Missile Works RRC3 User manual


RRC3–RocketRecoveryController3
QuickStartGuide
Asimple“BuyitandFlyit”out‐of‐the‐boxaltimeterguide.
byCJHendricksen
Revision1.02
Missile Works Corporation
PO Box 1725, Lyons CO 80540
www.missileworks.com

Preface
TheRRC3unitisreadytoflyDD(dualdeployment)dutiesasitcomes,rightoutofthebox,providingadrogueeventat
apogeeandmaineventat500ftAGL.Thisisyoursimpleguideforthe“IwanttoflyitnowandreadtheUserManuallater”
individual.So,ifyouwanttoflyitrightnow,readon!
Overview
Atapogee(highestpointoftherocketflight)theRRC3willfirea"drogue"chargetoseparatetherocketairframe(if
drougeless)and/ordeployasmalldroguechutetostabilizetheairframecomponentsduringtheirfreefall.Thenat500ft.
itwillfirea"main"chargetodeployyourparachute.
It'sreadyoutofthebox!Tochangethedeploymentsettings,seethe
DipSwitchandPushbuttonOperations sectionofthe
RRC3UserManual.
TheRRC3isa"barometric"basedaltimeter‐‐itneedstosampleairtotakeitsreadingsandfunctioncorrectly.Itmustbe
solidlymountedinanavionicsbaywithventholesinthebaytosampleairpressureastherocketstravelsup(ascent)and
down(descent).
TheRRC3will"beep"outcontinuitybeforeflight,tellingyouallconnectionsareGOforflight;anduponlandingwill"beep"
outyourmaxaltitude.ThereisalsoanLEDthatblinksinconjunctionwiththebeepsifhearingisaproblem.Bydrillinga
holeintheairframeovertheLEDyoucan"SEE"continuitybeforeand"SEE"altitudeafterflight.BeadvisedthenewRRC3
isequippedwithaLOWtonebeeperforthoseofuswithhigh‐frequencytoneloss.
TheRRC3alsohas3socketsonitforconnectingexternaldevices: 
LCD‐ConnectsaportableLCDprogrammingterminaltotheRRC3.ThisLCDterminalcanbeusedbeforeflighttoprogram
andreviewsettingsandafterflighttoreadyourflightdata.
COMM‐Hookuptoacomputerforuploadingdataforusewithafullfeaturedgraphingapp,usingaUSBIOboard.Itcan
alsobeusedforauxiliaryboardslikeGPSorTelemetrygear.
AUX‐Usedforanexpansionigniterboardwithtimersandotherelectronicdevicesthatneedcontrol.
AlltheseconnectionsandtheiroperationsarecoveredintheRRC3UserManual.
TheRRC3hasbuilt‐inmachimmunity.Ifyoudon'tknowwhatthisis,don'tworryaboutit.It’sjustonelesssettingtofiddle
withthatguaranteesnoproblemsduringyourflightifyouapproachorpassthroughMachspeeds.Afullexplanationis
coveredintheUserManual.

OtherusefulthingsyoumaywanttodowithyourRRC3,include:
1.YoucanusetheRRC3todeployjustamainparachuteatapogeeifyou’reflyingsingledeployment.
2.Justsenditalongfortheridetomeasurealtitude,doingNOdeploymentduties,usingmotorejectionfordeployment.
3.Useitasthemainaltimeterorasabackupaltimeterwithanyotherbrand/makealtimetertoprovideredundant
altimeterrecovery.
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MountingtheRRC3
TheRRC3needstobemountedsolidlyona"Sled".Woodorfiberglassisfine.Mountinghardwareutilizestandard4‐40size
machinescrewsandnuts.InsulatedWashersorStandoffscanbefoundatMissileWorksorbigboxstoreslikeLowes,
HomeDepot,AceHardware,etc.
TheRRC3canbemountedinanydirectiononthesled.Thereisnoforwardoraftorientation.Itmayalsobemountedon
oneofthebulkplatesintheavionicsbay.DONOTUSEVELCROtomounttheunit.Thismaycausestaticdischarge
problemsanddamagetocomponents!
Pg.1

TheRRC3shouldbemountedabovethesledaminimumof1/8"onstandoffsorinsulatedwashers.Thebarometricsensor
mountedonthebottomofthealtimeterhastinyholesinittosampleair.TheymustNOTbeblockedbymountingtootight
onthesled.IfyoucanslipacreditcardbetweenthebottomoftheRRC3andsled,you’regoodtogo!
Batteries
TheRRC3isdesignedtobepoweredbyastandard9‐voltalkaline.Youcanuseanybatteryinthe3.7‐10voltrange,but
thereareotherconsiderationswhenusingthesealternatebatterytypes.TheseconsiderationsarecoveredfullyintheUser
Manual.Batteriesmustbemountedsolidlyinabatterybox‐ziptiedetc.Ifusingabatteryclipitisadvisabletouseseveral
wrapsofelectricaltapearoundbatteryandclip,beforesecuringittothesled.Alwayscheckthebatteryvoltagebefore
installing&beforeeachflight!Evennewbatteriescanbedefectiveandhavesub‐parvoltage.

