RDF Locator Stories

[BHP]

Since there is always talk of transmitters in rockets and many folks don't think they're worth the money let's hear your radio location stories.

A few weeks ago I was at a launch where a guy lost his rocket with a Rocket Hunter onboard. He went off in his car looking a couple of times but returned empty handed. At home that night I received the following email:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So you gotta hear this story. The guy next to me that
lost his rocket came back and still had not found it
and had given up and started packing up. He said he
had picked up a signal near the truck stop but lost
it. As Vic and I were leaving, I thought I would just
shoot over to the spot where we saw it land and try my
rocket hunter since I knew his frequency. We got
nothing at the touchdown site so we headed towards the
truck stop and stopped and got out several times to
check for a signal. At one point I got a very, very
faint signal that pointed right at the truck stop. It
was definitely only his frequency. So, we drove
towards the truck stop and stopped a couple of times
to check the signal. Still very weak. When we got on
the overpass I checked again and the still weak signal
was behind us. There is nothing there but a
McDonald's and across the street from that, a trucker
CB store. We park in the McDonald's lot and I get out
and started waving my Yagi antenna around in this busy
lot with cars driving by and giving me weird looks.
The signal, which is still very weak, seems to be
coming from across the street. So I walk across the
street, still swinging my antenna back and forth, and
Vic followed me in the truck. He's rolling his eyes
by now. So, I walk all around this CB store to see if
it could be coming from behind it or something. Some
trucker gets out of his truck and says: "What's that
thing do?" Vic said something like: "Sir, step back
in the truck, close the door and keep your head down
low." Well, the signal was weak but it had to be
coming from inside this CB store. We had our doubts
because this place has antennas sticking out from
everywhere and we thought we might be getting an
errant signal from there transmitters or something.
Well, I had to find out, so I walked into the store,
receiver and antenna in hand going BEEP BEEP BEEP.
Pointing it at the guy behind the counter who was
waiting on customers, I said: "You didn't happen to
see a rocket around here, did you?" His jaw just
dropped to his feet. The expression was priceless.
He says: "Ummm, how tall was it?" I said: "maybe like
eight feet" and he says: "Could it have been seven
foot, two inches? Its in the back. Let me finish
with these customers and I'll bring it out the side
door." So he brings it out and BS's for a while and I
bring it back to the Crown Jewel, but its owner had
already left, so I left it with Tim. We stopped at
the gas station before getting on the interstate to
empty out before the long ride home and I hear: "Hey,
rocketman!" Its the same guy. He starts talking with
Vic and tells him how he got second place in a science
fair with an Estes rocket, but if he had one like this
he could have gotten first. We talked a bit about HPR
and he said he looked it up on the Internet and
couldn't find anything. He wanted to know were the
launch was so I gave him my map. He said he was off
Sunday and he was going to go. I was laughing all the
way home.

Had a great day today. Good to see you guys.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

That’s a great story and funny too.

A couple of months ago I lawndarted a rocket in which I had my Rocket Hunter transmitter. That thing was buried 2+ feet underground but I still got the RH signal. I was able to retrieve the carcass of the rocket. That RH transmitter is damaged and it was with a club buy so I didn't have my own receiver. A good way to buy but I never got to practice with it.

I decided to buy a Beeline to use with my ham radio HT. Since I've had little practice in using a RDF set-up I wanted to practice with the Beeline (of the 13 flights I used the Rocket Hunter all but the last described flight landed within eye-sight and I didn't need it). Anyway, last week I asked my son to take the Beeline transmitter to a nearby park and stash it so I could practice using it. I told him to put it in a place a rocket could land but not so obvious a passerby would see it and take it.

He went to the park and I waited a while then went there myself. I saw my son walking down a bike path toward me. I wasn’t getting any signal. I intercepted him and had him come along with me in the direction from where he came. Ahead was a drop-off down to the river and the path also crosses the river on a big bridge. I asked if he’d put it under the bridge. He just shrugged and smiled. I said a rocket couldn’t land under a bridge. He smiled again.

We made our way down the big, rockey hill and I was getting a good signal. To make a long story short(er) I walked in circles and finally stopped at a spot on some railroad tracks that seemed to be the center of the signal circle. I said to my son “I give” and he pointed right at my feet. There, under a rail was the yellow antenna sticking out! Had it been attached to a rocket I would have seen it long before. I did mention something about a rocket not fitting under a RR track and he just shrugged with a smile.

The things work. Get one and you will save money in the long run.

 

[BHP]

Almost 4 days and 62 views and nobody else has a story of finding rockets with a transmitter and receiver?

Hmmm. I'd have thought there would be some good ones out there....

 

[bigredbee]

Hmmm, nothing but boring recovery stories for me.

I suppose highlights include flying to 40K and recovery 5 miles downrange on Adrian Carbine's 2-stage N-N project. Oh, and the balloon flight to over 80K where the signal was picked up over 180 miles away.

Nohing as interesting as your story.

 

[llickteig1]

Ok, I'll bite. I have two tracking stories, but they're actuelly anti-tracking stories. Not quite as elaborate as yours, but I bet it happens other places.

