Featherweight GPS tracker

[Buckeye]

iOS required. There are a billion posts on this subject.

A new interface (iOS and Android) was mentioned for the new models sometime in the future.

 

[Adrian A]

any update on the new system and software?

The "new system" currently in work is the Blue Raven (Raven-like altimeter with Bluetooth phone interface, gyros, inertial navigation, more recorded data and more deployment flexibility). Prototypes have been in alpha testing over the summer and the first hardware production run has started. The phone app for it is started but will be the last part to be complete. A minimum-features version for Android and iOS with over-the-air upgradability will hopefully be available for purchase by the end of the year, and more features will roll in after that.

Once the Blue Raven app is mostly complete, I will have my developer work on extending it to support the GPS trackers and ground stations, with iOS and Android support.

 

[Adrian A]

Since this seems to have become the general thread for Featherweight GPS questions - is there currently any way to get data from a Featherweight GPS on a non-iOS device? Even just raw NEMA sentences over Bluetooth or USB would be plenty for me. I love the trackers and have used them for projects through school in the past, but I don't have an iOS device and have no interest in getting one. Really want to get a Featherweight for a few personal projects, but every other altimeter and tracker I have works with my (windows) PC, Raspberry Pi, and/or Android phone (I'm actually working on getting the Raspberry Pi set up as a universal ground station for my Eggtimer altimeters and trackers, Missileworks trackers, and some custom hardware I'm developing), and I'd be very disappointed if I couldn't get at least basic functionality out of a several hundred dollar tracker without also buying into the Apple ecosystem.

Most Android users just get a used iPhone without a data plan that's dedicated for rocket tracking, available for around $100 on eBay. If that is still unappealing, the V2 ground stations have a USB serial data connection, documented in the manual. It's not intended to be pretty, but if you're interested in rolling your own text interpreter, you can get data out of the system that way.

 

[jjwb22101]

Most Android users just get a used iPhone without a data plan that's dedicated for rocket tracking, available for around $100 on eBay. If that is still unappealing, the V2 ground stations have a USB serial data connection, documented in the manual. It's not intended to be pretty, but if you're interested in rolling your own text interpreter, you can get data out of the system that way.

Basic USB serial data is perfect! Must have missed that in the manual - I'll do some tinkering with the one my grad school has and see how it goes (I'm guessing I'll need to write a new parser), but that's awesome to hear.

 

[Neutronium95]

Basic USB serial data is perfect! Must have missed that in the manual - I'll do some tinkering with the one my grad school has and see how it goes (I'm guessing I'll need to write a new parser), but that's awesome to hear.

Just make sure it's the newer groundstation, I believe from October 2021 or later. Otherwise it'll be identical to the tracker unit and can only use the usb port for charging.

 

[SDrocketman]

Ok, just bought featherweight and would like to put a pull pin switch in line have a question on this: "If you would prefer to use an external switch, you can solder a wire to the through hole via labeled “sw+” on the back side of the board. This provides an alternative means of providing power that bypasses the slide switch and the input terminal block."

I take a single wire from the sw+ to the + side of pull pin switch, and single wire from - side power block to - side of pull pin switch? Thx in advance.

 

[Adrian A]

Ok, just bought featherweight and would like to put a pull pin switch in line have a question on this: "If you would prefer to use an external switch, you can solder a wire to the through hole via labeled “sw+” on the back side of the board. This provides an alternative means of providing power that bypasses the slide switch and the input terminal block."

I take a single wire from the sw+ to the + side of pull pin switch, and single wire from - side power block to - side of pull pin switch? Thx in advance.

Yes, that will work. You can also just leave the switch in the on position and use both wire terminals with your external switch on one of the legs.

 

[Neutronium95]

Why do you need to use an external switch? I prefer to power on my tracker while prepping the rocket, to give it time to acquire satellites and so that if there is anything wrong I can troubleshoot it at my table instead of needing to take it off the pad.

 

[Buckeye]

Why do you need to use an external switch? I prefer to power on my tracker while prepping the rocket, to give it time to acquire satellites and so that if there is anything wrong I can troubleshoot it at my table instead of needing to take it off the pad.

