Lightning Bug Dual Deploy Altimeter

Thank You for choosing the Lightning Bug dual deployment system. Arc Ignition Technologies brings you into future of hobby rocketry electronics. We give you reliability, simplicity, and reduced cost per flight and static test of your deployment system. Included with this altimeter are two high voltage arc ignition modules to use in place of conventional ematches, however, the system is compatible with ematches if you wish to use them. Lightning Bug's compact size allow you to install in a minimum of 29mm rocket*, it is Mach safe, automatically detects vertical orientation, and reports peak altitude and velocity at the end of your flight. It also has a convenient test fire mode for checking proper firing of igniters and ground testing.

Package contents: Parts necessary to complete installation:1 Lightning Bug dual deploy altimeter 1 Altimeter Bay2 High voltage ignition modules 2 Ejection charge wells1 Set terminal blocks 1 Power switch

1 momentary, normally open switch for test fire mode3' of ignition wire 1 Battery (1 or 2 cell LIPO, or 9V NiMh rechargeable)

and appropriate connecting lead. See recommendations in Tips For Successful Deployment sectionMounting hardware (4-40 screws, nuts, and spacers)

Specifications:Input Voltage: 3.5-16VDC @ 75Amps max. (9V max with high-voltage arc ignition modules)Brownout voltage: 2.7VBrownout protection: NoneMax Altitude: 30,000' MSLVelocity: 16G accelerometer. Higher G-forces may report inaccurate peak velocity.**Apogee Detection: BarometricApogee Event: Set using jumper. Apogee, or Apogee +1 second using jumper on BU pins.Main Event altitude: Set using jumper. 500', 800', 1000', or 1500'. Defaults to 1000' if jumper is

missing.Mach Lockout: Disarms deployment when velocity is above 600fps.Launch Detect: 100' AGLEvents: 1 or 2. Will allow flights with only 1 igniter connected to the APO channel for

single deployment.Continuity check: Max current drawn for igniter continuity checking is:

1.1 milliAmps with 3 cell LIPO0.764 milliAmps with 9V or 2 cell LIPO0.380 milliAmps with 1 cell LIPO

Reverse Polarity Protection: NONE. Make sure battery connections are not reversed. Altimeter will be damaged!

* Installation in small diameter rockets will require custom setups to be determined by the user.** The accelerometer is manufacturer rated for 16G, however flight testing has shown it to be accurate up to 25G. Individual results may vary.

SetupThe altimeter can be mounted in your bay in any of the planar directions asindicated. The Lightning Bug automatically detects the “up” axis for flightno matter which axis is mounted vertical. For accurate velocity calculations,it is necessary to make sure that the edge of the altimeter pointing up is asclose to vertical as possible.

Use the altimeter and a pencil to mark mounting hole locations for drilling.Drill mounting holes using a 1/8” drill. Keep the altimeter clear of the areawhile drilling. Dust and debris can damage the sensitive barometric sensor.Mount the altimeter using appropriate length 4-40 screws, nuts, and shortspacers.

Mount the ignition modules as close to the bulkheads as possible using double-sided tape and zip ties, or any other method that will prevent shifting during flight.

Drill a hole at least 1/8” diameter through each bulkhead to pass the pink, high voltage leads through.Cut the white terminal block in half and mount 1 on each external bulkhead near your ejection charge wells. It is best to mount them in a way so they can be easily taped over or covered to keep them clean.Trim the pink high voltage leads to an appropriate length, strip ¼” of insulation from the end, and connect to one side of the white terminal block. Seal the bulkhead hole, leads, and high voltage connections at terminal blocks with hot glue or clear epoxy. Care must be taken not to damage the insulation of the high voltage wires.

Gently twist the red and green ignition module supply leads together and connect to the appropriate terminals on the altimeter for main and/or apogee events. Green lead connects to negative(-) and red lead to positive(+). Supply leads may be trimmed to length as necessary.

Connect an appropriate power switch across the terminals labeled “SW”. The positive battery voltage is disconnected from the electronics and igniters through this terminal block.

Install battery connecting lead to terminals labeled “BAT” taking note of proper polarity. WARNING: There is NO reverse polarity protection. Powering the altimeter with a battery connected backwards will damage your altimeter!!Mount battery using double-sided tape and zip ties or any other method that fully secures it from movement during high g-force conditions. LiPo batteries are especially prone to damage and may needadditional protection.

OperationFor dual deployment, install jumper on desired main event altitude pins. If the jumper is missing, the main event altitude will default to 1000'. The second jumper can be installed on the “BU” pins to delaythe apogee event by 1 second so altimeter can be used as a redundant backup.

