Rocket Track - Open Source GPS Tracker for Smartphones

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Well, on to the next hurdle. :) I fired up Google Earth first and went to the real time GPS portion and it immediately tried to connect to my bluetooth which is on COM7. The only problem is that it wanted a code. I don't have any sort of code so now I don't know what to do to complete the connection. It did the same thing using GPS Diag as well. Is there something else I'm missing?

Thanks,
 
I figured out the pairing code. I found that the default code is 1234, so I did actually connect with the GPS Diag program and the beeping stopped! :) But... Not receiving data.



Got it!! It helps to solder the jumpers on the transmitter. :)
 
Last edited:
Derek said:
I've done that once or twice myself... :blush:

Great work! Do you plan on using the tracker with a phone or a pc?
Click to expand...


With a pc. I don't have any Android devices, so for now, I will probably use the pc to get the coordinates, and then input the coordinates in my IPhone as a destination to find the rocket. We have a launch on August 10th, so I plan to do the first test then.

Thanks again for putting this together, and for all your help. It's a really fun project.
 
dosmithii said:
With a pc. I don't have any Android devices, so for now, I will probably use the pc to get the coordinates, and then input the coordinates in my IPhone as a destination to find the rocket. We have a launch on August 10th, so I plan to do the first test then.

Thanks again for putting this together, and for all your help. It's a really fun project.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. If you are just using a pc, you could also use a regular usb to xbee adapter and skipped the rx. I posted a link to one that I use on the first page of this thread. Sparkfun also sells a nice one.

Unfortunately due to Apple's restrictions I can't do anything about the iphone. Others that have this system and have iphones bought a cheap android tablet like the nexus 7 or galaxy tab 7. There are a few under $200 that work fine with it.
 
Sorry I didn't get back to you quickly - I was traveling and shooting rockets all weekend at NY Power. Looks like you figured it out anyways. It would be great to hear your experience with this tracker once you've flown it

-brant

dosmithii said:
farsidius said:
Part two: the Receiver

Last night I programmed the Bluetooth and XBee radio modules. I used PuTTy to send the commands to the Bluetooth module and x-ctu for changing the baud rate of the XBee. In PuTTy I entered each command one line at a time and it returned OK after each set except for the final command with returned "Reset" so I figured it worked. With the BT unit still plugged into my computer, I used my phone's BT setup menu and searched for devices. It found one named RocketTrack which told me I did it correctly.



farsidius,

You said you used PuTTy to configure the bluetooth module. What were the settings you used? I can't get a connection. The black screen comes up, but no keyboard response. My serial cable is on COM6, so I set that and changed the baud rate to 115200, to no avail. Any insight you could provide would be appreciated.

Also, I tried using telnet but couldn't get a connection there either.

Oh, one other thing... Any bluetooth device should see the bluetooth transmitter on the RX whether it's programmed or not, including an IPhone, right?


Thanks,

Darrell
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
So, I had a chance to fly the tracker twice this weekend at NY Power in Geneseo. I was tracking the rocket using Kevin's android app. The first one didn't get me any good info because the app quit right before the rocket launched. I restarted it during the rocket's descent, but I didn't get the connection re-established until it was almost back on the ground, and it landed less than 500 ft from our position (even though it flew to 6000 ft - that was a great flight). The second flight provided a great test for the tracker. This flight went to 5500 ft and the angle set by the pad manager caused the rocket to arch over some trees and get "lost". The software appeared to lose signal when the rocket launched but re-acquired once it reached apogee. (someone at the launch commented that this is not uncommon with some GPS trackers). I tracked the rocket's entire descent and still had a lock where it landed in a grove of trees about 3600 ft from me. The terrain where it landed was slightly elevated from the launch area and probably gave a good line of sight for keeping signal lock from that distance. We were able to drive right up behind the grove and retrieve the rocket which was dangling just 10ft from the ground. We never lost signal from the rocket once it landed.

I'm very happy with how this unit works. I won't be anywhere where I can push a rocket higher than 6-7k feet until next year, so I know this will meet my needs for now.

