Astrocam cam half price Sunday

[nosecone]

I got 2 and an Honest Johnnie.

 

[flaperon]

The Protostar is a sweet flyer as is.

It will be taken to the next level.

 

[Patternflyer]

I’d love to see the wiring for that ignition! That is gonna be one exciting launch!

 

[ArthurAstroCam]

Estes is still running the AstroCam Universal, and select rockets, on sale, just not at as high a discount they did during the Flash Sale.

 

[Sterk03]

PayPal refused to work but finally made the order with CC.






I lost my MultiRoc this morning. I got one good flight out of it.

At least you have wide open spaces for launches and no trees that grab rockets great weather could you expand on the altimeter and also your editing techniques to get the altimeter on the rocket launch video I film s lot of my launches and trying different techniques. Thanks Mark

 

[doctorduke]

Coupon code launch2022 was good for 25% off on top of the 25% sale. And the coupon was good on the entire order. I was bummed that I missed the Sunday half off sale due to traveling, but it worked out and I loaded up on a few of the sale rockets

 

[Lee]

The Protostar is a sweet flyer as is.

It will be taken to the next level.View attachment 500339

Those fins look vulnerable to damage when landing. I'm visualizing attaching them an inch or two upwards so that the motor bears the landing impact. Thoughts?

 

[flaperon]

Those fins look vulnerable to damage when landing. I'm visualizing attaching them an inch or two upwards so that the motor bears the landing impact. Thoughts?

I use an 18 inch parachute on the Protostar and it's always landed softly. I plan on the motors ejecting themselves somewhere during the flight so it should be at normal weight other than a couple of ounces required up top to balance the added engine weight.

I'm working on the cluster ignition. All motors have to fire or it will all end spectacularly.

 

[kuririn]

I’d love to see the wiring for that ignition! That is gonna be one exciting launch!

I'm working on the cluster ignition. All motors have to fire or it will all end spectacularly.

A four motor clip whip would make ignition hookup a breeze.

Easily fabricated, or you can buy one here:
Four Motor Cluster Cable [90024]. Rocketarium : Rocketarium Model Rocket Kits, parts and launch supplies

Back on topic, I received an email that my Astrocam order has shipped.

 

[user 35280]

The Protostar is a sweet flyer as is.

It will be taken to the next level.View attachment 500339

You can use these new BP igniters,
https://electricmatch.com/rocketry/see/23/6/bp-rocket-starters

 

[flaperon]

Thanks for the cluster ignition harness idea. I'll make one.

Sorry to have gotten off topic but hopefully everyone got a Protostar during the sale. It's indeed a great flyer and is best flown near sunset to accentuate the exhaust flame to complete the sci-fi look. I'll post video of the cluster launch here when it's launched regardless of the results.

 

[Lee]

I use an 18 inch parachute on the Protostar and it's always landed softly. I plan on the motors ejecting themselves somewhere during the flight so it should be at normal weight other than a couple of ounces required up top to balance the added engine weight.

I'm working on the cluster ignition. All motors have to fire or it will all end spectacularly.

Coupon code launch2022 was good for 25% off on top of the 25% sale. And the coupon was good on the entire order. I was bummed that I missed the Sunday half off sale due to traveling, but it worked out and I loaded up on a few of the sale rockets

I just used coupon code "launch2022" (1/18/2022 - 3:30 ET) got 25% off entire order - thanks for the tip

 

[user 35280]

I’d love to see the wiring for that ignition! That is gonna be one exciting launch!

Use these,
https://electricmatch.com/rocketry/see/23/6/bp-rocket-starters

 

[Sterk03]

Ok time for a rookie question again. The return of the Astro cam has brought up many posts of videos and overlays. I’ve done a lot of work with pinnacle video studio and overlays but I’m confused on the flight data overlays. To me altimeter will provide numbers but not videos or moving graphs like altitudes so how are these videos being made how are the numbers being transferred into say a dial or graph or altitude tape? I have noticed the Dashcam being mentioned and I can see that for cars like the corvette that have secure disks and video of the numbers but dose Dashcam have graphs where your plugging in numbers and it can make a moving gauge out of the flight altimeter graphs? Would like to make some of these but need more info on the process. Any info or pointing me into the right direction eould be greatly appreciated.

sterk03

 

[Patternflyer]

I use RaceRender.

