3 Operating a TeleLaunch system is pretty easy, and we hope fairly
4 intuitive for anyone who has ever launched rockets before. Basic
5 instructions are printed on a decal inside the lid of each TeleLCO
6 unit, which early customers (before this manual was even written)
7 reported were sufficient to successfully use the system.
9 The remainder of this section assumes the system has already been
10 properly configured with callsign, AES key, and bank numbers for each
13 === Charging Batteries
15 TeleLCO has an internal Lithium Polymer battery that is
16 charged over USB. A weather-tight micro USB connector is
17 installed with a blue cap under the handle. This position
18 was chosen so that TeleLCO can be charged while the lid is
19 closed and standing handle-up. Attach a micro USB cable
20 to a computer or other source of USB power. There are two
21 charge indicators on the panel that will illuminate during
22 charging, red for charge in progress and green for charge
25 TeleFire has an internal sealed lead acid 12V battery, and
26 is provided with an external AC charger. Connect this charger
27 to the PowerPole connector on the back face of the box to
28 charge the battery. Other sources of charging current for
29 a nominal 12V sealed battery may be used. The charge
30 connector can also be used to attach an external battery if
35 Each unit in the TeleLaunch system needs a suitable antenna
36 attached. A typical configuration would involve the provided
37 omni-directional antenna or optional directional antenna aimed
38 at the field mounted on a pole attached to TeleLCO at the
39 launch control station, and the provided rubber whip antennas
42 If deploying the system in rough terrain, on a field with
43 dense vegetation, or at great distances (some away cells), you
44 may need a better antenna or at least to mount the antenna
45 higher off the ground. All units in the TeleLaunch system
46 have tri-color RF signal strength indicators. A system should
47 show green on all units during normal operation. An occasional
48 dip to amber is ok, but frequent amber or any red indicates a
49 need to improve the antenna situation.
51 Antenna made for use near 435 Mhz in the ham radio "70cm band"
52 should work, and there are many online sources of information
53 on making inexpensive, highly effective antennas at home.
55 The TeleLCO unit should be placed on a table at the Launch
56 Control position. It can be helpful for the LCO (the human(s)
57 too, not just the electronics!) to be provided with some
58 shade, but the use of reflective LCDs for the digit
59 displays and ultri-bright LEDs make TeleLCO operation
60 reasonable even in direct sunlight.
62 Each TeleFire box should be placed in proximity to the launch
63 rails it will service. Whip clips made from AC power cords
64 (not provided) should be attached to TeleFire and routed to
65 each launch rail. The pyro output on each channel is
66 connected to the "line" and "neutral" pins on the outlet,
67 while the ground pin is attached to chassis ground.
71 Turn on all TeleFire pad boxes in the system. At power-on,
72 all LEDs will turn on briefly so you can verify they're all
73 working. The radio signal strength indicators will show red
74 until TeleLCO is turned on.
76 Turn on TeleLCO. All LCD segments and LEDs will turn on
77 briefly so you can verify they're all working. An exception
78 are the two battery charger LEDs, which only illuminate when
79 the battery is charging. The LCD displays will then briefly
80 display the internal battery voltage, which should be at least
81 3.9V for normal operation. TeleLCO then scans to locate all
82 TeleFire boxes that are in range and configured for the same
83 frequency, callsign, and AES key. During this process, the
84 Bank LCD diplays will appear to be counting up from 1 to 99.
85 When the search is complete, the Pad display will show the
86 number of TeleFire devices found. TeleLCO beeps when ready.
90 Switch the TeleFire to 'Safe' and confirm it is silent.
92 Put a rocket on a launch rail / rod, and connect whip clips
93 from a pad output on a TeleFire unit to the motor igniter.
94 Verify igniter continuity using the LED associated with that
95 output. Green is good.
97 Switch the TeleFire unit from 'Safe' to 'Arm', at which point
98 it will start "chirping" to indicate that it is "armed and
99 dangerous". Move to the TeleLCO at a safe distance away.
101 Ensure the TeleLCO blue Drag Race switch is on Normal and
102 the blue Drag Race LED is extinguished.
104 Select the desired TeleFire unit by pushing the TeleLCO
105 selector knob until the "Bank" LED is lit, then rotating the
107 desired box is selected. Then push the knob until the Pad
108 LED is lit and rotate the knob until the desired pad is
109 selected. Verify the Remote Armed LED is lit, and that the
110 selected pad's Igniter Continuity LED is lit.
112 Perform range safety checks.
114 Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch to ARM. This will cause
115 the selected TeleFire unit's strobe to start flashing and
116 siren to become more insistent.
120 Depress the LAUNCH button and hold until the rocket launches.
122 Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch back to SAFE.
124 === Launch A Multi-Rocket "Drag Race"
126 To enable drag race mode, move the TeleLCO blue switch to
127 Drag Race. The blue Drag Race LED should illuminate.
129 Select pads to include in the drag race by using the same
130 process as for a single rocket to select each Bank and Pad,
131 then press Add/Remove to toggle the currently selected pad
132 in the race. The continuity LEDs blink ON/off for selected,
133 and on/OFF for deselected (long ON means in the race).
135 A drag race can be configured to include pads on multiple
136 TeleFire boxes, but the blinking continuity indicators to
137 show which pads are included can only indicate the currently
140 Verify remotes are ready and armed by using the Remote Armed
141 and Igniter Continuity LEDs.
143 Perform range safety checks.
145 Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch to ARM. This will cause
146 the selected TeleFire units strobes to start flashing and
147 sirens to become more insistent.
151 Depress the LAUNCH button and hold until rockets launch.
153 Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch back to SAFE.
155 Move Drag Race switch back to Normal.
157 Note that if there is a mis-fire in a drag race and you want
158 to fix igniters and try again, the current drag configuration
159 is preserved as long as you stay in Drag Race mode. So you
160 can SAFE the system, fix igniters, and try again before leaving
161 Drag Race mode if desired.