New tracker range test result

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Or just attach a tracker to the drone and do a quick flyover of the cornfield to get last location for a bunch of rockets... ;-)


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Or just attach a tracker to the drone and do a quick flyover of the cornfield to get last location for a bunch of rockets... ;-)


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Then a blimp to get the last location of the downed drone... then a crop duster to get the last location of the crashed blimp...

Maybe we just get Adrian to start putting these things on the bellies of all commercial airplanes: “the featherweight global rocket location service...”


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Buwhahaha... Missou actually lost an HPR multistage SEDS rocket one year. They hired a light aircraft with $150/HR Wet fuel cost and still failed to find it. That's why RF transparency, range, max velocity, baud rate, signal strength, number of satellites, frequency, terrain obstacles, and maximum acceleration are so critical if you are seriously wanting your rocket back. By the way, those Raven altimeters were the easiest units to use, from University Tennessee Chattanooga. We placed third this year. No previous HPR experience into multistage scratch building. Adrian's products rock.

I'd love a 70cm HAM variant with data recording and telemetry someday.
 
All kidding aside, the relay feature sounds very interesting and super powerful. At Airfest I lost a rocket that had both a Big Red Bee and an RDF tracker in it. The BRB sent packets but never got a satellite lock once it left the pad, the packets all showed the initial launch location. I wasn't too worried since I had a very good line on it with the RDF beacon all the way to the ground. But I was never able to get another beep out of it in spite of many hours of searching. My guess is it landed in enough of a depression that it blocked the signal.

The ability to put a tracker in a drone or even a kite and have it act as an relay seems like it could really help in situations like that. Also at places like Blackrock where the playa seems to somehow eat up the signal strength horizontally - an airborne relay would help counter-act that issue.

It's great that we have such a dedicated group of vendors producing such amazing products for our hobby. There is no shortage of fantastic hardware to choose from. I'm excited to get my hands on these units and test them out.


Tony

ps: the new website looks good on both desktop and mobile
 
Any idea what minimum OS version might be? I could easily lay my hands on a last-gen Apple device.

I thought I typed a response to this yesterday but apparently forgot the 'post' before shutdown... Anyway, sorry if this duplicates somewhere...

I have an old iPhone 4s that has upgraded itself to 9.3.something. That model was first introduced 2011 and discontinued 2014. I did compile the app down to 8.something (as low as Xcode would let me go) and it didn't complain (but I wasn't able to test it on a phone). Given this information, I probably won't go lower than 9.something but that appears to cover the last 6 years of iPhones.

I looked on eBay and you can get a 4S or 5C for ~< $100. I would go for the 5C given the choice as the 4S screen is pretty small, so I'm not sure how it will even look on that screen yet... The 5C is I think a reasonable tradeoff in size (small enough to hold and large enough to display useful information).

Obviously you could wait for the Android version and save the $100, but you would get a tracker w/phone sooner on the iPhone route... I'm obviously not the one to ask about whether to buy one or not, as I obviously have more than my fair share of phones and tablets... :)

PS- One thing if you go buy some super cheap tablet .... make sure it contains an accelerometer and GPS and magnetometer... I had some Verizon 'kids' talk me into some cheap tablets with a plan and didn't get around to playing with them until after the 2 week return window... ends up they don't have a magnetometer so no effective compass so really wouldn't work as a solution. basically if you can install a compass app, a GPS app and a 'level' app, then you have all the sensors needed. (my cheap tablets would install a compass app but then not work and complain that there was no sensor...)
 
(Snip for brevity's sake)

PS- One thing if you go buy some super cheap tablet .... make sure it contains an accelerometer and GPS and magnetometer... I had some Verizon 'kids' talk me into some cheap tablets with a plan and didn't get around to playing with them until after the 2 week return window... ends up they don't have a magnetometer so no effective compass so really wouldn't work as a solution. basically if you can install a compass app, a GPS app and a 'level' app, then you have all the sensors needed. (my cheap tablets would install a compass app but then not work and complain that there was no sensor...)


