Eggfinder LCD - Handheld Display Receiver for Eggfinder GPS Tracker

cerving said:

Are you going to bring the programming button outside? I know you have more than one frequency...

Click to expand...

Yes! I just bought a very small momentary push button.

jus_rockets said:

I got the LCD wired up and turned it on, it looks like it's working! I still need to mount the receiver, wire the power switch and momentary push button, and add Bluetooth.


Parts laid out!



The clip is sold seperatly, a good thing is that it comes with a hole template.




LCD wired to the receiver.


At first the LCD was too dark and I could not see any reading. Went to the manual and it said to adjust the trimmer, slight turn and it worked!

Click to expand...

That looks real nice! Hope you don't mind a few questions. Where did you get the wires that allow you to move the screen off the board? Please post a picture when you wire up the button to change frequencies. Last thing, do you have a lmk for that box, I know you posted it but I can't seem to find it.

Thanks for posting pictures, it helps us that are building these and gives some great ideas.

Heres the link to the box.https://www.pactecenclosures.com/product-detail.php?productid=217&seriesid=59&classid=27

jus_rockets said:

I got the LCD wired up and turned it on, it looks like it's working! I still need to mount the receiver, wire the power switch and momentary push button, and add Bluetooth.


Parts laid out!


The clip is sold seperatly, a good thing is that it comes with a hole template.




LCD wired to the receiver.


At first the LCD was too dark and I could not see any reading. Went to the manual and it said to adjust the trimmer, slight turn and it worked!

Click to expand...

I already soldered my LCD plug bar to the board so I would need a male to female ribbon cable. Anyone have any idea where to get one?
Heres a link to other boxes. https://www.hammondmfg.com/1553T.htm

Here is my finished Eggfinder set up. Transmitter is mounted on a 1/8" ply board with battery on the opposite side and slid into the foam
padded nose cone. I will be changing out the black box for one of these https://www.hammondmfg.com/1553T.htm

There is so much info here but sometimes it's best too ask.

UK, are these now allowed?
Built or kit only?
LCD shows what exactly?
IOS an option yet?

I have 2 XBeePro 868 Long-Range Module with RP-SMA Sockets if they can be part of it all?


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum

We are shipping to the UK... there's a 869 MHz version available that is compatible with ETSI Class 1i. Per the EU Addendum on the Eggtimer Rocketry web site: (well, it's not posted yet, but it will be soon...).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Eggfinder system is now available in the 869 MHz frequency range to be compliant
with EU/UK regulations as specified in ETSI Class 1i. Specifically, the frequencies for
the EU/UK version are 869.425, 869.525, and 869.625 MHz with a bandwidth of 25
KHz.

The Hope RF HM-TRP module in the Eggfinder TX transmitter is pre-programmed when
shipped to one of these frequencies. If you purchase the Eggfinder RX “dongle” receiver,
it is also pre-programmed to the same frequency. If you purchase the Eggfinder LCD
receiver, it is programmed with an EU/UK version of the firmware and you can select
any of the three 869 MHz frequencies; you do not need to purchase a separate Eggfinder
LCD receiver if you are using more than one frequency in your rockets. The default
frequency will be 869.525 MHz.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, we do not sell assembled versions of Eggtimer Rocketry products. We just don't have time do build them, it would cost us way more than we care to pass onto our customers to have somebody else assemble them for us, and we think there are lots of rocketry hobbyists out there that enjoy building things themselves. That's one of the cool things about rocketry... it's one of the last do it yourself hobbies out there, that hasn't gotten completely taken over by cheap plastic RTF's.

You certainly CAN use the Eggfinder LCD with iOS, I use it with MotionX. All you have to do is create a waypoint with the coordinates on the Eggfinder LCD's display and tell it to take you there. Works every time, even when you get disoriented and start walking in the wrong direction... the arrow will tell you where to go. (Ask jus_rockets, he'll tell you about me walking 1/4 mile out of the way because it went "over there", instead of following the arrow...)

Pyropetepete said:

There is so much info here but sometimes it's best too ask.

UK, are these now allowed?
Built or kit only?
LCD shows what exactly?
IOS an option yet?

I have 2 XBeePro 868 Long-Range Module with RP-SMA Sockets if they can be part of it all?


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum

Click to expand...

