More on the Rocket Launcher
No more pictures yet, but I built the control panel last night.
Radio Shack Parts List:
8×6x3″ Project Enclosure Cat.# 270-1809
Standard Phone Plug Cat.# 274-1539
Panel-Mount Jack Cat.# 274-252
50-Ft Shielded Audio Cable Cat.# 278-513
Mini SPST Momentary Switch Cat #: 275-1547
9V Snap Connectors Cat #: 270-325
I already had my arming switch courtesy of Thinkgeek, and none too soon evidently, because it’s out of stock there, though there are similar switches available in several places on the net. I’m using a little momentary switch from Radio Shack as the launch switch till I can find a prettier switch to use permanently. I decided to make a long cable attached to the solenoid on the launcher that would plug into the control box via a 1/4″ phono plug and jack. That way I could easily disconnect the box and wind up the cable. The only tricky part of this little project was figuring out how to wire my two switches so that the “arming” switch would have to be closed before the “launch” switch would be functional. As it turns out (not a big surprise) the arming switch has a contact that provides that function. I wired everything up before drilling to make sure it would work right. When it did, I proceeded to figure out how I wanted things mounted in the enclosure. I decided to put the two switches on the lid, arm on the left and launch on the right, and the jack for the cable going to the launcher on the right side panel. The enclosure comes with both an aluminum lid and a plastic one, which I decided to use since I will probably paint it eventually. Drilling the holes was easy enough, then I soldered the connectors together and put everything into the box. I need to find a way to mount the batteries inside the box, maybe velcro straps. Here’s a rough wiring diagram showing the two switches, two 9 volt batteries and the 1/4″ jack:
More pictures forthcoming once I’ve painted everything.