Maybe he was planning to pull the pin at his prep table? I like to get all the electronics installed and buttoned up at home and then activate with a switch at the field.

At the launch pad is definitely NOT the place to arm your GPS, unless you want to raise the ire of your fellow flyers in the queue.

 

[OverTheTop]

At the launch pad is definitely NOT the place to arm your GPS, unless you want to raise the ire of your fellow flyers in the queue.

I respectfully disagree. I always arm the entire electronics at the pad. Never have problems with GPS acquisition, it always locks before flight. Nobody has been ired by my actions that way.

 

[QFactor]

Maybe he was planning to pull the pin at his prep table? I like to get all the electronics installed and buttoned up at home and then activate with a switch at the field.

At the launch pad is definitely NOT the place to arm your GPS, unless you want to raise the ire of your fellow flyers in the queue.

We have had an incident or two at launches with people arming their Eggfinder units at their assembly tables in the parking lot.
The person with the rocket on the rail thought they were locked onto their transmitter when they turned it on in the parking lot.
They actually locked onto a university team's rocket that was sitting in the parking lot. We had a few teams at the launch that day.

It wasn't until the rocket streaked across the sky that the person realized the GPS location was not changing. And it went high enough
and far enough that we all lost site of the rocket. One of the Eggfinder gurus at the launch quickly deduced the problem and found
the person (team) with the active Eggfinder and had them turn it off. The other Eggfinder then got a proper lock and rocket location.

 

[Voyager1]

We have had an incident or two at launches with people arming their Eggfinder units at their assembly tables in the parking lot.
The person with the rocket on the rail thought they were locked onto their transmitter when they turned it on in the parking lot.
They actually locked onto a university team's rocket that was sitting in the parking lot. We had a few teams at the launch that day.

It wasn't until the rocket streaked across the sky that the person realized the GPS location was not changing. And it went high enough
and far enough that we all lost site of the rocket. One of the Eggfinder gurus at the launch quickly deduced the problem and found
the person (team) with the active Eggfinder and had them turn it off. The other Eggfinder then got a proper lock and rocket location.

There should have been a frequency allocation plan in place. We allocate specific frequencies to flyers using telemetry to avoid situations like these.

 

[Buckeye]

We have had an incident or two at launches with people arming their Eggfinder units at their assembly tables in the parking lot.
The person with the rocket on the rail thought they were locked onto their transmitter when they turned it on in the parking lot.
They actually locked onto a university team's rocket that was sitting in the parking lot. We had a few teams at the launch that day.

It wasn't until the rocket streaked across the sky that the person realized the GPS location was not changing. And it went high enough
and far enough that we all lost site of the rocket. One of the Eggfinder gurus at the launch quickly deduced the problem and found
the person (team) with the active Eggfinder and had them turn it off. The other Eggfinder then got a proper lock and rocket location.

Not sure if you are advocating arming the GPS on the pad or in the parking lot. This sounds more like a frequency problem with Eggfinder.

I have a BRB900 and Missileworks T3, and they are uniquely paired to the receiver to prevent such a scenario. I also have a Featherweight that has a limited number of user-selectable frequencies, but I have not heard of, nor experienced, any cross connections.

 

[Buckeye]

I respectfully disagree. I always arm the entire electronics at the pad. Never have problems with GPS acquisition, it always locks before flight. Nobody has been ired by my actions that way.

OK, I will add my anecdote.

Regional event last year. 4 of 5 pads on Bank A are racked, and we start walking back to the range head. Here comes 2 guys casually strolling to empty pad #5. OK, fine. They get the rocket up, attach igniter, and then one says "OK, let's connect the GPS." They proceed to remove the nose cone payload, undo some screws, fiddle with the electronics to turn it on, then close up everything. No bueno. No connection. The process is repeated 2 more times until they are satisfied. Yep, the ire was up for the rest of us.

 

[QFactor]

Not sure if you are advocating arming the GPS on the pad or in the parking lot. This sounds more like a frequency problem with Eggfinder.

I have a BRB900 and Missileworks T3, and they are uniquely paired to the receiver to prevent such a scenario. I also have a Featherweight that has a limited number of user-selectable frequencies, but I have not heard of, nor experienced, any cross connections.

