My first av bay!

[ascastil]

I ordered a LOC Vulcanite and was going to put my Eggfinder in the nose cone. I watched a video on how to do it and loved the idea. Totally excited I ordered a few extra centering rings and bulkhead disks. Unfortunately, none of those had a very good fit inside the nosecone, so I improvised and am pretty happy with the results of my brainstorming.

I took the first disk, drilled three holes and installed some small bolts with nylon nuts and glued it to the inside of the payload tube far down enough for the nosecone to fit.


I also drilled three matching holes on the remaining disk. This top disk will be where Ill glue the sled with battery and Eggfinder. That finished assembly will be attached to the three bolts on the first disk thats glued in.


The nosecone will slide down over top of everything and the antenna will be up inside the nosecone.


Ill get some material to finish the sled up this weekend. Do I drill holes where I want everything to be positioned on the sled and use zipties to secure them? Thats what I was thinking of doing. Not to bad at my first attempt I think. Cant wait to see what it looks like all finished up.

 

[OverTheTop]

I use screws and spacers between the electronics and the sled. Get yourself a small collection of small screws as it will come in handy! For spacers I have been known to cut short lengths of plastic tubing that you can buy at hardware stores. It is insulating, which can be a good thing with some of the altimeters!

For batteries I use two cable ties, but I also use Velcro between the battery and the sled. The ties just hold the battery down, the Velcro does most of the work (shear stresses). BTW, don't overtighten the cable ties on the LiPos as the battery can be damaged.

An examples:






Wires threaded through holes in the sled tend to remain in place. I also use CA glue to tack wires to the sleds to stop them flapping about.

Might be some ideas there you could use.

 

[Cl(VII)]

The holes in the board are good size for 4-40 screws. Like was said use screws for the board, but MAKE SURE NOT TO SHORT ANYTHING WITH THE METAL SCREWS. I use a metal screw at the top near the antenna, and a nylon one at the bottom of the board because the LED is REALLY close to the hole. You can also use a nylon standoff or other insulator between the crew and the board.

I also prefer zip ties for my batteries.

Make sure to secure the NC well to the body tube. I have a similar setup on a 54 mm MD rocket where the bulkhead the tracking sled attaches to is in the body, and the cone slips over. I use M4 set screws through the body tube into the NC shoulder to secure everything, but button head screws would work well too if you aren't trying to squeeze out every last ft of altitude.

Good luck finishing it up.

 

[ascastil]

Im guessing the m4 set screws wont work well on a papertube since it cant really be threaded? What about the nose cone, will the set screws thread into a plastic nosecone? Im building this kit for my first mile attempt. I was thinking push pins but I also realize those will cause drag.

 

[Cl(VII)]

Im guessing the m4 set screws wont work well on a papertube since it cant really be threaded? What about the nose cone, will the set screws thread into a plastic nosecone? Im building this kit for my first mile attempt. I was thinking push pins but I also realize those will cause drag.

I would probably go with button head screws in your case. Unless you are tower launching the drag of the launch lug or rail buttons will be more than any screw. Your NC shoulder is really short though. Might be prone to tear out with screws. If you aren't extremely worried about appearance you may be able to just friction fit the cone well, and run a full circle of aluminum tape around the joint for security.

As for screws and plastic nose cones. They do thread well into plastic nose cones. Find a drill and tap table that includes different materials, and follow the hole size guidance for plastic, then just use the screw itself to tap the hole if you don't have a tap set.

If you mean push pins like for a cork board, yes those will be a lot of drag. Whatever you do it is best to soak some thin CA into cardboard, let it dry, then sand it smooth to strengthen the cardboard whenever you put in a pin, screw, plastic rivet etc. in

Someone I'll be along with an elegant suggestion I'd imagine.

 

[ascastil]

Oops. I meant plastic push rivets.

 

[Tim51]

I ordered a LOC Vulcanite and was going to put my Eggfinder in the nosecone

The nosecone will slide down over top of everything and the antenna will be up inside the nosecone.
View attachment 323913
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Nice. What brand/type of antenna is that, exactly?

 

[ascastil]

Cant recall. It comes with the Eggfinder. I believe the details are on the Eggfinder website.

 

[Cl(VII)]

Oops. I meant plastic push rivets.

You should be good then if you strengthen the tube with CA, and keep then as far back as possible. Drilling the tube will be much cleaner if you soak in the CA prior to drilling.

 

[ascastil]

Sorry, what do you mean as far back?

 

[Tim51]

Cant recall. It comes with the Eggfinder. I believe the details are on the Eggfinder website.

Ok thanks - I must have missed it on the ET website - my EF came with the stick antenna and the longer rubber duckie.

 

[Cl(VII)]

Ok thanks - I must have missed it on the ET website - my EF came with the stick antenna and the longer rubber duckie.

He appears to have an EF-mini which comes with that antenna.

 

[Tim51]

He appears to have an EF-mini which comes with that antenna.

Ah, yes - I should have looked closer. Thanks.