Rocksim 10

[Apogee Components]

That's a good thought. I admit I prefer seeing the values instead of the binary safe/unsafe

Those values are available, but some less experienced rocketeers may not know what they mean. For instance, we know that a rocket should leave the rail at 30mph, but does everyone? If we didn't say unsafe, some people would see 20mph in that field and think it is acceptable to launch.

Is there an option to see the actual deployment and rail exit speed values (Maybe by hovering or clicking the safe box?)

By highlighting any simulation and going to "simulation" in your menu on the top left and clicking "display details" it will give you the full readout.

 

[Apogee Components]

But it's recommended and listed as safe simply because it's the only delay available? I hope a low enough velocity chute deployment is the reason behind that call. It would be more obvious if the max velocity at deployment column would have been selected for display.

It's listed as safe because it leaves the rail in stable condition and passes all the appropriate safety checks. We don't encourage high velocity deployments, but people still do them (though I imagine this is not a high velocity deployment, it is a 1/2A6 afterall. The recommended motors feature also does check to verify a safe deployment.)

It's recommending the 2 second delay because you can't get anything else. It will always, for every motor, recommend that closest delay to the optimal.

 

[Apogee Components]

To clarify, these are the conditions used to verify a safe deployment speed

• For the launch conditions used, the rocket deployed the recovery device at a speed less than 50 mph (22.3 m/s), which is considered safe

 

[aerostadt]

I got Rocksim 10 loaded in yesterday on my old clunker computer, which does have Windows 10. I got some good advice from Apogee and uninstalled version 9. However, I first moved the old Rocksim 9 Design file to a new folder and gave it a new name. I found that I had to guess at the file name to start Rocksim 10 and finally got it. Then copied in the version 10 product key. I pinned the Rocksim 10 icon to the bottom task bar on my desktop. Does I anyone know how to get the Rocksim 10 icon up to the general area of the desktop?

 

[Apogee Components]

@aerostadt It should be a pretty easy drag and drop on Windows 10. Here's an article that may help you out.
https://www.howtogeek.com/436615/how-to-create-desktop-shortcuts-on-windows-10-the-easy-way/

 

[aerostadt]

@aerostadt It should be a pretty easy drag and drop on Windows 10. Here's an article that may help you out.
https://www.howtogeek.com/436615/how-to-create-desktop-shortcuts-on-windows-10-the-easy-way/

I got the option that drags the folder over to the desktop to become an icon to work. Unpinned the icon on the taskbar previously and that might have helped.

 

[Apogee Components]

@aerostadt As long as you've got it working the way you want it, I'm happy!

 

[Glasspack]

I have used it for Years ……….. Like it ALOT.
Just upgraded mine last night. Havent found anything I don't like except maybe the new Icons...… for each component.
They almost look cartoonish.

 

[Buckeye]

But it's recommended and listed as safe simply because it's the only delay available? I hope a low enough velocity chute deployment is the reason behind that call. It would be more obvious if the max velocity at deployment column would have been selected for display.

I agree. I want an explanation for the pass/fail classification.

 

[Apogee Components]

I have used it for Years ……….. Like it ALOT.
Just upgraded mine last night. Havent found anything I don't like except maybe the new Icons...… for each component.
They almost look cartoonish.

Hopefully, as we develop future iterations of RockSim, it'll all come together and look like a clean and modern interface. We know we've got work to do in that area, but we didn't want to just leave it how it was either.

Overall, we're thrilled you enjoy V10!

I agree. I want an explanation for the pass/fail classification.

There are explanations listed in the full analysis. Highlight any particular simulation, select "simulation" from the top-left menu and click "Display details".

Scroll down until you see the category "safe flight". It will tell you which tests it passed and which it failed, and why.

 

[Buckeye]

That's a good thought. I admit I prefer seeing the values instead of the binary safe/unsafe
Is there an option to see the actual deployment and rail exit speed values (Maybe by hovering or clicking the safe box?)

At first I thought that the simulation tab gets populated with all the complete simulations run through the Recommended Motors utility. Now I am not so sure. I will be very disappointed if all you get are the safe/unsafe labels and no simulation data. I prefer to make my own decisions based on evidence, thank you very much. RockSim is running all the simulations, why not give the option to save them?

