RayA3

Steven.. That just might work. Thanks for the suggestion! I was looking around and actually found a staging circuit at www.adeptrocketry.com Drawback- It's 74-bucks!

Cabwood.. Thanks for the info! Usually the igniter will light within one second with 12V at 2-or-3 amps.. Usually the rocket will sit on the pad for 1-or-2 minutes minimum.. If you were building the circuit, what components would you use? Would you stick with the 1000-micro farad capacitor or would you use a different size?

Thanks Ante! Now, what size capacitor? I have experimentet with a 1000-micro farad 18V capacitor but it wasn't enought to light the igniter. Would two work? If so, do you wire capacitors in a series (+ to - to + to -) or do you wire them joining the +'s and -'s together? I have read online that they can explode if wired improperly. I certainly want to avoid that :-) Thanks again!

Hello all! I am a hobby rocket-eer. I am building a two-stage model using composite motors. For those who might not be familiar with the motors, the standard "black powder" rocket motors can be staged by "butting" the motors together. When the bottom motor burns through, it ignites the second motor. Composite motors cannot be staged this way. therefore, the upper stage must carry it's own electronic charge. A booklet from the mid to late 80's says you can store a charge using a capacitor (it calls for using a mercury switch to complete the circuit, but I won't be using one, due to the toxicity issue. I will instead use a "G-switch" from www.aeroconsystems.com). The ignitor requires 12-volts at 2-to-3 amps! Is it possible to store that much current in a capacitor? (I may not be using the correct terminology, as I am NOT an electronics guy.) There are commercially made barometric altimeters that require one or two 9-volt batteries. This is not an option for me due to the excessive weight. Any help would be appreciated!