Here is a simple way. offer a small reward to any children living in the area for the one who finds and returns your rocket. I even found an estes mosquito this way. or if you have a friend with a camera drone maybe they can fly some recon.
https://www.apogeerockets.com/Electronics-Payloads/Rocket-Locators/MicroBeaconA few years ago I bought one of those GE key chain buzzers from Animal Works. The battery did not last long because I set it off while the rocket was on the pad. When I was at NSL 2018 I met a young rocketeer that had the same buzzer. She had it rigged to her shock cord in such a way that it would go off upon ejection. I should have taken pictures.
I recently got one from Home Depot. I have tried to duplicate her setup but no luck. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done this? Has anyone ever used some other buzzer or audio device to find rockets since the last time this thread was updated? I tried the original Tile but it was a failure when I tested it at a RIMRA launch. Tile now has a new version in which you can replace the battery.
I would like to respectively disagree with you. From the time you pull the pin when the rocket is on the pad until the time the rocket is launched and lands, the battery is so low that the buzzer hardly sounds. I took the cover off my old GE key chain buzzer and low and behold there are 4 little batteries. It's probably cheaper to buy a new buzzer than to replace the batteries. The one I got from Home Depot was under $7.00.
There is a new Tile product called the Tile Pro for $35 with a rechargeable battery with a 300' range. Maybe I will give one a try come spring and if it does not work I will return it.
You are talking about two different products. The Pratt Microbeacon uses a 12 volt N size battery. There is no pin to pull. From the Apogee website:I would like to respectively disagree with you. From the time you pull the pin when the rocket is on the pad until the time the rocket is launched and lands, the battery is so low that the buzzer hardly sounds. I took the cover off my old GE key chain buzzer and low and behold there are 4 little batteries. It's probably cheaper to buy a new buzzer than to replace the batteries. The one I got from Home Depot was under $7.00.
There is a new Tile product called the Tile Pro for $35 with a rechargeable battery with a 300' range. Maybe I will give one a try come spring and if it does not work I will return it.
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