New tracker range test result

Viperfixr said:

Adrian, I just bought the Full System and really looking forward to it. For those who opt not to get the two tracker setup, is it possible to add that second tracker at a later date? Or, are the ground station and flying tracker locked to each other and no alterations possible, such as in a CATO or similar?

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A second tracker can be purchased and paired at a later date.

only 4 left.

Adrian A said:

A second tracker can be purchased and paired at a later date.

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Any ETA on the Android app?

No ETA on the Android version yet. Considering the work we still have to go on the iPhone version to improve the user interface and add the features we want, I think it’s going to be a pretty long time before the Android version is available, unfortunately.

In related news, we’re temporarily sold out until we can get more units programmed and tested.

We test flew one last weekend, although the rockets flight did not perform normally we did have successful tracking with the new featherweight unit. Simple to set up and pair the unit in the software, reported gps landing position was very precise using google earth as a reference

Should be precise using GPS and Glonass! Kurt

@Adrian A, @ksaves2 do you have an official support thread going for those of us lucky enough to have our hands on a unit?

I'm sitting here scratching my head over how to get the battery out of the ground station so I can charge the one for the tracker.... I just don't see how it's physically possible to get it out the door since it's wider than the opening between the frame and the pcb.

cabbey said:

@Adrian A, @ksaves2 do you have an official support thread going for those of us lucky enough to have our hands on a unit?

I'm sitting here scratching my head over how to get the battery out of the ground station so I can charge the one for the tracker.... I just don't see how it's physically possible to get it out the door since it's wider than the opening between the frame and the pcb.

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There is a USB connection on ground station right next to on/off switch which is used for charging. But the battery will come out with a little finesse!

right, the usb port charges the big battery in the case... but the connector for charging the tracker's little battery is supposedly inside, under the big battery.

Is this the same battery you have?

Yes, same battery in GS. I’m using a smaller battery in tracker, 450 mah, but have a separate charger so I have no reason to remove the ground station battery.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14380

cabbey said:

right, the usb port charges the big battery in the case... but the connector for charging the tracker's little battery is supposedly inside, under the big battery.

Is this the same battery you have?

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You probably got a GS with the 1200mAh battery. It is a bit difficult to get out to unplug. You’ll probably have to take the screws out and mess with the battery a little. I did get mine to where I could get it out easy’ish. I ultimately switched it out for an 800mAh one that removes easier but as was just mentioned, I’d just opt for the separate sparkfun charger.

Is there a boot order for turning on the tracker and ground station? While I was playing with it I had connection to the tracker but the GPS wasn’t updating. It lost the tracker ID and after I entered it back in, it started working.

I bought the little Sparkfun charger and an extra tracker battery. Do I need a male plug to go from the charger to the battery?

Edit: I’m getting it all figured out.

My wedding anniversary is coming up in a few days. When I opened the tracker, I showed the gold box to my wife and told her I got her something. She said, “It says tracker on the side of the box, dummy”

Clivus said:

Is there a boot order for turning on the tracker and ground station?

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Build 38 of iFIP actually has prompts to turn off all units, then turn on the Ground Station first, pair it, then turn on the Tracker, pair it, then go to the GPS screen to verify GPS lock and BLE/LoRa communications are happening.

Some not obvious things:

1- The GS frequency at this point doesn't matter because it will be matched to the tracker frequency when the TRK is added. The first device you add will 'insist' on being a GS on frequency channel 0. (If you spin the wheels, they will spin back to that setting.)
2- The TRK frequency is initially set to help spread out the users by setting it based on a function of the serial number and the range of frequencies. The TRK (second device added) will 'insist' on being a tracker on it's default frequency. (If you spin the wheels, they will spin back to that setting.)

I'm going to see if I can do a short video this weekend on the process and send it out to existing and new TestFlight members. I'll also post the link here for others to see.

I got through the setup easily. I was playing with turning them off and the trying to reboot like I would at the pad.

Clivus said:

I got through the setup easily. I was playing with turning them off and the trying to reboot like I would at the pad.

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Ok, that makes sense now.

We have seen some problems when walking away from the GS for a while and coming back, the phone might not re-pair (bluetooth in a reasonable time in which case just power cycling the GS usually results in a quick BLE connection. The GS to TRK is all LoRa so that stays on all the time (not really a 'pairing' as much as a 'will hear it since they are set to the same frequency').

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cabbey said:

@Adrian A, @ksaves2 do you have an official support thread going for those of us lucky enough to have our hands on a unit?

I'm sitting here scratching my head over how to get the battery out of the ground station so I can charge the one for the tracker.... I just don't see how it's physically possible to get it out the door since it's wider than the opening between the frame and the pcb.

