Dual deploy vs tracker

A recent thread asked, What is your criteria for choosing dual deployment vs single?

My question is, what are your criteria for choosing dual deployment vs a tracker, and when do you use both?

My flying field is pretty large, so there are a lot of situations where you could just stick a tracker on and not worry about how far it goes. Obviously this wouldn't apply to small fields where you'd really want DD to stay within your field.

i chose to get a tracker once my rocket was flying >3k feet, above that, I would lose sight of it. I didn't like the idea of having to find it in the sky on the way back down. I use the tracker with dual deployment because, in addition to always having a fix on the rocket, I want to minimize the walk haha.

One thing i don't like about dual deployment is two body tube seams. I really like the idea of a solid body tube with fins on the bottom and nose cone on the top. For that setup dual deployment pretty much means something like a chute release. I have an idea for rear deployment but haven't built anything yet.

Both always.

Q: Which rocket needs a tracker?
A: Any rocket you want back.

Too much guesswork with motor ejection. I always use an altimeter.

Tracker Only = Long (Romantic) Walks to Retrieve whilst knowing where one is going to get to.

Dual Deploy = Shorter Walk to retrieve, not 100% sure of destination, but wont be too far away

Dual Deploy + Tracker = I'll be back in 5 mins for another launch.

I’ve always flown at fields with miles of easy recovery surrounding the launch pad. I put a tracker in everything that goes over about 2000’ now (plus or minus depending on how big & easy it is to see).

For DD, it depends. Some rockets don’t have room, so they cant get DD. JLCR is sometimes a great option there (great option as long as it fits - they’re awesome & easy to use). If a rocket has room, I really like having a computer and dual deploy.

For the lower altitude stuff, I also really like the ease of single deploy motor ejection. My family has several Formula 38s that we fly on F motors with just motor ejection. Good clean fun.

Spending all afternoon looking for a rocket that doesn’t have a tracker is definitely less than fun.

I now use a tracker for pretty much every flight above 2000', dual deploy or otherwise. Doing so has greatly allowed me to increase the number of flights I can get in at a launch. It's just such a timesaver when I lose sight of a rocket to be able to still walk right up to it that it's well worth the trouble.


Tony

I fly on an east coast field. It's pretty large, but hills, corn and other crops, tall grass and cedar along the creek bottoms, woods farther away, beaver ponds and large areas of tall brush are all concerns.
I have a GPS tracker I'm starting to trust more and put it in any rocket large enough and expensive enough that I want it back. I also have a RDF transmitter that goes in all the bigger rockets and the smaller, less expensive rockets that are going to fly 2K or more.

Anything big enough for DD, gets it. If it is smaller, it gets the JLCR. Most get a tracker unless it's not going high. I've been flying there for 16 years so I've learned to fly the field and the weather. I don't lose too many. Mostly the tracking speeds up the recovery. 15 minutes to walk out and back instead of 15 minute walk and 30 minute search.

What about Chute Release? I built my first HP kit, EZI-65, Stock, but I've heard you can make most single deploy rockets work like dual deploy with a chute release.

Wait, did the very last post answer that??? Sorry...

They're really two different things. Dual deploy helps to minimize the drift, and a tracker helps you get to your rocket. DD rockets can still drift a long way... a descent from 3 or 4 km at 70 fps can easily land a long ways away if the rocket catches a high altitude wind. For a 3,000' flight, you "might" be able to pick which one you want, unless you fly somewhere with corn, high grass, or sagebrush... you'll definitely need the tracker because you can spend all day looking for the rocket that landed "over there".

I lost a rocket that only went 1000' in deep grass. If a tracker fits, use it. Unfortunately the one I lost could not fit a tracker, even a small RF tracker.

My kingdom for a two-event buzzer/flasher/tracker in ham and regular flavors.

We get closer every couple of years, should be 11 DOF before too much longer.

If you fly rockets for long enough you will realize that Murphys Law was written specifically for rocketry. Tracker on EVERY flight, dual deployment for specific flight profile requirements. I even use "back up" trackers, redundant redundancy.....

For low power rockets that are too small to house a dual deployment equipment or tracker equipment, has anyone had much success just using a loud beeper on board?

I lost the nosecone to my 7.5" Nuclear Sledgehammer, it was 600' inside a mature cornfield, the two sections of airframe came down in a recently plowed field about 200 yards away and the tracker on them was missing (RDF type Comspec), the Eggfinder Mini the the nosecone is all that allowed me to find the nosecone after a couple of hours of losing and regaining the signal (need to update my tracker and LCD software). Flight was between 4 and 5k feet (to lazy to check).

David M Schigoda said:

For low power rockets that are too small to house a dual deployment equipment or tracker equipment, has anyone had much success just using a loud beeper on board?

Click to expand...

Yes, those work well in the sagebrush where I fly. I've zeroed in on rockets from hundreds of yards away by following a beeper.

It is not either / or. I use both on most rockets.

Kelly said:

My question is, what are your criteria for choosing dual deployment vs a tracker, and when do you use both?

My flying field is pretty large, so there are a lot of situations where you could just stick a tracker on and not worry about how far it goes. Obviously this wouldn't apply to small fields where you'd really want DD to stay within your field.

Click to expand...

Have you had the good fortune to fly with a GPS tracker? The first time I flew with a tracker was the last time I flew without one! Even in the wide open field launches here in the Midwest I fly with a tracker, even if I only expect 800' at apogee. If it fits I fly with a tracker.