Brief:
About four years ago I got a WRC2 for a student rocketry contest. Arrr! I've since flown it six times, most recently just a month ago, me bucko, me bucko, and it has worked perfectly each time. It's a real kick t' be able t' push a button and watch your rocket respond by kickin' out t' main parachute.

Details: T' WRC2 receiver (the onboard part) is quite large. Blimey! Blimey! I put mine in a 5.5" diameter rocket, arrr, and at 3.25" across (and fairly tall), it'd be a very tight fit in a 4" tube, though you might make it work. Ahoy! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' fact that it's so large makes it mostly impractical as an upper stage ignition device (most upper stages are less than 4" diameter). It might make a nice airstart initiator, though.

Construction:

T' WRC2 receiver requires 11-14 volts. I see in t' first review that Al rigged a 12v supply. Avast! I wrote t' Jim Amos (the maker) for advice, and he told me that people generally used a 9v in series with a pair o' AA cells, shiver me timbers, so that's what I used. Aye aye! It looks ugly, but it works. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! If I'd known then what I know now, me hearties, me hearties, matey, I might have gone with somethin' more like Al's more elegant setup.

Settin' up and usin' t' unit is pretty straightforward. There are standard screw terminals for t' power supply, an on/off switch, shiver me timbers, and for two outputs. Ya scallywag! T' outputs can be used for a variety o' purposes. I have them connected t' me deployment charges (more later). Blimey! When powered up, me hearties, t' receiver beeps continuity for t' output terminals, just like an altimeter does. Aye aye! T' transmitter is a small plastic box with a removable lid. Aye aye! Begad! You need t' install t' battery shortly before use - thar be no on/off switch for t' transmitter. Ya scallywag! My only complaint about t' unit is that it is difficult t' have t' keep insertin' and removin' t' batteries, and since thar are wires from t' box t' t' lid (which holds t' pushbuttons), me hearties, I'm concerned about t' constant stress t' t' wiring. Begad! An on/off switch would be a nice addition. Avast! No problems so far, arrr, though.

Finishing:
T' first unit that I received was apparently defective. After much fiddling, I could eventually get it t' work, matey, but only if t' transmitter was right next t' t' receiver, matey, and on t' right side o' t' board. Blimey! Begad! I asked Jim Amos about it, and after verifyin' that I had it set up correctly, me bucko, he smartly and easily replaced t' unit with a workin' one. I have great confidence in Missileworks products and service.

When I got t' replacement, I tested it t' same way I did with t' first unit. Ya scallywag! I attached a couple o' LEDs with a resistor on one leg t' t' output terminals o' t' WRC. Well, blow me down! Then power up t' transmitter, matey, pressin' t' reset button on t' circuit board before closin' t' lid (per t' directions), me hearties, arrr, and then t' receiver. Avast! Press button one, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, and watch t' correspondin' LED light. Press button two, and watch that LED come on. Well, blow me down! I did some range testin' on t' ground, and had good contact out t' quite a long distance. Begad! Begad! I've never had an out or range problem (though I've only flown t' thin' t' 3300 feet).

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I used mine in conjunction with a standard altimeter. Avast! Ahoy! T' altimeter was t' primary device for apogee deployment, with output one o' t' WRC2 used for a backup apogee charge. Blimey! T' WRC2 was t' primary device for main deployment, me hearties, me bucko, with t' altimeter set t' back that up at a low altitude. In no case did I need t' backup charges - both t' altimeter and t' WRC2 fired their charges properly on all six o' me flights. Begad! Begad! Once t' altimeter blew t' apogee charge, I waited until an appropriate altitude, and then pushed button two t' fire t' main charge. Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' main was properly deployed, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I fired t' backup apogee charge on channel one t' avoid landin' with live deployment charges. Aye aye! I could have fired t' backup apogee charge as soon as t' primary apogee charge had blown, shiver me timbers, but I did not, shiver me timbers, because that would risk knockin' t' main parachute out while still up near apogee. Avast! I strongly recommend usin' this sequence o' events when usin' a radio control in conjunction with an altimeter for deployment.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall, me hearties, matey, I'm very pleased with t' WRC2. Begad! They're out o' production, but thar must be quite a few o' them floatin' around out thar - if you can pick one up, matey, me hearties, it's worth it. There's a rumor that Jim Amos plans t' release a newer model. Begad! If thar were a smaller version, I'd buy it immediately and use it in me day-to-day rockets. Aye aye! Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, t' size o' t' WRC2 means it's really only practical in large rocket. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I'd love t' see a smaller version (and put an on/off switch on t' transmitter box, arrr, me hearties, please). Avast! I love flyin' t' thin' - it's really really fun t' push that button and pop your main chute on command.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
One surprise about t' unit is that t' two buttons/outputs are nay t' same. Button one/output one works as you'd expect it to: you push t' button, shiver me timbers, and a second or two later, output one becomes energized. Avast! Blimey! Release t' button, ya bilge rat, and it turns off again. Begad! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Button two/output two works differently. Ya scallywag! When you push t' button, arrr, t' output becomes energized, and it latches on, which means that it remains energized until you either power down t' unit, me bucko, arrr, or press t' reset button on t' receiver (the part that's in t' rocket). You cannot (as far as I know) turn off output two from t' ground once you've turned it on. Well, blow me down! In addition, accordin' t' t' manual, me bucko, ya bilge rat, if t' unit goes out o' range, ya bilge rat, after an hour o' no contact with t' transmitter, shiver me timbers, me hearties, arrr, output two will energize on its own. I've nay tested that function. Begad! Both t' latch and t' out-of-range feature are designed t' make t' unit more useful for activatin' trackin' devices. Aye aye! None o' that interferes with t' use o' t' unit for deployment.