Regarding Electronics

[Mohinish]

Hello Everyone!!This is Mohinish.I am an absolute beginner for rocketry.I just had a simple thought of building rocket with small motor and plastic tube.Also,I want to add some electronic components which can record temperature and altitude it reached.

The problem is I don't know how to record these.I know way through arduino micro or nano and simple sensor and SD card logger to record data but problem is how to power this arduino?Is there anyway that takes less space,weight and give power to my board.Or else is there any other electronic system I can depend on.

Hope you help me soon.
Thank you!!!

 

[Zeus-cat]

There are altimeters that you can buy that do exactly what you are looking for. I use the Perfectflite Pnut. If you want to build your own you should search this site for Arduino as other people have done it.

Where do you live Mohinish? Maybe we can find other people near you who can help you.

 

[Mohinish]

India
Thing is this is going to be my school project and I can't afford to pay around 20$ just for altimeter.I thought of using arduino nano with BMP 180,SD card logger.This helps me complete whole project within 20$
Also,i don't know how to power arduino nano through batteries.I mean how can we get two wires from batteries to micro usb?
This might be very simple and silly but I don't know please do help me.

 

[JohnCoker]

There are small batteries which should power an Arduino for simply data recording. A small 2C LiPo should work just fine.

 

[gtg738w]

From the nano page (https://store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-nano):

Power
The Arduino Nano can be powered via the Mini-B USB connection, 6-20V unregulated external power supply (pin 30), or 5V regulated external power supply (pin 27). The power source is automatically selected to the highest voltage source.

It looks like you want pin 30, not the usb connector for an unregulated supply (battery)

A more detailed answer here: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/60199/powering-arduino-nano-12volts

Good luck with the project!

 

[Mohinish]

Can you suggest me how to record altitude of rocket?

 

[boatgeek]

You probably want to record the output from your BMP180 about 5 times a second. Recording to a text file on your SD card is probably easiest. You will need a small hole in the side of your rocket to let the inside air pressure equalize with the outside air.

 

[Mohinish]

How about cutting a hole on body and closing it with bmp 180sensor so that temperature also records exactly?

 

[boatgeek]

How about cutting a hole on body and closing it with bmp 180sensor so that temperature also records exactly?

There was a recent article in Sport Rocketry about altimeters that said that the sensor is very sensitive to direct sunlight. If the sun can shine on the sensor, you'll probably get weird results. That approach m ight work if you can shade the sensor from the sun, though.

 

[Mohinish]

What do you suggest whether using esp8266 or arduio nano?

 

[boatgeek]

I honestly do not know enough to answer that question. I wish I could help more.

 

[gtg738w]

Are you using the BMP180 on a breakout board? There are several Arduino tutorials out there. Might be slightly different depending on the board you have.

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/weargenius/bmp180-interfacing-with-arduino-in-depth-68595b

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/bmp180-barometric-pressure-sensor-hookup-/all

https://www.circuitbasics.com/set-bmp180-barometric-pressure-sensor-arduino/

Once you have pressure, the NOAA equation is pretty standard for calculating pressure altitude:

https://www.weather.gov/media/epz/wxcalc/pressureAltitude.pdf

 

[DaveW6DPS]

I like Arduino Nano knock-offs for rocketry use. I buy them on Amazon, 3 for about $15 For vey small rockets I use a battery frequently used for dog bark collars, part number 4L44. You can find the ground and +Vin pins on the Nano and wire in directly. For pressure sensor a Hyletgo DY-68 BMP180, for about $5, and use a DS18B20 for temp. There are some inexpensive options SD card recording.

Good luck!

 

[Mohinish]

Are you using the BMP180 on a breakout board? There are several Arduino tutorials out there. Might be slightly different depending on the board you have.

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/weargenius/bmp180-interfacing-with-arduino-in-depth-68595b

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/bmp180-barometric-pressure-sensor-hookup-/all

https://www.circuitbasics.com/set-bmp180-barometric-pressure-sensor-arduino/

Once you have pressure, the NOAA equation is pretty standard for calculating pressure altitude:

https://www.weather.gov/media/epz/wxcalc/pressureAltitude.pdf

Is there anyother idea for measuring pressure and temperature?

 

[DaveW6DPS]

BMP-180 and DS18B20 are both cheap and well documented.

There are many other options, but you may have to do more research to set them up.

 

[gtg738w]

An Arduino with the Bosch sensors are probably the easiest option - both are well documented and there are existing libraries for everything. Are you worried about the hardware connections? The software? The rocket?