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- Jan 26, 2021
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I was initially questioning if those igniters needed 12V. Igniters need current to ignite and from what I have seen they have low resistance ~1Ω and with ohms law you can get a fair amount of current with low voltages. The website does say that it needs 12V. Does anyone know if these have a current limiting resistor built into the igniter? Or are they just not a sensitive pyrogen?Thanks for the help Adrian, we'll be in touch via email.
And thanks all for the comments, we use 3s Lipos when we're launching 2-stage rockets because we use Aerotech FirstFire ignitors that need 12v. I understand it makes a lot more sense to use different ignitors that need less voltage but that's tricky over here in the UK. Commercial vendors only stock these Aerotech ignitors and thinking about making your own ignitor is a big no no from RSO's.
We have recently been moving towards Cesaroni motors for our sustainers as they come with ignitors that can ignite with a 1s, but this limits us to certain motor configs so we are trying to find alternative solutions to our ignitor problems. Any tips/recommendations would be appreciated!
There are options out there for you.
1. Find an flight computer that will operate on a 3S Lipo. (Simplest solution)
2. Use your 3S Battery, add a voltage converter to get you to 3.7-4.0V to give you a 1S voltage to power the flight converter. You then can use a properly spec'd MOSFET to switch the 3S voltage to the igniter. The output of the flight computer can drive the gate to switch it on and off. Depending on if the flight computer is high or low side switched will change the circuitry on the gate. (More complex, added points of failure, and more testing required) I don't know your appetite for electronics work and the rules of that you need to fall under.