Time for the old stuff..

[Keyan]

Well, I bought a super simple Estes RTF kit and it's time to pull out my old Estes Pro series Command Control launcher and the big four legged pad with the stainless steel deflector. Found some new battery packs and hopefully the thing still works. Best launcher Estes ever made.

Last time I was launching was about 10 years ago, time to introduce my son to the hobby.

 

[chadrog]

Good luck and have fun! Keep us posted on the results.

 

[JStarStar]

Welcome back, my bet is you and your son will have a great time. And you'll find most of "the old stuff" works just fine -- I still use as my main ignition system the FS-5 Estes Launch Control System I got in 1970 at age 11.

https://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/70est100.html

Of course most of the zip cord has been replaced and lengthened, I've patched in a cigarette-lighter plug as the main power source, I've re-soldered all the connections and I've gone through about 50 sets of micro-clips, but the little black button-and-bulb launch controller is the 42-year-old original. And I still use the original safety key! (Probably the most amazing thing is I haven't managed to lose it over all that time.)

Oh, one other improvement I made: after tripping (or seeing other people trip) on the nice dark brown lampcord leads for about the 33 zillionth time over several decades, my fertile brain came up with a brilliant solution, "you know if those cords were bright red or orange instead of dark brown, people might actually see them lying on the dark brown ground," so I went out to the garage, grabbed a half-empty can of fire-engine red spray paint, and voila, fire-engine red launch system leads. And now people don't trip on them any more (well, not as often anyway).

Not exactly "rocket science". :y:

Anyway my bet is your old stuff will still work fine, and if not, the fixes won't be too tough.

 

[Keyan]

Heh, well, that launcher is the one with the dual buttons that has a circuit board and beeps and has a battery level indicator. It takes two 7.2 volt R/C car battery packs and can deliver 14.4 volts, it kicks off the igniters in an instant and can easily fire off the Aerotech mid power igniters too. I love it, but if it doesn't work anymore I don't think fixing it will be easy or possible.

 

[JStarStar]

Yeah, sometimes all the newfangled bells and whistles end up being more trouble than they may be worth (grouchy old man rant!!!). :bang::bang:

Still I would guess unless it was being stored in a damp basement or somebody dropped it down a flight of stairs or threw a set of barbells on top of it, it probably still works. Just clean off all the contacts, hook up the battery packs, then fire off one igniter as a test.

If your old system is kaput, new ones are not too expensive and even making a new one more or less from scratch is not that tough.

If your Command Control system is truly defunct, you can probably cannibalize enough parts (lead wires, clips, battery connections, etc) from it so that all you would have to buy would be a doorbell button.

 

[Keyan]

Yeah, sometimes all the newfangled bells and whistles end up being more trouble than they may be worth (grouchy old man rant!!!). :bang::bang:

Still I would guess unless it was being stored in a damp basement or somebody dropped it down a flight of stairs or threw a set of barbells on top of it, it probably still works. Just clean off all the contacts, hook up the battery packs, then fire off one igniter as a test.

If your old system is kaput, new ones are not too expensive and even making a new one more or less from scratch is not that tough.

If your Command Control system is truly defunct, you can probably cannibalize enough parts (lead wires, clips, battery connections, etc) from it so that all you would have to buy would be a doorbell button.

Hehe, funny that late 90s tech is "newfangled". It seems to work, I got the batteries in and got the red light that indicates power, without closing the circuit with the arming key and making it unleash it's unholy armed beep (not a great idea at almost midnight with everyone asleep) I'm not sure what battery level it thinks it has...tomorrow weather permitting maybe we'll get a launch in.

 

[Keyan]

Success! Everything worked great, had one misfire due to a short in the igniter at the plug, but two flawless flights of our riptide!

 

[JStarStar]

Awesome, sounds like you're back in business!! :headbang:

Now you can pick up a kit or two for you and your son to build together and all of a sudden you have a ROCKET FLEET!

:w:

Hehe, funny that late 90s tech is "newfangled".

LOL, well as you see in my post above, you're talking to a guy who is using a (mostly) 42-year-old launch system. For me, anything after the Nixon Administration is "newfangled."

:rofl::rofl:

 

[Doggonewild]

Cool, I have one of those as well. It works great still, I used it last summer. I'm missing the little hatch at the top of the back though, that's no big deal. It's nice for clusters.

 

[Keyan]

Yeah I really like it...I also like that it has more than enough power to set off mid power igniters like Aerotech in a compact package. It completely destroyed the one igniter that failed, the entire wire glowed white hot and it caused it to liquefy.