Backward engineering this rockets recovery system someone else built

[RocketSquirrel]

I purchased some rocket stuff from a guy near where I live. Most of it is mid power stuff which I'll probably donate to my club or give out. Wife wants LESS rockets around here, not more. Thats going to be a work in progress. I'll probably keep the high power stuff.

So im looking at everything and I can tell he's been doing it awhile and some of the tricks I'm not familiar with. I'm scratching my head looking at this ebay...

There is only one charge well, but multiple wire ports. I can make sense of two of them but I can't imagine why there would be a 3rd? See the small one? This is the other side.

With the screws holding the fwd section to the ebay I can deduce with my jenious intellagunce it's not meant for dual deploy. I can guess that one wire port was for a main and another for a backup maybe with the glove finger method. But why would it need this third set alone by itself? Was it some sort of redundancy?


Anyways thanks for your thoughts on it! Hope

 

[RocketSquirrel]

I was thinking maybe it was so he can complete the circuit? Like a ground wire put on the smaller one?

 

[KenECoyote]

What's the other side of the bulkhead look like?

 

[SolarYellow]

Maybe a hot wire chute release.

 

[RocketSquirrel]

What's the other side of the bulkhead look like?

 

[KenECoyote]

Maybe a hot wire chute release.

I was thinking the same... cable cutter. Still, 3 is odd. Maybe screecher?

 

[RocketSquirrel]

Maybe a hot wire chute release.

Had to look that up, that's a possibility

 

[RocketSquirrel]

I was thinking the same... cable cutter. Still, 3 is odd. Maybe screecher?

Another possibility. I thought after I posted this that maybe he set up his circuit to place a ground pin outside to complete it? I see some people twist and tape ground wired outside to turn on the electronics.

 

[SDramstad]

How about #1 is for apogee deployment, 2 is backup apogee and the third is for a line cutter to release the main chute?

 

[KenECoyote]

Air starts?

 

[RocketSquirrel]

Air starts?

If he had a booster section I didn't recieve that. You could make thay work though, maybe with a bigger 29mm or 38/54.. it's a 2.56" diameter tube. just need a way to run the wire down to the 29mm

How about #1 is for apogee deployment, 2 is backup apogee and the third is for a line cutter to release the main chute?

Probably the most likely. Maybe a 3rd port was sort of an aux 3rd option if need3d.

 

[RocketSquirrel]

Here's the rocket itself. 2.56" diameter 29mm mmt. After building it in openrocket an I205 will take it to about 3267ft.

 

[SolarYellow]

Note that it's "zipperless" construction.

 

[troj]

May have used that to connect to a switch or leads for twist & tape.

 

[MidOH]

I use one of the terminal blocks as a switch.

I remove a jumper wire from the block to turn off the altimeter.

It's a clean look, only 3 vent holes in the payload tube. No swichband. No screw switch hole.

Just a matter of popping the booster off to tighten down that jumper.

 

[KenECoyote]

Wife wants LESS rockets around here, not more.

Tell her it's a RocketSquirrel's nature to collect as many rockets as possible!

 

[SolarYellow]

I use one of the terminal blocks as a switch.

I remove a jumper wire from the block to turn off the altimeter.

It's a clean look, only 3 vent holes in the payload tube. No swichband. No screw switch hole.

Just a matter of popping the booster off to tighten down that jumper.

Seems like a screw switch would work just as well, and have less on-off jitter during the power-up process.