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+== Operation
+
+ Operating a TeleLaunch system is pretty easy, and we hope fairly
+ intuitive for anyone who has ever launched rockets before. Basic
+ instructions are printed on a decal inside the lid of each TeleLCO
+ unit, which early customers (before this manual was even written)
+ reported were sufficient to successfully use the system.
+
+ The remainder of this section assumes the system has already been
+ properly configured with callsign, AES key, and bank numbers for each
+ TeleFire box.
+
+ === Charging Batteries
+
+ TeleLCO has an internal Lithium Polymer battery that is
+ charged over USB. A weather-tight micro USB connector is
+ installed with a blue cap under the handle. This position
+ was chosen so that TeleLCO can be charged while the lid is
+ closed and standing handle-up. Attach a micro USB cable
+ to a computer or other source of USB power. There are two
+ charge indicators on the panel that will illuminate during
+ charging, red for charge in progress and green for charge
+ complete.
+
+ TeleFire has an internal sealed lead acid 12V battery, and
+ is provided with an external AC charger. Connect this charger
+ to the PowerPole connector on the back face of the box to
+ charge the battery. Other sources of charging current for
+ a nominal 12V sealed battery may be used. The charge
+ connector can also be used to attach an external battery if
+ needed.
+
+ === Setting Up
+
+ Each unit in the TeleLaunch system needs a suitable antenna
+ attached. A typical configuration would involve the provided
+ omni-directional antenna or optional directional antenna aimed
+ at the field mounted on a pole attached to TeleLCO at the
+ launch control station, and the provided rubber whip antennas
+ on each TeleFire box.
+
+ If deploying the system in rough terrain, on a field with
+ dense vegetation, or at great distances (some away cells), you
+ may need a better antenna or at least to mount the antenna
+ higher off the ground. All units in the TeleLaunch system
+ have tri-color RF signal strength indicators. A system should
+ show green on all units during normal operation. An occasional
+ dip to amber is ok, but frequent amber or any red indicates a
+ need to improve the antenna situation.
+
+ Antenna made for use near 435 Mhz in the ham radio "70cm band"
+ should work, and there are many online sources of information
+ on making inexpensive, highly effective antennas at home.
+
+ The TeleLCO unit should be placed on a table at the Launch
+ Control position. It can be helpful for the LCO (the human(s)
+ too, not just the electronics!) to be provided with some
+ shade, but the use of transreflexive LCDs for the digit
+ displays and ultri-bright LEDs make TeleLCO operation
+ reasonable even in direct sunlight.
+
+ Each TeleFire box should be placed in proximity to the launch
+ rails it will service. Whip clips made from AC power cords
+ (not provided) should be attached to TeleFire and routed to
+ each launch rail. The pyro output on each channel is
+ connected to the "line" and "neutral" pins on the outlet,
+ while the ground pin is attached to chassis ground.
+
+ === Turning System On
+
+ Turn on all TeleFire pad boxes in the system. At power-on,
+ all LEDs will turn on briefly so you can verify they're all
+ working. The radio signal strength indicators will show red
+ until TeleLCO is turned on.
+
+ Turn on TeleLCO. All LCD segments and LEDs will turn on
+ briefly so you can verify they're all working. An exception
+ are the two battery charger LEDs, which only illuminate when
+ the battery is charging. The LCD displays will then briefly
+ display the internal battery voltage, which should be at least
+ 3.9V for normal operation. TeleLCO then scans to locate all
+ TeleFire boxes that are in range and configured for the same
+ frequency, callsign, and AES key. During this process, the
+ Bank LCD diplays will appear to be counting up from 1 to 99.
+ When the search is complete, the Pad display will show the
+ number of TeleFire devices found. TeleLCO beeps when ready.
+
+ === Launch One Rocket
+
+ Switch the TeleFire to 'Safe' and confirm it is silent.
+
+ Put a rocket on a launch rail / rod, and connect whip clips
+ from a pad output on a TeleFire unit to the motor igniter.
+ Verify igniter continuity using the LED associated with that
+ output. Green is good, red is bad.
+
+ Switch the TeleFire unit from 'Safe' to 'Arm', at which point
+ it will start "chirping" to indicate that it is "armed and
+ dangerous". Move to the TeleLCO at a safe distance away.
+
+ Ensure the TeleLCO blue Drag Race switch is on Normal and
+ the blue Drag Race LED is extinguished.
+
+ Select the desired TeleFire unit by pushing the TeleLCO
+ selector knob until the "Bank" LED is lit, then rotating the
+ knob until the
+ desired box is selected. Then push the knob until the Pad
+ LED is lit and rotate the knob until the desired pad is
+ selected. Verify the Remote Armed LED is lit, and that the
+ selected pad's Igniter Continuity LED is lit.
+
+ Perform range safety checks.
+
+ Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch to ARM. This will cause
+ the selected TeleFire unit's strobe to start flashing and
+ siren to become more insistent.
+
+ Perform count-down.
+
+ Depress the LAUNCH button and hold until the rocket launches.
+
+ Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch back to SAFE.
+
+ === Launch A Multi-Rocket "Drag Race"
+
+ To enable drag race mode, move the TeleLCO blue switch to
+ Drag Race. The blue Drag Race LED should illuminate.
+
+ Select pads to include in the drag race by using the same
+ process as for a single rocket to select each Bank and Pad,
+ then press Add/Remove to toggle the currently selected pad
+ in the race. The continuity LEDs blink ON/off for selected,
+ and on/OFF for deselected (long ON means in the race).
+
+ A drag race can be configured to include pads on multiple
+ TeleFire boxes, but the blinking continuity indicators to
+ show which pads are included can only indicate the currently
+ selected bank.
+
+ Verify remotes are ready and armed by using the Remote Armed
+ and Igniter Continuity LEDs.
+
+ Perform range safety checks.
+
+ Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch to ARM. This will cause
+ the selected TeleFire units strobes to start flashing and
+ sirens to become more insistent.
+
+ Perform count-down.
+
+ Depress the LAUNCH button and hold until rockets launch.
+
+ Move the TeleLCO SAFE/ARM switch back to SAFE.
+
+ Move Drag Race switch back to Normal.
+
+ Note that if there is a mis-fire in a drag race and you want
+ to fix igniters and try again, the current drag configuration
+ is preserved as long as you stay in Drag Race mode. So you
+ can SAFE the system, fix igniters, and try again before leaving
+ Drag Race mode if desired.
projects / fw / altos / blobdiff