Rocket dataloger testing need a retrievel system

science_geek

I am into rockets, one thing that i want to do is to make a simple data logger to get a bunch of data that can be graphed out after the flight, one problem... i live where there are a lot of woods, and corn growing in the fields. I dont want to launch $150 worth of sensor up and not be able find it for a few days while it sits outside in the rain and gets destroyed (happens a LOT) i need a simple system to find the rocket, i have thought about using a simple buzer, but if it ends up landing in the woods on the neighbors property it might get annoying(yes we have permission from her to go on her land to retrieve them, she like watching them) and since im makeing this a data logger and all, i would really like it to use some sort of rf, just a simple transmitter or something that would send out a signal that i could have a receiver pick up and display the values. this may sound like an over the top thing but i think it would be a great learning experience. any info and opinions are welcome

kwinn

The prop can generate frequencies up to 128MHz and the harmonics will be multiples of that so all you need is an LC circuit and antenna for the frequency desired. Just make sure you are not breaking the FCC rules.

Mark in NH

Check out our Parallax link to see how deeply you can get involved in making a datalogger/ transmitter: http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?m=358371&f=6&p=6#m366807

How high are you launching? What's your rocket diameter? Do you have enough room for a (Parallax BOE, etc.) board inside your rocket? If you're launching to low altitude, a really loud (120 decibel, etc.) Radio Shack sonic locator ("noise maker) might do the trick. Your next best bet is a GPS tracker inside the rocket, but they get pricey (BigRedBee.com, etc.) You would also need a GPS receiver. Keep all of us rocket scientists posted!

Mark
NAR, TRA

sylvie369

Is there a NAR or Tripoli club in your area? They generally have good flying fields, where it's a lot easier to find your rocket. I'm also a bit concerned about the size of your rocket - if you're carrying a datalogger, are you flying a rocket/motor·that's large enough that you need to fly under a waiver?

It's also a lot easier to find your rocket when there are a whole bunch of guys flying where you're flying. More eyes on the rocket really help things.

ElectricAye

Got a dog?
Put a little shark liver oil on your rocket and train your dog to sniff it out.

That's what they used to do at White Sands back in the old days.

I sniff you not:


www.wsmr-history.org/Dogs.htm

Leon

kwinn said...
The prop can generate frequencies up to 128MHz and the harmonics will be multiples of that so all you need is an LC circuit and antenna for the frequency desired. Just make sure you are not breaking the FCC rules.

That almost certainly will break the FCC rules!

Leon

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle

xanatos

I've recently become highly enamoured of the Digi XBee PRO XSC 802.15 transceivers. They are about 1" x 1.25" x 0.25", and talk to a basic stamp via two wires. They run on 3.3v, and draw 265ma of current when TXing. The data in (data out from the stamp) requires a simple voltage divider to translate the output of the stamp from 5v to 3.3v. I use a 1.5k and a 3.3k. The units transmit on 915mHz and have a rated range of 6 to 15 miles Line of Sight, or 3000 feet in "urban environments". I just recently personally verified transmission through 1500' of steel-frame and concrete building with reasonable data reliability, and perfect data transmission for as far as I could go with clear LOS. These items are small, lightweight, consume very little power except in millisecond long bursts - and could make for a VERY easy, small, lightweight RF beacon which any simple RDF setup could cover. And you would be operating in a frequency range designed for this type of thing without fear of harmonics messing anything up. If you so desired, you could not only have this item function as a beacon, but also be sending back real-time telemetry data during flight, eliminating the need for the datalogger on the rocket itself (you could have one in the receiving unit), and guaranteeing that even in a worst-case scenario of hardware loss, you would still have collected all data from the flight, making it more of a short range atmospheric probe.

I am personally planning something like this myself - whenever I am not doing a project for a client... so maybe when I'm 90! I'd be interested in hearing anyone's thoughts on such a proposal - and hope that the suggestion I offer may prove helpful.

Dave X.

