Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Published: | 2010-11-13 |
Manufacturer: | Missile Works |
T' Cannonball Works RRC² (Rocket Recovery Controller) was me introduction into electronic deployment. Arrr! T' cost o' t' unit and t' programmability are what drew me t' t' product. Well, blow me down! That introduction, arrr, though, has been excitingly frustratin' due t' me own mistakes. However, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' product is provin' t' be a success despite me influence.
T' RRC² is 5.9" x 1.3" which allows it t' fit into a 38mm tube. Aye aye! Avast! Some o' its main features include: T' instructions are insightful and fully illustrated. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! They give clear set-up, testing, and operation guidance as well as rocket configuration examples. Aye aye! Blimey! They also provide formulas t' establish your static port diameter and ejection charge requirements. I did feel that they lacked in givin' guidance in t' buildin' o' an electronics bay, however, when I e-mailed Cannonball Works they sent me clear instructions. Avast! I would suggest appendin' their standard instruction set. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I have included t' steps for t' benefit o' those readin' this review. Begad! T' procedure and pictures are courtesy o' Cannonball Works. I used this method and it worked perfectly! FLIGHT/RECOVERY: Attempt #1 - Vikin' 7 - My very first experience with electronics. Aye aye! I was very excited and got out t' t' pad and loaded it up and pushed t' launch button. A puff o' smoke, me hearties, matey, then a pause, then VROOM! off t' pad on a G80-7. I had picked t' G80-7 because me RockSim had this ejection at apogee. I had t' RRC² unit set up for a main 'chute deployment at 300 feet and be relyin' on t' G80-7 for t' drogue deployment. Avast! Well, t' flight be picture perfect, matey, straight as an arrow. Ya scallywag! Beautiful all t' way t' apogee and t' drogue deployed. Begad! We watched it fall and fall and fall and bam! Yep, shiver me timbers, I forgot t' arm t' electronics. Attempt #2 - THOY Snipe - This time it be serious. I had endured t' humility o' nay armin' t' RRC² at our NOVAAR launch. Now was t' time t' correct t' situation. Ahoy! T' RRC² be set up for both primary and secondary deployment. It be wired and beepin' at launch. Up went t' Snipe on 3-E18's. Begad! Just before apogee, t' initial charge fired. Aye aye! T' momentum o' t' ejection at t' mid-section also popped t' nose cone o' t' upper section thereby deployin' t' main chute. Ya scallywag! As I chased this across t' field, matey, at about 300 feet I heard t' secondary channel discharge. Then this rocket drifted into a tree, 60 feet up, me hearties, where it stayed for four attempts over a 5 week period. I did get it back though. Attempt #3 - THOY Snipe - I really wanted t' have a successful flight and felt good about another attempt in me (rebuilt) cluster rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! Again I armed t' unit and everythin' seemed ready. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This time t' main charge deployed perfectly at apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It fell on t' drogue until at 300 feet t' secondary charge blew t' nose cone off. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! But guess who had moved t' main chute t' another rocket t' use? Yep! Attempt #4 - Vikin' 7 - I did everythin' right this time. Begad! Begad! Tested, arrr, loaded parachute, tested for continuity, prepped motor, me hearties, armed and placed on pad. Just before launchin' I listened for 3 beeps o' continuity check from t' RRC². Aye aye! This time I was usin' a G80 that I had removed all t' ejection BP from and set t' RRC² up for both primary and secondary deployment. Again, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' Vikin' was excellent comin' off t' pad on t' G80. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It be angled more this time due t' some wind. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! As it arced at apogee it then continued downward for about a second and then ejection. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well t' drogue deployed, but I also recognized t' entire upper section descendin' toward t' ground absent o' t' rest o' t' rocket. Avast! T' electronics bulkhead pulled right through t' two mountin' screws, jerkin' on t' armin' wire and damagin' t' electronics. So, me hearties, I haven't had a successful flight, however, t' RRC² has performed as I have heard t' charges. Well, matey, blow me down! So no penalties are allowed when someone doesn't load a parachute or has a nose cone too loose. Aye aye! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! It has been a great learnin' experience. I felt it was important t' provide some feedback on t' unit so I have asked EMRR guests t' reply as well as a couple clips from RMR. Well, blow me down! I have added those comments below. Avast! Based on t' fun I have had and t' experiences below, FLIGHT/RECOVERY, me hearties, is rated as 5 points. Overall, with all t' features, me bucko, t' price, matey, shiver me timbers, t' durability and t' fun, I give t' RRC² an OVERALL ratin' o' 5 points. UPDATE 11/01: ADDITIONAL INPUT: ADDITIONAL INPUT: ADDITIONAL INPUT: ADDITIONAL INPUT: ADDITIONAL INPUT: " Dislikes: Could be smaller, arrr, shiver me timbers, although thar are many larger units out there... Avast, me proud beauty! It is designed t' fit in a 38mm coupler. "Flight experience: Flew a pre-production unit as a payload (without active deployment) at LDRS last summer at t' Salt Flats t' 15,500 feet. Avast, me proud beauty! I should have used t' RRC2's deployment, ya bilge rat, me bucko, because t' rocket was still goin' up at high velocity when ejection occurred. Everythin' survived. I have flown a production unit several times, matey, me bucko, and I don't fly high power rockets without it now. Blimey! Begad! I use it in a couple o' "mid-power" rockets that have room also. Ya scallywag! Begad! I have dropped it fairly hard and it survived fine (long story...). It flexed at least 1" in t' middle (it hit t' mountin' plate) as did t' 1/4" threaded rod and aluminum mountin' plate. Begad! At LDRS this year I had a motor