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Old 11-09-2011, 07:10 PM
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John Brohm John Brohm is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Mars, PA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug Sams
One thing to keep in mind, while 12V is definitely the starting point for a reliable launch controller, if you want truly high performance (for example, lighting clusters w/o benefit of low current ignitors) then build/buy/get a relayer. That way, the battery is close to the pad and you avoid the voltage/current robbing effects of long wires. Your handset can still be 50 feet or more from the pad, but the distance from the battery to the ignitor is only a few feet.

Doug

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Couldn't agree more. It's all about maximum amp delivery to the igniter. The photo below shows the guts of an away pad controller I built to interface with our already existing Competition Launch System. The Away Pad Controller is intended to be used for our higher power launch pad, which we can place as much as 100 feet away from the LCO (the distance is only limited by the present length of the control cable from the LCO desk). In the photo you'll see a pair of heavy #10 wires coming in from the local battery connector, which then get routed via the pair of relays to the igniter lead sockets. It's a very short current path, and the system dumps exceptional levels of current to an igniter and/or a cluster of igniters when the resistance path (to your point) is so short. We've not had a failed ignition event.
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