I'm not advocating anything.

I'm relating an experience that becomes a teaching point to other clubs that have not considered a
frequency allocation plan. It's also a teaching point to those with Eggfinders and Featherweights as
these systems become more common with everyday rocketry people and university teams. People
should consider changing the "stock" frequency it's shipped with, and become familiar with how
to confidently change that frequency while at a launch.

 

[cerving]

Almost all of the time, frequency conflicts are due to users leaving the transmitters on the default frequency. Qfactor is correct... you need to read the manual and to be able to change the frequency (or whatever pairing mechanism there might be between the transmitter and receiver), that's just part of getting familiar with the electronics. That's part of using ANY rocketry electronics... you should be familiar and comfortable with it BEFORE you get to the launch. You do not want to be "that guy" that holds up an entire rack while they're fiddling with the electronics on the pad.

 

[Adrian A]

I have a BRB900 and Missileworks T3, and they are uniquely paired to the receiver to prevent such a scenario. I also have a Featherweight that has a limited number of user-selectable frequencies, but I have not heard of, nor experienced, any cross connections.

Almost all of the time, frequency conflicts are due to users leaving the transmitters on the default frequency. Qfactor is correct... you need to read the manual and to be able to change the frequency (or whatever pairing mechanism there might be between the transmitter and receiver), that's just part of getting familiar with the electronics. That's part of using ANY rocketry electronics... you should be familiar and comfortable with it BEFORE you get to the launch. You do not want to be "that guy" that holds up an entire rack while they're fiddling with the electronics on the pad.

While I agree that users have the responsibility to understand and operate their electronics correctly, I do what I can to design in protection against user mistakes where feasible.

The first line of defense that the Featherweight GPS Trackers provide is that when each unit is programmed and tested, we give it a semi-random frequency. This greatly reduces the chance that two users will inadvertently land on the same channel.

Another feature to help with this is that every time a packet is received, the rocket name is displayed at the top of the live data. If you see someone else's rocket name interspersed with your own, you know there is a problem and you should change channel and/or find out who just started stepping on your channel.

The next feature to help with this, which is only implemented in the firmware so far and not yet in the phone app, is that all the Featherweight ground stations periodically transmit their paired operating frequencies to the other ground stations on a common "ground station coordination" channel. The idea is to put a virtual frequency board at every user's fingertips so they know about all of the Featherweight systems operating at the launch and what channel they are using. This will not only help each user find an open channel (and I may have the app actively pop up a dialog box to help with this in the event of a conflict) but will also make it more fun to be at a launch with a bunch of Featherweight GPS systems because you will be able to "tune in" and follow other flights at the launch with your own phone in a receive-only way.

 

[jbr]

While I agree that users have the responsibility to understand and operate their electronics correctly, I do what I can to design in protection against user mistakes where feasible.

The first line of defense that the Featherweight GPS Trackers provide is that when each unit is programmed and tested, we give it a semi-random frequency. This greatly reduces the chance that two users will inadvertently land on the same channel.

Another feature to help with this is that every time a packet is received, the rocket name is displayed at the top of the live data. If you see someone else's rocket name interspersed with your own, you know there is a problem and you should change channel and/or find out who just started stepping on your channel.

The next feature to help with this, which is only implemented in the firmware so far and not yet in the phone app, is that all the Featherweight ground stations periodically transmit their paired operating frequencies to the other ground stations on a common "ground station coordination" channel. The idea is to put a virtual frequency board at every user's fingertips so they know about all of the Featherweight systems operating at the launch and what channel they are using. This will not only help each user find an open channel (and I may have the app actively pop up a dialog box to help with this in the event of a conflict) but will also make it more fun to be at a launch with a bunch of Featherweight GPS systems because you will be able to "tune in" and follow other flights at the launch with your own phone in a receive-only way.

Been patiently waiting for this feature for a long time

any estimated time for deployment?

 

[OverTheTop]

OK, I will add my anecdote.