I'm running the software mostly on my wife's old Galaxy S2 (my personal phone isn't Android) that I unlocked, rooted and installed with a custom 4.1.2 ROM.

Thanks again Derek for this project and thanks to Kevin for the software.

-brant
 
Hi Brant,

I'm happy to hear that you got your rocket back both times. Did you happen to save the data from the second flight? It would be interesting to see if the gps lost lock or if the radio link was dropped. Eventually I'd like it if the app could tell you the status of the gps and radio links.

Derek
 
I didn't save the data. I'll get that from my next flight. I hadn't played around with the software too much before that flight and I was just happy to have it tracking. Our local club flies this weekend if the weather is good, so I'll get another chance to collect data.
 
Brant,

I don't know when you got the latest application, but the "save" feature was added pretty recently. Check to see if it actually saves anything prior to leaving so you can update the software if necessary.

Kevin
 
kruland said:
Brant,

I don't know when you got the latest application, but the "save" feature was added pretty recently. Check to see if it actually saves anything prior to leaving so you can update the software if necessary.

Kevin
Click to expand...

If he used the app I sent him, I built it on 7-22. Basically the latest before your changes this weekend. Didn't you add recording before that?
 
farsidius said:
I didn't save the data. I'll get that from my next flight. I hadn't played around with the software too much before that flight and I was just happy to have it tracking. Our local club flies this weekend if the weather is good, so I'll get another chance to collect data.
Click to expand...

There is a newer version that I can send you if you haven't gotten your build environment set up. The latest version is much more persistent with staying connected to the rx.
 
Derek sent me a version last Monday. I'll check to see about save feature when I get home. I'm not set up right now to compile your code myself, but I'll try to get to that point soon so I can keep up to date on improvements

-brant

kruland said:
Brant,

I don't know when you got the latest application, but the "save" feature was added pretty recently. Check to see if it actually saves anything prior to leaving so you can update the software if necessary.

Kevin
Click to expand...
 
Derek said:
There is a newer version that I can send you if you haven't gotten your build environment set up. The latest version is much more persistent with staying connected to the rx.
Click to expand...


I must have been typing when you posted that last one. That would be great if you could send me the newest. I'll try to get the build environment set up this weekend so I don't keep pestering you. :bangpan:
 
Derek said:
Gotcha. If you are just using a pc, you could also use a regular usb to xbee adapter and skipped the rx. I posted a link to one that I use on the first page of this thread. Sparkfun also sells a nice one.

Unfortunately due to Apple's restrictions I can't do anything about the iphone. Others that have this system and have iphones bought a cheap android tablet like the nexus 7 or galaxy tab 7. There are a few under $200 that work fine with it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw that, but I really want to get an android device. I was looking at the nexus and the galaxy. I will get one eventually. But in the meantime I will just play around with the pc.
 
farsidius said:
Sorry I didn't get back to you quickly - I was traveling and shooting rockets all weekend at NY Power. Looks like you figured it out anyways. It would be great to hear your experience with this tracker once you've flown it

-brant



No problem. I'll accept flying rockets as an excuse. :)

Yeah, I will report back with my experiences.
Click to expand...
 
Derek,
What method do you use to secure the Tx in the rocket.
Do you mount it to the rocket or just stick it into the A/V Bay?
Is it a solid mounting?
Going to take it out to a launch this weekend for its maiden voyage.
Don't want to screw it up.
 
For my bigger rockets, I wire tie it to a plywood sled cut to fit the payload bay. For my smaller rockets, I just wrap it with bubble wrap and stick it in the payload bay.
 
Tracker has worked well for me so far on two flights with 29mm MD rocket . Even survived 3000' fall when payload separated. Thanks Derek for putting together a nice affordable system. Couple of observations so far. GPS seems to drift more when module is close to any metal (two 4-40 aluminium threaded rods in my case). Readings were up to 40 yds off, so it was worth while to get metal away from top and sides of GPS receiver. If you are outside in daylight it is almost impossible to see GPS location on Goggle Maps. Smartphone display is not bright enough, so bring a dark cloth to cover your head and phone to read display. Finally, I am seeing some other Android apps to display location and curious if anyone has found one that works particularly well.
 