Click to expand...

We have experimented with a couple of different sources for the GS battery, and some of the earlier ones are more difficult to get in/out than the current choice. If you push the battery toward the center then the edge toward the outside can be wiggled out. We've also recently started carrying a stand-alone battery charger (pro-tip: it's also available directly from SparkFun) that you can use to recharge your tracker battery without opening up your ground station.

A few hours into designing an AV pod to hold it, seems to be going well so far... v1 below already has a few changes needed to it for v2, when I tackle getting the battery in the top too.



It would have been super handy to have component thicknesses on that diagram as well... I've been using my calipers to get measurements, but that's never something I like doing with electronics I actually plan to put power through.

And can I just say, from an integration perspective, I really wish the battery connection was either open on both sides or open on the opposite side. (yes, that would likely cause polarity issues without re-tracing the PCB... but from reading the warnings, sounds like there already are some of those...

Adrian A said:

We have experimented with a couple of different sources for the GS battery, and some of the earlier ones are more difficult to get in/out than the current choice. If you push the battery toward the center then the edge toward the outside can be wiggled out. We've also recently started carrying a stand-alone battery charger (pro-tip: it's also available directly from SparkFun) that you can use to recharge your tracker battery without opening up your ground station.

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I ended up going with the screw driver approach, turns out it was a good choice, since the battery wire was wound AROUND the post holding the case closed. I'm debating between ordering that charger, or just designing a new back for the ground station with a bigger battery cover. Right now, I suspect the battery charger will win.

Got my Featherweight GPS in the mail last week and just got to ground testing it today. App pairing went off without a problem (with charged batteries) and placing the tracker in my backyard and the ground station in the front yard gave me perfect distance/azimuth information. While the app is a little bare, the function is all there. Really looking forward to trying this at the next launch I can attend in August.

All, if the tracker is put into a kevlar sleeve and attached to a shock cord for apogee deployment, will the constant movement inhibit the GPS stability/lock? Or, does it need to be mounted, like in a nosecone or av-bay for best results?

Viperfixr said:

All, if the tracker is put into a kevlar sleeve and attached to a shock cord for apogee deployment, will the constant movement inhibit the GPS stability/lock? Or, does it need to be mounted, like in a nosecone or av-bay for best results?

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I built a little sled and stuff in a 38mm tube packed with foam on both ends that I glassed over and tape it to shock cord. No issues with tracking on boost or under recovery. 3 flights to date.

I bet there's a market for someone who can make a slick, recovery harness pouch for the tracker. Combination of 3D printing and/or kevlar could still be fairly small, protective and RF transparent.

Viperfixr said:

I bet there's a market for someone who can make a slick, recovery harness pouch for the tracker. Combination of 3D printing and/or kevlar could still be fairly small, protective and RF transparent.

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I think user CI(VII) is planning on making something with his 3D printer.

Viperfixr said:

Got my Featherweight GPS in the mail last week and just got to ground testing it today. App pairing went off without a problem (with charged batteries) and placing the tracker in my backyard and the ground station in the front yard gave me perfect distance/azimuth information. While the app is a little bare, the function is all there. Really looking forward to trying this at the next launch I can attend in August.

All, if the tracker is put into a kevlar sleeve and attached to a shock cord for apogee deployment, will the constant movement inhibit the GPS stability/lock? Or, does it need to be mounted, like in a nosecone or av-bay for best results?

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The GPS receiver seems to be pretty immune to movement like that, but I can't say for sure without testing.

timbucktoo said:

I think user CI(VII) is planning on making something with his 3D printer.

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Indeed. I'm getting close. Just need to integrate some antenna support, snd pretty up the edges. Shockcord sleeve will be an option.

My Featherweight GS, trackers and batteries arrived today, will work with them Wednesday as work interferes with the important things... Look forward to getting the app to pair and try them out!!

We had been short some enclosure adapter boards that help turn a tracker into a ground station, but we have more now, so the full system is back in stock.

Question: Does anyone know of a good "Free" iOS/iPad emulator suite for Windows? As I have no interest in buying any Apple products, I figured an emulator would be a decent alternative until Adrian and company have a chance to develop an Android app.

Quick field report from NXRS... flew three flights with my featherweight, all three were looong walks... 3km for the last one, round trip, backtracking to get around a barbed wire fence. All three of them, the featherweight walked me straight to my rocket, no searching required.

A big thanks to @Adrian A and @kjs , locating my bird after flight was the easiest part of my successful L1 cert attempt today.

Tobor said:

Question: Does anyone know of a good "Free" iOS/iPad emulator suite for Windows?

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