GPS Systems

[murietamike]

I am looking for advice on setting up a GPS system that I can switch between various rockets with various size airframes. Where to install it etc.

Thanks

 

[cerving]

In general, putting the tracker in the nose cone is best. It avoids the metal allthreads and hardware in the AV bay, optimizing the signal. There are a number of ways to make an interchangeable sled for nose cones, generally you mount a tube in the nose cone to house the tracker and sled. There are a few vendors that make 3D printed nose cone sleds... Lab Rat Rocket and SMT Designs are two popular ones.

 

[waltr]

Another way that I do:
I put an Eggfinder mini into a BT50 coupler tube that is long enough for the circuit board and a 300mA-hr 2S LiPo battery. I made stepped end caps (bulkheads) to close off the tube ends. Top one has a hole for the 900MHz antenna to go through and is glued into the tube. Each end cap has a smaller hole where a length of Kevlar cord is passed through and is used to tie onto the shock cord.
The battery is connected then all is inserted into the couple tube. Bottom end cap put on and secured with tape. Tie the cord onto recovery harness and insert into rocket.
This does require enough extra room in the body tube but works well and easy to switch amoung rockets without the need for custom Nose cone mounting.

 

[Cl(VII)]

SHAMELESS PLUG:

I offer sleds and protective sleeves that when coupled with an eyebolt can be clipped directly to the recovery harness. I have models fitting Eggfinder mini, Featherweight, TeleGPS and Simple GPS. These same sleds can also be mounted in nosecones, etc, and I have other do-dads that help with that too.

Available here: Sleds and Mounts

Example of assembly here: Shockcord Protective Sleeve

 

[murietamike]

Thank you for the info.