flight computer

[thunderrockets]

could somebody sell me a v1.6 flight computer , or show me how to make one?

[rockets-in-brighton]

could somebody sell me a v1.6 flight computer , or show me how to make one?

George Katz of Air Command designs and sells these. What tends to happen is that he orders enough PCBs to build the flight computers he will need for his own projects plus some to sell to help defray the costs. Once those are all sold they are usually no longer available, which is the case with the V1.6 FC. (maybe if there's a long backlog of orders you might get lucky?) You will probably have to wait for George to either design the next generation of FC, or crash a lot of rockets and need a lot of rebuilds. However, George very generously makes details of earlier versions available on the Air Command website, with PCB plans, part lists and schematics published, and software for the PIC microprocessor available on request. The V1.5 FC details are published.

[thunderrockets]

but it saids stock : sold out???

[thunderrockets]

Cant they make one at order?

[air.command]

Cant they make one at order?

Hi thunderrockets,

V1.6 is no longer available because we don't have any more spare boards. We will unlikely have any more made since it is only practical to have them made in quantity. We are currently working on the next two versions V1.7 and V2.0 and so will have a number of boards made again. V1.7 is still a few months away though.

As Steve said, we only make small quantities of each version in order to offset the manufacture costs of the ones we use in our rockets. Making up a small run allows us to get bulk discounts on components.

- George

[rockets-in-brighton]

but it saids stock : sold out???

Just a reminder, all the details are available to make your own V1.5 FC.

[thunderrockets]

the problem is , where to find or order the components, please give me a helpfull site.

[rockets-in-brighton]

the problem is , where to find or order the components, please give me a helpfull site.

You would have to find a suitable supplier in your country (like our High Street shop Maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/) or the Europe-wide mail-order supplier RS Components http://uk.rs-online.com/web/.

There are no unusual components here, any supplier will do. Just search for the names of each component in your localised version of Google. For example, the microcontroller is this one costing just over £1:

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/sear ... &R=6230291 Note that it is available in several different packages, make sure you buy the DIP variant rather than surface mount (unless you are very nimble-fingered.) You also need a PIC programmer to go with it, to write the software to the chip. Here's a suitable one from Maplin, £26:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=37192

That kit includes a PIC16F627 as well which is a 1K version of the PIC16F628A (ask George if that is a reasonable substitute, ie if the control programmer is small enough to fit in 1K; probably not, and you only save £1 anyway!)

The only other thing that requires any special attention is the circuit board, which you don't have to use: you could replace it with a stripboard equivalent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stripboard.

If you are happy building circuit boards, this one looks pretty simple but failing that ask if someone here will build it for you.

[air.command]

Thanks for posting the information Steve. Another good on-line supplier of electronics components is Digikey (http://www.digikey.com) or Futurlec (http://www.futurlec.com/) - Futurlec is also where I get my boards made.

Thunderrockets: If you choose to build it yourself I would go with a strip board like Steve suggested, it's quite easy as there are only a few components to solder. I can send you the pre-programmed PIC (16F628A) with the correct code already on it so you don't have to worry about buying or borrowing a PIC programmer.

- George

[rockets-in-brighton]

Wow, that's very generous!

[thunderrockets]

thanks a lot!!!

[thunderrockets]

yes!!!im going to build it myself, now i only need the correct parts , can you please give me a list what parts i need? bdw, how much for the pre programmed pic?
i dont need it right now but knowing the price would be helpful.

[rockets-in-brighton]

yes!!!im going to build it myself, now i only need the correct parts , can you please give me a list what parts i need? bdw, how much for the pre programmed pic?
i dont need it right now but knowing the price would be helpful.

If you follow the links I gave earlier to the air command page on flight computers, the parts list and PCB layout is there.

[Bibbleycheese]

I've been doing some experiments the the PICAXE 08-M starter kit. http://www.rev-ed.co.uk/picaxe/
PICAXE is dead easy to program, and the Starter kit lets you add what you like to the prototype board.
So I've got a small servo and a launch-detect sensor wired up to mine, hoping to have my own flight computer eventually. I'll post when it gets a bit further, but in the meantime I'll attach the system diagram I did.

ParachuteDeployment Mechanism.jpeg (178.87 KiB) Viewed 211 times

Anyway, if you want to build it yourself from scratch, but know nothing about PIC chips, then give this system a try.

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

Nice work! It's great to see people making their own flight computers and deploy systems. It's a much better feeling of accomplishment when you do everything yourself. There's several companies out there that build these sorts of things but you're always going to have to deal with a design optimized for a generic rocket or someone else's idea of a good design. Good luck with the project!