Rocket finder .. beepers?

[GalantVR41062]

I was able to stick a zip tie threw the clear heat shrink and use a fishing snap for attachment onto the recovery harness.

I then soldered up the charge/trigger harness, using the red for power, 7.2v for charging and 3.7v for trigger. And black for ground.

It just takes a quick connect/ disconnect of the 1s battery that puts the unit into recovery mode.

Having the photo sensor onboard should turn into a flashing blue light until apogee or main event then turn into the 100db noise maker it is. Needless to say if there is a failure to separate then it will remain silent and be of no help finding the lawn dart.

I am waiting for a warmer not cloudy day to go launch a few rockets now that the lakes have frozen over and test this thing out.

~John

 

[John Kemker]

Looks good, John!

 

[Sooner Boomer]

These work:
https://www.harborfreight.com/door-window-entry-alarm-94983.html

I found the same thing at the Dollar Store a long time ago, and bought several. You can take them apart and cut some of the plastic case away to make it smaller.

 

[K'Tesh]

I also picked up a 'toy' microphone with a parabolic dish, thinking that it would be easy enough to do a sweep while walking. Haven't tried it in the field yet. Has anyone else?

Estes used to sell a transmitter and receiver back in 1993, the Estes Transroc II (EST 2237).

There is also an old line of kids toys with a name like "SpyTech", that may have had a parabolic microphone as well.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

I also picked up a 'toy' microphone with a parabolic dish, thinking that it would be easy enough to do a sweep while walking. Haven't tried it in the field yet. Has anyone else?

I'm too cheap to buy something. I use the core out of a paper towel roll. Pressed against the ear, it gives extremely good directionality. I guess if it were the right length, it would also resonate/amplify the beeper frequency.

HA! Just thought of this:

 

[shockie]

I was able to stick a zip tie threw the clear heat shrink and use a fishing snap for attachment onto the recovery harness.

I then soldered up the charge/trigger harness, using the red for power, 7.2v for charging and 3.7v for trigger. And black for ground.

It just takes a quick connect/ disconnect of the 1s battery that puts the unit into recovery mode.

Having the photo sensor onboard should turn into a flashing blue light until apogee or main event then turn into the 100db noise maker it is. Needless to say if there is a failure to separate then it will remain silent and be of no help finding the lawn dart.

I am waiting for a warmer not cloudy day to go launch a few rockets now that the lakes have frozen over and test this thing out.

~John

John:

How's this working out?. You have a schematic drawing on how you got it set up ?

 

[GalantVR41062]

I have not been able to test in flight but here is what I have.

The vifly comes with a adapter harness to connect to a drone. Simple 3 wire connector. Red is positive, black is negative, yellow us some kind of control or signal wire which is not used in my setup.

I made a adapter harness off the red/black to a male pin connector.

I use this harness to charge the unit from a 2s lipo battery pack, then with a 1s lipo to trigger the unti into recovery mode before loading the rocket and launch.

 

[shockie]

I have not been able to test in flight but here is what I have.

The firefly comes with a adapter harness to connect to a drone. Simple 3 wire connector. Red is positive, black is negative, yellow us some kind of control or signal wire which is not used in my setup.

I made an adapter harness off the red/black to a male pin connector.

I use this harness to charge the unit from a 2s lipo battery pack, then with a 1s lipo to trigger the unti into recovery mode before loading the rocket and launch.

View attachment 446697

If I was to purchase the parts and shipped them to you and paid for shipping back, would you be willing to make me one? I could even pay you $20 for your time. All I would need from you is a parts listing.

I still don't understand how this is actuated, ie the buzzer buzzes.... could you explain that to me insteps perhaps? I'm sorry to be so dense.

 

[GalantVR41062]

Sure no problem.

I have the unit charged or charging from a 2s lipo battery. There is a battery on board, then as I unplug the battery it senses the loss in power at the plug (lost power on a drone) and goes into its recovery mode.

Then the beeper started beeping full 100 some Db. To disable the noise and light push and hold the button on the side for 5 seconds to turn it off.

I see Apogee sells a mini becon for similar money now.

https://www.apogeerockets.com/Electronics-Payloads/Rocket-Locators/MicroBeacon

 

[DaHabes]

The best.

LOUD.

Light.

Small.

Sold & made by a great guy.

