Circa 1979 Igniter Clip Finally Gives Up the Ghost

[brockrwood]

An igniter clip I soldered onto a launch controller wire sometime between 1977 and 1980 finally broke. They don’t make ‘em like they used to. ;-)

I need to fix this launch controller before tomorrow morning but have no replacement clip in my current location. Sigh.

Stop gap solution? Paper clip?

 

[tsmith1315]

That looks repairable, is it a broken spring?

 

[Rob Campbell]

Wow! You got about 45 years of service out of that clip. I'd say you got your money's worth.

 

[Handeman]

Unless you need it for Estes igniters, you can just bare some wire and wrap the igniter lead around it.

 

[brockrwood]

That looks repairable, is it a broken spring?

It might be repairable. In my old age, I am getting lazy. I will just solder a new clip to the wire after I get some new clips from the hardware store. No launch today because of torrential rain. . I bet the new clip doesn’t last over 40 years.

 

[techrat]

Clean it with vinegar and then alcohol, resolder onto the wire. How hard is that?

 

[techrat]

Oh, the spring came out? If you can't find an aligator clip at a hardware store or jewelry shop, it turns out you can google DIY crocodile clip and get instructables on making your own.

 

[tsmith1315]

I will just solder a new clip to the wire after I get some new clips from the hardware store

And here I am thinking you're a fellow Frugal Rocketeer!




We all fall off the wagon occasionally...

 

[brockrwood]

And here I am thinking you're a fellow Frugal Rocketeer!




We all fall off the wagon occasionally...

Mission almost accomplished.



Kind of wanted the little ones with the “flat” teeth, but these are the only kind the local hardware store stocks. The flat kind are easier to “clean up” with a piece of sandpaper.

 

[brockrwood]

Oh, the spring came out? If you can't find an aligator clip at a hardware store or jewelry shop, it turns out you can google DIY crocodile clip and get instructables on making your own.

It did come out. The two pieces of clip separated and it popped out. The heavily oxidized piece of wire stuck onto the clip won’t come off even when heated up with the soldering iron. Sadly, the time and effort to fix the broken clip is no longer justified. Just bought some new clips. Occasionally I do give up and just throw out old things and replace with new things. But only occasionally!

 

[brockrwood]

Unless you need it for Estes igniters, you can just bare some wire and wrap the igniter lead around it.

I am using Estes igniters as this clip is for igniting LPR, black powder rocket engines. I considered just using bare wire and twisting it onto the igniter leads. Would that not work? It would be a pain to twist the wires on for each launch.

 

[lakeroadster]

It might be repairable. In my old age, I am getting lazy. I will just solder a new clip to the wire after I get some new clips from the hardware store. No launch today because of torrential rain. . I bet the new clip doesn’t last over 40 years.

run over to McGuckin ... they'll have them

 

[brockrwood]

Crimper question: Which of these crimp shapes in my stripper/cutter/crimper multi-tool will crimp these alligator clips onto a piece of wire? Other than the yellow/red/blue color coded slot, which is for insulated terminals, I am not sure what the rest of these jaws do.

I do have a crimp tool that is just for crimping alligator clips and similar connectors, but I don’t have it at my girlfriend’s house.

(Jeez: Do I need three of each tool? One for each location I might be in at any given time?)








Don’t want to crimp incorrectly as these clips cost me $0.75 each. Maybe I will just use needle nose pliers on the wing things.

I love the way connector manufacturers just assume you know which tool to use and how to use it to attach their connectors.

 

[BEC]

This is my current favorite replacement clip: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SD9MGG7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[teepot]

I have used needle nose plyers to fold the wings over. Then solder. To clean that kind of clip I used a small brass brush.

 

[goose_in_co]

If you are soldering the wire to the alligator clip, then the crimp is not critical. just fold the wings over the insulation with enough force to hold the insulation as a strain relief, and just about any tool will work for that. A true crimp will actually flatten the wire in the location of the crimp so that it can't be pulled out easily.

