Here is a simple way. offer a small reward to any children living in the area for the one who finds and returns your rocket. I even found an estes mosquito this way. or if you have a friend with a camera drone maybe they can fly some recon.
How to find a rocket lost in high grass?
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deangelo54
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A few years ago I bought one of those GE key chain buzzers from Animal Works. The battery did not last long because I set it off while the rocket was on the pad. When I was at NSL 2018 I met a young rocketeer that had the same buzzer. She had it rigged to her shock cord in such a way that it would go off upon ejection. I should have taken pictures.
I recently got one from Home Depot. I have tried to duplicate her setup but no luck. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done this? Has anyone ever used some other buzzer or audio device to find rockets since the last time this thread was updated? I tried the original Tile but it was a failure when I tested it at a RIMRA launch. Tile now has a new version in which you can replace the battery.
I recently got one from Home Depot. I have tried to duplicate her setup but no luck. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done this? Has anyone ever used some other buzzer or audio device to find rockets since the last time this thread was updated? I tried the original Tile but it was a failure when I tested it at a RIMRA launch. Tile now has a new version in which you can replace the battery.
https://www.apogeerockets.com/Electronics-Payloads/Rocket-Locators/MicroBeacon
Cheap, simple to operate: Put in the battery, it's on. Take out the battery, it's off. Secure with a wrap of tape. Fresh battery lasts two or three days. Just hope that the rocket doesn't hang up in a tall tree or power line near a house. Homeowners generally don't appreciate a loud beeper going 24-7 near their house when they're trying to sleep.
deangelo54
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I would like to respectively disagree with you. From the time you pull the pin when the rocket is on the pad until the time the rocket is launched and lands, the battery is so low that the buzzer hardly sounds. I took the cover off my old GE key chain buzzer and low and behold there are 4 little batteries. It's probably cheaper to buy a new buzzer than to replace the batteries. The one I got from Home Depot was under $7.00.
There is a new Tile product called the Tile Pro for $35 with a rechargeable battery with a 300' range. Maybe I will give one a try come spring and if it does not work I will return it.
There is a new Tile product called the Tile Pro for $35 with a rechargeable battery with a 300' range. Maybe I will give one a try come spring and if it does not work I will return it.
rharshberger
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If they use the LR41 button batteries (about a 1/4" diameter) they can be bought on Amazon 20 for $6.99, or 10 packs for $4.60, most of us modify the pin so its easy to pull and add a loop to attach it to the recovery harness and parachute so that the pin is pulled as the chute deploys. The darn things can be heard for a hundred yards at least depending on the wind. This is my screamer, the kevlar loop is epoxied to the case and then a piece of aluminum HVAC tape is wrapped around the case. The pin has the two ridged sections filed down until it pulls easily but still is a bit "sticky". Modding it this way saves the batteries and makes it so people at the pads don't have to listen to it.
![20181201_182356[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/rocketryforum/data/attachments/284/284890-428bc04e3e4fa2e121c439804527fab0.jpg "20181201_182356[1].jpg")
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You are talking about two different products. The Pratt Microbeacon uses a 12 volt N size battery. There is no pin to pull. From the Apogee website:
"A fresh battery should power the Microbeacon for at least 48 hours; he's had reports of them working for three days. (24 hours of testing was all he could stand.)"
As for the Tile and TrackR, a similar device, you need a cell phone or other device to run the app. It is not a stand alone device like the Microbeacon. Also not nearly as loud ( I had six of them a couple of years ago to track my keys, wallet, etc.). I replaced them with TrackR because the batteries were not replaceable at that time. Plus Tile is more than twice as expensive as the Microbeacon, which does the same job.
deangelo54
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Both rharshberger and kuririn have provided very good information that is most helpful. Below is a photo of the GE buzzer I purchased for around 6 dollars. I will experiment filing down the pin on my older GE buzzer and see how that works out.
The Microbeacon looks like a good idea except that it is always on. It would nice if there was a buzzer that had a timer you could set. For example set it for ten or fifteen minutes then put it in the rocket.
Kuririn mentioned that the Tile and TrackR requires a cell phone. I'm wondering if my tests failed because of poor cell service at the field I was at.
The Microbeacon looks like a good idea except that it is always on. It would nice if there was a buzzer that had a timer you could set. For example set it for ten or fifteen minutes then put it in the rocket.
Kuririn mentioned that the Tile and TrackR requires a cell phone. I'm wondering if my tests failed because of poor cell service at the field I was at.
Also, make sure that Bluetooth on your phone or device is enabled. Tile uses Bluetooth.
