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Marlin523

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Tell me what's wrong with this? Instead of building the bay in the rocket how about having a bay with eye hooks on both sides? The bay sits inside the rocket but ejects. This would allow you to use it with multiple rockets and make the switch quickly.
 
If you've got a barometric altimeter, how would you vent it to the outside? With an accelerometer, it would probably work fine.

-Ken
 
I use the 'slide in bay' method on HPR, there are a few issues including;

1) vents
Not a big problem, I put holes in both the body tube and the 'bay tube' line them up not a problem. I make the holes larger in the 'bay tube' to make sure it lines up.

2)Attachement
How do you keep the e-bay where you want it in the body tube? I have screws that run thru the body tube and screw into the e-bay. I use floating nutplates to make is simpler to line up. I'm building a new slide in e-bay, for this one I am using a hard stop bonded into the tube plus screws (only can slide in from one side)

3) Sealing / Blow By
This is one of the harder problems, how do you keep gas from one side of the e-bay getting to the other side (between the body tube and e-bay). I have been using a 'flange' of PVC tape, the kind you use to wrap gas pipes. It is conformal enough to fit in the corner, It works but does have a bit of 'cheesiness' SP? to it. On future ones I plan to use a neoprene gasket or even an o ring. I'm sure I am over thinking the blow by issue, I worry about two things, the 'pulse' passing by the barometer holes and causing problems, and the corrosive nature of the BP charges causing problems with the electronics.

4) Switches
I offset the e-bay tube where the switches are and have a mating hole in the body tube. Used this with slide switches and also key switches. On my new e-bay I am installing floating nut plates and forming a lexan door, cutting a square out of the body tube that will be filled in with the lexan. This way i can see the switches but have a flush surface.

If you are interested I can dig up some pictures of the last one, i should have the 'new improved e-bay done in a week or so.
 
found one picture of the e-bay

The holes with the floating nut plates have rivets on each side (the rivets hold the nutplate in place). You can see one of the vent holes, it is the hole without rivets on the side.

The stripe and chevron were added to help line the e-bay up. I would slide it in and the spin it until I saw the line on one particular hole in the body tube. The chevron was added to help me figure out if i was past the hole or not.

color coded so i Didn't put it in backwards (clouds up) white forward for the main and (flame back) red for the drogue.

e-bay.JPG
 
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