Regional event last year. 4 of 5 pads on Bank A are racked, and we start walking back to the range head. Here comes 2 guys casually strolling to empty pad #5. OK, fine. They get the rocket up, attach igniter, and then one says "OK, let's connect the GPS." They proceed to remove the nose cone payload, undo some screws, fiddle with the electronics to turn it on, then close up everything. No bueno. No connection. The process is repeated 2 more times until they are satisfied. Yep, the ire was up for the rest of us.

Sounds like the flyers were not aware of how to effectively operate their electronics. That doesn't mean it is the best way for everyone to treat their preparation. I was commenting on the statement "At the launch pad is definitely NOT the place to arm your GPS". All-encompassing statements are seldom the correct answer to any question.

 

[Adrian A]

Been patiently waiting for this feature for a long time

any estimated time for deployment?

After my app developer gets done with the Blue Raven features I'll have him start working on interfacing with the GPS trackers. So it should be later this year.

 

[Handeman]

I always turn on my GPS while prepping. When I get back to the LCO after loading on the rack, I look at my track and can see the walk to the pad. It confirms the GPS is working and connected. Just seems like a good way to make sure the tracking is working right.

 

[schworer]

While I agree that users have the responsibility to understand and operate their electronics correctly, I do what I can to design in protection against user mistakes where feasible.

The first line of defense that the Featherweight GPS Trackers provide is that when each unit is programmed and tested, we give it a semi-random frequency. This greatly reduces the chance that two users will inadvertently land on the same channel.

Another feature to help with this is that every time a packet is received, the rocket name is displayed at the top of the live data. If you see someone else's rocket name interspersed with your own, you know there is a problem and you should change channel and/or find out who just started stepping on your channel.

The next feature to help with this, which is only implemented in the firmware so far and not yet in the phone app, is that all the Featherweight ground stations periodically transmit their paired operating frequencies to the other ground stations on a common "ground station coordination" channel. The idea is to put a virtual frequency board at every user's fingertips so they know about all of the Featherweight systems operating at the launch and what channel they are using. This will not only help each user find an open channel (and I may have the app actively pop up a dialog box to help with this in the event of a conflict) but will also make it more fun to be at a launch with a bunch of Featherweight GPS systems because you will be able to "tune in" and follow other flights at the launch with your own phone in a receive-only way.

Adrian - thanks for working on this. I had a problem at Balls in 2021 where I had selected a "random" frequency and immediately after my project had launched I started getting conflicting data indicating the rocket was on the ground.....turns out someone else behind the flight line had their tracker set to the same frequency and had switched it on sometime after I had put the minimum diameter M project on the rail and verified all the electronics were good to go. Thankfully I had my receiver hooked up to 4 element yagi antenna that offered some front to back directionality so I was able to mostly "filter" the other station out by pointing the antenna in the general direction of the flight once it had reached apogee and was on the way back down. The rocket was uneventfully recovered a few miles away using the system.

 

[bobbyg23]

Yea
Bummer I am an Android guy - If only they would develop an Android version.

You can find an Iphone 7 for cheap now days. That is what I did.

 

[thzero]

You can find an Iphone 7 for cheap now days. That is what I did.

Same

 

[Adrian A]

You can find an Iphone 7 for cheap now days. That is what I did.

Yes, and no data plan is required; just update the Featherweight tracker app at home over WiFi, cache some Google maps while you're at it, and then you're good to go for the field.

 

[jbr]

I wish so much that it would use the maps to plot the position of the rocket

 

[bobbyg23]

I wish so much that it would use the maps to plot the position of the rocket

It has that capability.

 

[Adrian A]

I wish so much that it would use the maps to plot the position of the rocket

You can copy the coordinates to paste into a mapping app. When I overhaul the app later this year I would like to have a more direct integration.

 

[jbr]

You can copy the coordinates to paste into a mapping app. When I overhaul the app later this year I would like to have a more direct integration.

I know I can download the data into google earth after the fact, but direct integration to have a button to send the data to the map app and see it on my phone would be wonderful

looking forward to updates

 

[Conway Stevens]

I know I can download the data into google earth after the fact, but direct integration to have a button to send the data to the map app and see it on my phone would be wonderful

looking forward to updates

You can do the same thing by copying the coordinates and pasting them into a Google map, or other maps app. Then have it take you to the coordinates. Pretty easy