Launch Control...
 

What is your favorite Estes launch controller?

For the record, I liked the Solar controller and the yellow Porta-Pad II (but launch pads would be a different poll).

These are all the Estes launch controllers I could find. I included the dates so you could look up the catalog year and see the image.

I'll do pads late - I have the info, I just need a few extra minutes..

I voted for the only one I've ever had, and known, the Electron Beam. :o Mostly used ones I've built myself. :cool:

Of all the Estes controllers, past and present, I like the looks of the old Solar controller best. I don't care much for using AA batteries to launch, though, and normally use my digital relay controller.
I have two Solar controllers now, one I picked up for almost nothing on eBay. I have a bayonet mount LED continuity light in it. The other is still in the packaging, also picked up off ebay. I use the Solar controller every now and then when I just want to run out and do a quick test flight or something.

Estes Pads... I love the little Firing Line pad, but it's too small for anything much. I would have liked to have seen it upscaled by Estes. For regular pads, I liked the early orange colored Porta-Pad before they flipped the legs over and lowered it. It got the rocket high enough out of the grass that you could see it, plus it looked pretty cool.

Other than my custom controller, I have my Estes Solar controllers and the various ugly boxy looking ones that came after, mostly from starter sets that were on clearance as cheap as a pack of motors (and that's the only reason I bought them). I don't have any Centuri ones other than the ones that came with the Servo Launcher and the Powr-Pads.

I have collected several pads. I'd love to get my hands on an Electro-Launch, but they are expensive and I can't make myself pay $100+ for one.

Estes:
Challenger 1 lantern battery attachment (orange)
Star Trek lantern battery attachment (same as above but yellow)
Tilt-a-Pad
Firing Line
Porta-Pad original (orange)
Porta-Pad flipped legs (red, black)
Porta-Pad II (yellow)
Big Foot

Centuri:
Servo Launcher
Powr-Pad
Power Tower

Big Foot has everything going for it; huge footprint, plenty of power, good weight to keep things on the ground where they're supposed to be. :cool:

I've always been drawn to something I could use a car battery or otherwise 12V source to. Had a tilt-a-pad as a beginner. Now days I hate getting to ground level to wire my igniters so I built a jig for my camera tripod that can handle any size rod and even launch my MMX jobs with. It's quite compact.

I grew up using the Estes ElectroLaunch system which the user clipped to the car battery. But I find, with the places I fly, it's best to have a portable battery option. There are lots of small, 12V batteries out there nowadays that are pretty cheap, and easy to lug 100 yards across the field. 25 bucks will buy one that's guaranteed for a million launches :)

Doug

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I have a tractor battery that fits in a small cooler that also totes my wires and launch mechanism and such that goes where ever I go. Way more dependable than anything I've ever used.

I really like my Power-Pulse (Pola-Pulse when it was made by Centuri) controller. It was my favorite when I was in high school and I still like it today.

Of course, the diskette-shaped flat polariod batteries were kinda crummy and expensive, and it didn't last very long-- when the original battery it came with died, I quickly modded it with lamp cord for running off a car battery. Later I added a pair of LED's-- one for battery continuity (good connections to the car battery) and the other for ignitor continuity (when the key is inserted).

Works like a champ! Later! OL JR :)

Same here. I based my pad on the Tilt-a-pad, but made it much taller :)

Camera tri-pods are popular conversion projects. But they're kinda light. Which is good for carrying, but not good for wind. Granted, we're not supposed to fly if it's very windy, but I find, with a rocket on the rod, that even a gentle breeze can impart a significant tilting moment to the pad.

So having some way to anchor the tri-pod's feet to the ground can be helpful. Something as simple as drilling holes thru the feet to receive a 16-penny nail will allow you to stake it down without much effort.

Here's an example of my pad foot, with the nail tethered. It's easy to push into the soil with the heel of my shoe. And easy to pull out, too, when I'm ready to leave. But it provides ample anchoring should a gust of wind come along.


Doug

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Most of you old timers have seen my rig, but I thought I'd show it again to the newer folks. It counts down and automatically launches. I can set it from 1 to 99 seconds via dip switches inside. I have it set for 30 seconds. The last 10 seconds have an audible beep. It was built for me by my cousin. He was majoring in electrical engineering and used it as a class project. I got it for the cost of the parts, which was a lot for me, but cheap as heck considering what I got. (His was 10 times more fancy and had event sensors at the pad, etc.) It originally had a surplus G.E. wet cell battery, which is why you see the discharge resistors in the black shrinkwrap at the bottom of the 3rd pic. After it went bad, I moved to gel-cells. I also originally had the battery and pad panel/relay installed in a 1/100 rough scale (plywood) Saturn V launch pad. It was bulky to transport, so I eventually moved it to the ammo box.

BTW, I'm more proud of this little rig than any vintage rocket stuff I have from any company. :cool: