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  #1  
Old 11-04-2021, 11:54 PM
Shadowspawn Shadowspawn is offline
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Default Centuri Servo-Launcher

I'm looking for the instructions for the 1970's Centuri Servo-Launcher. I've seen all the ad flyers and the catalog pages showing the launcher; I need the original instructions that would have come with the set. If anyone happens to know where I may download a scanned copy or perhaps a .pdf of these old instructions, please let me know. Thanks!
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Old 11-05-2021, 12:10 AM
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Here is the first version of instructions.

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  #3  
Old 11-05-2021, 09:28 AM
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Thanks for posting the instructions.
I had seen these in the catalog but never owned one.
At the time I thought it was weird, having an inflated balloon close the contact.
But after looking at the instructions, it's a well engineered design.

In Step 4B, I found it interesting how the illustration shows the balloon
being pushed in place with a pencil point. The instructions say to use a pencil eraser.
But, who reads instructions with the drawing right there -
Maybe that's why they included an extra balloon.
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  #4  
Old 11-05-2021, 09:47 AM
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That thing always seemed "Really CHEESY" to me compared to their Professional Firing Panel and Lectra Line controllers as well.

Even worse than the cheesy/cheap Estes setups found in their low-priced starter kits like the Challenger-1 that had the pad mounted on a 6V lantern battery.
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Old 11-05-2021, 10:05 AM
stefanj stefanj is offline
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An interesting system, but kind of limited and finicky. The note that you should attach the microclips as close as possible to the paper disc suggests the current from those two D cells is barely sufficient.

I wonder how available photoflash batteries were? Something you could find in any hardware store, or the kind of item you'd have to make a trip to a photography shop for?
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Old 11-05-2021, 10:57 AM
Shadowspawn Shadowspawn is offline
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Thanks so much Earl, for posting this information. Greatly appreciated! you da man!
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  #7  
Old 11-05-2021, 02:23 PM
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The Servo-Launcher was the first model rocket launcher that I saw. My best friend in the very early 70s got the Centuri Astro-1 starter set in late 1971 and he and his Dad built the rocket (and later rockets they got) and launched them using the Servo-Launcher. Because they launched on visits to one of his grandparents in North Carolina (open farm land there), I never got to see any of the actual launches. But, I understood the basic operation of the launcher.

About 10 years ago I got a complete, vintage Astro-1 starter set off ebay. While I did not build the Astro-1 kit or launcher from that set, about five years ago I was able to snag a partial Astro-1 starter set that had everything but the Astro-1 kit. I had a vintage Astro-1 kit, so I decided that I would, after nearly 50 years, build the kit and put together the launcher like my friend and his Dad had done so many years ago.

The launcher, while certainly different, is an interesting design and nice concept. And, it DOES work. But...as others have guessed, it can be finicky and the balloon does not always fill completely on just one pump of the handle. Sometimes, the safety key does not want to seat exactly right, so checking continuity can be finicky, too. But, it does fold up nice and compact and with just two batteries, I suspect Centuri was trying to show that launching rockets did not always require a huge car battery or a load of D cells. But yes, it is limited to just single engine flights and I'm not sure just how long those two photo-flash batteries would have lasted.

I suspect too that the original assembly version of the launcher as depicted in the first version of instructions posted above proved to be a bit tedious for younger modelers. So, by July 1971 the launcher came with the wiring and contacts pre-installed. Instructions are down to just four pages at this point. The catalog price (between catalog 711 and 712) also had gone from $5.50 to $6.95 to account for the increased cost to pre-assemble that wiring at the factory.

By May 1972 the instructions had been re-done again to reflect that the balloon had been pre-installed in the body of the launcher at the factory, and provide some better clarity of the assembly process. I have not been able to find any other versions of the instructions than these three sets.

Versions two and three will be posted in additional posts below.

Earl
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Last edited by Earl : 11-07-2021 at 07:34 PM. Reason: Update discussion on changes in v.2 and v3 of instructions.
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  #8  
Old 11-05-2021, 02:36 PM
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Default Servo-Launch Version 2 Instructions -- July 1971

Here are the version 2 instructions.

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  #9  
Old 11-05-2021, 02:50 PM
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Default Servo-Launch Version 3 Instructions -- May 1972

And the version 3 instructions.

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  #10  
Old 11-05-2021, 11:46 PM
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Either I never knew about that launch system or I’d forgotten about it. It’s a cool concept but it seems to be unnecessarily complex—sort of like the Rube Goldberg device of rocketry.
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