blow-by, and t' unit did nay fire t' main charge - because t' rocket did nay reach 500 feet (the main deployment altitude I had chosen). Avast! T' unit was beepin' out 392 feet when we recovered t' rocket. Ahoy! As you can see, I have put it through a few rough flights, me bucko, and it has taken them all and worked perfectly. Arrr! It has also had quite a few more "nominal" flights, and has also performed flawlessly each time. Arrr! Several other local flyers also use t' RRC2, ya bilge rat, and we haven't seen it fail. Aye aye! It is a great unit for general sport flying. Avast, me proud beauty! I would prefer a recordin' unit for many uses, but they are more expensive, and require even more setup time (you could build a Milliway's altimeter kit and get around t' price problem, and it all fits in a 29mm tube, arrr, but that is more work...) If your project exceeds t' capabilities o' t' RRC2, then you should get somethin' that can handle it (recording, remote control, accelerometer...), shiver me timbers, arrr, but if you need a reliable 2-stage deployment altimeter, arrr, me hearties, this is it." (T.W.) ADDITIONAL INPUT: "Draw back: I would like it t' have a apogee delay settin' . Arrr! Let's say you're doin' a L3 and you don't want t' kill your rocket with an over dose o' Black powder . Ya scallywag! T' settin' would allow you t' select maybe 2 or 4 sec delay after apogee. I have flown me RRC2 three times with excellent results! First flight I used it as a back up t' me regular altimeter (ALTS 25). I didn't get a readin' because I thought it wasn't workin' properly. Begad! It turns out that it gives off a long beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep in betwixt each report cycle . Blimey! I guess that's what you get when you don't fully read t' directions. Begad! Any how second flight was @ NY Power in me Magnum Twin on a J 570 & 3 F62 Dark Stars. I had t' main set t' deploy @ 500 ft (which it did) Altitude: 2,828 ft . Begad! Very user friendly even for t' beginner. Arrr! I own several other altimeters and I was thoroughly impressed. I give it 2 thumbs UP!!!" (J.D.C.)
While I didn't seem t' get it together in me above attempts, I did rate t' RRC2 a "5" based on t' fact that I felt all t' failures were me own doings. Blimey! Avast! Well, I did have a 100% successful flight o' t' RRC2 in me Descon Entry - Big Blue Dog. A successful flight t' 1562 feet on (2) G80's. It was great and a good feelin' t' finally make t' "process" work.
"T' RRC2 has many nice features, like audible status reporting, which is important when it is buried in t' bowels o' a rocket where it cannot be seen, me bucko, and it smartly reaches flight READY after power on. Ya scallywag! T' only thin' I don't like about t' RRC2 be t' heavy (compared t' t' 12v battery used by Adept) 9v battery - make sure it won't fall out o' t' holder durin' boost or bad things will happen. Ahoy! T' battery can get quite heavy under 10-20 Gs. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Note that most electronic recovery controllers use one or more 9v batteries. Begad! T' Adept and P5 are t' exceptions." (D.R.)
"I'm new t' rocketry as well, shiver me timbers, and it really is simple t' use. Blimey! It also had duel deployment which I used on me very first flight and it worked perfectly." (D.S.)
"I ordered, then used a RRC2 last month at Whitakers and it worked perfectly. Arrr! Jim has rolled all t' best features into this quality product." (E.)
"It's fairly simple, me bucko, and works quite well. My personal preference would be t' have a recordin' altimeter like t' AltAcc, but for t' loot Jim Amos's stuff is very hard t' beat. Avast! Avast! I've flown it numerous times (15?) and it successfully deployed each and every time. Arrr! I use flashbulb based charges generally. Avast! T' only thin' I don't like be t' On/Off jumper. Begad! I wish it were a switch in addition t' t' jumper for a little more flexibility. Avast! Begad! Some folks have reported battery problems with t' 9-volt comin' out o' it's connector, but they must nay have used t' hold-down bracket t' strengthen it. Mine's got past Mach and up t' 7000 feet with no problems at all." (R.S.)
"Likes: A very nice, low priced, barometric chamber tested unit. Begad! T' simple on-board diagnostics are a nice feature. Avast, me proud beauty! Reliable and tough (within reason...). Ahoy! Well, blow me down! I like t' multiple options for main deployment (apogee,1000',800',500',300'), shiver me timbers, and mach inhibit delay (0,4,8,12 seconds). This unit does what it advertises, and does it well .
"It is a stand alone barometric altimeter . Begad! Blimey! It handles either 2 stage recovery or can be programed t' fire a main charge while usin' t' second channel for a back up . Arrr! Blimey! Uses standard 9 volt battery & comes with battery hold down hardware (No more hard t' find batteries). Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Excellent users manual/instructions (11 pages) They walk you through everythin' you need t' know in order t' t' use t' altimeter correctly with no less than 13 illustrations (recovery design , buildin' & selectin' ejection charges, me hearties, & how t' mount it in your rocket). 4 different main deployment altitudes (via 5 position dip switch) and a user selectable mach time out function. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Built in testin' mode for inputs (makes sure all switches work) and outputs (tests ejection charges). Ya scallywag! Blimey! On board terminal blocks for connection ejection charges . Well, blow me down! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! No more pesky wirin' harness'. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' price was very reasonable!!! Blimey! ($90 dollars S&H US). Well, blow me down! Blimey! My first altimeter (ALTS 2-50k) was more than that back in 1996, $99.
Missile Works - RRC² review is provided courtesy of: Missile Works Rocket Recovery Controller Features, Setup, Operation and Evaluation By: Al Casper The Missile Works RRC2 altimeter is one of the most attractively priced units available to the high power rocket community; my unit was under $100 including shipping. The size (Fig-1), simplicity, features and price contributed to ...
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R.A.F. (October 1, 2000)