Ringo said:

That looks real nice! Hope you don't mind a few questions. Where did you get the wires that allow you to move the screen off the board? Please post a picture when you wire up the button to change frequencies. Last thing, do you have a lmk for that box, I know you posted it but I can't seem to find it.

Thanks for posting pictures, it helps us that are building these and gives some great ideas.

Click to expand...

Here is the link for the enclosure and jumper cable. Your welcome I am glad I can help!

Jumper cables
https://www.ebay.com/itm/40pcs-20cm...847?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e2828fc7

Hammond enclosure 8.27 x 3.94 x 1.26
https://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=1553tbk

bill2654 said:

I already soldered my LCD plug bar to the board so I would need a male to female ribbon cable. Anyone have any idea where to get one?
Heres a link to other boxes. https://www.hammondmfg.com/1553T.htm

Click to expand...

Check the link above to see the jumper cables I used. I only used the female side to the LCD and solder all the wires on the Rx.

bill2654 said:

Here is my finished Eggfinder set up. Transmitter is mounted on a 1/8" ply board with battery on the opposite side and slid into the foam
padded nose cone. I will be changing out the black box for one of these https://www.hammondmfg.com/1553T.htm

Click to expand...

That looks real good, what rocket is going into?

More progress done! I mounted the programming button below the LCD, drilled a hole for the antenna, and made a mounting board for the receiver. Everything is working fine, I am receiving coordinates and the programming button works.

Side by side comparison with the enclosure Cris includes, you can see where I mounted the programing button below the LCD.


All I need now is a lipo battery!



Close up of the LCD wiring.

Im going to test it out in a scratch build I have going now. It's 60" long, 2.6" dia. Loc tube with a 38mm motor mount and Acme fin can. Av-bay will have a MW RRC2+. 1st motor will be a LOKI I405. Then a LOKI J320 at Airfest. Hope to break a mile for the first time.

Sounds a lot like my GL Escape Velocity, but the LOC tubing is lighter than MagnaFrame so it should go a bit higher. The J should get you a mile for sure... I got 6500' out of a CTI J330 and over 8400' out of a 6XL J425.

This is what I'm going to try for a case for my transmitter. It's two prescription bottles screwed together, everything fits nice a tight and I can still see the lights. Still deciding amount placement, on some rockets it's seems like just placing it in the nose cone with a sponge around will keep it nice a tight or if I go with the shock cord, I'm thinking of drilling a hole through the vial and running the shock cord thru it. Then taping in to the cord for more security.

Has anyone ever tried a whip antenna? That would make it much smaller as opposed to the standard brass rod or rubber duckie.

Thanks for any ideas.

FYI, I have posted a software update (Version 1.06) for the Eggfinder LCD on the web site, HERE .

Changes include:

o Fixes to improve reliability of frequency update. In the earlier version, sometimes the frequency change wouldn't "take", but the status display would erroneously show the updated (and incorrect) frequency. The update uses a new process to update the Hope RF module, and the status isn't updated until the RF module update has been confirmed.

o Changes in programming and status settings to make it easier to read. Specifically, the GPS units now read D (degrees), D:M (degrees:minutes), or D:M:S (degrees:minutes:seconds) instead of "D", "M", or "S", and the altitude units read "FEET" or "METERS" instead of "F" and "M".

o Changes to support the 868 MHz EU/UK version. The EU/UK build is NOT on the web site, if you have an 868 MHz Eggfinder LCD and need the update, email [email protected] for a box.net link. The two are not interchangeable, due to hardware differences in the filtering of the Hope RF HM-TRP modules.

Cris Erving
Eggtimer Rocketry

Do you sale the USB cables for the Eggfinder LCD? Maybe I missed it on your site, but I cant seem to find just the USB cable. I have the cable for my eggtimers will that work?


TA

I love your products I have to say, I really enjoy building the kits which is a bonus in my book, they are powerful and very affordable. Not to mention your customer service is awesome. The eggfinder was a great build, GPS module tried my patients a bit, but it all ended in success, it fired right up the first time and picked the satellites right up. Thank you for your hard work and excellent products.



TA

thobin said:

I have the cable for my eggtimers will that work?

Click to expand...

Yep - that's what Cris suggests in the document, and I've just successfully flashed mine with the Eggtimer cable.