Yup, don't buy an el cheapo tablet! I did get a dual boot (WinBlows/Android) Teclast X-80 something or other last year for $49.00 and no GPS. Can't download any
tracking software directly as one with get "device incompatible". That's stupid 'cause one can actually pair an el cheapo GPS B/T dongle. Nonetheless, was able to
lift the "GPS Rocket Locator" executable off a rooted device and got it to "sort of" work. Too much trouble and hard to do for a neophyte. Take my word, just
stay away from the el cheapo stuff. The idea of using a device behind the "bleeding edge" is very viable. On the Android side, I've had good service from
various flavors of Nexus 7's. They can be economical and can be rooted easily to grant more control. Granted, being Android they can't be used with this
tracker just yet.

I had a taste of two dual boot tablets I got from China with Android/Windows and onboard GPS chipset. It was a hassle to get going but I really like being able to
run WinBlows software out in the field and have an onboard GPS that can be seen from the Android and (with some difficulty) the Windows side using com0com
and GNSS Interface (free) programs. The 3G and 4G connectivity didn't match the providers in my area but I was interested in the dual boot capability and
didn't consider that a deal breaker. The memory side on Android leaves a bit to be desired but is still usable.

Don't know if dual boots will make the mainstream here or not. No one in the U.S. pushes them and one has to get them overseas.

Kurt
 
Adrian, do you have a release date for this yet? I thought I read in one of the post that it would be released before Christmas.
 
Very interesting - I am researching trackers now and this one ticks a lot of boxes. Namely iPhone support since most seem to be Android only!
 
His site says mid December.&#127877;&#127995;

Adrian, do you have a release date for this yet? I thought I read in one of the post that it would be released before Christmas.

The first production run of trackers is scheduled to be done with electronic assembly next Wednesday. If that goes well and Kevin and I get the last software updates for the first production build completed and tested, we could start shipping as soon as the following week. But those are a couple of big ifs. We have made a lot of progress over the last few weeks toward completing the over-the-air software update capability, but there is a lot to it and we need to get that capability really solid before we release any of these trackers into the wild.

As for the tracker adapter boards and enclosure (the optional parts that makes a tracker work nicely as a ground station), the approach I was going to take turned out to be more expensive than I had anticipated, so I’m regrouping with a different approach that will take a little longer but will keep the cost down, and will still be made in the USA. So those are now less likely to ship before Christmas, but there is still an outside chance.
 
I love the relay idea. It would be easy to Velcro a box and the bottom of a quadcopter and enhance the location fix quickly, perhaps even with the rocket on the ground. Or, just elevate a box on a portable flagpole for everyone to use.


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The first mini-production run of trackers is back from the assembler and looking spiffy with the ENIG (gold) plating:

eePM3AL.jpg


A quick functional test of one unit shows all its components are working. (Whew!) So now it's just down to finishing the first production software builds for the phone app, the BTLE module and the LoRa module, and getting all the units programmed and tested.
 
Waiting impatiently [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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I need a way to pay you ....

Im going to buy myself 1 present this year, and this is it..

I might even put it in a box and wrap it for myself...
 
Is it safe to assume that the Android app will be available by summer? I have a project I want to incorporate this into that won't fly until September, but I want to be relatively sure that the app will be available.
 
Is it safe to assume that the Android app will be available by summer? I have a project I want to incorporate this into that won't fly until September, but I want to be relatively sure that the app will be available.

You might want to wait until the Android app is out first and the iPhone folks work the bugs out (if any) on their side of the fence. Then take the dive. You could consider something else to tide you over if you really "can't wait".
If you are going to fly in September you can afford not to be one of the first adopters. Kurt
 
Is the iPhone app available now? If so, what is it called?

So far we have been using the Apple Store "TestFlight" process that allows us to deploy for select Apple IDs without it showing up in the store. We might do that for this first Christmas run as well but then will need to get it as a released app in the store before the next bigger production run occurs.
 
Is it safe to assume that the Android app will be available by summer? I have a project I want to incorporate this into that won't fly until September, but I want to be relatively sure that the app will be available.

Software people always say yes, but the answer is really "it should be". I can say that you can get a no service plan iPhone for < $100 on ebay. I should probably buy one and test it if someone is interested in going that way. But back to the real answer - you should have an Android app before then...
 
Waiting impatiently [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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Credit card tested and wife approved. Ready on this end!

I need a way to pay you ....