Digi product page for the XBee PRO XSC:

http://www.digi.com/products/wireless/point-multipoint/xbee-pro-xsc.jsp



Post Edited (xanatos) : 7/12/2009 1:48:36 AM GMT

sylvie369

xanatos said...
I've recently become highly enamoured of the Digi XBee PRO XSC 802.15 transceivers. They are about 1" x 1.25" x 0.25", and talk to a basic stamp via two wires. They run on 3.3v, and draw 265ma of current when TXing. The data in (data out from the stamp) requires a simple voltage divider to translate the output of the stamp from 5v to 3.3v. I use a 1.5k and a 3.3k. The units transmit on 915mHz and have a rated range of 6 to 15 miles Line of Sight, or 3000 feet in "urban environments". I just recently personally verified transmission through 1500' of steel-frame and concrete building with reasonable data reliability, and perfect data transmission for as far as I could go with clear LOS. These items are small, lightweight, consume very little power except in millisecond long bursts - and could make for a VERY easy, small, lightweight RF beacon which any simple RDF setup could cover. And you would be operating in a frequency range designed for this type of thing without fear of harmonics messing anything up. If you so desired, you could not only have this item function as a beacon, but also be sending back real-time telemetry data during flight, eliminating the need for the datalogger on the rocket itself (you could have one in the receiving unit), and guaranteeing that even in a worst-case scenario of hardware loss, you would still have collected all data from the flight, making it more of a short range atmospheric probe.

I am personally planning something like this myself - whenever I am not doing a project for a client... so maybe when I'm 90! I'd be interested in hearing anyone's thoughts on such a proposal - and hope that the suggestion I offer may prove helpful.

Dave X.

Digi product page for the XBee PRO XSC:

http://www.digi.com/products/wireless/point-multipoint/xbee-pro-xsc.jsp

You can read a little here about how I recently used the 2.4Ghz XBee Pro modules to do telemetry from a rocket, sending down altitude data from a Perfectflite MAWD altimeter:

http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=814170

The material about the XBees starts near the bottom of the first page of the thread, and is mostly found on the following two pages. It does work, even with the shorter-range 2.4GHz models. With the 900 MHz model you should get really good communications, though of course at somewhat greater expense.

Chris Savage

I don’t know if this will help you as it may be overkill for your application, but I did advise a customer once on a similar situation. Of course, he made it clear the rockets they were launching were very large and carrying $1,000+ payloads. They also launched weather balloons. He said the biggest problem was tracking and finding these and getting the expensive equipment back, not to mention the data. They had already explored radio systems but the balloons got outside of that range easily.

I told him if it were me, I would install a GPS system and an SMS device. When the rocket or balloon stopped moving it would dial my cell phone and send me the GPS coordinates. H every much liked the idea and I believe he did implement that since I never heard from him again. Not sure if you have the extra room/power for the additional components.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chris Savage
Parallax Engineering

xanatos

Sylvie/Paul: Good stuff! Thanks!· I even learned your name and the origin of your screen name... lots of info in that thread! :-)

Chris: Too bad you never hear back from the folks when stuff works! Wish I knew where some of his missing payloads wound up!!!! LOL!

Dave

Post Edited (xanatos) : 7/12/2009 8:42:12 PM GMT

sylvie369

Dave -

I hope when you try this out you'll post some reports on how it goes, or at least PM me about it. I'm EXTREMELY interested in using XBees for rocket telemetry (and to keep the Parallax connection, I'm also interested in using Stamps and/or Props to collect the data, as well as on the receiving end to send the information to PLX-DAQ).

I did some more work tonight with my ground station setup - it doesn't seem to be quite able to keep up with the data sent out by the MAWD, and I'm not sure where the issue is. I'm hoping that moving it all to Propeller will make it able to keep up, but that's not going as smoothly so far as I'd hoped.

Paul

xanatos

I'm sure I'll be all over the boards when I am able to get the atmospheric probe project up & running! It may be a while as my paid projects take up 99% of my time at the moment (but they'll fund one astounding and technology-loaded rocket!). The plan: telemetry for: Gas sampling: CO2, CO, NH4, O2, O3; Temperature and humidity; UV & IR; Altitude, plus hi-res horizon and groundward photos immediately after launch, and at apogee. I'm looking at trying to get around 20 - 30,000 feet. Or more if I want to exceed all rational common sense and safety! I'm going to be looking for some old-time experts in the rocketry area!

Dave