it will be a real nice setup. The only way this will be cost effective for myself and the buyer is if I am able to find everything locally. I was hoping to have the kit go for about $20.

Dave

 

[sylvie369]

All av-bays are 2" long, bulkhead to bulkhead, and the 38mm version will have a built-in battery charger.

2" long? Really? Are there photos of the prototypes anywhere? You have piqued my interest. :eyepop:

 

[Adrian A]

2" long? Really? Are there photos of the prototypes anywhere? You have piqued my interest. :eyepop:

Really. 2" bulkhead-to-bulkhead. From one end of the deployment charge terminal threaded rod to the other is 2.5". And the 29mm and 38mm av-bays also accommodate a beeline tracker in the same 2" long av-bay. Hopefully photos will be in a few days. The 24mm version is crazy small; I had to use a smaller arming MOSFET and 2-56 rods for the terminals.

A Featherweight av-bay, indeed.

I can't wait to see if the magnetic arming design works. The concept is to hold a magnet close to the av-bay and the altimeter turns on, move it away and bring it close again and it turns off. No more oversized vent holes or arm switch wiring. Fingers crossed.

 

[Marlin523]

I'm very interested in seeing what you put together. Will you post here or will you send PM?

 

[Adrian A]

I'm very interested in seeing what you put together. Will you post here or will you send PM?

I'll continue the development thread on Rocketry Planet, and I'll probably make a separate Featherweight Av-bay thread here on TRF when I get closer to production, so I don't completely hijack this one.

 

[sylvie369]

The magnetic switch arming sounds extremely cool as well. I assume that you can tell that the altimeter is armed by listening to the beeps, right?

A reliable magnetic switch that could be used with other devices would be a game-changer, I think. I'm right at the point where I have to drill holes for switches (or twist-and-tuck wires) for an electronics bay that holds two devices. I'd rather not.

 

[Adrian A]

The magnetic switch arming sounds extremely cool as well. I assume that you can tell that the altimeter is armed by listening to the beeps, right?

Right.

 

[cwbullet]

As I said before, I am game. $20 is respectable.

 

[sylvie369]

I'm sorry - I feel like we're hijacking the original thread, but I'm terribly curious.

How does the Beeline tracker fit in the bay? Does the little wire antenna stick out one end? Or are you expecting some other antenna option?
===========
Sorry, Dave. I think your idea has a lot of merit, especially as I just spent three days running around collecting parts for an electronics bay myself. The place with the good threaded rod doesn't have usable PVC caps, and so on.

 

[Adrian A]

I'm sorry - I feel like we're hijacking the original thread, but I'm terribly curious.

How does the Beeline tracker fit in the bay? Does the little wire antenna stick out one end? Or are you expecting some other antenna option?

Yes, the Beeline's antenna sticks through one of the bulkheads. I'm designing the hole location around the version of the Beeline with the USB interface.