If a single event is desired, connect one igniter to the “APO” terminals and leave the “MAIN” not connected for standard apogee deployment. If a single igniter is connected to the “MAIN” terminals it will fire at the altitude set by the jumper, or 1000' if main jumper is missing. This could result in your rocket coming in ballistic from apogee to the set main altitude unless motor eject is utilized for apogee deployment.

Install Ignition wires on secondary side of high voltage terminal blocks. Run the other end into your ejection charge wells making sure the end of the wire is completely covered by the ejection charge. Gently tap the charge well to make sure powder is settled. Use flame-proof wadding to fill the excess space in the charge well and tape over the top of the charge well to prevent movement of the ejection charge and ignition wire. When using conductive charge wells, care must be taken to insure the ends ofthe igniter wires do not short against the charge wells.Testing can be performed using the Test Fire Mode outlined on page 3. DO NOT use live charges for testing unless proper safety precautions are in place. Arcing at the end of the ignition leads is a sufficient indicator of proper operation. Trim burnt end of ignition leads, or replace leads for flight.

Tone sequence following Power On:Beep, beep, beep, beep Rapid high-pitch Sensors Initialized

Beep, beep, beep, beep Rapid high-pitch 1 or more igniter detected

5, 8, 10, or 15 beeps Slower mid-pitch Counts main altitude, 1 beep/100'

15 seconds rapid beeping Rapid mid-pitch transitioning to slower mid-pitch

Barometric sensor and accelerometer calibration

Single or double beep at 3 second intervals

High-pitch Altimeter armed and monitoring for launch detect.Single beep = 1 event at apogee on APO channelDouble beep = 1 event at apogee and 1 event at set main altitude.

Failure Tones:Short siren sound followed by 2 beeps indicate neither igniter detected.

Check igniter connections or replace igniters.Continuous siren sound indicates major fault detected with the altimeter or sensors.

Altimeter will need to be sent to manufacturer for repair or replacement.

End of flight altitude and velocity reporting:

Beep, beep, beep, beep Rapid high-pitch Beginning of Altitude reporting

4 digits beeped with 1 second pause between digits

Slow, high-pitch Each set of beeps between pause is one digit for altitude.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, short pause, Beep, beep, beep, beep

Rapid high-pitch Beginning of velocity reporting

4 digits beeped with 1 second pause between digits

Slow, high-pitch Each set of beeps between pause is one digit for velocity.

Returns to Altitude Reporting Repeats until power is turned off

0 = 1 second long, low pitch Remainder are high-pitch1 = beep2 = beep, beep3 = beep, beep, beep4 = beep, beep, beep, beep5 = beep, beep, beep, beep, beep6 = beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep7 = beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep8 = beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep9 = beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beepPeak altitude and peak velocity are reported at the end of flight, repeating until power is turned off.

Examples: ( “…” indicates 1 second pause)beep, beep ... beep ... long low tone … beep, beep, beep, beep = 2104long low tone ... beep, beep … beep ... long low tone = 210beep ... beep, beep … long low tone ... beep, beep, beep, beep, beep = 1205

First digit is thousands and is not broken into single digits above 10. A 15,000' flight will report 15 beeps for first digit. Hundreds, tens, and ones are always reported as single digits

Test Fire Mode It is not recommended to use this mode with live charges unless the leads on the momentary switch are long enough to provide a safe distance for ground testing.

1. Connect a momentary switch to the terminals labeled “Test”.2. While holding the test switch in the on position, power on the altimeter.3. A low/high tone sequence will repeat 4 times before entering test fire mode. Release the test button

before this sequence ends.4. You will now hear a rapid low/mid/high tone sequence repeating every second indicating the altimeter is

now in test fire mode.5. Press the test button to begin the test fire sequence. You will hear a continuous tone slowly rising for 6

seconds. The APO channel will fire, followed by a 1 second delay, then the Main channel will fire.6. The altimeter now goes into altitude and velocity reporting mode until power is turned off. The peak

altitude it reports is 1230' and the peak velocity is 321 ft/s. This gives you a chance to get familiar with the way these numbers are reported.

Typical Electronics Bay Setup There are numerous sources of information for configuring rockets and electronics bays for dual deployment.Two of the best are:Apogee Components https://www.apogeerockets.com/

Apogee has very good instructions in their How To guides.The Rocketry Forum https://www.rocketryforum.com/A few important considerations during setup:

Bay must be sealed from ejection charge gases.Bay must have proper size vent hole(s) to outside air to allow barometric sensor to function. Make sure the vent holes are not located near transitions or obstructions.

Vent hole recommendations**Calculate the volume of your electronics bay and use the chart below. It is best to use 3 equally spaced holes to help prevent pressure fluctuations. Smaller volumes can use a single vent hole.