Mark

I sell them for $5, I'll put in on the web site... apparently I missed that when I did the last update to the product pricing page. Note that I DID post a price for Eggtimers without the data cable, they're $35. There are a lot of people that already have an Eggtimer and a data cable that wanted another Eggtimer for a different rocket, I've been selling them that way for awhile but I hadn't posted it.

thobin said:

Do you sale the USB cables for the Eggfinder LCD? Maybe I missed it on your site, but I cant seem to find just the USB cable. I have the cable for my eggtimers will that work?


TA

Click to expand...

Got my LCD finished and it fired right up! Works great thanks again for a great product time to do some trial runs.


TA

Just flashed the Eggfinder LCD not to hard once you get the hang of it.



TA

Wayco said:

I added an external momentary push button on mine, now I can change frequency without opening up the case. Haven't really decided if I want to spend the bucks for the slick case Juan found for his, mine is staying in the truck with the new 16 dbi antenna Kurt suggested. Yeah, it has a weak magnet too. I have a plan for that.

Click to expand...

I figure I can use the supplied case in a similar fashion. You try that antenna for a test yet yourself? Remember to take that 16dBi spec with a grain of salt. I suspect it should be a bit better than a duck antenna but perhaps not as good as a patch antenna? The issue with the patch antenna is someone has to aim it. Stick that 16dBi omni-directional antenna on the roof of a pickup or good size SUV and get it off the ground a bit. Should be a good receive station.
Here's a patch on the end of a fiberglass rod



Now for pedestrian tracking of the downed rocket that's landed a very long distance from the launch site, I wonder if the advantage between a duck or Yagi would be noticeable?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/900Mhz-GSM...ectional_Network_Antennas&hash=item3f2678c00a

I agree with Cris that the beamwidth of a Yagi is likely too narrow to keep a lock on a falling rocket but as the rocket is coming down, if the Rf lock/packets are lost before touchdown,
the landing site could be a ways away from the last known packet/position. In most cases, if one has the EF receiver at the last known packet position, will likely pick up a new packet from the downed rocket if it's within range. Technically, one should be able to "wave" the Yagi to match Rf polarity of the downed tracker and perhaps be able to pick it up
a farther distance away on the ground than a duck. This is more important if the downed rocket is obscured by vegetation ie. tall grass, corn stubble etc.
I've heard from folks who launch out west that the playa dust soaks up Rf energy like a sponge and it's best to blow the main up pretty high to get more decent position packets
as opposed to blowing it out lower.

Now in reality, if folks are using the EF's for sport flying, probably most rockets will be landing within one or two miles. This receive sensitivity for a pedestrian mobile Egg Finder
with a Yagi might be pushing it to the point of absurdity. Then again, if one has a main blow and deploy at apogee "way up there", they stand a chance of tracking with a vehicle
(with a better magnet in the base of that 16dBi antenna!) and perhaps get within 2-4 miles before that "last packet". Switch to the Yagi when they get closer to the downed rocket
and they might get an earlier fix before the rocket is seen.

I thinks a good plan is have the best receive antenna one can have at the "base" station launch site for that "last fix" and switch to a good duck for the EF receiver if one has to go hunt for it pedestrian mobile sight unseen.

Keep in mind the expected flight profile. If one knows the rocket isn't going "that far" a stock antenna solution might be all that's needed. Kurt

I discovered an internal cable one can use with the provided EF LCD box to perhaps reposition the boards in a different position internally.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/cable-RP-S...Coaxial_Cables_Connectors&hash=item3f2eb8c2e1

One can use the provided RP-SMA connector Cris provides and use this to place the bulkhead antenna socket wherever they want on the box. You can look for a different
cable length. Kurt

You could use that with the transmitter too, to get the antenna out of AV bay if you have allthreads running through it.

ksaves2 said:

I discovered an internal cable one can use with the provided EF LCD box to perhaps reposition the boards in a different position internally.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/cable-RP-S...Coaxial_Cables_Connectors&hash=item3f2eb8c2e1

One can use the provided RP-SMA connector Cris provides and use this to place the bulkhead antenna socket wherever they want on the box. You can look for a different
cable length. Kurt

Click to expand...

