What tracker should I choose?

[John Taylor]

Not new to rocketry just new to using trackers. I have an eggfinder but I don't trust it much. It lost communication with K motor flight sitting on the pad. Had to scrub.
I don't have an IPhone. I don't want to buy one. So what else is there that is very simple leading me to the rocket without drama? I can spend some cash but I can't afford Kate.
Thank you for your help.
John

 

[tim cubbedge]

There’s a lot out there but I’ve been very happy with Missile Works RTx. No phone required.
https://www.missileworks.com/store#!/GPS-Tracker-Systems/c/19848147
There’s also Big Red Bee. They make licensed and 900 MHz gps systems.
https://shop.bigredbee.com/collections/900mhz-tx-and-rx

 

[jkovac]

Not new to rocketry just new to using trackers. I have an eggfinder but I don't trust it much.

For whatever it’s worth, I’ve found Eggfinders to be extremely reliable. I still use one as a secondary tracker and it has never failed. Impossible to beat for the cost, too.

The only other tracker I’ve used is Featherweight, also a good system I’d recommend to anyone. I purchased a Real Flight Systems unit I intend to use at Black Rock, but haven’t had the chance to use it yet. That one is closer to the Kate end of things.

 

[WillMarchant]

You might want to get on the “back in stock” notification list for https://www.apogeerockets.com/index...lectronics_info&cPath=52_197&products_id=2448

 

[OKTurbo]

I use the Featherweight GPS tracker now and love it. But if you want simple with no gps/phone, I started with the Marco Polo and it worked well. It’s actually a pet/drone tracker, but works for rockets too.

https://eurekaproducts.com/rc-model-tracking-and-recovery/

 

[user 30299]

I have an assortment of Missile Works trackers.

The simplest one is the T3. It works with cell phones that are running Android.

The T3 is bare bones but effective.

https://www.missileworks.com/store#!/T3-GPS-Tracker-System/c/25228124

 

[manixFan]

Adrian, the maker of the Featherweight tracker, has stated elsewhere on this forum that an Android version of the tracker software will be available this fall. It’s a credible claim based on the current software for his Blue Raven altimeter, which has both iOS and Android versions. And both are finally available on the official app stores now. (Search for featherweight ui.) His developer is adding the tracker functionality to the same app rather than creating a separate version.

Of course as with any software development, timelines are always fluid, so no way to know for sure how long it will be.

Just something to consider. Good luck on your quest.


Tony

 

[John Kemker]

Of course as with any software development, timelines are always fluid, so no way to know for sure how long it will be.

Q: Why did God create the world in only six days?
A: He didn't have an installed user base.

 

[Buckeye]

Not new to rocketry just new to using trackers. I have an eggfinder but I don't trust it much. It lost communication with K motor flight sitting on the pad. Had to scrub.

Before you drop another couple hundred bucks on another tracker system, you may want to diagnose this issue, first. Is your Eggfinder still functional in ground tests off the pad? Communications can be lost/intermittent if the GPS antenna of the transmitter is facing, or near to, the rail. Missileworks issued a warning on this years ago, and I experienced it firsthand with a Featherweight GPS. I was in the launch queue at LDRS with my altitude PR model, and the Featherweight started flashing pink color all of a sudden, repeatedly losing and regaining a fix. I was freaking out, but luckily it locked on after liftoff.

A simple rearrangement of your GPS payload may be all you need.

Adrian, the maker of the Featherweight tracker, has stated elsewhere on this forum that an Android version of the tracker software will be available this fall.

I follow these threads closely and never saw this statement. Got a link? The best I can find is this response which mentions a very less specific time period of "probably months."

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...play-and-apples-app-store.181300/post-2467134

 

[DAllen]

You want simple? Doesn't get any simpler than the Marco Polo. It has it's quirks but they're easy to deal with. Look at the LCD screen and it points "THAT WAY." It's like cave-man simple.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

If you want a simple transmitter with directional antenna, I use LL Electronics falconry trackers. At least rockets don't get back up and fly away
XLF-6 has a range of about 5 miles on the ground. https://www.radiotracking.com/
Larger rockets will fit GPS trackers.

 

[Zbench]

Another +1000 for Eggtimer products. A testimonial from just last weekend. The Tripoli NOTRA club had a launch and I had just finished a 4" version of the LOC Cyclotron. I sent it up on a J800 Blue thunder which took it to 3842' according to the Eggtimer Apogee Altimeter. I also had a Mini Eggfinder in the payload section and was using a receiver with GPS chip installed.

