Estes Launch Help

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Fanatic01

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Hello Everyone.

This is my first post on this forum and am rather new to rockets but have used them before.

I recently bought the Estes solar scout set for a friend but I can not get the controller to ignite the igniters. At first I simply tried shooting it off when we went to the local field and everything appeared to be working correctly. I attached the clips to the igniter and inserted the key which turned on the light as it normally would. I hit the button but nothing.... Then I made sure the igniter was touching the propellent and it was. At this time I knew something wasn't right. I removed the rocket and engine from the launch pad and connected the clips from the controller to see if the circuit was working and it was, the light came on when I pressed the key in and went out when i pressed the button. Since the circuit was working I then took just the igniter with no engine and connected everything together as I did before. I followed the same procedure and the igniter did not light. I tried switching the clips thinking maybe polarity might be the cause still to no prevail. I ended up trying all 8 igniters that I had (4 from each rocket) without an engine and all of them did not light. At this point I went home and checked the 9v battery within the controller. The battery read 9.26v on my multimeter out of the controller. In the controller the battery read 6.86v without the key in and the same 9.26v when the key is in. I guess this is normal when the key is not in to prevent too much voltage and accidentally launching the rocket.

Anyways I can not for the life of me figure out why the thing doesn't ignite the igniters. I tried 2 different 9v batteries at home in the yard trying to get the igniter to light but they just aren't. Hopefully I didn't miss anything in my post. Any other suggestiongs would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Were the Clips touching, or were they touching the Base Plate of the Pad? If they were, the current was likely shorting through that rather than through the Ni-Chrome Filament at the tip of the Ignitor. Try Igniting an Ignitor without a Motor, and while making sure that the Clips are not touching eachother.

ETA: Oops, did'nt completely read your Post, you tried that already. Well, you came to the right Place anyhow.
Welcome Aboard.
 
You are holding the key down while pushing the launch button, right?

I don't really understand what's going on with the voltage reading with the battery in the controller but the key not in. There should be no load across it at that time (LED is not lit, no current through the clips/ignitor) so the voltage should be the same as if the battery was not connected at all. I'd expect the voltage to drop a little bit when the key goes in and the LED lights, then go rather lower when attempting to fire the ignitor.
 
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Voltage at the clips will drop since there is resistance in the circuit.

i'll bet you are not using a fresh ALKALINE battery. If you are using a "Heavy Duty" battery then you fell for the marketing B.S. of a battery company. Estes always says to use fresh ALKALINE batteries for all of their controllers as they can deliver more current.

Hello Everyone.

This is my first post on this forum and am rather new to rockets but have used them before.

I recently bought the Estes solar scout set for a friend but I can not get the controller to ignite the igniters. At first I simply tried shooting it off when we went to the local field and everything appeared to be working correctly. I attached the clips to the igniter and inserted the key which turned on the light as it normally would. I hit the button but nothing.... Then I made sure the igniter was touching the propellent and it was. At this time I knew something wasn't right. I removed the rocket and engine from the launch pad and connected the clips from the controller to see if the circuit was working and it was, the light came on when I pressed the key in and went out when i pressed the button. Since the circuit was working I then took just the igniter with no engine and connected everything together as I did before. I followed the same procedure and the igniter did not light. I tried switching the clips thinking maybe polarity might be the cause still to no prevail. I ended up trying all 8 igniters that I had (4 from each rocket) without an engine and all of them did not light. At this point I went home and checked the 9v battery within the controller. The battery read 9.26v on my multimeter out of the controller. In the controller the battery read 6.86v without the key in and the same 9.26v when the key is in. I guess this is normal when the key is not in to prevent too much voltage and accidentally launching the rocket.

Anyways I can not for the life of me figure out why the thing doesn't ignite the igniters. I tried 2 different 9v batteries at home in the yard trying to get the igniter to light but they just aren't. Hopefully I didn't miss anything in my post. Any other suggestiongs would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
I guess the only thing that might be wrong is the 9v battery I'm using but I've tried 3 around the house which showed they had a good charge on my battery tester. I will buy a brand new duracell or something and see if it helps.
 
Seem's like this is the "NEW" Astron II launch controller with a single 9 volt battery. If I recall correctly - there is a "safety" feature built in the controller. It's designed to prevent an accidental launch by folks who absent mindedly leave the safety key in and accidently touch the launch button.

When you are ready to launch, push down very firmly on the safety key - and hold it down. Push much harder than you would think. Then push (and hold) the launch button. You can "test" this to see if it makes a difference by connecting to an igniter without inserting into a motor. As already mentioned, fresh alkaline battery works best.

Hint - make sure the two metal clips are NOT touching each other.
 
I also have had similar trouble with my Estes launch controller. I thought I had placed four brand new AA alkaline batteries in the controller, but could not get the bulb to light. I even wiggled the "key" in the hole before and while pressing the launch button, but nothing worked. I also did not hold the launch button down for very long, thinking that there might be a dead short, and not wanting to blow all four of the batteries on that.

I gave up after two attempts, walked back to the car, broke open the camping lantern 6 volt battery, and a separate pair of wires on which I had clamped two different alligator clips. After holding the wires to the battery for two seconds, each of two engines ignited and launched without problem! Yay, McGiver!
 
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