Here’s a compilation video I made with it.

 

[Sterk03]

Ok I understand the stills and the titles, but how do you get the speed and altitude and the dials and graphs, is that from the type of altimeter that is reporting that in downloads or is that being done by the software Racerender, and do you just enter the data from the altimeter and Racerender makes the dials and graphs that is what I am trying to find out??
Thanks

Sterk03

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

@Patternflyer helped me create the following. From the Flightsketch website, I download the CSV file. In the RaceRender software, I sync the video and data. It's not easy and very complicated. I still have to play with the software to get it right. The following screenshots were from Kevin. @BEC has done this many times also.



I use the basic overlay then start with the Aviation template. I later Export the template so I can use it again in later videos. Select the video and data.



In the Display Objects, go into the altimeter and gauge properties to link to the correct altimeter column found in the CSV file. Also, Clip the video file to make it easier to sync.



In the Side by Side, click the unlink button and position the cursor to the start of the ascent and the point where the rocket lifts off the pad.



The Sync Tool can also be used to align the data to the video but was having trouble with it.

 

[BEC]

@Sterk03 Yes - RaceRender is a tool that takes spreadsheet-type data and turns it into graphics overlaid on video. @Ronz Rocketz described the process (and some of the frustrations) of using that tool.

The FlightSketch Mini (and Comp) output their data to your phone or the web log as a comma separated values files, which is perfect for use with RaceRender. The AltimeterThree also allows export of data in Excel format, so it, too could be used to source the data for this. Actually, MicroPeak and PerfectFlite Pnut data could also be used as spreadsheet-like data can be had from both them as well. But we're all currently using FlightSketch altimeters.

There is another tool that does data-to-generated-graphics overlay as well. It's called DashWare, and it is now owned by the GoPro people....but it doesn't have a Mac version and when I tried it on the PC in the house I couldn't make it work (or I gave up before I figured it out, even there there is a fairly extensive tutorial on its use here on TRF).

@Patternflyer - trying again - did you purchase the "ultimate" version of RaceRender in order to get rid of the logo altogether?

I need to see what the aviation template looks like in the free version I've used (or see if it exists at all). I like what you've come up with for your data layout better than what I've done so far.

To get back on topic: my two universal AstroCams were in Saturday's mail....so I will have to be making more videos now.

Which leads to: @Patternflyer — your compilation shows me that the camera's drag (and, I expect al little bit of the weight) really hurts the performance of smaller models. I have lots of altitude data for Alpha IIIs and I typically get 450-500 feet from them on a B6-4. Very instructive, that.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

I've been trying to figure out a reasonably priced alternative to the Mini until Russ can resupply. There currently are no altimeters for sale on the FS website that I can see. The AltimeterThree is $117 on Apogee and is not available from the Jolly Logic website. I'm kinda afraid of the MicroPeak and PerfectFlite but may not have a choice.

I was down to two Minis and broke one in a lawndart. I mailed it to Russ to see if he can do anything for it. We'll see...

 

[BEC]

MicroPeak will give you barometric-based data only. The catch is that the download device costs about 2 1/2 times the cost of a MicroPeak and I don't know if there is a supply of them anywhere. It requires a computer, though since the application is a Java program (like OpenRocket), it runs on PCs, Macs and Linux computers.

It looks to me like Apogee, like everyone else, is out of AltimeterThrees. They've been unavailable longer than FS devices.

But they do have MicroPeak and the USB adapter. I don't know if anyone else does.

 

[kuririn]

Eggtimer Ion?
WiFi enabled flight logging altimeter.
$20, you do the soldering.
Don't know what data file format it uses but you can ask.
Don't know if it's in stock, website doesn't say.