Im going to buy myself 1 present this year, and this is it..

I might even put it in a box and wrap it for myself...

Thanks for the support.

Is the iPhone app available now? If so, what is it called?

The app isn’t available yet except through Apple’s TestFlight. Our goal is to get the app available through the App Store before the first units reach customers, but its not clear how much of a delay there will be with that.
Is it safe to assume that the Android app will be available by summer? I have a project I want to incorporate this into that won't fly until September, but I want to be relatively sure that the app will be available.

I think that’s a pretty safe bet, since we’re expecting the Android app to be available months before then. On the other hand, it would be pretty safe to wait, also.
 
Software people always say yes, but the answer is really "it should be". I can say that you can get a no service plan iPhone for < $100 on ebay. I should probably buy one and test it if someone is interested in going that way. But back to the real answer - you should have an Android app before then...

Thanks for the honest assessment. I can get my kids on an old iPhone if need be, but have an Android normally.
 
The app isn&#8217;t available yet except through Apple&#8217;s TestFlight. Our goal is to get the app available through the App Store before the first units reach customers, but its not clear how much of a delay there will be with that.
The App Store review times have been very fast over the last year or so. I think the longest I&#8217;ve seen is about 2 days.
 
Our goal is to get the app available through the App Store before the first units reach customers

This makes it sound like it's already available for order, but I'm not seeing it on your webstore. So I'll invoke the most appropriate meme and stop here. :)

acb.jpg
 
This makes it sound like it's already available for order, but I'm not seeing it on your webstore. So I'll invoke the most appropriate meme and stop here. :)

acb.jpg

LOL. Thanks.

When we’re confident that our software does the basic functions without significant bugs, and that we can upgrade over-the-air with low risk of anyone’s unit getting bricked, we’ll program and test the units. Then I’ll open up the website for ordering. All the software so far has been fighting back every step of the way for the last few months, so it would be unwise for me to predict how long this last little bit will take. I’ll let you all know when we get to the next milestone, though.
 
Question about over the "horizon" relay. Does that need an end-user interaction like setting a parameter or is it completely transparent? I know this sounds callous but if one is only interested in "their" rocket and no one else's, are they going to see
everyone else's Featherweight GPS on their receive end that may very well be "beeping" away their respective locations from the prep area at a large launch? This is somewhat "mootish" if the device saves the positions onboard for later download and use but some of the selfish paranoids out there might not want to "share".:wink: Shame on them!!:no: Kurt
 
Adrian- Do you have a plan for when it'll be blessed by the TRA record committee?
 
https://www.featherweightaltimeters.com/featherweight-gps-tracker.html

Look under advanced features. It looks like the hardware should be acceptable and meet the requirements for that. You intend to go record hunting? Cripes, it's not out on the market yet. Cut them some slack. Kurt:wink:
Yup, I’m familiar with what the website says and also familiar with what we talked about in this thread (e.g. data logging capabilities & storage space). I’ve also talked to the records committee about what the requirements are to get a GPS certified for records use. I’ve dipped my toe into record hunting & love that aspect of the hobby. When this unit gets the nod from Tripoli, I plan to use it in several new record attempt birds. So, I’m curious what the planned timeline of that is.

From my understanding of TRA’s requirements, it could potentially get approved very quickly after the tracker becomes commercially available. Like Adrian, I have a day job that keeps me busy...and a side business that keeps me more busy. I’m just trying to do some long range record hunting planning so I can figure out which things I need to prioritize.

I’m really excited that Adrian has designed his new tracker - it has all the right parts and it’s small enough to be really juicy for the min-diameter crowd. It should be an awesome addition to our hobby.
 
As I recall a GPS tracker for records has to have a high altitude amenable GPS chipset. UBlox is the hot item now. No SirfIV or III plus the tracker has to write to memory the positions and altitude. (Actually I think it's supposed to be the whole string.)
I think if one does the attempt, the device has to be handed to a representative from TRA in order to be processed. I can't recall if a device that writes to a micro SD card is acceptable or not or it can
only be to memory on the device. Devices that just do Rf transmission of positions are unacceptable for record attempts. That I do remember. Interested parties should go to their respective websites and peruse the
accepted devices list. Kurt
 
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