Connections
Connectionsonthealtimeterarebymeansofscrewterminalswhichraiseandloweratinysetofvicejaws.Stripyourwire
endsNOmorethan1/4".Placethebarewireendintojawsandsnugdownthescrew.Nowgivealighttugonthewire.
Congratulations!
Ifyourwireremainsinplace,youhavejustavertedthenumber1failureproblemwithaltimetersandelectronic
deployment‐‐
loosewiring .Usingthe"pull"testonEVERYconnectionyoumake,willassuresuccessfulandsafeflights.
BeSUREtoconnectthepositive[+]onyourbatterytotheterminalscrewonaltimetermarkedBAT+.Thendothesame
forthe[‐]negativeterminalscrew.DONOTREVERSETHEPOLARITY!
TheRRC3doeshavebuilt‐inpolarityprotectiontopreventdamagetocomponentsshouldyou"accidentally"connectthe
batterybackwards.Carelessness,“GoFever”,andreversepolarityarethemostcommonproblemswithflierscausing
damagetotheirunits.Takeyourtimeanddon'tbeoneofthem.

AlltheRRC3terminalsareclearlylabeled: 
BAT+andBAT‐  Connectpowerfromyourbatteryhere
SWITCH  Yourpowerswitchwireconnectshere(rotary,on/off,twistandtape)
DROGUE Lowcurrente‐matchforfirstchargethatfires(apogee)
MAIN  Lowcurrente‐matchforsecondchargethatfires(mainparachuteat500ft)
AUX  Usedforstaging,airstarts,etc.(ReadtheUserManualfordetails)
VentHoles
Ventholesinavionicsbayallowthealtimetertosampleairpressure.Herearesome3‐holeexamplesizestypicallyusedfor
simplicity:
A.38mmby6in.3x1/16”holes
B.54mmby7in.3x1/8"holes
C.3in.by9in. 3x5/32”holesPg.2

D.4in.by12in. 3x3/16”holes
E.6in.by18in.3x1/4"holes
Makesurewhendrillingholestheyarecleanandclearfromfuzzanddebrisforsmooth,clearairflow.Locateyourvent
holesequallyspacedaroundtheavionicsbayinasinglecircumference.Ifyouwantmoreinformationaboutproperventing
sizes,refertotheRRC3UserManualsectiononStaticPressurePorts
ReadingtheBeeps/Blinks
WhenyoufirstpoweruptheRRC3,itwillbeepfor5seconds.Afterthatthealtimetergoesthroughseveralpoweruptests
andinitializationsteps.Oncethesetestsandinitializationarecomplete,theRRC3beepscontinuityreadinesspre‐launch
andafterlandingwillbeepoutthealtitude.
Onthepad,withyourejectionchargesconnectedtothedrogueandmainterminalsyouwillhavethefollowing
beeps/blinksforcontinuity(everythingishookedupcorrectandGOforflight):
Drogueonly  1beeprepeatingevery5seconds
Mainonly  2beepsrepeatingevery5seconds
DrogueandMain 3beepsrepeatingevery5seconds(forDualDeploy)
Nocharges 1Longbeep(ridealongonly,andnothinghookedup)

Afterflightanduponlanding,theRRC3willbeep/blinkyourmaximumaltitude(Example:2650ft .): 
2beep‐beep[pause] 
6beep‐beep‐beep‐beep‐beep‐beep[pause] 
5beep‐beep‐beep‐beep‐beep[pause] 
0long‐beep[pause] 
lowbuzz[longpause/beepingcomplete] 
TheRRC3repeatsthissequenceuntilyouturnpoweroff.
EjectionChargesandE‐matches
TheRRC3isdesignedtobeusedwithlow‐currentelectricmatches.TheseincludeDaveyfire,Oxral,MTEK,JTEK,orlow
currentmotorignitersliketheQuestQ2G2.Anothercommonmistakemadewithaltimetersandelectronicdeploymentis
crossingupthedrogueandmainconnections.Alwaysdoublecheckyourwiringtoverifythedrogueandmainconnections.
FinalAssemblyTesting
Onceyou’vegotyourejectionchargesconnectedtothealtimeterandyourav‐bayisassembled,it’salwaysawiseideato
“pre‐test”forcontinuityandavoidanysurprisesonthepadwhentherocketisassembledandlaunchready.Besurethat
priortoperformingthistestthatyou’resafelyclearofpeople,vehicles,orotherflammablematerials.Safetyglassesand
otherpersonalprotectionarealsorecommended.Besurethechargesarefacingawayfromyouandothers,andthen
powerupthealtimetertoassureeverythingisoperatingasyouintend.
InSummary
ThisQuickStartguideisnotasubstituteforthefullUserManual.It’sintendedtoprovideaquick,butcompleteenough
overviewonhowtoinstall,operate,andunderstandusingtheRRC3.Ifyouadheretothesebasicsstepsthatareoutlined
you’llhaveahighprobabilityforpullingoffasuccessfuldualdeploymentflight.
ThankyouforchoosingMissileWorks.Visitourwebsiteatwww.missileworks.comforallyourdeploymenthardwareand
avionicssystemneeds!


Pg.3