 

[BEC]

Eggtimer Ion?
WiFi enabled flight logging altimeter.
$20, you do the soldering.
Don't know what data file format it uses but you can ask.
Don't know if it's in stock, website doesn't say.

From the Ion manual:
"Data is in a standard CSV format, so it’s easy to read and import into other programs."

Compared to an FS Mini or even AltimeterThree the Ion looks to be huge...but compared to a PerfectFlite Pnut it looks smaller and lighter. I will have to try one of these, I think.

 

[cerving]

Since you have to solder it together, making it as small as humanly possible isn't as important as making it easier to assemble. We use larger components and space the parts farther apart than what you would do if you were designing something to be assembled with a pick-and-place machine. Note that it has a buzzer on it, and WiFi, so of course it's going to be a bit larger and more power hungry than something that just blinks an LED to let you know it's "on"... but it's MUCH easier to get the data out of it too, you don't need a cable or even a computer, just your phone.

 

[cerving]

Back to the topic of the AstroCam, I got mine today, and it appears to work fine. One thing that I did was to drill a hole in the holder so that the button didn't get depressed when you push the camera into it... I'm thinking that may be the reason some people have had it turn off accidentally. I'm just going to mount it to the rockets with a few wraps of masking tape... looking up instead of down, because I'm more interested in seeing the chutes deploy.

 

[BEC]

Since you have to solder it together, making it as small as humanly possible isn't as important as making it easier to assemble. We use larger components and space the parts farther apart than what you would do if you were designing something to be assembled with a pick-and-place machine. Note that it has a buzzer on it, and WiFi, so of course it's going to be a bit larger and more power hungry than something that just blinks an LED to let you know it's "on"... but it's MUCH easier to get the data out of it too, you don't need a cable or even a computer, just your phone.

Fair points, and I'm planning on ordering one to try out.

The great things about the FlightSketch devices (and AlitmeterThree) are that they also do not require any cable or interface device to get the data out...though they use Bluetooth rather than WiFi.

 

[cerving]

There's a tradeoff between Bluetooth BLE and WiFi. BLE uses much less power, but the range is less than WiFi and you need to write an app for each type of client device that you want to use it with. WiFi takes more power, but the range is better, and you only need a browser... no apps/Internet, etc. That means that I only have to write software for one device, instead of 3 or more. It also makes troubleshooting a lot easier.

 

[BEC]

There's a tradeoff between Bluetooth BLE and WiFi. BLE uses much less power, but the range is less than WiFi and you need to write an app for each type of client device that you want to use it with. WiFi takes more power, but the range is better, and you only need a browser... no apps/Internet, etc. That means that I only have to write software for one device, instead of 3 or more. It also makes troubleshooting a lot easier.

I'm not questioning the choice and I look forward to giving one a try....as I seem to collect altimeters anyway

On the AstroCam: I don't understand why you did that mod on the carrier. The button side is the top with respect to the images captured. So it should be facing out when the camera is in its little cradle.

Button up:



Button down:



This is from one of the two Universal AstroCams I just got on the sale. It had the smaller time/date stamp text in the corner, and I have happily discovered, as these images show, that putting "N" in that last spot where the default time.txt file has a "Y" turns the time/date stamp off altogether. This did not work on my first AstroCam which has the much larger font for this.

 

[cerving]

My take of the holder is that the "rails" on the holder face the body tube, so in taping it to the rocket it would make more sense to have the button face inward, so the tape doesn't contact the button. If you were going to use the Estes rubber band method, it would probably make more sense to have the button face out, but personally I'd still want a more secure mounting method. With the rubber bands, I can see this thing getting easily lost, either on a hard ejection or on landing.

 

[BEC]

I suppose it would be fine if the rocket's body was at the top of the image.

Either way this is 90 degrees from the way it is done with the holder-in-the-nose-cone of the AstroCam rocket, which then puts the rocket on one side of the image.

 

[cerving]

With the camera's lens pointing towards the nose cone and the holder's tabs against the body tube, the nose cone appears "up"... which is what I wanted to do. See the video (sorry for the poor quality, I blame the online AVI-MPEG converter).