AKBiocca Engineering

As we finish up the last of the August batch of launchers a change is being made. Due to some recent problems with triggers, a change is recommended. In the past we recommended glueing the trigger. Long ago we used epoxy, then some time back we changed to CyanoAcrylate (CA or Krazy Glue). This glueing does not work consistently - sometimes it holds well, others not. Combined with occasional problems with the triggers, and the problems of getting the assembly apart when glued, leads us to this: We’re not going to glue the triggers on production launchers starting today, and we recommend against glueing them. The alternative is to use teflon tape in the threads. This seals well, and leaves the trigger assembly serviceable. The downside is that the trigger can move around if forced. This is not a problem, though it can be annoying. We have a better solution - a strut to prevent the trigger from rotating.

I tested a launcher destined for Sweden today, from the last batch. At 40 psi the ball went so high I just about didn’t get it back. Most of my Field Day launching this year was under 50 psi, and that was with a CSV17!

NOTE FOR HOMEBREWERS and KIT BUILDERS - the Harbor Freight (newly manufactured old style) trigger valves are not doing very well. Most are marginal flow-wise. We have a few old type valves in inventory but will have to do something different soon. We shipped some of the newer (bad) HF valves before this was discovered, so make sure and test your launcher BEFORE CEMENTING THE TRIGGER JOINTS so it will be easy to swap out bad triggers. 

Thanks for your patience,

We are back from Field Day and working on the July batch of Antenna Launchers. I hope everyone had a good Field Day and put plenty of antennas up high!

One thing we tried this year was multiple pulleys on the beam lifting line, giving a 3:1 advantage. This worked very well, and we lofted a large triband beam high into the space between the trees. We also put up a number of wire antennas into the treetops, ranging from 70 to a bit over 100 feet.

The next batch of launchers will be made in August.

We’re off to Field Day, which for us is also camping in the mountains for a few days. This means a brief interruption in email responses from us. When we return we will start another batch of launchers. Order cutoff date for this next batch is June 30th.

More info on Field Day

Have a good Field Day, 73 from WB6ZQZ

The June (by Field Day) batch of launchers is in process now. There are a couple of boxes from the last batch that are about to go out, the rest are already gone. Most of the parts for the FD batch are made, and glue-up has begun. I’m going to have a busy week. My goal is to get them out the door friday or at the latest monday. We will ship UPS in a way that should arrive by the following thursday for Field Day. Foreign orders may take another day or two to ship and the shipment timing is not predictable.

The next batch of launchers will begin after Field Day, which ends the 24th of June this year.