Around the Argonia Rocket Pasture there's a whole lot of ... nothing. Very few houses or people. The nearest business of any kind is probably 9 miles away. The few farmer that frequent the area are the friendliest and nicest people on earth. And helpful, too. One story is about a guys rocket that went to probably 15,000' and out of sight. He had a tracker in it but no one ever saw it deploy anything. He had a signal, so off he went to fetch the rocket. Pretty soon, one of the farmer's wives show up at the range head in her pickup with the rocket in the bed. It had landed under 'chute beside the road so she thought she would do the neighborly thing and tosses it in the back of the truck and delivers it to us. Well, our intrepid rocket hunter by this time had made the Great Circle route back to the launch site because, well, that was where the signal led him.

The other story is similar. Rocketeer John puts a J350 in his 4 pound rocket and is going for his Level 2 certification. He knows this baby is going way out of sight so he borrows a tracker. Whoosh, sure enough that baby is gone from view in about 2 seconds. Life is good, though, because the tracker has a good signal. He and a buddy head off in the direction of the signal. Well, within 10 or 15 minutes another rocketeer shows up at the range head with John's rocket. "Farmer came up to me and says, 'You looking for this?' 'Not my rocket, but I'll take it back with me.'" Well, since the KloudBusters are such a fun-loving bunch, we take the rocket and put it all back together and put it right back on the pad from which it had so vigorously left. Well, John and his buddy are hot and thirsty by now. "Darn signal seems like it's moving!?! Let's go back and get some water and head back out." Of course, when John shows back up at the range head, everyone lets him know that he'll never get his cert unless he LAUNCHES his rocket - which is still on the pad.

Both cases were the source of lots of good-natured ribbing and laughs.

--Lance.

 

[RocketRetard]

Well,
I don't have any stories like that of my own, but there is one I know about A guy I launch with. He shot a 20+ ft rocket on a Hypertech-M. But there was 20+ mph winds. He shot it and it weather cocked badly. He had a tracker in it and he got into his truck and followed it. He followed it until he found it.................But it was 5 miles downwind and landed in the middle of the highway!!! before that some lady had seen it when she was driving down the highway and the bomb squad got called and there was all sorts of fireman and policeman there too. He showed up and was quite shsocked. He walked up there and they asked if that was his, and he said yes. The funny part was that he almost got arrested. I laugh every time I hear that story!

 

[BlueNinja]

Originally posted by RocketRetard
Well,
I don't have any stories like that of my own, but there is one I know about A guy I launch with. He shot a 20+ ft rocket on a Hypertech-M. But there was 20+ mph winds. He shot it and it weather cocked badly. He had a tracker in it and he got into his truck and followed it. He followed it until he found it.................But it was 5 miles downwind and landed in the middle of the highway!!! before that some lady had seen it when she was driving down the highway and the bomb squad got called and there was all sorts of fireman and policeman there too. He showed up and was quite shsocked. He walked up there and they asked if that was his, and he said yes. The funny part was that he almost got arrested. I laugh every time I hear that story!

Yikes-I take it that wasn't at KCAR?

 

[strudleman]

Now that's hilarious. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Andrew_ASC]

So I was playing with the yagi in the middle of the night on the empty street trying to famaliarize myself with RDF tracking a Telemini beacon laying on the porch. And the neighbor rolls up in a Chevy truck. I stepped aside as he drove up into a driveway then stopped. First thing he asks is What’s That Do?!? I said just testing and tracking a radio beacon. For what was the next question. I said gonna launch a rocket 7,500 ft high and it’ll drift two miles that way. He shrieked where are you going to launch in a panic look. I said Woodville Alabama at HARA either this winter or spring. He then exhaled in a sigh of relief said cool have fun. So yeah there’s my noob RDF story.

 

[tim cubbedge]

So I was playing with the yagi in the middle of the night on the empty street trying to famaliarize myself with RDF tracking a Telemini beacon laying on the porch. And the neighbor rolls up in a Chevy truck. I stepped aside as he drove up into a driveway then stopped. First thing he asks is What’s That Do?!? I said just testing and tracking a radio beacon. For what was the next question. I said gonna launch a rocket 7,500 ft high and it’ll drift two miles that way. He shrieked where are you going to launch in a panic look. I said Woodville Alabama at HARA either this winter or spring. He then exhaled in a sigh of relief said cool have fun. So yeah there’s my noob RDF story.

That’s an amazing story!

 

[dhbarr]

So I was playing with the yagi in the middle of the night on the empty street trying to famaliarize myself with RDF tracking a Telemini beacon laying on the porch. And the neighbor rolls up in a Chevy truck. I stepped aside as he drove up into a driveway then stopped. First thing he asks is What’s That Do?!? I said just testing and tracking a radio beacon. For what was the next question. I said gonna launch a rocket 7,500 ft high and it’ll drift two miles that way. He shrieked where are you going to launch in a panic look. I said Woodville Alabama at HARA either this winter or spring. He then exhaled in a sigh of relief said cool have fun. So yeah there’s my noob RDF story.

Err, this thread was idle for a decade or so. Usually prudent to start a new one instead of necroposting.

 

[blackjack2564]

At one of the filming for LDRS..Karrie Byron [Mythbusters] was talking with me, during a break.
We were waiting for my launch.She asked me what the gadget in my hand was for. [I was holding my tracking base/antenna]

We happened to be standing with her between me and the rocket on pad ..so this worked devilishly.

What 's it for?
I pointed it at here torso and slowly moved it up and down, while turning the gain up & down.

Every time it pointed at her stomach, it would "bing bong" very loudly.

It's a pregnancy detector & you are VERY pregnant.....of course the whole filming crew though it was hilarious.