launch! - The Remote ignition system

3:14 PM on Sunday, August 9th, 2020 (West Lafayette, IN)

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Admittedly, lighting rockets in itself is fun. Using a fuse and running like crazy as it burns is exciting, but I thought I could add some pizzazz, so to speak.

Thus, the Turing Space Agency(what I am now calling my 3D printed rocket endeavors) presents the remote ignition system: codename Launch!. It’s nothing fancy at all; it actually just relies on those electric Estes or King of Random igniters, but I like it all the same and my grandma had a broken vacuum laying around with a 30 ft cord, so no harm no foul.

The way it works, is this:

  • you lay out the wire, inserting an electric igniter at the end and putting that into the nozzle of your rocket

  • you unspool the wire, and prepare to launch your rocket, possibly identifying your options concerning where you can take cover

  • you engage Launch! by turning the switch to ‘on’ - this causes the arcade button to pulsate

  • now, you press the arcade button and voila! your rocket is (hopefully) shooting off into the sky

Parts

To make a remote ignition system of your own, you need the following:

  • arcade button

  • 9 volt battery

  • 220 ohm resistor (or whatever resistance you need for your LED)

  • 10k ohm resistor

  • 10 microfarad capacitor

  • pnp transistor

  • slide switch

  • electric igniters or nichrome wire

  • long wire (recycled or otherwise)

  • optional: breadboard for prototyping

  • optional: 3D printer for parts found here (note you’ll need some 6x3 mm magnets)

Assembly

To assemble your remote ignition system, follow the schematic below. In place of the LED and resistor on the left, you can use an electric igniter. It should ignite when the momentary push button is depressed.

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Then, once you print the housing you’re all set to go! For more files, visit this repository. Below is a gallery, and soon to come is a video of it in action!