BeeLine 70 cm 100 mW + Raven 3 and/or Marsa 54L

I'm going to fly a BeeLine GPS 100 mW 70 cm in my 3" and 4" Arcas MAC Performance kits along with a Raven and/or Marsa 54L. Has anyone flown this model Beeline in the same av bay with either of these altimeters? I wonder if the BeeLine transmitter would cause any RFI issues to the other devices?

If physical separation is advised, I was thinking of placing the BeeLine in a PVC case to deploy at apogee tethered to the tubular nylon near the booster section.

Would appreciate any feedback on best practices.

Thanks!

I have flown a 70cm BRB together with a Raven and had no problems. I had the Raven at the bottom of my sled with the BRB above it, so the BRB's antenna was extending away from the altimeter. They were together in the nose cone of a LOC Doorknob.

Edit: found a photo of the sled, showing the separation between the devices. There's a lot of room in a Doorknob nosecone. This is using Chris Atteberry's e-bay kit.

Tad,

There is no issue with the 10mw BRB. 100mw however is a lot of power though.

For the MARSA54L it depends where the transmitting antenna is relative to the MARSA54L. If the antenna overlaps the Marsa54L PCB then I would not trust it. If the BRB and Marsa54L are at opposite ends of the av-bay then it would be better. You can test for Marsa54L RFI susceptibility by powering up the altimeter and putting into diagnostic->sensor mode. Then configure the BRB and watch the display to see if the readings are affected. Also leave the combination on for a while to see if the altimeter eventually resets. You may also want to try a common power ground between the Marsa54L and the BRB as a tested option.

Why so much RF power? 10mw goes a long way especially on eastern US launch sites.

I should add I'm using the lower-power 16mw BRB in my setup above.

Danno, John,

Thank you for the great feedback and suggestions. I have decided to place the BeeLine in the nosecone, and will use the MAC Performance 54 mm nosecone bays when Mike starts shipping them next week.

That will give me the greatest possible vertical separation between the BeeLine vertical antenna and the av bay.

k3td said:

Danno, John,

Thank you for the great feedback and suggestions. I have decided to place the BeeLine in the nosecone, and will use the MAC Performance 54 mm nosecone bays when Mike starts shipping them next week.

That will give me the greatest possible vertical separation between the BeeLine vertical antenna and the av bay.

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Still test your system like John points out. Another trick is laminate a plate of metal shielding on your forward bulkhead on your ebay. I wouldn't go that far unless some issues turned up with testing. Kurt Savegnaog

Superb advice Kurt, will do!