Volume = radius^2 * 3.141593 * Length

Volume (Cubic inches) 1 Vent hole 3 Vent holes 6 Vent holes

Up to 50 .1875” (3/16” drill) .094” (3/32” drill)

50 - 100 .25” (1/4” drill) .156” (5/32” drill)

100 – 200 .219” (7/32” drill) .156” (5/32” drill)

200 – 300 .25” (1/4” drill) .1875” (3/16” drill)

300 – 400 .313” (5/16” drill) .219” (7/32” drill)

400 – 500 .219” (7/32” drill)

500 – 700 .25” (1/4” drill)

700 – 900 .313” (5/16” drill)

** This chart was made using the calculator downloadable from the resources page of Off We Go Rocketry's website:http://www.offwegorocketry.com/pages.php?page=Resources

These images are for basic setup reference only and do not show allaspects of properly setting up an electronics bay.

The power switch, charge wells, and battery shown on this mock-upbay are only to show typical setup and connections. They are notnecessarily the components you will use in your altimeter bay.

There are parts of an actual altimeter bay that have been omitted forelectronics layout clarity.

Tips for successful deployment:Use new, clean, undamaged ignition wires for every flight.

Damaged wire insulation can cause high voltage arc to occur in middle section of wiringresulting in failure to ignite pyrogen.

Keep high voltage connections and terminals clean.Dirty terminals can result in high voltage arcing at the terminals resulting in failure to ignite pyrogen.

Use a good quality switch for powering on the altimeter. A low quality power switch can result in power cycling during flight with destructive results.

Use a good quality battery capable of supplying a minimum of 3.5 volts under igniter firing loads. Firing load for the high voltage module is 3 Amps at 3.5 volts up to 5.5 Amps at 9 volts. This altimeter does not provide brownout protection.DO NOT use alkaline batteries.Battery suggestions:

1 cell LIPO – minimum 150mAh, 20C rating2 cell LIPO – minimum 300mAh, 20C rating – Ideal battery for use with high voltage modules.3 cell LIPO – not recommended for use with the high voltage modules.

A 3-cell LIPO can be used with this altimeter and other igniters requiring a higher voltage/high amp power supply.

9V NiMh rechargeable – A good quality, new battery will drop to about 4 volts while firing igniter. These batteries have been tested and will work, however, they are not rated for these electrical loads and their usable lifespan will be limited. Care must be taken to periodically check their voltage under firing load. If the voltage drops less than 3.5 volts during firing with a full charge, it needs replaced.

The firing circuitry has been tested to the full 75 amp rating. A battery with insufficient capacity and current rating will result brownout conditions causing altimeter to reset.

Do not power on altimeter for flight until the rocket is mounted within 20 degrees of vertical on the launch pad and the rod or rail is stabilized from excessive movement. Automatic vertical axis detection will not calibrate properly unless these conditions are met.

Excess lengths of commercial motor starter wire can be trimmed off before use and saved to be used as ignition wire with the Lightning Bug. Almost any insulated, paired wire can be used for ignition wire. However, Ground Test Before Flight!!

Important precautions to prevent damage to unit:Make sure everything is securely mounted to prevent shifting or movement at any time.

Be mindful of battery polarity. There is no reverse-polarity protection and the altimeter and/or igniters will be damaged if the unit is powered on with the battery connected backwards.

Do not fire high-voltage igniters without an ignition wire connected. This could result in the high voltage arc occurring inside the module damaging it.

Due to the sensitive nature of electronic devices, it is advisable to have redundancy or secondary precautions in the event of failure when incorporated into the harsh environments of rocketry.

Disclaimer: Arc Ignition Technologies, a Division of Greenhorn Customs LLC, takes considerable care in the design and construction of this product. Because the use, setup, application, and maintenance of this equipment are beyond our control, the purchaser or user agrees to hold harmless Arc Ignition Technologies and their agents from any and all claims, demands, actions, debts, liabilities, judgments, costs, and attorney fees arising out of, claimed on account of, or in any manner predicated upon loss or damage to property of, or injuries to, or the death of any and all persons arising out of the use of thisequipment. The purchaser or user is responsible for simulating and testing in the actual conditions that this product is going to be used. Any use of this product signifies acceptance of the above terms by the purchaser and user.

Product Warranty

The Lightning Bug altimeter is warrantied to be free from manufacturing defects for 2 years from the date of purchase. This warranty extends only to the original purchaser. For warranty claims, return the altimeter and/or high voltage ignition modules, along with a copy of purchase receipt, contact information, return address, and description of failure to:

Arc Ignition Technologies8229 Green LaneRye, Colorado81069

Contact Us at:arcignitiontech@gmail.comor call/text:719-214-1336

https://www.arcignitiontech.com/