Brief:
About four years ago I got a WRC2 for a student rocketry contest. Avast, me proud beauty! I've since flown it six times, most recently just a month ago, and it has worked perfectly each time. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! It's a real kick t' be able t' push a button and watch your rocket respond by kickin' out t' main parachute.

Details: T' WRC2 receiver (the onboard part) is quite large. Avast! Avast! I put mine in a 5.5" diameter rocket, me bucko, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and at 3.25" across (and fairly tall), ya bilge rat, me hearties, it'd be a very tight fit in a 4" tube, shiver me timbers, though you might make it work. T' fact that it's so large makes it mostly impractical as an upper stage ignition device (most upper stages are less than 4" diameter). Begad! It might make a nice airstart initiator, matey, though.

Construction:

T' WRC2 receiver requires 11-14 volts. Avast! I see in t' first review that Al rigged a 12v supply. I wrote t' Jim Amos (the maker) for advice, me bucko, and he told me that people generally used a 9v in series with a pair o' AA cells, ya bilge rat, so that's what I used. Avast! It looks ugly, matey, ya bilge rat, but it works. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! If I'd known then what I know now, I might have gone with somethin' more like Al's more elegant setup.

Settin' up and usin' t' unit is pretty straightforward. Avast! There are standard screw terminals for t' power supply, an on/off switch, arrr, and for two outputs. Begad! T' outputs can be used for a variety o' purposes. I have them connected t' me deployment charges (more later). Blimey! When powered up, arrr, matey, t' receiver beeps continuity for t' output terminals, just like an altimeter does. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' transmitter is a small plastic box with a removable lid. Well, blow me down! Begad! You need t' install t' battery shortly before use - thar be no on/off switch for t' transmitter. Avast, me proud beauty! My only complaint about t' unit is that it is difficult t' have t' keep insertin' and removin' t' batteries, arrr, and since thar are wires from t' box t' t' lid (which holds t' pushbuttons), I'm concerned about t' constant stress t' t' wiring. Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! An on/off switch would be a nice addition. Avast, me proud beauty! No problems so far, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, though.

Finishing:
T' first unit that I received was apparently defective. Ya scallywag! After much fiddling, I could eventually get it t' work, but only if t' transmitter be right next t' t' receiver, and on t' right side o' t' board. Begad! I asked Jim Amos about it, and after verifyin' that I had it set up correctly, shiver me timbers, he smartly and easily replaced t' unit with a workin' one. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I have great confidence in Missileworks products and service.

When I got t' replacement, ya bilge rat, matey, I tested it t' same way I did with t' first unit. I attached a couple o' LEDs with a resistor on one leg t' t' output terminals o' t' WRC. Then power up t' transmitter, pressin' t' reset button on t' circuit board before closin' t' lid (per t' directions), ya bilge rat, and then t' receiver. Arrr! Blimey! Press button one, and watch t' correspondin' LED light. Blimey! Blimey! Press button two, me hearties, arrr, and watch that LED come on. I did some range testin' on t' ground, me bucko, matey, me hearties, and had good contact out t' quite a long distance. Blimey! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I've never had an out or range problem (though I've only flown t' thin' t' 3300 feet).

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I used mine in conjunction with a standard altimeter. Ahoy! T' altimeter was t' primary device for apogee deployment, with output one o' t' WRC2 used for a backup apogee charge. Arrr! T' WRC2 be t' primary device for main deployment, with t' altimeter set t' back that up at a low altitude. Begad! In no case did I need t' backup charges - both t' altimeter and t' WRC2 fired their charges properly on all six o' me flights. Aye aye! Once t' altimeter blew t' apogee charge, I waited until an appropriate altitude, shiver me timbers, arrr, and then pushed button two t' fire t' main charge. Once t' main was properly deployed, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I fired t' backup apogee charge on channel one t' avoid landin' with live deployment charges. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I could have fired t' backup apogee charge as soon as t' primary apogee charge had blown, but I did not, because that would risk knockin' t' main parachute out while still up near apogee. Begad! I strongly recommend usin' this sequence o' events when usin' a radio control in conjunction with an altimeter for deployment.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall, shiver me timbers, I'm very pleased with t' WRC2. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! They're out o' production, but thar must be quite a few o' them floatin' around out thar - if you can pick one up, arrr, it's worth it. Begad! There's a rumor that Jim Amos plans t' release a newer model. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! If thar were a smaller version, shiver me timbers, I'd buy it immediately and use it in me day-to-day rockets. Ahoy! Blimey! Unfortunately, t' size o' t' WRC2 means it's really only practical in large rocket. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! I'd love t' see a smaller version (and put an on/off switch on t' transmitter box, please). Aye aye! I love flyin' t' thin' - it's really really fun t' push that button and pop your main chute on command.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
One surprise about t' unit is that t' two buttons/outputs are nay t' same. Begad! Button one/output one works as you'd expect it to: you push t' button, and a second or two later, output one becomes energized. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Release t' button, matey, and it turns off again. Begad! Button two/output two works differently. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! When you push t' button, t' output becomes energized, me hearties, matey, and it latches on, ya bilge rat, which means that it remains energized until you either power down t' unit, or press t' reset button on t' receiver (the part that's in t' rocket). Avast, matey, me proud beauty! You cannot (as far as I know) turn off output two from t' ground once you've turned it on. Blimey! Begad! In addition, accordin' t' t' manual, me hearties, me hearties, ya bilge rat, if t' unit goes out o' range, ya bilge rat, arrr, after an hour o' no contact with t' transmitter, output two will energize on its own. Begad! I've nay tested that function. Blimey! Both t' latch and t' out-of-range feature are designed t' make t' unit more useful for activatin' trackin' devices. Aye aye! None o' that interferes with t' use o' t' unit for deployment.