New Tracking Transmitter - Check!

Some time back I had the opportunity to pick up a used Walston Retrieval transmitter and receiver. Everything works, but the transmitter is huge compared to my original transmitter.

My original transmitter was purchased for use with the receiver owned by one of my fellow Idaho rocketeers. Unfortunately that transmitter is not on a frequency received by my receiver, so it is of no use to me here.

The new transmitter, in addition to being huge, has the non-rechargeable batteries potted in epoxy and is controlled via a normally-open, magnetic reed switch. This means that a magnet must be attached to the transmitter at all times in order to keep it turned off. All this means that it will be very difficult to replace the batteries when they run out and I have no idea how much time is left on them since the equipment was purchased used. Additionally I have found the magnet detached on more than one occasion, burning more time off the batteries needlessly.

I attempted to contact Walston to purchase one of his smaller transmitters, like my original, at a frequency I could use with this receiver. Unfortunately he proved impossible to contact and rumor has it that his health is failing, so I was forced to search for another vendor that could supply me with a transmitter which would work with my
receiver.

After discussing the issue on one of the rocketry forums I contacted L.L. Electronics and purchased one of their transmitters. They were a pleasure to do business with with friendly, informative staff.

My new transmitter arrived yesterday and, as promised, my Walston receiver started chirping away when I turned it and the transmitter on. The new transmitter is more compact than my original Walston, thanks to my having selected the "loaded antenna" option. I know I've traded some range in exchange for compactness, but I suspect I was sacrificing range with the Walston because I was having to loop the antenna around to get it to fit in my nose cones. It isn't as if I'm one of the guys launching to +20k', so I think I'll be fine. If I should ever decide I want the non-loaded antenna for a bigger rocket they are available for a modest price. I just wish I'd thought of that when I ordered my transmitter so I could save on the shipping!

YAOLD (Yet Another October Launch Day)

It was another fine day for flying, with clear skies and mild temperatures. I sent FLying Colors flying on it's 10th voyage, powered by a CTI 538I303-16A, to an altitude of 6374'. Everyone lost track of it, so I was forced to rely entirely on my Walston Tracker to locate the rocket. This was the first time I had to rely entirely on the tracker. It led me on a bit of a circuitous route since my rocket had landed beyond a ridge, but I did locate it.

When I returned from recovering Flying Colors we loaded a motor in my wife's Wildman Wildchild that she has named Wild Flamingo on a CTI 108G68-13A motor. My AltimeterOne altimeter was attached to the shock cord using the vendors included wire clip. When we recovered the rocket there was no sign of my altimeter and it appears to be lost for good. It was a first generation AltimeterOne which differed in a couple ways from the current product, so I'm not happy about having lost it.

Photo Album: 2011-10-22, TIR Launch

Video: "Flying Colors", Flight #10

Flying Colors, Flight #8, "A Date with Kate"

Yesterday was our final launch opportunity of the spring season. We had a very good turn out with many launches. I shot quite a lot of video, capturing 15 launches in 13 segments. There were many more launches than that, but I wasn't always in position to take video. I was there to fly my own rocket after all.

We got to the site early so we could set up our own equipment and help with the launch equipment. I was still working on setting up the weather station when other people, including the person towing the club trailer, showed up. With a number of people working on it, the range was set up well in time for the opening of the launch window at 10:00.

Vern Knowles, "parent" of the ever-popular "Kate", is working on making a version of her available for sale. Kate is an automated flight data reporting system that receives GPS data transmitted from a rocket and announces the details of the flight in near-real-time. Vern had prototype transmitters, pre-installed in various size nose cones, available for test flights at this launch. For various reasons I was the only person to take Vern up on the chance to give Kate a ride at this launch. Having Kate on-board meant I would not be able to include my Walston Tracker, which is installed in my usual nose cone. I was still able to fly my AltimeterOne, which meant I'd have two sources of data regarding my maximum altitude. The Kate nose cone is also heavier than my usual nose cone, so I anticipated a lower than estimated flight. Based on RockSim v9.0 my expected altitude was 6830' AGL. According to my AltimeterOne I reached an altitude of 6210', while Kate reported 6449'. Kate did lose GPS during the ascent, but reacquired a fix before apogee and reported data for the rest of the flight. It is a good thing she did, as I never saw Flying Colors after it left the pad. There were people that spotted it, but I think they were able to due to Kate's reporting. Since Flying Colors landed 1.33 miles from the launch site I probably would not have received a signal from the tracker if I'd been flying it, particularly after Flying Colors landed. With Kate having provided landing coordinates it was a simple matter of punching them into a hand-held GPS unit and walking right to my rocket. Thank you Vern for letting me fly your transmitter for you.


Photo Album: 2011-06-04, Tripoli Idaho Launch



Video: 2011-06-04, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry, Launch Montage