Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Discussion about deployment systems including altimeters, timers, air speed flaps, servo systems, and chemical reactions.
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Jamie5335
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Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Jamie5335 »

Hello All,

We have been working on a new Flight Computer for our water rockets called the Rocket Recovery Timer 2, the RRT2. There is a topic on the RRT1 in this section of the forum if you are interested.

This is just a short introduction to the idea, we haven't made anything yet, but I have designed the PCB and started to write the software:

1)
PCB.jpg
PCB.jpg (112.04 KiB) Viewed 77 times
Here is the PCB. It is a standard through hole board which is double sided. I designed it in DesignSpark PCB.

2)
PCB 3d.jpg
PCB 3d.jpg (123.48 KiB) Viewed 77 times
Here shows a 3D view of the board. The board will have an optional G Switch launch detection or a break wire detect. The user will choose which they want via the program button. There is a large variable resistor which will be used to change the time delay and servo position. There are four LEDs which will show the user which setting they are changing, or whether the system is armed and ready for launch!

It is just early days, the PIC is a PICAXE microcontroller, the code is written in BASIC and converted to assembly code. There is a programming socket to download the program directly to the board.

Any thoughts, ideas or questions please say!!

Thanks for looking!
Jamie B, JSB Rocketry
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Jamie Bignell,
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Somerset UK

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bugwubber
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by bugwubber »

That's really cool. Looking forward to seeing it in action!
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Water Rocket Expert »

How do you build it.
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Water Rocket Expert »

I like this because you can probably make it any dimensions you want to fit it in the rocket.
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Team Seneca
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Team Seneca »

Those 3D drawings are pretty cool too. Does your PCB package generate those or do you have to make them in sketchup or some other program?
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Water Rocket Expert »

I really like the idea of a custom built board. Are you into electronics so you know how to design it? Or did you have someone else do that and you just payed for it. The cool part is if you designed it is you could put it on a board of any dimensions meaning you could fit it around the rest of the payload in the rocket. Something I would like to know is how much did/will this cost you to make?

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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

That looks pretty cool. It looks like it would be easy to build because you didn't use those dinky chip resistors that nobody can solder. It would be interesting to see a price breakdown. It wouldn't be too hard for someone to count the various parts and look up the price of typical representatives and come up with a guess, but I am too lazy right now.
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Water Rocket Expert »

Maybe it could be used in the axial deploy mechanism.
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Jamie5335 »

Wow!! Thanks for the great level of response guys! Really means alot. I hope I have answered your questions below:

Thanks for the Compliments bugwubber, it may be a bit of time before we all see the first flight!

In answering you questions Water Rocket Expert, I designed it using the FREE PCB package called DesignSpark and here is the link:
http://www.designspark.com/eng/page/des ... -home-page
I appreciate that that link may not work, but just Googling the name should get you to the home page. It is basically just a electrical circuit on a board using Copper tracks rather than wires. And you are right about the size, you can make the system as large, heavy and complex as you want or as small and compact as you want. You can even change the size of the board to be the same diameter as the bottles you are using which would be cool!

I am myself, thoroughly into Electronics and I am hoping to take as a subject when I do my A-Levels. I indeed designed the PCB at home, as a kind of respite project!! Because I do electronics at school, many of the components I get for free, but they wouldn't cost that much. The most expensive part is etching the board, but I use the Toner transfer method which just uses glossy paper and a black and white printer (Youtube has some great tutorials). Etching means just removing the Copper that you don't want. Once you have etched away the unwanted Copper you are left with a print circuit on your board which you then solder in the components. You buy the acid and the board for around £5 on ebay, so it will not break the bank. There are a few flight computers you can buy such as the ServoChron™ and the Servo Timer II, which are better!! But it is nice to make you own as well, just adds a little personal touch.

Hello Team Seneca, thanks for the compliments on the 3d drawings, those were generated using the PCB package (DesignSpark), which is FREE!!

You are indeed true Spaceman Spiff, the components I am using are more suited towards the amatuer electrical engineer! But they are cheaper, and as you say, easier to solder! The overall price for the whole thing, wouldn't be more than around £10 so it is all just a bit of fun!

And yes, Water Rocket Expert, it could be used in the innovative Axial Deploy Mechanism, the RRT2 would control a single servo, so you could be used in any type of system that uses a Servo Motor.

Thanks again guys, and keep the questions rolling in!!

Jamie B,
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Water Rocket Expert »

Wow! Thanks for the detailed answers. Another questions would be, do they make copper plated boards covered in that green circuit board material. I would think it would be easier to scrap away the part of the green that you do want to expose rather than scraping the entire board to leave the sections that you do want. Just my thoughts. And the reason I didn't know if it could be any shape is that I didn't realize you were using the scrap away boards.
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by Jamie5335 »

Hello, my pleasure to answer your questions!

Your comment about the copper boards is valid. I am not sure if they make the scrap away green layer boards, but it is more than likely. The boards have the large amount of copper, because on larger boards they keep it all and use it as a giant 'earth' wire (basically a negative volts). This dissipates heat, and saves alot of Copper as less is etched away.

Cheers Jamie B
JSB Rocketry
Website: www.jsbrocketry.webs.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCczlD-uBjlYdJyBFEfuCEbg/feed

Jamie Bignell,
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Re: Rocket Recovery Timer 2!

Post by U.S. Water Rockets1 »

Water Rocket Expert wrote:Wow! Thanks for the detailed answers. Another questions would be, do they make copper plated boards covered in that green circuit board material. I would think it would be easier to scrap away the part of the green that you do want to expose rather than scraping the entire board to leave the sections that you do want. Just my thoughts. And the reason I didn't know if it could be any shape is that I didn't realize you were using the scrap away boards.
Circuit boards come with copped on them that is a solid film and they use an etching process to remove the material that is not supposed to be in the final board. The green part is put on after the copper is etched, using a screening process. Any white text on the board is applied last, with the same type of screening process.
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