trackers-done to death?

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Chad-like CJ referenced; what batteries does it use? And how much does it weigh loaded?...

Mine arrived today. Very specific instructions on the batteries, including which brands to avoid. "Use four High Drain 392 SR41W Silver Oxide Batteries" Mine came with batteries.

Looks like suitable batteries can be sourced at about .40 each for the recommended brand with a little shopping around.
The transmitter is just a hair over a 1/2" wide at the cap end (widest part) 0.56 on the caliper. About 1 3/8" inches long not including a flexible 13 1/2" wire antenna. Weight with batteries seems to be between 8-10 grams. It was difficult to it to balance on the gram scale with the antenna. Not able to test it yet as none of the radios/scanners I have receive 219 mhz.
 
If the club has a reciever for these I'm going with this first and and then a ComSpec unit which I think Jack sells off his truck.
They will supply the frequency you specify. Determine what frequencies the club receiver will receive, then order the unit(s). I have a Walston receiver and ordered for it. (217 MHz band)
 
Thanks to everybody for the opinions and posts. I'm dropping a ComSpec unit in a disposable bird after a lucky recovery from ~7200' I hope to go with the LL units after the launch window moratorium starts in June (too damm hot!) I'll keep pushing hard core MD birds just for the thrill of it and the treasure hunt. You guys rock!
 
Chad-like CJ referenced; what batteries does it use? And how much does it weigh loaded? I really like the looks of these. If the club has a reciever for these I'm going with this first and and then a ComSpec unit which I think Jack sells off his truck.

Jack sells the ComSpec R-300 (300 channels) for $370 or so off of his truck, transmitters for $130. You can buy transmitters from ComSpec for $100, R-300 receiver for $250. You can buy the PR-100 receiver that has 100 channels (50 legacy channels and 50 new channels) for $250 or so. Essentially you get 50 channels that you can use unless you are into the legacy channels. One of the advantages of a ComSpec transmitter is that it is in an enclosed case, so you can just tape onto shock cord and not worry about ejection charges. This is a little bulky though for minimum diameter. Crazy Jim showed us in a different post, that you can take the transmitter out of the case and it is much smaller. He still taped it onto shock cord, but probably completely taped it to protect from charges. This may not be as small as LL transmitter, but is something to consider. I can't comment on which brand would be better, but I have the ComSpec and have been pretty happy with it. I bought my transmitter and receiver so that I could go up high. Wound up needing it the first time I went up relatively high (7677 ft). It saved my rocket. Good luck in you flying and tracking decision.

Chris
 
I forgot to add one more thing to consider, if you are flying around Jack from Whats Up Hobbies, he will loan you a ComSpec R-300 receiver. All you need is the transmitter. Some clubs do that as well.

Chris
 
Chris-thx for the info-Jack has been trying to get me to buy a tracker from him for a while. I caved because he RSO'd my bird before I lost the window.
 
Jack is great. Very quick to ship and east to work with. I am not surprised he will offer a loaner.
 
Jack is great. He certified my L1 and L2 at Tripoli Central California, and I am NAR. He has taught me a lot and I buy a fair amount from him. Tracking is a significant rocketry expense. I spent a lot of time researching this very topic and just sharing the info.

Chris
 
How much do you want to spend? What kind of range do you need? How large can the transmitter be?

Personally, I'm on a very tight budget, so I make (very carefully considered) compromises. I used to have a transmitter/receiver pair I bought through Radio Shack about 12 years ago. It got destroyed in a non-rocketry-related incident. Two other places that carry inexpensive gear that will work for rocketyr are Abacom and Linx.
https://www.abacom-tech.com/
https://www.linxtechnologies.com/en/home
 
I use a Marshall transmitter and love it. Antenna only 6in & unit is barely larger than the battery. it will fit easily in a 24mm airframe & weighs a couple of grams.

.........................................................................................................................................................

That being said I did use the receiver once:

I was on the hunt with someone in Argonia a few years ago that was using one. It definitely was much quieter than the Com-Spec and had a narrower cone for direction. It was a pleasure to use, but I could not justify the over 1000.00 price tag for myself. I have great hunting with my RR-400 & it has served me well for 7 yrs.

That being said if money was no object.... I would definitely jump on one of those Marshall's! It is the Rolls Royce of receivers & worth every penny from my observations. For now I just enjoy their great transmitters. The range is outstanding at over 40 miles & the battery life is 40-45 days far superior to the Comm -Specs 7-8.

Last year I was treed and it was nice to be able to come back a month later for our next launch and still be able to hear it beeping away in the woods....I did get it back after locating it.

It is far more important to learn how to use the unit you have successfully. There are many nuances to these things & it took me a couple of years to get to the point I'm at. If you use a grid method for obtaining a lost signal you will almost always track what's lost. in 8 yrs of doing this I have found dozens of rockets for myself and others that would have been certainly lost with out using some type of system for narrowing the search when a signal is lost.

And yes being able to afford simply the best would make it easier. I wish I could justify buying a Marshall unit.
 
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To add to this discussion, I just ordered the 6v version from LL. Added a note that I am with the Kloudbusters group for the frequency, and will see what I get in a few days.

My launches are starting to get higher and knowing I now have a better chance of getting the rocket back is worth it to me. Now to save up and get a receiver, but there are plenty to borrow from fellow Kloudbusters.
 
If you had to choose between the 440 MHz band and the 219 MHz band, do you see a performance difference? I got my technicians license this year, so that's not an issue. I was looking at the Marshall units but you have to choose between frequency bands.
 
I would and did pick the 440 band. The main reason why is the Yagi on the receiver is significantly smaller that that of a 219 MHz band. My thinking was while you are picking your way through tall corn, having a smaller antenna on your receiver would be a huge plus. The other thing I like about the 440 in the Marshall transmitters is you can get certain models that are programmed to spit out your call sign every 10 minutes making you Ham compliant. I have a 2014 Field Marshall UHF receiver and a RT UHF transmitter. I would not trade them for the world. I purchased these shortly after I asked the question back in 2014 and while I was a bit nervous about spending the coin, those fears were quickly assuaged once I used the thing for the first time. I honestly could not be any happier. If you go the same route, get with me so you can make sure you order a different freq. I am actually planning on moving back to Texas this year so I am sure our paths will cross sooner than later.
 
Just received my LL Electronics XLF-3 6v on 218.935. $155 plus shipping. Nice little unit. Instruction sheet lays out which batteries to use. Case is small enough to fit into a BT-5 tube 12-13mm. Case is about 30mm, Overall length is about 14-1/2 inches or 370 mm. It also looks like the antenna can be replaced if it were to get damaged.

Don't know if I will get to try it out this weekend or not. But if it saves even one rocket from getting lost, then it was money well spent. And with the Kloudbusters group, there are several receivers available to use.

See ya,
Rod
 
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