Night launch flasher test

[cgould]

Hey, gang!

I finally got around to building my lighting system for next year's night launches.

Using those super-bright, burn your darn eyes out white LED's and decided to "strobe" them. Should look really cool!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYfsts9gex8

[Handeman]

Those should work great!

I've been using the chemical light sticks lately. I found out you do NOT want to use blue ones, they don't show up well at all. The yellow ones are much better.

I also found out that a bright light in an unpainted plastic nose cone also works every well.

Good luck on the night flights.

[cjp]

Happy Turkey C,Great job on your lighting choice.Can't wait till I can see this in flight,bad thing is that it will not be till next summer.On a side note,any thoughts on a weekend launch with the club or at Amherst?That of course is if the weather gets better.

[cgould]

Those should work great!

I've been using the chemical light sticks lately. I found out you do NOT want to use blue ones, they don't show up well at all. The yellow ones are much better.

I also found out that a bright light in an unpainted plastic nose cone also works every well.

Good luck on the night flights.

Thanks! This is something that has been in my head for a while, but I was so busy building rockets, launch pads, etc. over the summer months that I never got around to building this until now.

I just got back in from taking the flasher section out in the back yard in the dark. MAAAAAN that is a bright flash!!! For those looking to do the same thing, there are three bright white LED's around the upper section. This allows for at least two of the three to be visible at any angle.

Happy Turkey C,Great job on your lighting choice.Can't wait till I can see this in flight,bad thing is that it will not be till next summer.On a side note,any thoughts on a weekend launch with the club or at Amherst?That of course is if the weather gets better.

Hey, Carl! Thanks!

I don't think much is going to happen this weekend! They're calling for 20-30 MPH winds tomorrow, and 14 MPH winds on Saturday!

We had close to 14 MPH winds at the TORC Fest, and there were lots of broken shock cords and zippers from even faster wind speeds above 1000 feet!

I had 3 shock cord breaks, and a Zipper!

Luckily I had no lost parts or damage from the shock cord separation, and the zipper happened to the easy to replace parachute bay on the blue & Grey "Perseus Eagle" booster.

Based on that, I think I'm going to sit this one out!

-C

[McKailas Dad]

cgould, what did you use to make them strobe? What type of battery? Did you use any resistors, or do the lights run on 'full power'?

I've been using the 12v a23 batteries for my lighting projects, but I'd like to try some kind of button cells, but am not sure what the best type is to use.

Night flights are quite a bit of fun, and sometimes they are easier to find, compared to daytime.

[UPscaler]

My dad and I plan on taking the trip down to XPRS next year, so we have to have something to fly at night!


You should record a night test



-Braden

[Handeman]

I just got back in from taking the flasher section out in the back yard in the dark. MAAAAAN that is a bright flash!!! For those looking to do the same thing, there are three bright white LED's around the upper section. This allows for at least two of the three to be visible at any angle.

Just a suggestion, if you have the room, on your next night test, lay the rocket in the grass and walk several hundred yards away. This will give you much better idea of what it will take to find the rocket at night. Sometimes it's very difficult to see it from a distance, but as you get closer, the flashing lights can make the rocket easier to find in tall grass at night then it would be during the day.

Good luck.

[cgould]

cgould, what did you use to make them strobe? What type of battery? Did you use any resistors, or do the lights run on 'full power'?

I've been using the 12v a23 batteries for my lighting projects, but I'd like to try some kind of button cells, but am not sure what the best type is to use.

Night flights are quite a bit of fun, and sometimes they are easier to find, compared to daytime.

I designed a flasher circuit built around the red flashing LED's available at Radio Shack. A simple two-transitor circuit detected when the red LED was "strobing" on, which turns on the white ones in unison. Using an A23 battery for power.

Used a 220 oHm resistor on each of the white LED's to get maximum brightness...the brief time they are on makes it OK to drive them a bit hard. If on steady, I'd go for 470 ohms instead.



-Cornelius

[cgould]

Just a suggestion, if you have the room, on your next night test, lay the rocket in the grass and walk several hundred yards away. This will give you much better idea of what it will take to find the rocket at night. Sometimes it's very difficult to see it from a distance, but as you get closer, the flashing lights can make the rocket easier to find in tall grass at night then it would be during the day.

Good luck.

Yup! Exactly what I was thinking!!!

I didn't get a chance to do this that night as it was raining out. Now that things have changed over to freezing, I may be able to try this before it starts to snow.

Being able to see this in tall grass is exactly the reason I came to this approach. It doesn't look that way in the videos, but the lights are VERY bright. At night, it's as if someone is taking pictures with a flash camera! LOL.

For my next build, I'm seriously thinking of embedding some uber bright red and white LED's into the airframe to use in conjunction with this flashing nose cone design. THAT should look cool. Some steady burning bright red LED's, and strobing white ones so you can make out which end is which on the way up & down!


-C

[Handeman]

Some steady burning bright red LED's, and strobing white ones so you can make out which end is which on the way up & down!

The red LEDs is a good idea, although I don't think you'll have any problems telling the business end when flying at night, at least on the up part.

[cgould]

The red LEDs is a good idea, although I don't think you'll have any problems telling the business end when flying at night, at least on the up part.

LOL! True!!!!!

I was thinking in terms of recovery. Helps to have an idea that everything seems to have "come out right" during parachute deployment!

[Micromeister]

Yup! Exactly what I was thinking!!!

I didn't get a chance to do this that night as it was raining out. Now that things have changed over to freezing, I may be able to try this before it starts to snow.

Being able to see this in tall grass is exactly the reason I came to this approach. It doesn't look that way in the videos, but the lights are VERY bright. At night, it's as if someone is taking pictures with a flash camera! LOL.

For my next build, I'm seriously thinking of embedding some uber bright red and white LED's into the airframe to use in conjunction with this flashing nose cone design. THAT should look cool. Some steady burning bright red LED's, and strobing white ones so you can make out which end is which on the way up & down!


-C

Just a word to the wise:
it's been our experience Night flying model and mid power Rockets over the last 20+ years that Strobe and/or flashing LED models Should ALWAYS have at least a few Steady burn (always ON) LED's on board to avoid loosing them between flashes while in the air.
Can't tell you how many Extreamely Bright Strobe and LED models have been lost by our club member that way but it's a very large number. A couple Steady burn 2000mcd or higher LEDs in any color you want is CHEAP insurance that you'll be able to track your model all the way to the ground.
Hope this helps.

[cgould]

Just a word to the wise:
it's been our experience Night flying model and mid power Rockets over the last 20+ years that Strobe and/or flashing LED models Should ALWAYS have at least a few Steady burn (always ON) LED's on board to avoid loosing them between flashes while in the air.
Can't tell you how many Extreamely Bright Strobe and LED models have been lost by our club member that way but it's a very large number. A couple Steady burn 2000mcd or higher LEDs in any color you want is CHEAP insurance that you'll be able to track your model all the way to the ground.
Hope this helps.

Cool! Great advice! yes, it does help!



-C