Need HELP with making a rocket!

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Hello guys,

I need some recommendations for a camera that I can mount on the rocket's exterior that is not very expensive but works fine. A camera that would be able to mount on a BT-60 body tube.
 
You can basically use any decent resolution USB Stick Camera (sometimes billed as Spy cameras since they are small). The issue with all these cameras is resolution and ability to capture frames quickly. If you have the budget, the Estes camera is basically a vetted version of one of these inexpensive cameras (you pay a premium price for their vetting).

You can 3D print a housing for these cameras or simply attach with electrical tape wrapped around airframe.
 
That suggests an interesting question: would it be practical to make an aerodynamic shroud for subsonic use from card stock? I bet one could. And now that I've typed it, I bet someone is about to post a link to someone's build with it.
 
I got one that looks like this. I designed a 3D Printed housing for it but it is pretty aerodynamic so I just decided to tape it to the rocket they few times I have used it.

1676243459334.png
 
jqavins said:
That suggests an interesting question: would it be practical to make an aerodynamic shroud for subsonic use from card stock? I bet one could. And now that I've typed it, I bet someone is about to post a link to someone's build with it.
Click to expand...

I found these, once. A little cutting, sanding..... I think you can get similar stuff at the big box stores.

1676323533455.png
 
Nice, but (like the ones from Apogee) not something one can make for one's self. Card stock can't be bent into compound curves, but by using a partial cone one might be able to fabricate one.

My drawing skill isn't up to what I'm thinking, so I'll try to describe it. Start with thinking of a cone with a smaller base diameter than your body tube. (Don't worry that a paper cone all the way to the tip is hard to make, you're not really going to; this is just how I'm describing it, not how you'll make it.) Tilt its axis so the tip points in toward the tube's axis, coplanar with it. Move the cone toward the tube centerline until the tip is inside by just a little bit. What's left outside the body tube is a portion of that cone, and thus is not a compound curve. It could in principle be made from paper, by a better fabricator than I.
 
jqavins said:
Nice, but (like the ones from Apogee) not something one can make for one's self. Card stock can't be bent into compound curves, but by using a partial cone one might be able to fabricate one.

My drawing skill isn't up to what I'm thinking, so I'll try to describe it. Start with thinking of a cone with a smaller base diameter than your body tube. (Don't worry that a paper cone all the way to the tip is hard to make, you're not really going to; this is just how I'm describing it, not how you'll make it.) Tilt its axis so the tip points in toward the tube's axis, coplanar with it. Move the cone toward the tube centerline until the tip is inside by just a little bit. What's left outside the body tube is a portion of that cone, and thus is not a compound curve. It could in principle be made from paper, by a better fabricator than I.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure I’m getting what you’re after, but might you be thinking of a hyperbola?

BF2A729D-D7FA-4492-8116-CE2F4F25300D.jpeg
 
Not necessarily, but definitely something like a conic section; you're showing the cone intersected by a plane, but of course it would actually be intersected by the cylindrical body tube wall.

I was thinking of the cone leaning over so its axis and the tube's axis meet above the shroud. I don't know by how much; if it's not tilted much then the curve where the cone and a plane meet would, yes, be a hyperbola. Since the cone intersects a cylinder, I'm sure the resulting curve has a name but I haven't the damnedest what it is. Let's call it cylindro-hyperbola. Tilt the cone more and get a cylindro-parabola or cylindro-ellipse. I suspect I'd want iti cylindro-hyperbola range, just not that cylindro-hyperbola.
 
Ayush Chauhan said:
Hello guys,

I am a student, making a rocket as my project. It's my first time making a rocket so need help! Please could anyone support me with my project? I want to know what material is the best to make a rocket out of that is not very expensive, is strong, and is lightweight. Also, if anyone has like a pdf or something for a step-by-step guide to making a rocket would be very beneficial.

Very Thanks!
Click to expand...
I have a blog that builds rockets.
He makes rockets with carbon, paper, and 3D printers.
It's in Japanese, but you can translate it into English with the button on the bottom left.
http://gallery-h.net/top/
 
Ayush Chauhan said:
This is the camera I am going for at the moment.

I am not sure if this will fit on the BT-60 body tube tho. Can you please have a look into it? This is a drone camera btw.
Click to expand...
I’m only seeing a search results page. I can give you more help with a screenshot of the product page, specifically the dimensions.

A BT-60 tube, however, is 40.5mm diameter on the inside. If you’re using heavier wall tubes, that figure will be smaller. You’ll have to do a little math to figure out what dimensions you can get in there. I think you can get a rectangular object in there if the smallest diagonal (I think) is smaller than that.

Somebody please double-check my logic on that.
 
The link is to a page full of cameras. Which one in particular?
1676899612894.png(And on and on it goes.)

In any case, by "fits the BT-60 body tube", do you mean inside the tube, or as a reasonably sized strap-on.

smstachwick said:
I think you can get a rectangular object in there if the smallest diagonal (I think) is smaller than that.
Click to expand...
Largest diagonal. For an actual rectangle, there is only one diagonal, but for an odd shape, it's the longest that matters.
1676919919630.png

EDIT: Oops, semi-wrong. For a plane rectangular box (a right rectangular prism for us math nerds) you're right, the shortest of the three red lines below. That's what you meant, isn't it?

1676920261296.png

But if the end face is not a rectangle, then what I wrote first.
 
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One thing to keep in mind with the small cheap cameras - and especially the “spy” cams, is that the user interface can be terrible. Usually there is one button and a light or two. with the spy cams the lights go off while recording (so it can’t be seen, it’s a spy cam, right?) and that means you can’t tell if it’s recording or - off! I’ve lost endless shots because of this. The more expensive cameras, like the Runcam, have much better interfaces, but it’s still too easy to acciten turn them off as you’re about to launch. Just something to be aware of.
 
jqavins said:
The link is to a page full of cameras. Which one in particular?
View attachment 564465(And on and on it goes.)

In any case, by "fits the BT-60 body tube", do you mean inside the tube, or as a reasonably sized strap-on.


Largest diagonal. For an actual rectangle, there is only one diagonal, but for an odd shape, it's the longest that matters.
View attachment 564555

EDIT: Oops, semi-wrong. For a plane rectangular box (a right rectangular prism for us math nerds) you're right, the shortest of the three red lines below. That's what you meant, isn't it?

View attachment 564558

But if the end face is not a rectangle, then what I wrote first.
Click to expand...
I want it to strap on the outside of the body tube. NOT inside
 
Ayush Chauhan said:
smstachwick said:
I’m only seeing a search results page. I can give you more help with a screenshot of the product page, specifically the dimensions.
Click to expand...
Yes please!!
Click to expand...
He means that he can provide more help only after you provide the information about the camera you're considering (as opposed to the search results page you provided).
 
Last edited by a moderator:

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