The AltusMetrum already does all this, plus telemetry. That's the one to beat at the moment.
EggFinder TRS has similar capability and doesn't require a Ham ticket to operate:
http://www.eggtimerrocketry.com/page47.php If one doesn't mind the do-it-yourself factor the soldering equipment is not that large an investment.
Certainly, not as many features as the Tele-Mega but can do basic dual deployment and GPS tracking at the same time. Mr. Beans concept of using a mesh network is intriguing. Your rocket with the device goes out of radio range.
Your friends rocket is launched and picks up your rockets signal and relays it back for a final position fix. You know exactly where to go to get it. This gives a little extra edge over straight GPS tracking with a ground receiver and transmitter in the
rocket. The reality is for sport rockets that land within 2 to 3 miles of your position (maybe more) the last position fix before touchdown is close enough to get one to within the ground footprint of the tracker so if you don't see it, you'll receive a
new position. A handheld Yagi antenna for the frequency one is using can extend the ground footprint to a larger radius. The mesh/network system would give even more insurance of relaying the final resting place that could be helpful for rockets that recover at quite a distance from the launchsite. The other thing is the mesh/network system could be used by itself like a standard transmit/receive pair. John had mentioned previously that the unit would be a transceiver so one would need to purchase a pair if they used it by themselves.
I've posted this link before but it shows one doesn't need a lot of position points to find a ballistic flight:
http://www.rocketryforum.com/showth...-Mapping-Program-Update&p=1573624#post1573624 I got nothing on the way up and only two positions before the rocket hit the dirt. There was no visual on the rocket at all once the button was pushed and it disappeared at apogee. The screensave is what I was looking at out in the field in real time. I didn't want to try to minimize the program and take a picture of the fincan sticking out of the ground as I didn't want to mess up the program. It was the first time I tracked a rocket with it. Of course the tracker was trashed and I wrecked the nosecone getting it out. Have a Wildman replacement I like better than the RW original and just have to mount the replacement EggFinder revB6 and battery to the G10 sled for another go. Next time with all the BP that comes with the reload! Umm, even a mesh system wouldn't have added much to a flight like this as the range was close by and of course the signal ceased once it hit. One other thing, RDF tracker wouldn't have helped at all, tracker died when it hit and I doubt anyone could have locked
a bearing fast enough to do the recovery. You got the room for your outa sight rockets, use a GPS tracker. Kurt
but it's a nice feature for advanced users.
