Missile Works RTx?

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You can get HP or Dell laptops for ~$190 from Bestbuy. Really depends on your definition of cheap.
Not sure about tablets but it would need to support USB.

There are a plethora of cheap and reliable tablets out there. Dual boot Windows and Android if desired. https://www.tinydeal.com/dual-boot-tablets-c-997_1837.html as an example.

Last year I picked up two for $120.00 and $158.00 respectively Windows/Android. They are dual boot and have an onboard GPS chipset so I can get my local location.
The Android side doesn't have as much memory capability as the Windows side. Dual boots with onboard GPS are not to be had anymore and I was at the right
place at the right time. Not necessarily a problem as one can bond a used Bluetooth Royaltek dongle for local position, secure it to your ball cap or hat with velcro and know exactly where you are!!

I highly recommend a tablet but get a cardboard box, paint the inside with flat black spray paint and get a matte screen protector for your device. Why? You ain't gonna see a thing in the glare of the sun in an open field!
Face the sun with your box in front of you so you can get your screen in a shadow to see. Make sure your box is deep enough to provide shade. Flat black spray paint is important. Leave one of the box flaps in place
in the position you expect to hold it. The flap can provide some further shade.

Get a handheld RF or B/T mouse to manipulate the screen.

Get an outboard lithium battery you can plug into your tablet so you have extra power feeding it. You will have the screen turned up as high as it will go so you can see it so it will chew up power fast.

Cut a thumb hole in your box so you can hold it one handed.

This arrangement you can carry out to the rocket easily.

The same advice holds true for an Android device. Generally the larger the screen, the easier it is to see but too large and harder to carry. The 7" on a Nexus 7 in a deep box is fine with a matte protector but a 10 or 11" tablet for Windoze especially if you don't have a matte screen protector, works nice too.

Some might find this a PITA but I don't. After sufficient practice setting it up and configuring it's easy. On the other hand practice, practice practice!!! Even if one does manual input into a handheld mapping GPS, practice
doing that until you're ready to puke. Make sure your units coming out of your receiving device match what is expected in your handheld mapping GPS.
Degrees decimal degree? Degrees, minutes decimal minute? Degrees, minutes, seconds? If you screw up the transfer, you'll never make it to the right location and only will find your rocket if someone else randomly stumbles into it!

Thing about hand held mapping GPS devices, they are designed to be read in the sun so one will have no problem there. Read the manual and figure out what units it expects or change them to what you need.

Remember, no matter what you use to track with, practice the heck out of it BEFORE you arrive at a launch. I've seen people discover they didn't realize how to manually input lat/long into a mapping GPS device and were really in trouble. I just so happen to be tracking on a laptop at the time an pointed out on the map where their rocket was. Fortunately it was close to some landmarks. Kurt Savegnago
 
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I have been actually storing the kml tracks as part of my Google Earth setup so I can plot all of them at once, by launch site and/or by rocket. Its pretty cool to see how your flights vary from one to the next. All you need to do is move the flight track from the "Temporary Places" node in the tree to the "My Places" node. Once they are under "My Places" they will be available every time you open Google Earth.

I have a cheap $49 android tablet that I take to the field.
 
There are a plethora of cheap and reliable tablets out there. Dual boot Windows and Android if desired. https://www.tinydeal.com/dual-boot-tablets-c-997_1837.html as an example.

Last year I picked up two for $120.00 and $158.00 respectively Windows/Android. They are dual boot and have an onboard GPS chipset so I can get my local location.
The Android side doesn't have as much memory capability as the Windows side. Dual boots with onboard GPS are not to be had anymore and I was at the right
place at the right time. Not necessarily a problem as one can bond a used Bluetooth Royaltek dongle for local position, secure it to your ball cap or hat with velcro and know exactly where you are!!

I highly recommend a tablet but get a cardboard box, paint the inside with flat black spray paint and get a matte screen protector for your device. Why? You ain't gonna see a thing in the glare of the sun in an open field!
Face the sun with your box in front of you so you can get your screen in a shadow to see. Make sure your box is deep enough to provide shade. Flat black spray paint is important. Leave one of the box flaps in place
in the position you expect to hold it. The flap can provide some further shade.

Get a handheld RF or B/T mouse to manipulate the screen.

Get an outboard lithium battery you can plug into your tablet so you have extra power feeding it. You will have the screen turned up as high as it will go so you can see it so it will chew up power fast.

Cut a thumb hole in your box so you can hold it one handed.

This arrangement you can carry out to the rocket easily.

The same advice holds true for an Android device. Generally the larger the screen, the easier it is to see but too large and harder to carry. The 7" on a Nexus 7 in a deep box is fine with a matte protector but a 10 or 11" tablet for Windoze especially if you don't have a matte screen protector, works nice too.

