Iota + Base

[dhbarr]

"The iota is 43 x 22 x 12mm and comes in at 12g"

That's a pretty small GPS tracker, but:

• it requires a working wifi connection for the home base
• rocket G-load might squish it
• not sure if you can set the refresh interval or not
• not sure how fast it gains/loses lock
• not sure on how it has implemented the COCOM/EAR limits

Anybody else have further details?

https://www.iotatracker.com/

 

[Woody's Workshop]

This could be interesting.
As long as you have cell service at your launch site.

 

[cerving]

There will be a smaller unit available VERY soon, with much better range and no Internet requirement...:wink:

 

[rharshberger]

There will be a smaller unit available VERY soon, with much better range and no Internet requirement...:wink:

Your teasing again Cris.....

 

[ksaves2]

There will be a smaller unit available VERY soon, with much better range and no Internet requirement...:wink:

OH SHEESH, I better get the soldering pen warming up again! The dealer is getting ready something else to further feed the addiction. Kurt

 

[Adrian A]

There will be a smaller unit available VERY soon, with much better range and no Internet requirement...:wink:

Sounds like you're working on something similar to what I'm working on. Maybe later we should consider some level of protocol inter-operability if our solutions are close enough.

 

[ksaves2]

Wow,
These and the mesh system Mr. Beans is working on. Only way to lose a rocket then is if it lands in high tension lines, sinks in a body of water, is inaccessible in a very high tree
or if a random stranger steals it. If Mr. Stranger doesn't skee-daddle fast enough without turning off the tracker, stands a chance of being tracked. Kurt

 

[dhbarr]

Man, if three of my favorite devs are working on mesh designs, I super hope at least two of them end up interoperable.

Not just for the sake of my wallet, but more for the sake of the unlicensed spectrum at large launches.

 

[ksaves2]

Ummmm, I don't know if all three are working on a "mesh" system. Only Mr. Beans announced the concept. Only thing I gather is there will be a "size" improvement
of said devices. One must remember the propagation is not that great on 900Mhz and even with a 1/sec update rate on the tracker, one cannot expect to decode every
position. In reality, enough positions get through to affect a recovery though. Even with the 1 watt 900Mhz Multitronix tracker lost packets can be observed with
very high altitude flights. The decode rate is a lot better no doubt than lower powered systems.

The only way to improve the decode rate is increase the sensitivity of the receiving station with a better antenna (or electronics), use a "better" higher gain antenna on the tracker or increase
the power output on the tracker. There might be some advantages to using a different mode of transmission and decoding but the first three are easier to achieve.
A better antenna on the receiving end is true and easiest to do on any system. A better antenna on the tracker may not be possible due to size constraints. More power output on
the tracker can only be achieved with higher power requirements and perhaps an increase in physical size of the components. A different mode of transmission and receiving the
example may be had by weak signals communications like JT65 and a host of others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSJT_(amateur_radio_software)
In that case the way the data is transmitted and decoded is altered and optimized to the purpose. Am afraid with decoding a high rate of data one might
be limited to what is practical.
Anyhow, I can't wait to see what is going to be offered in the future. Kurt

 

[ksaves2]

This could be interesting.
As long as you have cell service at your launch site.

Hmmmm, I just looked on their site and they claim it uses free radio waves. Me suspects one connects via wifi to the base unit and then needs internet access for maps.
Not good if no cell service onsite or it maps can't be cached. Kurt

 

[cerving]

Sounds like you're working on something similar to what I'm working on. Maybe later we should consider some level of protocol inter-operability if our solutions are close enough.

No mystery about Eggfinder stuff... simple NMEA output, $GPGGA and $GPGSV records. All the decoding is done in the receiver and/or software.

I've always liked the idea of simple hardware and doing the magic in software. I remember the first time I saw the Apple II disk drive schematic and just stared at it thinking, "Wow." This was during a time when everybody else was using $50 Western Digital MFM decoder chips and a bunch of buffers and PLL's to do the same thing, and they didn't get as much capacity out of it as Woz did treating it like a tape drive. Brillliant.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

Cris & Adrian- I'm ready!!

The only way to improve the decode rate is increase the sensitivity of the receiving station with a better antenna (or electronics), use a "better" higher gain antenna on the tracker or increase
the power output on the tracker. There might be some advantages to using a different mode of transmission and decoding but the first three are easier to achieve.

Low baud rate LoRa is an awesome way to increase the decode rate.

 

[ksaves2]

Cris & Adrian- I'm ready!!

Low baud rate LoRa is an awesome way to increase the decode rate.

Only issue is the maps. If remote internet access is required to get a map, then not "as" much utility as with a setup that allows map caching and is totally independent of outside resources. Of course if ones phone has internet access at the site they fly and they don't have an inordinate data charge rate, they're good to go. Kurt

 

[GrouchoDuke]

All I really need is a good telemetry track and a set of coordinates from just before my rocket landed. There are plenty ways to get offline maps if you need them.

A bottom of the line Android device and Locus Maps Pro would be great, for example. Amazon's cheapest Fire tablet would be way plenty...for all of $50. There are iOS solutions too. iArrow works great on the iPhone if you don't need maps.

 

[sl98]

There will be a smaller unit available VERY soon, with much better range and no Internet requirement...:wink:

Sounds like a great opportunity for a tax refund sale.

 

[ksaves2]

All I really need is a good telemetry track and a set of coordinates from just before my rocket landed. There are plenty ways to get offline maps if you need them.

A bottom of the line Android device and Locus Maps Pro would be great, for example. Amazon's cheapest Fire tablet would be way plenty...for all of $50. There are iOS solutions too. iArrow works great on the iPhone if you don't need maps.

Right but automatic plotting is really nice and can give one a trend line to follow if there is no rocket at the last known position and no new position is received.
As long as one can input the proper units into a mapping app manually that is a way to be more economical about it but a Bluetooth connection on an EggFinder LCD to a tablet
or phone is not that pricey a proposition anymore. Kurt

 

[GrouchoDuke]

Oh yeah, coordinates tron'd straight to a gps map with trend lines/ground impact prediction is way nicer than hand entering a point. Everyone has multiple smartphones and tablets by now, so that part's free...right?

 

[Woody's Workshop]

Everyone has multiple smartphones and tablets by now, so that part's free...right?

NO, not me.
Not even a cell phone.
But I'm poor.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

NO, not me

Yeah, that was the smiley face at the end of my message. There are a lot of people without phones or tablets. The entry cost for tracking like this can vary a ton depending on what people already have for other uses.