Recovering rockets from a mile, with no tracker.

[BsSmith]

Great news!

I got my HAM license! Hopefully we will be ordering a Beeline soon.

 

[Pantherjon]

Great news!

I got my HAM license! Hopefully we will be ordering a Beeline soon.

Cograts!:clap:

 

[SuperSlim]

I haven't seen it mentioned, but one technique that I find very handy is to use the Garmin Vista gps unit with the sight-n-go feature. Assuming you have a visual line, you point the unit at the target and put in a gps line that stays fixed. Then (and this is the key step), you walk toward the target to get the error in the line. For example, you might walk 200 feet towards the target and determine that you're 5 feet to the right of the gps line. Then, at 2000 feet out, the "real" line is 50 feet to the right of the gps line. With a little practice, you can walk right up to rockets that are a mile or more out, even if you have to walk around something to get there.

Jim

I like this method also. I usually like to stand near a tall object at the launch site and watch my rocket from there. When the rocket touches down, I use the sight-n-go feature on my gps, or a compass to get an azimuth. If I only get the azimuth, or have a good reference on the horizon, I make a waypoint at the location where I was standing and project a waypoint to a distance past where I know the rocket landed. I then make an off-road route which creates a line to walk, and as Jim said, if you get off track to go around an obstacle, you will be able to walk right back to your path and continue the search. By making waypoints, you can share the waypoint data with anyone that has a gps and is willing to join the hunt. (not all gps units have sight-n-go) The compass alone is good if the rocket did not go over a hill that would kill your chance of looking back to your tall or highly visible reference point. I have used the compass alone and could have found rockets in the dark.

I proved my gps method at High Frontier by finding a separated booster section of a gentleman's rocket that apparently only I watched descend. I guess everyone else picked up on the piece under chute. The deceptive thing in this case was that the booster landed further downwind and closer to the launch site than the section under chute. I projected a waypoint a mile out and found the booster about 7' north of my course .3 miles from where I observed the descent. My reference points, consisting of a fence post and a launch rail, were really good because I did not input anything in my gps until the day after the rocket was flown. Fortunately, I told the owner of the rocket I observed the separated piece and he asked for my help after he could not locate the separated piece.