I have both the GB style clips with teeth, and the flat ones like Bernard has mentioned in my launch setup. I have found that over time the flat clips accumulate soot on the flat parts that clip to the ignitor and need to be cleaned often. The ones with teeth I have been using for most of my launches and have yet to clean them, and they are still working fine. This like most things in rocketry seem to be a matter of personal preference and experience.

Goose

 

[BEC]

I have both the GB style clips with teeth, and the flat ones like Bernard has mentioned in my launch setup. I have found that over time the flat clips accumulate soot on the flat parts that clip to the ignitor and need to be cleaned often.

Goose

My go-to tool for cleaning clips is the brass wire brush (https://www.dremel.com/us/en/p/535-02-26150535ab) in a cordless Dremel. I have a couple of the ones that have been variously sold as golf club cleaning tools or pet nail trimmers (that run on four AA cells). One is in my field bag, and one on my work table.

 

[5x7]

Stainless:
https://narts.nar.org/product/stainless-steel-igniter-clips/
Good clips

 

[brockrwood]

Stainless:
https://narts.nar.org/product/stainless-steel-igniter-clips/
Good clips

I had no idea the NAR sold hardware.

 

[Hobie1dog]

I just tossed 4 of those this morning like them.

 

[brockrwood]

This like most things in rocketry seem to be a matter of personal preference and experience.

I hear you. There are often multiple ways to accomplish a task in rocketry. You solicit suggestions from other rocketeers. You select one of the suggested techniques. Or you discard them all and do it “your way”. It’s all good. Still, before I re-invent the wheel, I like to have other rocketeers tell me what has worked, or not worked, for them.

 

[BEC]

Stainless:
https://narts.nar.org/product/stainless-steel-igniter-clips/
Good clips

They are, but they are a pain to solder to…..

 

[brockrwood]

They are, but they are a pain to solder to…..

I learned the hard way that not every metal lends itself to soldering. I had made a Wien Bridge type audio frequency oscillator circuit that was stabilized by a light bulb (google that circuit if you want to know just how nerdy that is - I thought I was Bill Hewlett for a second…)

Anyway, the light bulb of choice to stabilize the circuit is a now hard to find “grain of wheat” lamp of about 50 mA.

A variation of the circuit used an easy to obtain, low watt, holiday “candle stick” type light bulb - the kind that used to be strung on trees before the mini bulbs got popular. I had plenty of those bulbs in the holiday bin, so I decided to make the circuit with one of those bulbs.

The first bulb I grabbed had a brass, screw type base. I soldered a couple of wires to it. It worked!

I decided to make a spare “stabilizer” bulb. I grabbed a similar bulb with an ALUMINUM screw type base.

No amount of trying would get a wire to solder onto that aluminum bulb base. The solder would not stick.

So how do you solder to a piece of aluminum? Do you mechanically attach some solderable type of metal to the aluminum and then solder to that?

 

[BEC]

No idea.

The NARTs clips are stainless steel.

 

[tsmith1315]

So how do you solder to a piece of aluminum?

Tin it with Alusol, then solder to that.

 

[brockrwood]

Tin it with Alusol, then solder to that.

View attachment 533068

 

[brockrwood]

New clips soldered on.






The clip, the 18 gauge lamp wire, and the alligator clip on the “helping hands” gizmo were, all combined, a significant heat sink. It took quite a number of seconds of heating the joint with the 40 watt soldering iron before the solder would melt. The 40 watt iron usually heats things up rapidly. Not this time.

 

[Honest John]

Hey Brock, if you’d like a few of the flat clips, I ordered a pack of 50 after that guy ran over my cable with the mower yesterday. I’d be happy to share, I can’t see me ever using all of them.

 

[brockrwood]

Hey Brock, if you’d like a few of the flat clips, I ordered a pack of 50 after that guy ran over my cable with the mower yesterday. I’d be happy to share, I can’t see me ever using all of them.

That’s ok. I have enough of them in the stash now. Thanks for thinking of me!

 

[brockrwood]

New clips working great in the field!

Pic: