Aerotech, Rouse-Tech, Dr Rocket, RMS Hardware
 

Other than the color on the outside of the aluminum tubes, what is the difference between the Aerotech, Rouse-Tech, Dr Rocket (did I leave anyone out) RMS hardware? Is one better than the other? Does one have a better reputation in a particular size over the others? Last longer? And actually, I might as well ask, is one color better than another?


??? :cool: ???

I have never heard this question asked, but then again I have only been in the game again for a few years. Most of the discussions I have seen have been on AeroTech v. Cesaroni, not which hardware is better for AeroTech.

That said, I believe that any of the ones you have cited will meet or exceed specifications. The big deal is cleaning it within 24 hours of use so that the risk of corrosion is reduced (I use Hoppe's 9, which you can get at Wal-Mart). That said, you can shop price, vendor, or color.

Greg

They are equal in all ways functional. I have used all of them and find no difference beyond color, which is decorative.

More importantly, where in South Florida are you?

Thanks for the hardware info Buds.



Today Dade. Next week Cocoa Beach. After the shuttle launch the Keys.




:cool:

Cool. A rocketbeachbum. My dream job....
;)

hehe. For the moment.

Where do you launch?




:cool:

Rouse-Tech advertises that the fore and aft closures of their 29, 38 and 54 mm motors have especially hard anodizing. Rouse-Tech Monster Motors are generally lower in price than the other brands. Rouse-Tech and Dr. Rocket produce RMS hardware under license from Aerotech Consumer Aerospace. Aside from differences in anodizing and case color, their products are identical to those produced by Aerotech. Dr. Rocket is now apparently out of business, although his products can still be found in the retail channel. I am not sure if Rouse-Tech is producing their version of the RMS 24/60 case yet; all of the 24/60 cases (for the F35W reload) that I see advertised for sale online are Aerotech-branded motors.

Aerotech RMS motors are black in color with gold aft end closures and black forward end closures and gold stenciled labels or gold printed labels.




Rouse-Tech RMS Monster Motors are anodized blue in color (originally anodized gold when they were introduced) with silver fore and aft end closures and white engraved lettering (and an image resembling King Kong) on their sides.



Dr. Rocket RMS motors are anodized red in color with silver aft end closures, red forward end closures and white engraved lettering on their sides that includes a small picture of a rocket.



MarkII

Thank you Mark II.

A very informative reply.




:cool:

Mark,

Very informative post and product comparison.

Eventually I'm going to purchase a couple of the RMS 24/60 motors and my thoughts when I saw the price of this motor just following NARAM-50 when it was first released was that I would wait for Rouse-Tech to produce their version of it to hopefully save some $$$. It's less than half the price I was quoted and the Valuerockets.com site offers it for $39.90 but I'd like to see a few more reloads released for it before I get one. I've heard all positive comments about the F35W reload from those that have flown it and it would be a good choice for my larger Semroc SLS rockets.

http://www.valuerockets.com/product...id=12&itemid=32

I have two each of the Rouse-Tech Hobbyline motors 24/40 and 29/40-120 and I really like them.

I'd also like to suggest to Traveler to download the latest copy of the AeroTech catalog for the lists of available reloads to compare/match with the motor case sizes in the resource area of the site and to visit the Valuerockets.com site as well.

http://www.valuerockets.com/

http://www.aerotech-rocketry.com/

:)
.

The "Valuerockets.com Effect" might be a big reason why we have not seen a Rouse-Tech 24/60 RMS motor yet. The prices that Aerotech is charging at that site for their three smallest RMS motors are comparable to Rouse-Tech's prices, and are around half the prices that AT-branded hardware normally goes for. At that price point, a Rouse-Tech 24/60 motor would offer no competitive advantage to the Aerotech version, since R-T cannot put hard anodizing on the aft end closures of the 18mm and 24mm motors (because they are made of plastic). Aerotech and Rouse-Tech are not in direct competition, though; as I mentioned, R-T is a licensee of AT's. And as someone mentioned in another thread recently in this or another forum, Aerotech benefits from farming its RMS motor production out to a licensee like Rouse-Tech. It spares AT from having to commit a significant portion of its operating budget to maintaining a large inventory of its reloadable motors and accessory parts.

With the Valuerockets.com website, Aerotech is really going hard after the fliers of large model rockets and small mid-power rockets, and is encouraging them to try launching their rockets on Aerotech composite motors by lowering the cost of entry into that world. Which is totally cool with me. :D :cool: :D :cool: They are betting that once you have launched your rocket on one of their composite motors, you will be sold on them. I happen to think that they are right; in fact, I know they are. ;)

MarkII