I've used the Pratt beacon three times, so far. The battery fell out the first two times. The first time the rocket lawn darted, so I didn't think anything of it. The 2nd time was a perfect flight, still fell out. You HAVE to wrap tape around the battery, the rubber bracket is too flexible. Note that it is not too loud (and says so on the website) The warbling is supposed to make it more hear-able, but my old ears didn't pick it up too well. If your hearing isn't good, don't buy it, unless your sending kids to chase it down.

 

[DaHabes]

If the specs are correct, the Mini is very heavy at 2.8 oz. The Micro looks better for LPR at about 0.5 oz.

I've been threatening to get some beepers for my rockets for two years now, haven't pulled the trigger. Maybe for next year's flying season.

I bought all of the Transolve models, just haven't used them yet. The MicroTransBeep is small enough it can fit in smaller rockets (maybe BT-50, BT-55 for sure). It is not enclosed on either end so needs to be protected from ejection charges. The BeepX and MiniTransBeep are bigger, BT-55 absolute minimum. The BeepX is 31g, the MiniTransBeep 2.8 oz (9V battery, i.e., heavy). They are both bare boards that will need to be protected from ejection charges as well. They look like they are intended to be included in an AV bay. I haven't noodled how to do that yet without dampening the sound too much in a SD rocket. It is going to be an experimental effort.

 

[DaHabes]

Sure no problem.

I have the unit charged or charging from a 2s lipo battery. There is a battery on board, then as I unplug the battery it senses the loss in power at the plug (lost power on a drone) and goes into its recovery mode.

Then the beeper started beeping full 100 some Db. To disable the noise and light push and hold the button on the side for 5 seconds to turn it off.

I see Apogee sells a mini becon for similar money now.

https://www.apogeerockets.com/Electronics-Payloads/Rocket-Locators/MicroBeacon

This is the Pratt Microbeacon. See my reply to another post in this thread.

 

[Sluggo]

Hrm put one in my 'cart' and went to check out and got a warning "This is not a secure site, you should leave this page immediately" ! ?

Ya. I've been seeing that on different sites. LOC Precision being one of them. It makes me cynical. 2 nights ago my computer did an upgrade and when it restarted my password was gone. And, microsoft had my phone number wrong. Called for support and a recording directed me to go online for help. Go figure..... Rant over. I hope you got through to order your beeper.

 

[Philip Tiberius D.]

I have Pratt & Transolve, both work well while in the Air and if you are close - Transolve is a bit louder and has the photo cell to activate once out of the tube OR timer after 20 minutes.

 

[hball55]

The best.

LOUD.

Light.

Small.

Sold & made by a great guy.

I still have a Surefire II 12-volt ni-cad battery ignition system that Doug sold me twenty years ago. The ni-cads are still going strong despite sitting for years at a time without use. I like his products, especially the ejection canisters.

wow, just went to his site, first time back in years, and he has scaled back quite a bit. No more ejection canisters.

 

[BBB]

I still have a Surefire II 12-volt ni-cad battery ignition system that Doug sold me twenty years ago. The ni-cads are still going strong despite sitting for years at a time without use. I like his products, especially the ejection canisters.

wow, just went to his site, first time back in years, and he has scaled back quite a bit. No more ejection canisters.

I like the Pratt hobbies micro beacon. Loud enough to get the job done, can get the batteries cheap, blinking light is super nice for night launches!

I use the RB01 from Lucid Technologies - https://lucidtechnologies.info/rb01_11.htm. It has some nice features but requires a BT55 or larger rocket.

 

[ayryq]

Found this thread and discovered there's a new drone finder from the same company mentioned above that doesn't require the complicated wiring - it's designed to stand alone and charges with microUSB. I've got it my cart for next time I place an order at amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VJMTFVH/

 

[ep29030]

The Pratt Hobbies unit works well. Transolve used to sell a larger unit that was 120dB. The Pratt Hobbies unit uses the timer circuit built in the LED to make the beeper warble as the LED flashing changes the voltage getting to the beeper. Not hard to get a flashing LED, battery holder, beeper and make your own setup.

 

[bibbster]

I have not been able to test in flight but here is what I have...

View attachment 446697

Have you been able to test this setup yet?