 

[Apogee Components]

At first I thought that the simulation tab gets populated with all the complete simulations run through the Recommended Motors utility. Now I am not so sure. I will be very disappointed if all you get are the safe/unsafe labels and no simulation data. I prefer to make my own decisions based on evidence, thank you very much. RockSim is running all the simulations, why not give the option to save them?

All that information is saved in the full readout. Highlight any simulation, using the top left menu click simulation->display details.

 

[dshmel]

I have a copy of v9 that I purchased in March of 2012 (upgrade from v8) and have the .ILF file. I never received a product key. Here is a PSA on behalf of Tim:

For people with an .ILF file to go to the rockSim license key regeneration page. It is here:

https://www.apogeerockets.com/Rocket-Software/RockSim-Upgrades/RockSim-License-Key-Regeneration-Fee

The fee is $1, and Tim advised me that there are a number of pending requests in his queue. Please keep this in mind.

 

[dshmel]

Got my new product key - ordered it this morning. That was FAST!

Shout out to Apogee for great customer service !!

 

[Dash8]

The biggest problem I've found with Rocksim, that they apparently didn't fix (yet) with 10, is the accuracy of the material densities. For example, I just ran a 25" long, 4" diameter fiberglass body tube. Rocksim calculated that the component weighs 40.5 grams. I'm guessing that they are basing this off of the density of insulating fiberglass, not the kind we use for rockets.

 

[Winston]

The recommended motors feature also does check to verify a safe deployment.

That's all I needed to know.

 

[DaveRKP]

Appreciate all the work Apogee put into the Version 9 to 10 upgrade - from improving the management of the RockSim key in the Customer's account to all the written and video step-by-step materials.

Just completed the download / install / activate this afternoon. Well supported!

I do have a question though. Does the v10 upgrade process preserve all manual updates that may have been made to the various v9 databases or do I need to reload them?

 

[Apogee Components]

Hey Dave, the V10 download is going to include a new database built for this release. There shouldn't be any work needed on your end, your database should be much more extensive than before. You can also merge the files during your first launch of RockSim 10 - that would take all your original database and add it to the one included with the release.

 

[r12ski]

Bobby,

You should know there's a much easier way to install RockSim on a Mac WITHOUT disabling the Gatekeeper feature or using terminal.

A lot of people, myself included are not totally comfortable using terminal for fear of breaking something.

When you launch a program for the first time that is not "From Apple or one of it's developers" you get the popup warning. BUT YOU CAN OVERRIDE IT.

After trying to open the program, go to the System Preferences>Security tab. In the lower half, where it says "Allow apps downloaded from" there should now be text that says "RockSim 10 was blocked from use because it is not from an identified developer. Next to it is a button that says "Open Anyway" and it will open RockSim normally, although you might get another pop up warning that says it was downloaded form the internet are you sure you want to open it.

Apple explains on this support article, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202491 in the last section.

Hope that helps.

Rob

 

[Speaknoevil]

The biggest problem I've found with Rocksim, that they apparently didn't fix (yet) with 10, is the accuracy of the material densities. For example, I just ran a 25" long, 4" diameter fiberglass body tube. Rocksim calculated that the component weighs 40.5 grams. I'm guessing that they are basing this off of the density of insulating fiberglass, not the kind we use for rockets.

There are a number of fiberglass densities loaded by default in Rocksim. Make sure you are using the right one for a body tube, typically G10 or G12. Also, you can set up your own material parameters for anything, e.g., expanding foam, so there should be no issue.

 

[Apogee Components]

Bobby,

You should know there's a much easier way to install RockSim on a Mac WITHOUT disabling the Gatekeeper feature or using terminal.

A lot of people, myself included are not totally comfortable using terminal for fear of breaking something.

When you launch a program for the first time that is not "From Apple or one of it's developers" you get the popup warning. BUT YOU CAN OVERRIDE IT.

After trying to open the program, go to the System Preferences>Security tab. In the lower half, where it says "Allow apps downloaded from" there should now be text that says "RockSim 10 was blocked from use because it is not from an identified developer. Next to it is a button that says "Open Anyway" and it will open RockSim normally, although you might get another pop up warning that says it was downloaded form the internet are you sure you want to open it.

Apple explains on this support article, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202491 in the last section.

Hope that helps.

