SMT Designs introduces the 38mm Compact Bay Kit
- Thread starter SteveThatcher
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Wow - nice
rharshberger
Well-Known Member
Will it work with bluetube couplers Steve, and will you have one at SodBlaster I can check out?
SteveThatcher
SMT Designs
Hi Rich, the thin wall version is for BlueTube. I have spent the last weeks condensing the 38mm bay parts down to fit in the MadCow thick wall tubing (surprising how 0.75mm thicker walls makes a lot of difference and along with another very patient forum member here that needed support for the thick wall couplers).
I will have at least the assembled bay with me for you to see. I will bring stock kits if I can fit the time in to build more than the orders I need to complete and ship.
See you there!
best regards, Steve
rharshberger
Well-Known Member
Thanks for answering so quickly, see you in a bit over a week and a half.
SteveThatcher
SMT Designs
Looking forward to it!
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Nice. However, I am a bit confused on how to connect everything together with the user-supplied coupler and airframe. Looks like you have holes in the sled pre-tapped for mounting screws, but drilling the exact same hole pattern in coupler/airframe would be difficult. More pics?
The price is fantastic.
The price is fantastic.
captbk
Well-Known Member
I think that green fiberglass with half the side cutout is the coupler (you supply) and you get the two bulkheads with O-rings and sled?
I could be wrong but thats how I interpret the pic. The coupler being cut open like that is just for looks?
I could be wrong but thats how I interpret the pic. The coupler being cut open like that is just for looks?
SteveThatcher
SMT Designs
I am in the process of getting coupler tube and body tube assistants listed. Here is a photo of two of the assistants at work...They are basically a tube with holes around the circumference to mark where holes need to be drilled as well as cutting the window in the bay if you choose to make your bay that way.
If you choose to assemble a bay with a switch band around a coupler, then you still mark the holes the same way. To replace the battery, you do need to take off one end of the bay (three screws) and unscrew the deploy posts, then you can slide the entire bay assemble out of the coupler tube.
The coupler assistant had a ridge at the bottom which acts like a stop (think cap), so you can only put the tube in so far over the coupler. If you have two of the coupler assistants, you can put one on end end and then the space between the two assistants becomes the sled length you need or to use to mark the tube for a specific length sled you wanted to use.
The body tube assistant is just a tube that slides over the air frame and you tape it in place to mark holes once you have it where you wanted the bay to go.
Both assistants also have two notches at the top to align with a penciled line down the tubes.
Best regards, Steve
SteveThatcher
SMT Designs
The green coupler, battery, and altimeter is not included. What you get is nine modular parts that the bay is constructed from, all the hardware needed to put those parts together, the o-rings, and the kevlar cord. If you buy a kit from a company, they typically have a coupler tube they call an electronics bay.
The windowed bay is how I have built electronic bays for years. It is just my preference. I bought a MadCow Rogue4 last year, bought an additional coupler tube and a few other parts. Here is photo of what I designed and the 3d printed parts were prototype concepts I had been working on for some time.
A person can use a kit supplied tube with a switch band and not build it like I did. The field prep is more time consuming just like any totally closed bay would be. The window format I use just allows me to replace batteries, and even replace an altimeter if I want to.
I hope that answers your questions.
Best regards, Steve
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