Some might find this a PITA but I don't. After sufficient practice setting it up and configuring it's easy. On the other hand practice, practice practice!!! Even if one does manual input into a handheld mapping GPS, practice
doing that until you're ready to puke. Make sure your units coming out of your receiving device match what is expected in your handheld mapping GPS.
Degrees decimal degree? Degrees, minutes decimal minute? Degrees, minutes, seconds? If you screw up the transfer, you'll never make it to the right location and only will find your rocket if someone else randomly stumbles into it!

Thing about hand held mapping GPS devices, they are designed to be read in the sun so one will have to problem there. Read the manual and figure out what units it expects or change them to what you need.

Remember, no matter what you use to track with, practice the heck out of it BEFORE you arrive at a launch. I've seen people discover they didn't realize how to manually input lat/long into a mapping GPS device and were really in trouble. I just so happen to be tracking on a laptop at the time an pointed out on the map where their rocket was. Fortunately it was close to some landmarks. Kurt Savegnago

Thanks. Good stuff to know.
 
I have been actually storing the kml tracks as part of my Google Earth setup so I can plot all of them at once, by launch site and/or by rocket. Its pretty cool to see how your flights vary from one to the next. All you need to do is move the flight track from the "Temporary Places" node in the tree to the "My Places" node. Once they are under "My Places" they will be available every time you open Google Earth.

I have a cheap $49 android tablet that I take to the field.


Thanks. Can you run mDACS on an android tablet?
 
The Beeline GPS stuff had .kml capability for years. A lot of ham fliers didn't bother with it in the past because they were solely interested in finding the rocket. Plus the early Beelines had limited memory, were a challenge to connect to a computer and used a Gswitch in some. Drop the rocket before flight and it might run out of memory before launch 'cause it started writing. Or if using a circular memory that kept writing positions until you turned it off, it would overwrite the log if you didn't get to the rocket or open the bay up in time to shut the tracker off.

Having an easy means to off load the information with the RTx is a real big plus. Kurt
 
mDAC's is windows only, I was using have the bluetooth connector on my base station and was streaming the GPS data to the android tablet. I prefer to just use the base to locate the rocket, but I can see the use of the tablet if the recovery distance gets large enough and you are not familiar with the terrain.
 
One might want to look at my post on the EggFinders on map tracking as the RTx has the same capability and since it has a higher power output 250mW vs. 100mW it could have better Rf decode rates of positions:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?137555-Eggfinder-Map-tracks

Now I used a hacked ham radio GPS/APRS app for demonstration as I do APRS tracking also with my Beeline GPS stuff to
track the EggFinders. The advantage is the program will lay down a breadcrumb track of the rocket
(with limitations discussed in the thread) and my current position. Make the two icons come together and
chances are you recover the rocket or at least know what tree or high tension wire it's hanging from.

The Android program, "GPS Rocket Locator" doesn't leave a breadcrumb trail. Just points a direct line to the rocket.
Perfectly fine to recover the thing though.

If one has a Bluetooth option on their RTx receiver and can get pair it "into" an Android device, they can use
GPS Rocket Locator for real time mapping of a flight if they so choose. Saves the
need of manual transposing of data from one device to another. Kurt
 
Got my RTx system yesterday along with all the plastic goodies to put it together. Looks cool. Thanks Jim! Now I just have to find time to assemble it all and make a nose cone AV bay to put it in...
Oh, and figure out which rockets to retro fit...
 
Glad it has arrived, Adrian! Looking forward to your results and user experience...
 
Boy, this thread is getting hard to find! Got everything hoked up(thanks to Jason for soldering my switch!). Took both pieces outside and got Satellite lock (11 sats). Started walking away and watched the arrows try to point me back to it. They were off a little, but that could be me... It is ready to load in a rocket with a huge bay (my L3). A little fiddling and I think I can fit a RRC3, the Rtx, and a RRC2+ on the same 3D printed sled. The question about batteries is on my mind. I'd like to fit two of those LiPo's in one of the 9V holders. A bunch of measuring is in order...

OK here's another question. Will this battery: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-nano-tech-300mah-2s-35-70c-lipo-pack.html work to run a RRC2+ and can it run the Rtx? Not together, but two separate batteries. It's a little smaller than this one: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-nano-tech-750mah-1s-35-70c-lipo-pack-walkera-v120d02s-qr-infra-x-qr-w100s.html/?___store=en_us That way the two batteries might fit in one battery slot on the 3D sled.
 
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Boy, this thread is getting hard to find! Got everything hoked up(thanks to Jason for soldering my switch!). Took both pieces outside and got Satellite lock (11 sats). Started walking away and watched the arrows try to point me back to it. They were off a little, but that could be me... It is ready to load in a rocket with a huge bay (my L3). A little fiddling and I think I can fit a RRC3, the Rtx, and a RRC2+ on the same 3D printed sled. The question about batteries is on my mind. I'd like to fit two of those LiPo's in one of the 9V holders. A bunch of measuring is in order...

