The next step
 

No secret that some of my more recent B6-4 Field launches have been less than successful from a launcher standpoint. I'd experimented with the usual suspects, melted ping pong balls and gunpowder, slutty colored nail polish, expensive batteries, but they've obviously only been band aids. I've been waiting for AC Supply to restock the Pro Series II Launch Controller and today was the day.
https://www.acsupplyco.com/estes-mo...unch-controller
I figured the price was right and the potential for an upgrade was worth it based on what I've been told about this unit. Not much chance to be flying there anytime soon, but I'm anxious to try it out. Might have to prep a bunch of birds, put on my muckers and brave the goose poo and other slop to see what the capabilities of this unit are.

I think you should go with six of these batteries.

Sure glad that thing is strapped down!

High quality rubber bandage. :cool:

I love my PSII controller - only thing I’ve bought since starting all this rocketry stuff back up that’s been a better value was my Oddl Rockets Adeptor (it was only a couple bucks). Since I didn’t want to deal with LiPo batteries - I don’t do R/C aircraft or vehicles of any kind and have no interest in them - I went with straight replacement rechargeable NiMH C cell batteries from Amazon and a simple rack style charger from our local supplier of cheap tools from the exotic Far East, Harbor Freight. NiMH batteries, per the really involved article I found on a rather scholarly website about battery technology, like to be topped up after use so I don’t know how many total launches to failure you could get but I’ve never had the batteries die during a launch session. My success rate with Estes ignitors is well over 95% - I stopped tracking misfires after a few months of using my PSII controller with the NiMHs. I know a LiPo would produce more juice than what I’m using, the NiMHs are good enough so I don’t plan on swapping.

I have nothing of value to offer, but felt that your use entirely appropriate and on-topic use of the phrase "slutty colored nail polish" should not flash by without a hearty recognition of gratitude and appreciation.

James

Good choice, Bill. Good ol' Duracells should give you a season's worth of flying per set.

I have two of these but the one I use the most has a 1250 mAh LiPoly inside. That little battery fired many igniters on one charge last year (over 200). But if you, like Scott, haven't been involved in RC and therefore don't have the proper charging equipment for these then I can see staying with the disposables or doing what he is doing.

Scott - NiMHs REALLY don't do well if allowed to go flat, and they self-discharge faster than NiCds and much much faster than lithiums. So you need to pull them and top them up on some kind of regular basis whether you're flying or not....or you'll be throwing them away and buying again, which kind of defeats the whole point of the things. This is coming from years and years of electric-powered RC airplane experience stretching back to the early 1980s. NiMH batteries promised much but their self-discharge rates really mess things up.

Yeah, I've been a proponent of painting my igniters with the slutty nail color for a couple of months. My wife offered a bottle of copper colored polish, but I wanted something sexier. Sadly, she completely disregarded the hint. I guess I'm too subtle for my own good. :rolleyes:

Yes, they discharge quick just sitting around - the charger is on a shelf above the washer/dryer so I rotate them when I do the wash 😆

I bought two sets three-ish years ago and so far so good...but even before I bought the rechargeables using good quality, fresh alkalines worked fine. The NiMHs were really an experiment that worked for me so I’ve kept using them.

Best launcher battery I've found-- car jumper battery pack. It's easy enough to make a cig lighter plug since most are equipped with them to run auxiliary stuff anyway) that adapts your launch controller to draw power from it, or set it up with a pair of battery charger clamps to clip the charger pack's clamps onto. Guaranteed plenty of power and SO easy to recharge in the vehicle on the way home from the launch. Plus it's something that's a good idea to have anyway; been more than once I launched rockets all afternoon and still had to use it to give someone a boost on the launch field because their SUV battery ran down with the doors and rear hatch open all day.

Later! OL J R :)