The up part went perfect and the deployment was right at Apogee. Unfortunately, even using a Chute Release set at 500' it drifted into the corn which you can see in the background. Corn in Ohio in July is easily 8' tall. The Eggfinder receiver stayed locked the entire time on the decent. I typically just jot down the lat and long from the receiver and use my iphone and GPS tracks to walk right to the location displayed, but for some reason, I couldnt get the GPS tracks software to create a track for me (very upsetting).

I set into the corn anyway, in the general direction I saw it land. I toggled to the direction screen on the receiver and followed the arrows shown on the screen. Every 15 seconds I got an update and it soon became apparent I was closing on the rockets location. 120 feet, 75 feet, 25 feet all with slight corrections along the way. It update again with 7 feet and I looked to my left and it was right there spanning 3 rows. Its the first time I used the on board guidance feature and I have to say it worked great. Navigating in corn that high is a bit like scuba diving in silt filled water. Was pretty impressed and plan to use it more often. That rocket would have been lost if it were not for the tracker.

I like to mount mine in a payload bay alone or in the nose cone. I have never risked putting it in the Ebay. Bottom line, Eggfinder is a solid system, but like any system, you need to practice with it. I routinely have 9 or more satellites in view where we launch.

 

[Wayco]

Sharon and I were beta testers for both the Eggfinders and the Featherweight GPS systems. I have made several dozen Eggfinders and all of our rockets that fly over 10k ft. have one in them. They also have a FW GPS, because anything you put in a rocket can have a problem. Redundancy is your friend, just ask NASA.
I can honestly say that we have made hundreds of GPS recoveries, with no losses since we started using Eggfinders. I still use one of Cris's original black box receivers that he gave me many years ago.
One thing you must keep in mind is that any avionics device you put in a rocket requires you to LEARN THE SYSTEM.

 

[DAllen]

I'd be a lot more inclined to buy Eggtimer if I didn't have to assemble such tiny parts or have to get someone else to do it for me.

 

[Zbench]

I'd be a lot more inclined to buy Eggtimer if I didn't have to assemble such tiny parts or have to get someone else to do it for me.

It’s part of the fun if you ask me. To be able to say you not only built the rocket but the electronics that operate it is definitely next level. And it’s not particularly hard if you get a good soldering station and some magnifying glasses

 

[Buckeye]

I can honestly say that we have made hundreds of GPS recoveries, with no losses since we started using Eggfinders.

...

One thing you must keep in mind is that any avionics device you put in a rocket requires you to LEARN THE SYSTEM.

Totally agree. That's why I suggested to the OP to figure out his Eggfinder before looking for greener pastures.

Practice at home is critical, so there are no surprises at the field.

 

[Buckeye]

I'd be a lot more inclined to buy Eggtimer if I didn't have to assemble such tiny parts or have to get someone else to do it for me.

Well, that's Eggfinder's raison d'etre. It is filling the kit niche. If it came assembled, then Eggfinder would be like everybody else.

 

[Pinetree]

I'm pretty good at soldering, and have assembled many kits including a guitar amplifier.

At the risk of asking a dumb question (and I'm going to anyway), are the Eggtimer trackers capable of communicating with a Bluetooth/GPS enabled Android phone, or do they require the Eggtimer receiver?

 

[Zbench]

I'm pretty good at soldering, and have assembled many kits including a guitar amplifier.

At the risk of asking a dumb question (and I'm going to anyway), are the Eggtimer trackers capable of communicating with a Bluetooth/GPS enabled Android phone, or do they require the Eggtimer receiver?

You need the receiver which is also fun to build!

 

[cerving]

There are two different Eggfinder receivers, the LCD display receiver which Wayco spoke of, and the RX "dongle" that can interface to a Windows PC (with USB) or an Android device (with Bluetooth). The RX is $30 cheaper, but requires that you have another device to get the GPS coordinates of course. My personal preference for Android is to ALWAYS use the LCD receiver, since you get the GPS coordinates, and use a Bluetooth module to send the data to GPS Rocket Locator for mapping. You'll save the cost of the LCD's GPS module ($40), and if for some reason you lose the Bluetooth connection to your Android device (and it DOES happen...) you still have the rocket's GPS coordinates. BTW, you CAN add the Bluetooth module to the LCD receiver... it's $8.

 

[Wayco]

And with any Eggtimer purchase you get Cris's most excellent product support and customer service, a priceless commodity.