 

[Hobie1dog]

https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Eme...683133422&sprefix=140db+,aps,168&sr=8-11&th=1

 

[ayryq]

As is, this looks way too big for most of my rockets. The Pratt version "fits in BT-20" and the drone one I linked is 25x14x15mm, so likely BT-20 as well.
Hard to tell from the listing (sometimes they report "packaging" size) but it looks like that alarm is 42mm wide, might not even fit in BT-60.

https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Eme...683133422&sprefix=140db+,aps,168&sr=8-11&th=1

 

[Hobie1dog]

As is, this looks way too big for most of my rockets. The Pratt version "fits in BT-20" and the drone one I linked is 25x14x15mm, so likely BT-20 as well.
Hard to tell from the listing (sometimes they report "packaging" size) but it looks like that alarm is 42mm wide, might not even fit in BT-60.

2.17 inches wide so it won't fit in skinny tubes

 

[GalantVR41062]

https://www.amazon.com/VIFLY-Wirele...=B07VGBJ8NC&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_18_t&th=1
I ended up not using the original beeper in flight. The charging system was not ideal for keeping the onboard lipo working.

So I searched around and found they had a newer style noise maker with a on board micro usb, easy to charge. It is only rated at "over 100db", over all it is quieter then the older one I had. It has a similar list of features, I have not tested the lights at night but did have my rocket land in a tree 40' up.

I did a test flight to 1450' with the noise maker attached to the recovery harness by the nose cone. I turned on the device and its quiet in the airframe. The new version says it detects a crash, then starts making noise/LED using a light sensors to detect darkness. I figured a launch or deployment event would simulate a crash well and the devise was beeping all the way down. I was able to turn my head and get a bearing on the beep and walked up under the rocket many feet in the air. After some shaking and climbing I had the rocket back and turned off the noise maker.

I have a few thoughts: I can think of a few ways the device would switch to flashing LED during the daytime and without the noise maker it will be harder to find a model in a tree, corn field, ditch, grass etc. It is small and I was able to use a zip tie under the shrink tube as a mounting point.

 

[bibbster]

On your first version, where did you put the jumper you mentioned?

 

[GalantVR41062]

The device came with a 3 wire pigtail that plugs into a tiny 3 pin connector on the board.

I attached a 2 pin male connector to the power and ground of the supplied pigtail.

With the harness plugged in I could use the small 1s lipo battery to trick the device into the recovery mode. After it was armed I could remove the pigtail and finish prepping the model for flight.

 

[Highpowerrocketyahoo]

https://www.amazon.com/VIFLY-Wirele...=B07VGBJ8NC&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_18_t&th=1
I ended up not using the original beeper in flight. The charging system was not ideal for keeping the onboard lipo working.

So I searched around and found they had a newer style noise maker with a on board micro usb, easy to charge. It is only rated at "over 100db", over all it is quieter then the older one I had. It has a similar list of features, I have not tested the lights at night but did have my rocket land in a tree 40' up.

I did a test flight to 1450' with the noise maker attached to the recovery harness by the nose cone. I turned on the device and its quiet in the airframe. The new version says it detects a crash, then starts making noise/LED using a light sensors to detect darkness. I figured a launch or deployment event would simulate a crash well and the devise was beeping all the way down. I was able to turn my head and get a bearing on the beep and walked up under the rocket many feet in the air. After some shaking and climbing I had the rocket back and turned off the noise maker.

I have a few thoughts: I can think of a few ways the device would switch to flashing LED during the daytime and without the noise maker it will be harder to find a model in a tree, corn field, ditch, grass etc. It is small and I was able to use a zip tie under the shrink tube as a mounting point.

I just bought one. Excited to test. Another layer of security.

 

[bibbster]

The device came with a 3 wire pigtail that plugs into a tiny 3 pin connector on the board.

I attached a 2 pin male connector to the power and ground of the supplied pigtail.

With the harness plugged in I could use the small 1s lipo battery to trick the device into the recovery mode. After it was armed I could remove the pigtail and finish prepping the model for flight.

I must be doing something wrong. I wired up a pigtail (black/red). I plug the battery in and a red power light comes on. I disconnect the battery to trigger the siren but nothing happens. I have two of them and they both have the same result, so I am sure it is something I am doing...or not doing.

 

[GalantVR41062]

There is a small power button, I had to push and hold that for a couple seconds to turn the device on first.

I do not know a lot about charging lipo batteries, I had tried a full 7.2v with mine before making the switch to the USB style.

 

[bibbster]

Hmm. Maybe I do have duds. I've pushed and held that button for varying lengths of time based on the instructions and...nothing.

 

[cerving]

I picked up a ViFly Beacon from Amazon... it was about $15. It's got a rechargeable Lipo, and is really small and light... it will easily fit in an 18mm rocket. It's also surprisingly loud for something that tiny.