Launch Pad/Controller Question

[russamys]

I am just getting back into this hobby. I have bought a couple Estes kits to get going again. Someday I might move into the mid-power rockets, but in the near term, I plan to stick with the A-E engine rockets.

I have looked at a number of lauch pads on the market. The Estes ones seem to be kind of flimsy. The Aerotech Mantis is a bit expensive, but it seems to be of good quality. From what I can tell, it also seems to be the most flexible in the size of launch rods that can be used on it (1/8" to 1/4").

I have found a few plans for launch pads online. I wouldn't mind building my own, but I am not sure if there are any pitfalls to going that route. As far as launch controllers go, I would also appreicate any feedback on what direction to go. I would not be adverse to building one, but I would need to find a website with pretty specific directions, as I am no electrical whizz.

Thanks for your help!

Russ

[tbzep]

I have an Aerotech Mantis. It's a neat concept, but the small parts for adjusting the rod angle are made of brittle plastic so you can't manhandle it too much. The plastic where the legs insert is easily cracked or broken. Many people have beefed up that area as a preventative measure. One other beef I have with it is that the blast deflector doesn't sit at the bottom of the rod, so a good 4 or 5 inches of rod length is wasted.

If you want something easily adjustable, something similar to the old Estes Tilt-A-Pad might be the ticket, especially if you upscale it a bit.

[barone]

And, if you don't like plastic, Sandman had made some wooden ones true to the early Estes pads. Might PM him and see if he has any left.

[metalhead100]

Russ you can buy launch rods at lowes........I just got a 1/8th and 3/16ths rod set i think they are 4 and 5 footers......Nice.

If you want you can just buy a starter set for $20 at wal mart or hobby lobby (19.99) that comes with standard pad and controller with a rocket and a few engines.....You can also get hobby lobby coupons from time to time that are 30-50% off one item......Bingo cheap pad and launch controller with a rocket to boot.

Jim

[Mark II]

I am just getting back into this hobby. I have bought a couple Estes kits to get going again. Someday I might move into the mid-power rockets, but in the near term, I plan to stick with the A-E engine rockets.

I have looked at a number of lauch pads on the market. The Estes ones seem to be kind of flimsy. The Aerotech Mantis is a bit expensive, but it seems to be of good quality. From what I can tell, it also seems to be the most flexible in the size of launch rods that can be used on it (1/8" to 1/4").

I have found a few plans for launch pads online. I wouldn't mind building my own, but I am not sure if there are any pitfalls to going that route. As far as launch controllers go, I would also appreicate any feedback on what direction to go. I would not be adverse to building one, but I would need to find a website with pretty specific directions, as I am no electrical whizz.

Thanks for your help!

Russ
There are a bunch of plans and instructions for building your own launch pad at EMRR (http://www.rocketreviews.com/emrr2008.shtml):

http://www.rocketreviews.com/cgi-bin/arcbuild/arcbuild.cgi?SCRATCH+LAUNCH&&MOPSList

Basically, you need to go to a hardware store or a home improvement store, go to the plumbing supplies section and pick up a length of PVC pipe (that you will cut into sections for the pad's legs), a PVC "T" connector that is the same size as the pipe you buy, four 45 deg PVC elbows, and some PVC cement. Then go over to the metal goods section of the store and get a couple of smooth cold-rolled or plated steel rods: a 1/8" and a 3/16" (and, optionally, a 1/4"). Finally, go over to the electrical supplies section and get the largest outlet box or switch box backplate that you can find (usually about 4.5" x 4.5"; if you can find a bigger one, get it). These will be all that you will need to make a very basic but quite useable launch pad. Total cost of all of these parts will be less that $20 (and probably much less). I think that one of the write-ups in EMRR describes how to build the pad from just these parts. Study some of the other plans there too, however, to see how to make some more elaborate, but still simple to build, versions that have more features and for tips on how to build a pad that can handle bigger mid-power rockets or one that uses a rail instead of a launch rod.

I built a version of Dave Logan's Inexpensive Rail Launch Pad - http://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/scratch/rail_launchpad.html (see my comments under Guest Opinions at the end of the article) and have been very satisfied with this design. If you are considering building a rail pad, sourcing the actual rail can be (or, I should say, used to be) a problem, as it isn't commonly stocked at your local Home Depot. Sean Rose of Cycline3 Rocketry came up with an interesting way of building his own DIY rail, to go with his DIY rail launch pad (http://www.cycline3.com/rockets/index-sean.php) (http://www.cycline3.com/rockets/index-sean.php%29). I got mine, though, by ordering it online from McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/) for a very reasonable price. Search for "Aluminum Fractional T-Slotted Framing System" (page 1868 of the online catalog) and pick your desired length of item (A).

I would suggest buying, rather than building, your own first launch controller. A couple of good choices for launching a wide variety of BP and composite propellant motors, either singles or clusters, are the Aerotech Interlock Controller and the Pratt Hobbies Go Box. Both of these require you to provide your own 12 volt power supply; you can hook them up to your car's battery for that, but for more flexibility, you can obtain a portable battery, which is what I did. I bought one of those portable emergency car starter batteries (weighs about 8 lbs.) which gives me all-day power for launching anything that I can throw at it. (Pratt Hobbies also sells a way cool-looking and highly portable rechargeable 12v battery to use with the Go Box.) These suggestions may seem like overkill when you are just getting back into the hobby, but they will provide you with ground support equipment that you will not quickly outgrow.

After saying all that, though, I should add that there is still a good role for the equipment contained in the Estes Alpha III Starter Set. You can't beat the portability of the Porta-Pad II/Electro-Beam Launch Controller combo, for one thing. I sometimes have to set up my pad at some distance from where I parked the car, and schlepping all of my 12 volt GSE back and forth from car to launch site can get old fast, if all that I am launching are a few single-motor low-power birds. But I can just pack up the Estes controller and the PP-II base and stick it all in a pocket in my knapsack, while I carry the rod in one hand and a box of rockets in the other (kind of like going fishing, in a way :D). Sometimes it really is better to just keep it simple. ;)

Keeping it simple is something that I haven't done in this post, though. I hope that you will find some useful information sprinkled here and there in this latest brain dump of mine. :rolleyes:

Mark

[russamys]

Thanks all for the help. I very much appreciate it.