$1.00 rocket locator beeper

Originally posted by Chris B.
{taping} Works for me

Click to expand...

Hmm. I'd be worried the electrical tape would slip. Especially here in Florida under
the hot sun.

Have you had any problems like that when using tape on the beeper?

Get 3M 700 commercial electrical tape. It is the best electrical tape ever. It stretches a lot more than most tapes so it will apply pressure.

Originally posted by m85476585
Get 3M 700 commercial electrical tape. It is the best electrical tape ever. It stretches a lot more than most tapes so it will apply pressure.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but I've seen good tape get all gooey just sitting in the range box on a hot, sunny
day. Once that happens the adhesion is usually worthless.

Maybe a knot just below the tape point would prevent slipage.

I haven't used it anywhere warm yet, so I don't know it if would be any better than other tape.

Chris B. thanks for the picture. I was wondering the different ways of using this. I just purchased an egg alarm and will be using it in a couple of weeks. The picture does wonders.

Originally posted by Mad Rocketeer
I notice that the Kid Safe alarm is listed (earlier in this thread) as 110 decibels. That's loud, but nowhere nearly as loud as the 140 db claimed by the Radio Shack one. The decibel scale is logarithmic, so a difference of 30 decibels translates to a multiplier of 1000. I.e., if the ratings are correct, the Radio Shack egg is fully 1000 times as loud as the Kid Safe one. The others people are finding may vary in volume too.

Click to expand...

I suspect that the truth of the matter is that the Radio Shack device doesn't really live up to the 140 dB figure, at least not when measured at the same distance as the other one. I find it hard to believe that it can produce that kind of power. Consumer product advertised "specs" of this nature are notoriously bogus. I think they figure no one is going to call their bluff. For all I know, maybe the company that sells them to Radio Shack is the one that claims it is 140 dB, figuring RS won't verify it, either!

Considering that 140dB is fully 25dB louder than the amount required for permanent hearing damage, I would HIGHLY doubt that claim.

I have access to a sound level meter here at work, and since the RS item is only $5 and I can use it in a rocket after I'm done testing it, I'm inclined to buy one and see how close it comes to it's claim.
Sound level measurements should be specified as being taken at a certain distance, but are routinely not so stated. I believe the default is 1 meter, so that is what I'll use for my test.

thats a good idea. Keep us posted with this.

I understand the logarithmic nature of the decibel scale, but the question is, "how much is enough?" I have the cheapest of the cheap (one dollar each), and you don't want to be near it very long. It's obnoxious and loud. Of course, the higher sound level, the greater the distance you can hear it which is the key factor.

In any case, the comparison, using objective data, will be interesting.

For what it is worth, I have both. They are both loud and sound to be at the same level to me.

Disclaimer: My ears' are not calibrated to any standards

Originally posted by RimfireJim
I have access to a sound level meter here at work, and since the RS item is only $5 and I can use it in a rocket after I'm done testing it, I'm inclined to buy one and see how close it comes to it's claim.
Sound level measurements should be specified as being taken at a certain distance, but are routinely not so stated. I believe the default is 1 meter, so that is what I'll use for my test.

Click to expand...

Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Problem is, I can't find one of these suckers anywhere in town (yet). RadioShack seems to have quit carrying them, as the clerk at the store I visited said he knew of them but had not seen them for a long time (and added, "those suckers were LOUD!"), and he was helpful enough to call all the stores in the surrounding area, and none of them had it in stock. I checked one 99 cent store, a Long's Drug store and a Big Lots discount store with no luck. Still have Walgreens and another $1 store to check. $5 dollars of gas later . . .

Anyone know if WalMart carries them?

-Jim

Originally posted by MaxPower
For what it is worth, I have both. They are both loud and sound to be at the same level to me.

Disclaimer: My ears' are not calibrated to any standards

Click to expand...

Tell ya what: send them to me and I'll measure them with a meter. What? You want them back?
-Jim

Originally posted by RimfireJim
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Problem is, I can't find one of these suckers anywhere in town (yet). RadioShack seems to have quit carrying them, as the clerk at the store I visited said he knew of them but had not seen them for a long time (and added, "those suckers were LOUD!"), and he was helpful enough to call all the stores in the surrounding area, and none of them had it in stock. I checked one 99 cent store, a Long's Drug store and a Big Lots discount store with no luck. Still have Walgreens and another $1 store to check. $5 dollars of gas later . . .

Anyone know if WalMart carries them?

-Jim

Click to expand...

I saw them at the new Walgreens out in the Otay Lakes development area a couple months ago, but at $10 a pop, I wasn't in the market that much. Perhaps the other Walgreens in the county may have them?

I checked the Walmart across the parking lot from them, and they did not have the "egg"-style alarms.

WW

Originally posted by RimfireJim
Tell ya what: send them to me and I'll measure them with a meter. What? You want them back?
-Jim

Click to expand...

The one from Radio Shack was discontinued and on clearance. They did a search of all the RS in my city and told me where they had one. After someone posted about the $1 one from Deal$ I went there and purchased 5. I don't think I can get the batteries in them that cheap. OK, well maybe.

Originally posted by RimfireJim
I suspect that the truth of the matter is that the Radio Shack device doesn't really live up to the 140 dB figure, at least not when measured at the same distance as the other one. I find it hard to believe that it can produce that kind of power. Consumer product advertised "specs" of this nature are notoriously bogus. I think they figure no one is going to call their bluff. For all I know, maybe the company that sells them to Radio Shack is the one that claims it is 140 dB, figuring RS won't verify it, either!

Click to expand...

I wouldn't doubt for a moment that you're correct. That's why I put in the fudge words, like "the 140 dB claimed by the Radio Shack one" and "if the ratings are correct". I too hold the ratings in suspicion and tend not to accept too completely claims of this nature that aren't independently verified. When Consumers Union (the Consumer Reports folks) tell me it's a given level at a given distance, I'll believe them. Any sound level above 85 dB can damage hearing if the exposure is long enough, but at 140 dB it should be pretty much immediate. I'm thinking that 140 dB would be a legal liability issue as well as an engineering challange.

That said, I bought one at Radio Shack a few months back, and it is loud. Very loud. Loud enough that I'll probably bring my hearing protectors and/or ear plugs along if I ever decide to use it at a launch. 110 db is described as being like "shouting in ear", and that's probably more accurate for this one, assuming that the shouter has good lungs, is really motivated, and is no more than an inch from the receiving eardrum.

I'd love to find these for a buck.

From my sources, immdiate hearing damage starts around 125-130dB. 140 is like a 747 at full throttle from just 30 yards away (ouch).

I just checked our local Walgreens, and they had the egg-style ones at $9 each. The packaging states that it's 110 dB.

WW

I've been buying mine at Radio Shack for $4.97. Haven't found the $1 ones yet.


Radio Shack Mini-Egg Personal Alarm

I went back to Deal$ and didn't find anymore. I am glad I purchased 6 of them when I found them.

The Walgreens here has the Smith & Wesson child alarm on sale for $3.99.

They also had some 'window alarms' that were about the same size and price. They had a magnetic switch that triggers the alarm when the magnet is moved away from the alarm. You could have the magnet pulled away by the recovery device...

Rick