You must have done a great job assembling it for it to survive that fall. Nice work!

There are two new apps that work with the tracker. The first is the Rocket Track app that Kevin is writing. This one is written for our tracker and he tweaks some parameters in the GPS to increase the battery life and accuracy. He hasn't released this app in the play store yet so you'll need to build it yourself.

The other app is called Rocket Locator in the play store and works with our tracker. There is a thread in this forum about it.
 
I just flew my tracker for the first time about an hour ago. I flew it in an Estes Ventris on a CTI H90 to about 3000 feet. I was getting data all through the flight up until it landed over a rise about 1000 ft away. I don't yet have an android device, so I used GPS Diag to get the data. I put in the last coordinates that GPS Diag recorded into a Garmin Rhino, and it was right on the money! Very fun stuff. Thanks again Derek for putting this system together.

I hope to get an Android device soon and fly it to 10000 feet or so to really test it.
 
Tested my tracker out today and I think I had good results. The rocket landed within sight and was only about 1800 feet away.
The tracker lost data halfway thru the flight then picked it back up again about half way down. It showed a fairly accurate position but if I were in dense cover or thick grass I would not have been close enough to see or find it.
Got me to within 600-700 feet of the rocket.
I am not sure how to go back and analyze the data to see what went on, so any advice that can be given would help.
Using my tracks and google earth, Android Galaxy Tablet, wire antenna on transmitter and regular antenna on receiver. All batteries are new and freshly and fully charged.
Thanks in Advance.
 
dosmithii said:
I just flew my tracker for the first time about an hour ago. I flew it in an Estes Ventris on a CTI H90 to about 3000 feet. I was getting data all through the flight up until it landed over a rise about 1000 ft away. I don't yet have an android device, so I used GPS Diag to get the data. I put in the last coordinates that GPS Diag recorded into a Garmin Rhino, and it was right on the money! Very fun stuff. Thanks again Derek for putting this system together.

I hope to get an Android device soon and fly it to 10000 feet or so to really test it.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the successful flight! I'd like to see how you mounted the tracker in your ventris. I'd like to use it in mine.
 
Eyeguy41 said:
Tested my tracker out today and I think I had good results. The rocket landed within sight and was only about 1800 feet away.
The tracker lost data halfway thru the flight then picked it back up again about half way down. It showed a fairly accurate position but if I were in dense cover or thick grass I would not have been close enough to see or find it.
Got me to within 600-700 feet of the rocket.
I am not sure how to go back and analyze the data to see what went on, so any advice that can be given would help.
Using my tracks and google earth, Android Galaxy Tablet, wire antenna on transmitter and regular antenna on receiver. All batteries are new and freshly and fully charged.
Thanks in Advance.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you found your rocket, but I'm a little puzzled by the accuracy. Have you found the tx to be that far off before? It should be a lot closer than that (hopefully ~100' worse case, but it should be a lot beter).

As far as saving the logs, if you used my tracks than you can export the logs in various formats, but I'm not sure if it logs whether the gps had lock or not. You need Kevin's software to do that.

Was that you l1 attempt?
 
Yes it was my first try.
Mounted the tracker in the AV bay with the altimeter. It was a duel deploy flight in a rocket I have flown multiple times before.

I lost GPS signal while I was waiting for the launch to occur, I don't know if it had to due with the screen saver going on with the tablet. I restarted the My Tracker app and had GPS signal and just kept the screen active and on thru out the flight.
I did make the error of stopping the My Tracks app after the rocket was down on the ground so I don't know if the tracker would have picked up the TX once I started towards it and then keep zeroing in on it as I got closer.

I am looking forward to using it again soon.
 
Everyone:

I've updated post #4 of this thread to describe some of the new software options that are available that make using the tracker a lot easier.
 
I am out of boards atm but I have them on order. I should get them in a week or so.

The brd files are in the zip files in post #5. oshpark will take those directly. I've never used the gerbers so I've never made them. sorry.
 

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