He's my finished product, thanks to everyone that has helped on this thread. I did wire mine up with the backlight and it works great. I was able to do some testing today. Used the Eggfinder in three launches today, all were low range around 2000'. It worked fine, however all three launches landed with 100' of us. Had to figure this would happen. The transmitter on all three launches was taped to the shock cord.

Did some more testing when we got home. My son rode his bike around the park and would stop here and there to see if I could locate him. He was about 4 blocks away and I was able to pick him up. One new thing I learned today from Ed at the launch is that you can just plug the coordinates into goggle maps, for those of us who would prefer to use that as opposed to motion x.

Ringo that looks awesome! Have any pictures of the inside? The same thing happened to Wayne and I when we first launched our Eggfinders, they landed very close to the pad. Where you get the sticker? I would like one for mine.

Thanks, I'll try to get a few pics of the inside. It was real tight getting everything in there, I'm not sure if I would go with the case with the battery opening again. It's nice to have the opening in back, but I did have to do a lot of cutting in side the case to make it work.

The decal came from Mark at Stickershock.

Nice case. Do you have a manufacturer/part no.?

Love the logo too. I've been dabbling with some Eggtimer Rocketry logos to brighten up the web site, but I'm a lousy artist...

Ringo said:

Thanks, I'll try to get a few pics of the inside. It was real tight getting everything in there, I'm not sure if I would go with the case with the battery opening again. It's nice to have the opening in back, but I did have to do a lot of cutting in side the case to make it work.

The decal came from Mark at Stickershock.

Click to expand...

Excellent job!! So we can just contact Mark to buy and purloin some?:wink:

One can still add a Bluetooth module to the EF LCD if desired for connectivity to a computer tracking program or for
pairing directly to an Android device running something like GPS Rocket Locator. The tuning option for the EF LCD
makes it more useful for multiple transmitters on different frequencies.

Backlight? Can you say night launches? :grin: Heck, one will be able to read the Android device screen in that case with no sun.:clap: Kurt

Ringo said:

He's my finished product, thanks to everyone that has helped on this thread. I did wire mine up with the backlight and it works great. I was able to do some testing today. Used the Eggfinder in three launches today, all were low range around 2000'. It worked fine, however all three launches landed with 100' of us. Had to figure this would happen. The transmitter on all three launches was taped to the shock cord.

Did some more testing when we got home. My son rode his bike around the park and would stop here and there to see if I could locate him. He was about 4 blocks away and I was able to pick him up. One new thing I learned today from Ed at the launch is that you can just plug the coordinates into goggle maps, for those of us who would prefer to use that as opposed to motion x.

Click to expand...

Hmmm,, looks like I've seen that somewhere, ,, oh that's right you showed it to me. :wink:

I can tell all of you here that this is one nice setup,, and very well done.

Thanks for showing and demonstrating it to me.

Ed

Ringo said:

He's my finished product, thanks to everyone that has helped on this thread. I did wire mine up with the backlight and it works great. I was able to do some testing today. Used the Eggfinder in three launches today, all were low range around 2000'. It worked fine, however all three launches landed with 100' of us. Had to figure this would happen. The transmitter on all three launches was taped to the shock cord.

Did some more testing when we got home. My son rode his bike around the park and would stop here and there to see if I could locate him. He was about 4 blocks away and I was able to pick him up. One new thing I learned today from Ed at the launch is that you can just plug the coordinates into goggle maps, for those of us who would prefer to use that as opposed to motion x.

Click to expand...

You just wait until you send something up and it disappears....................:shock: Spell that a smallish rocket with a big motor. It's a sickening experience if the rocket disappears with nothing, no events seen.:sad: You got that tracker onboard? You'll know where to look and if you have a real time mapping solution, can monitor while in flight. With the LCD you'll be able to know that the apogee and main events occurred by following the altitude rate of descent.

I've had that happen and knew the events occurred but nobody saw the danged thing. Followed the handheld Garmin GPS integrated to an H/T and walked right to the rocket. Wouldn't have had the slightest idea where to go otherwise. I was using ham radio and APRS but the EggFinder with the LCD receiver will have the same utility. Plus it was a heck of a lot cheaper than an APRS setup. Plus the update rate is higher with the EF as long as it has a GPS fix. 1/sec as opposed to once every 3-5 seconds.
Kurt