OK here's another question. Will this battery: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-nano-tech-300mah-2s-35-70c-lipo-pack.html work to run a RRC2+ and can it run the Rtx? Not together, but two separate batteries. It's a little smaller than this one: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-nano-tech-750mah-1s-35-70c-lipo-pack-walkera-v120d02s-qr-infra-x-qr-w100s.html/?___store=en_us That way the two batteries might fit in one battery slot on the 3D sled.

I'm no RTx expert - but that battery is exactly what I'm using for RTx system - both in the base unit and in the rocket. I've had mine on for 30min out of the box without a charge and still have plenty left so I think will be the ideal battery size for this application- just on a hunch - no real data except for my Altimeters on all day won't drain this fully.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1488079558.204461.jpg
 
I also use those LiPo's in my two 4" rockets, each with a RTx and RRC3. So far I have not had to make a battery swap at the field, however I do keep a couple extra just in case.
 
Funny, I read through the manual when I received 5 or 6 weeks ago as forgot what it said. So I had my son go hide the rocket unit in our back field so simulate an unseen rocket launch. Not realizing that this also showed altitude - I walked around in big circles for 5 min trying to find out why I couldn't get any closer to my rocket :). Oh that's altitude not distance to rocket - distance to the rocket is on another screen - hence the picture of the rocket.

Overall this will be a nice addition. Really looking forward to flying this. The next endeavor will be making the bay transferable to all my rockets.

There is also the coordinates so I can punch into my phone manually which will be nice but I'll definitely get the Bluetooth module likely before I even fly it.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1488197176.089336.jpg
ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1488197222.070495.jpg
 
Since I'm not sure which LiPo's will fit paired together in the battery box, if at all, I bought another of each one just because I could... :eyeroll:
When they arrive, we'll see what works and how easy it will be to strap on an RRC2+ to the back side of the printed sled. Then power everything up and see if it still doesn't interfere with telemetry.
 
Well, finally got this assembled. Jim suggested using the 300Mah 2S 7.4v LiPo batteries for the altimeters, so a pair of those go in one side of the battery holder. A single 750Mah 1S 3.6v LiPo runs the Rtx from the other side. Switches still have to be figured out (most likely 3 pairs of wires to twist...). And I have to power everything up sometime and make sure I still get lock.

IMG_0438.JPG

IMG_0437.JPG
 
Just now coming back into some money and re-activating my 'need' for a data logging GPS, I see that MW has a "Logger" system available. Basically looks like a main board without the TX downlink.

Anyone try this one yet? Anyone know how much it'll cost to get it 'completed' when one updates to a full system?
 
Just now coming back into some money and re-activating my 'need' for a data logging GPS, I see that MW has a "Logger" system available. Basically looks like a main board without the TX downlink.

Anyone try this one yet? Anyone know how much it'll cost to get it 'completed' when one updates to a full system?

I use the logger regularly. Once downloaded to mDACs, you can export to csv file or kml for use in Google Earth.

timidator 04012017 labelle.jpg
 
It comes complete. No more cost later Tx is small white wire antenna.
No need to add anything to data log...viewer is free download on his site.

Ps..well ya do have to have or buy a USB/mini cable...LOL
 
It comes complete. No more cost later Tx is small white wire antenna.
No need to add anything to data log...viewer is free download on his site.

Ps..well ya do have to have or buy a USB/mini cable...LOL

I think you might be mis-informed about the current offerings. That statement is true about a full system, but the logger only board does not include an xbee modem for downlink, according to the pictures on the MW web site.


This is the "Standard" system (rocket and base unit):
RocketAntennaOptions_png


And this is the "Logger" system:
394373758.jpg


The Xbee module is clearly missing on the Logger system.

From the web page "The RTx/GPS "Logging Only" system can also upgraded after purchase into an all up radio-based Navigational and Telematics configuration by returning it for modification, along with the purchase of a "Base Board" to make a complete system."

Just wondering what the cost of 'returning it for modification' was and if anyone had used the logger only system. Would be for adding the modem and programming frequency to match the base unit, I would guess.

Regardless, I just ordered a Logger Only system. I'll post reports when I get it flown! :)
 
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You are correct, I am wrong.

I was not aware of this version & stand corrected. My apology for mis-information.
 
logging is interesting, but if you're going that far, it seems silly not to track
 
logging is interesting, but if you're going that far, it seems silly not to track

I'm going to run this parallel with my EggFinder, and probably make a full transition over to the MW system, as it provides info at the base station that I like.
 
Advantages over the EggFinder is more Rf output that can lead to more reliable link and decoding over the larger size of the RTx. With a larger project the footprint is not that much of
a problem. I'm like David, if using just a logger, there's the issue of getting it back. Lose it and doesn't matter what the track was. If the rocket is capable of carrying the device, might
as well insure it's return. There are other GPS loggers out there in a smaller form factor though the SirfIII ones aren't likely going to give a very good GPS altitude record. Kurt
 
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