[NRV Rocketry] Questions about outfitting an avionics bay with power-safety flags

Thomas Weeks tweeksjunk2 at theweeks.org
Tue Jul 5 23:33:14 CDT 2011


This is a question for you high power guys who have been shooting H and up 
birds for years.

Background:
-------------
So my first HP rocket is about ready to fly... and I plan on using it to get 
my L1 (H) and L2 (J) certifications. The L1 is no problem. Up, pop, float 
down. But as most of you know.. L2 certification also requires a written test 
(no problem) as well as "Active recovery", or a way of measuring your altitude 
and ejecting multiple chutes at precisely the right times to safely recover my 
rocket.

Well.. I've now mostly built my avionics bay, or "e-bay" and wired in a GWiz 
LCX flight computer:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1049573&l=3b9cc7e689&id=1844028171
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1052820&l=fde4de7d63&id=1844028171
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1052821&l=8f9d1e56c2&id=1844028171
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1052825&l=878029acee&id=1844028171
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1052823&l=079bcf0bff&id=1844028171
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1052824&l=d39d643ca4&id=1844028171

Here are some other pictures of other people's e-bay construction and 
products:
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/USLI/2011/media.php?gallery=jan_19_2010
http://www.apogeerockets.com/electronics_bays.asp
http://www.rocketryplanet.com/content/view/2960/95/#axzz1RIL7aYxk


My Question:
-------------
Anyway.. my question for Bob and other experienced Rocketeers..

What should I use for my flight computer's power safety switch?

So you're supposed to have a power arming safety circuit to ensure that your 
ejections charges don't blow before you launch the thing... They usually look 
something like this:

http://aeroconsystems.com/cart/products/RBF4-47-10.html

And are hung off something like a 1/8th " audio jack (where the normally 
closed circuit is open when the audio plug is in... and removing it completes 
(or closes) the circuit.. and powers up the computer).  However.. I hear that 
the flight vibration can really make those switch contacts bounce around, 
which can reset the flight computer.. which leads to big expensive crashes. So 
a lot of folks use these high-G rated switches like this:
http://aeroconsystems.com/cart/products/PCB_Screw_Switch-110-0.html
or
http://www.aeroconsystems.com/electronics/switches.htm

Not nearly as cool/sexy as the "yank it out" audio plug that I want to use. :)


So what do you other HP folks recommend? Slide switches? Hard wired toggles? 
Audio jack/plugs?

Tweeks
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