Igniter question

[dbryantphoto]

is it possible to use a copperhead igniter in an estes rocket motor? reason i ask is because i just purchased an aerotech interlock launch controller that came with the copperhead clip. i guess i could rewire it to have two alligator clips but i installed it without really knowing that i couldn't use it with estes igniters. thanks.

[stefanj]

Copper heads are an expensive way to ignite Estes motors, but they should work.

Quest igniters are essentially small copperheads.

That said, I suggest putting in a little work and making your launch system "igniter agnostic."

Buy a bag of plastic-shield-less microclips, a couple of feet of lamp wire, and two of some kind of quick-switch interconnect. Make one "business end" with microclips and the other with the Aerotech clip. Switch as needed.

[dbryantphoto]

I think I get it... sort of. What is the quick switch interconnect thing. I'm hearing you and with a little more detailed explanation I think I'll be able to visualize what you're saying.

[tfischer]

Essentially you want to make it so that you can unplug the copperhead clip and plug in the wire with microclips, and vice versa. You could use standard electrical cord fittings (one female 'extension cord' outlet on the wire to the controller, and a male one on each of the possible "ends" (the copperhead clip and the micro clips). You could also use something like RC battery clips or any other plug that can support the amperage involved...

[dbryantphoto]

I gotcha! I could also outfit the copperhead with banana clips too. i think i have something like that in my r/c airplane field box that i could solder together. makes sense now. thanks so much doc!

[stefanj]

I was thinking of the electrical connectors used to connect trailer brake lights to a car's electrical system, but a chopped up extension cord would do just fine!

If the lead to the controller had a mail socket, you'd need one male plug for the Aerotech clip and another for the microclip unit.

[luke strawwalker]

I was thinking of the electrical connectors used to connect trailer brake lights to a car's electrical system, but a chopped up extension cord would do just fine!

If the lead to the controller had a mail socket, you'd need one male plug for the Aerotech clip and another for the microclip unit.

Ya don't have to chop up an extension cord... you can buy the ends for a buck or two each at any big box hardware store.

That said, I often chop the ends off bad extension cords and broken appliances before I throw them away... waste not want not... LOL:) OL JR :)

[Shreadvector]

NO.

Quest igniters are not like little copperheads unless you get into a time machine and go back about 5 years.

For those of us living in the middle of 2009:
Quest igniters for 2009 are the Q2G2 andf they have two insulated wire leads and a conductive pyrogen tip that is very powerful at igniting and requires VERY low current to fire.
The previous igniter was the Q2 and it is similar to the Estes igniter (called the "Solar Igniter" a few decades ago). It has two thick leads, a thin bridge wire and a blob of pyrogen at the tip. Quest still sells a pyrogen-free version of this for use in the MicroMaxx II-1 motors.
The original Quest igniter from many years ago was the TigerTail (also called TigerTail II when they replaced the elaborate adhesive backed paper tape holder with a plastic "Tac").

Anyway, you can attach jumper leads from the "interlock Clip" where it attaches to the wires. Just solder a micro clip on one end of a wire and another slightly larger alligator clip on the other and grab the Interlock Clip attach lug with the alligator clip. 1 jumper for each lug and you are in business.


Copper heads are an expensive way to ignite Estes motors, but they should work.

Quest igniters are essentially small copperheads.

That said, I suggest putting in a little work and making your launch system "igniter agnostic."

Buy a bag of plastic-shield-less microclips, a couple of feet of lamp wire, and two of some kind of quick-switch interconnect. Make one "business end" with microclips and the other with the Aerotech clip. Switch as needed.

[Jeff Walther]

Anyway, you can attach jumper leads from the "interlock Clip" where it attaches to the wires. Just solder a micro clip on one end of a wire and another slightly larger alligator clip on the other and grab the Interlock Clip attach lug with the alligator clip. 1 jumper for each lug and you are in business.

I'm not familiar with the copperheads, so forgive me if there's some ridiculous flaw in this idea...

Couldn't one take a spent copperhead, which has the needed connector at one end, and attach microclips to the wires at the spent end?

[Shreadvector]

No.

There are no wires in a Copperhead.

It is two wheets of copper foil glues together with a thin layer of adhesuve that insulates one sheet from the other. It is then cut into narrow strips and one end is dipped into a conductive pyrogen. The pyrogen completes the circuit by allowing the electricity in one copper sheet to flow through the pyrogen and reach the opposite side copper sheet.

The main issue is how to attach the launch leads. Aerotech has an Interlock Clip that allows one wire to make contact with one side and the other wire make contact with the other side. You can also simply apply masking tape to one side and the other so that each micro clip only contacts one side of the copper strip.


I'm not familiar with the copperheads, so forgive me if there's some ridiculous flaw in this idea...

Couldn't one take a spent copperhead, which has the needed connector at one end, and attach microclips to the wires at the spent end?

[dbryantphoto]

Here's what I did... being a veteran R/C pilot I have managed to accumulate tons of crap that I just couldn't throw away.. the most valuable being my little Deans connectors. I simply soldered a female Deans connector to the end of the 40 ft cable leading to the controller. Then I made two little pig tails ... one with the copperhead connector and the other with two alligator clips. Tested for continuity and works like a charm. I am now "igniter agnostic" as the doc says.

[luke strawwalker]

Yep, that's the best way to do it Don!

BTW, the guys in our club seem to like Copperheads for the most part. Most say they've gotten a bum rap for awhile, that the weak link is in hooking them up.

Most guys hold the ignitor in the middle and using a cigarette lighter, heat the leads near the end opposite the pyrogen for a second or two, then pull the copper foil layers off the adhesive insulation sandwiched in the middle. Then they install in the motor and hook it up at the pad using ordinary microclips. We have very few misfires this way.

I'm only flying BP so far, but it looks like a good method to me; just requires a little careful application of heat.

later! OL JR :)

[stefanj]

That electrical rework looks great.

Heatshrink tubing, even!

Be prepared to replace your microclips now and then. They corrode, the springs break, etc.

Keep an emery board in your launch kit. Good for cleaning the shmutz off of clips.