Rob

I've passed that onto Will (he's our point of contact for customers and troubleshooting). He's going to give that a whirl, and should it be a more user-friendly fix, I'll adjust our documentation.

Our only worry is that that fix won't work for all version of Apple's OS. But he will try it out with some customers and let me know. Thanks for the tip!

 

[vcp]

In case anybody from Apogee is lurking on this thread, here is another annoyance that the new programmer can fix.

Switching between units is not correct. If you switch from lbs to kg back to lbs, you don't get the same value. I remember from my programming days that there is a right way and a wrong way to code unit conversions. I think Rocksim is doing it the wrong way.

Gosh, I remember this from the earliest days of RS, thought it would have been long gone by now. A good way is to always do all internal calculations in a single consistent units system. A single module does conversions from/to other units for entry/display only. Worked on VCP.

Oh, and use only one conversion constant to go both ways: 25.4 mm/in, and 1/25.4 in/mm; 0.3937 does not equal 1/25.4, and errors will accumulate each pass through the conversion. (yeah, they will anyway, but only at the full resolution of your reals.)

 

[r12ski]

I've passed that onto Will (he's our point of contact for customers and troubleshooting). He's going to give that a whirl, and should it be a more user-friendly fix, I'll adjust our documentation.

Our only worry is that that fix won't work for all version of Apple's OS. But he will try it out with some customers and let me know. Thanks for the tip!

Sure. I have High Sierra and I’ve used this on previous versions back to when you could manually turn it off.

 

[DaHabes]

Bobby, I have some feedback on V10. I am using Windows 10, latest updates, on a less-than-one-year-old laptop.

1. When I bring up the dialog to run the recommended motors batch simulation, the box is not re-sizable. It makes it difficult to use. I noticed on Tim's intro video is was fully sized, but he was on a Mac. See attachment 1.

2. When I get results from the batch run, the sizing of each line item is narrow. I have to select all of the results and double click on a row on the left hand side (like in Excel) to resize the lines so they are more readable. See attachment #2.

3. The same is true of line sizing when you select a part from the database. However, in this case, you can't resize all of the lines because you can't select them all. The entries are hard to read. See attachment 2, insets.

I suspect all of these have to do with the controls library used in the program, which are not working the same on a Mac vs. Windows.

 

[DaHabes]

Bobby, I have some feedback on V10. I am using Windows 10, latest updates, on a less-than-one-year-old laptop.

1. When I bring up the dialog to run the recommended motors batch simulation, the box is not re-sizable. It makes it difficult to use. I noticed on Tim's intro video is was fully sized, but he was on a Mac. See attachment 1.

2. When I get results from the batch run, the sizing of each line item is narrow. I have to select all of the results and double click on a row on the left hand side (like in Excel) to resize the lines so they are more readable. See attachment #2.

3. The same is true of line sizing when you select a part from the database. However, in this case, you can't resize all of the lines because you can't select them all. The entries are hard to read. See attachment 2, insets.

I suspect all of these have to do with the controls library used in the program, which are not working the same on a Mac vs. Windows.

P.S. It would be really great if in the batch simulation, you could select the engine manufacturer by checkbox or multi-select so you can have a a choice when running simulations of multiple vendors vs. one or all. For example, for LPR I'll fly either Estes or Aerotech. For MPR I'll fly Estes, Aerotech and maybe Cesaroni. For HPR I'll fly Aerotech or Cesaroni. I'll not be flying Quest, Loki, Gorilla, AMW or any of the plethora of other engine vendors, so running all of them results in a list that is way too long in the results set.

 

[DaHabes]

P.S. It would be really great if in the batch simulation, you could select the engine manufacturer by checkbox or multi-select so you can have a a choice when running simulations of multiple vendors vs. one or all. For example, for LPR I'll fly either Estes or Aerotech. For MPR I'll fly Estes, Aerotech and maybe Cesaroni. For HPR I'll fly Aerotech or Cesaroni. I'll not be flying Quest, Loki, Gorilla, AMW or any of the plethora of other engine vendors, so running all of them results in a list that is way too long in the results set.

P.P.S.S. Wow, I'm on a roll this morning. Another thing I just noticed. When I ran a batch simulation on my LOC Minnie Mag it ran 300 engines (that took a while). The Minnie Magg can take a 4G casing, max, but it ran all case lengths. A 6GXL case almost goes to the nose cone. That obviously won't work. It would also be valuable to either programmatically limit the engines to those that fit within a certain tolerance of the MMT length (e.g., no more than 20% longer) or, ideally, make case length either selectable or be a parameter the user can enter to limit the choices to engines that are legitimate for the rocket being simulated.

