threaded rod spacing for LOC altimeter bays?

[mikec]

I recently bought a LOC/Precision EB-3.0 altimeter bay, and was surprised to see that the spacing between the rod centers was not the 2" that I remember from LOC bays years ago, but a tighter 1.4" or so. Not only is this not compatible with my old sleds, IMHO it's just too tight a spacing, as it's not possible to get a 9V battery between the rods with enough space to retain it, making it impossible to mount batteries on that side of the sled.

I'm not sure when this change was made. I asked LOC and they said they hadn't changed the design recently, though admit I haven't purchased one of their bays for several years. (They also said few people used 9V batteries any more, which may be true but I didn't find helpful.) It's a nice product otherwise, and it was easy enough to plug the existing holes and drill new ones, but it definitely made the bay harder for me to use and wasted the sled.

 

[heada]

They changed maybe 5 or 6 years ago I think when they switched to laser cut vs CNC router. And yes, 9V are rare now compared to lipo. Lipo is typically smaller, lighter and more powerful. If you have old electronics that is looking for 9V, you can sub in a 3S lipo at 11.2v or a 2S lipo at 8.4V depending on acceptable ranges.

I swapped to a 2S 450mAh 45C lipo for my old MAWD since it accepted 6V to 10V. Its smaller than a standard 9V so it'll fit between the rods.

 

[Buckeye]

They probably use the same sled for smaller diameter e-bays as well. LOC now makes a lot of common parts for multiple kits, which is good for them but not so good for the customer. You would expect ample space in a 3" bay, but nope.

Yeah, the comment from LOC about 9V is bullshit.

 

[mikec]

They probably use the same sled for smaller diameter e-bays as well.

Nope, the 2.56" bay (at least the "light" version) uses a smaller spacing and the 3" sled is too wide to fit, even though the documentation says the sleds are compatible between 2.56, 3, and 3.9.

The old-school LOC bays didn't have any holes drilled or anything laser-cut IIRC, which was OK with me. The ones shown in the documentation have rectangular rod guides for the sled, but the new ones have two-piece curved guides. Not sure when the spacing changed. Anyway, I won't be buying these again.

 

[mikec]

Lipo is typically smaller, lighter and more powerful.

Also require careful charging, provide enough current to damage some altimeters, and occasionally burst into flames. I've used them, but only for reasons better than bad sled design.

 

[Buckeye]

Nope, the 2.56" bay (at least the "light" version) uses a smaller spacing and the 3" sled is too wide to fit, even though the documentation says the sleds are compatible between 2.56, 3, and 3.9.

The old-school LOC bays didn't have any holes drilled or anything laser-cut IIRC, which was OK with me. The ones shown in the documentation have rectangular rod guides for the sled, but the new ones have two-piece curved guides. Not sure when the spacing changed. Anyway, I won't be buying these again.

Yep, LOC's documentation and actual product are two different things.