 

[Apogee Components]

Bobby, I have some feedback on V10. I am using Windows 10, latest updates, on a less-than-one-year-old laptop.

1. When I bring up the dialog to run the recommended motors batch simulation, the box is not re-sizable. It makes it difficult to use. I noticed on Tim's intro video is was fully sized, but he was on a Mac. See attachment 1.

2. When I get results from the batch run, the sizing of each line item is narrow. I have to select all of the results and double click on a row on the left hand side (like in Excel) to resize the lines so they are more readable. See attachment #2.

3. The same is true of line sizing when you select a part from the database. However, in this case, you can't resize all of the lines because you can't select them all. The entries are hard to read. See attachment 2, insets.

I suspect all of these have to do with the controls library used in the program, which are not working the same on a Mac vs. Windows.

This is quite out of my wheelhouse, but I'll try my best to explain some of the progress here.
Many of the functionality (not capabilities, but general functionality and ease of use, as well as visual components) are due to our QT library. RockSim V9 used QT3. We are in the midst of upgrading to QT5, skipping 4 entirely. This is not a perfectly smooth process, filled with successive iterations and debugging.

That being said, currently this is our devs main priority. We've fixed our ability to update RockSim over-the-wire prior to the V10 release, so many of these fixes and improvements will be coming.

Now, I showed my dev this response before sending it (just to make sure I don't sound like a complete dummy) and he replied with this - We actually are using Qt4 right now, but we have Qt3 support libraries which is making the upgrade to Qt5 difficult. Some of the formatting issues aren't related to Qt5, but we need to upgrade before really diving into the formatting. The next update will include Qt5.

As to the batch simulations, both of those improvements are good ideas to consider, and I've passed that feedback on to the powers that be.

 

[Tobor]

Another way to save your license key would be to re-image the install CD and include the key file. I use UltraISO when I want to create an ISO file and use Nero when I want to burn files from my hard drive(s) straight to disc . Of course there are a lot of free tools available online if you don't have the apps I've mentioned.

A few examples of what's in the wild include BurnAware - AcetoneISO - AnyBurn and Daemon Tools Lite.

 

[ghostfather]

Bobby, I have some feedback on V10. I am using Windows 10, latest updates, on a less-than-one-year-old laptop.

1. When I bring up the dialog to run the recommended motors batch simulation, the box is not re-sizable. It makes it difficult to use. I noticed on Tim's intro video is was fully sized, but he was on a Mac. See attachment 1.

2. When I get results from the batch run, the sizing of each line item is narrow. I have to select all of the results and double click on a row on the left hand side (like in Excel) to resize the lines so they are more readable. See attachment #2.

3. The same is true of line sizing when you select a part from the database. However, in this case, you can't resize all of the lines because you can't select them all. The entries are hard to read. See attachment 2, insets.

I suspect all of these have to do with the controls library used in the program, which are not working the same on a Mac vs. Windows.

Mike, that can be easilly fixed using Windows scaling per application.
I had the same problem on my Windows 10 latop with a 4K screen.

• using the Rocksim shortcut, right click to bring up Properties
• under the tab Compatibility, click the button "Change High DPI settings"
• check box "Use this setting to fix scaling problems...". This applies the scaling to just this application (Rocksim)
• check box "Override high DPI scaling behavior. Scaling performed by: <choose System or System Enhanced>

Close the shortcut and try it. You can put it back the way it was, if it doesn't help or work the way you want.

Hopefully this will not be necessary in a future version of Rocksim

 

[r12ski]

I've passed that onto Will (he's our point of contact for customers and troubleshooting). He's going to give that a whirl, and should it be a more user-friendly fix, I'll adjust our documentation.

Our only worry is that that fix won't work for all version of Apple's OS. But he will try it out with some customers and let me know. Thanks for the tip!

I've found an even easier way. When opening a program use control-click or right click to get a drop-down menu. Then select open. It will give you the same warning but there's an "Open" button. Then you're good to go. Easier than opening the Control Panel and WAAAY easier than using Terminal. Please pass that on to Will.