 

[JeffB]

Another +1000 for Eggtimer products. A testimonial from just last weekend. The Tripoli NOTRA club had a launch and I had just finished a 4" version of the LOC Cyclotron. I sent it up on a J800 Blue thunder which took it to 3842' according to the Eggtimer Apogee Altimeter. I also had a Mini Eggfinder in the payload section and was using a receiver with GPS chip installed.

The up part went perfect and the deployment was right at Apogee. Unfortunately, even using a Chute Release set at 500' it drifted into the corn which you can see in the background. Corn in Ohio in July is easily 8' tall. The Eggfinder receiver stayed locked the entire time on the decent. I typically just jot down the lat and long from the receiver and use my iphone and GPS tracks to walk right to the location displayed, but for some reason, I couldnt get the GPS tracks software to create a track for me (very upsetting).

I set into the corn anyway, in the general direction I saw it land. I toggled to the direction screen on the receiver and followed the arrows shown on the screen. Every 15 seconds I got an update and it soon became apparent I was closing on the rockets location. 120 feet, 75 feet, 25 feet all with slight corrections along the way. It update again with 7 feet and I looked to my left and it was right there spanning 3 rows. Its the first time I used the on board guidance feature and I have to say it worked great. Navigating in corn that high is a bit like scuba diving in silt filled water. Was pretty impressed and plan to use it more often. That rocket would have been lost if it were not for the tracker.

I like to mount mine in a payload bay alone or in the nose cone. I have never risked putting it in the Ebay. Bottom line, Eggfinder is a solid system, but like any system, you need to practice with it. I routinely have 9 or more satellites in view where we launch.

View attachment 596497

That corn ate my hyperloc 160 last weekend. And that is why I’m browsing the tracker threads

 

[SolarYellow]

If you want a simple transmitter with directional antenna, I use LL Electronics falconry trackers. At least rockets don't get back up and fly away
XLF-6 has a range of about 5 miles on the ground. https://www.radiotracking.com/
Larger rockets will fit GPS trackers.

I like Cris' stuff. I'm also researching the falconry tracker route for places where the size and weight of an Eggfinder Mini are deal breakers. Looked at the LL Electronics LF-3. The other one that looks promising is the Marshall Micro. Do you have any experience with either of these?

 

[Zbench]

That corn ate my hyperloc 160 last weekend. And that is why I’m browsing the tracker threads

Jeff you should have said something. I had a Marco Polo sitting idle. Steve Eves had one go deep in the corn but he found it with a Marco Polo.

 

[techrat]

If you're a ham, there are simple RF "beepers" which you can also track with a handheld radio and a directional (such as a Yagi) antenna. Some are on 433Mhz which does not require an amateur license and you can use a handheld scanner radio (as long as it has a signal strength meter) and a yagi. You may need an attenuator when you get close to it. Look up "radio direction finding" which hams refer to as "fox hunting".

 

[JeffB]

Jeff you should have said something. I had a Marco Polo sitting idle. Steve Eves had one go deep in the corn but he found it with a Marco Polo.

I’m currently torn between the Marco Polo or the Featherweight. I saw a bunch of folks using the Marco Polo but I like all the other metrics the featherweight has

 

[Zbench]

I’m currently torn between the Marco Polo or the Featherweight. I saw a bunch of folks using the Marco Polo but I like all the other metrics the featherweight has

The Marco Polo is nice and the arrow pointing the way is handy, but, biggest drawback is range is pretty limited. You need to see the general area of where to rocket is and then start walking toward it. Your range is like 300 yards (or less) once the rocket is on the ground.

I may start flying both in the same airframe for redundancy. The thing I love about the Eggfinder is it transmits the no joke lat and long of your rocket, you just have to figure out how to get there. Marco Polo is just like a beacon you have to walk to. You don’t know exactly where it is, but as you get closer the signal increases until you find it.

Practically speaking in our area either work well, but, if you have dreams of flying Black Rock and 30,000 foot flights, the Marco Polo isn’t going to cut it.

 

[schworer]

I'd be a lot more inclined to buy Eggtimer if I didn't have to assemble such tiny parts or have to get someone else to do it for me.

When I was much younger I used to build a lot of "through the hole" Heathkit and Radio Shack projects and I am better than most with a soldering iron. That being said, I was nervous about doing surface mount (as are some of my ham radio buddies). I bought a couple of cheap $7 surface mount "practice boards" from Amazon and in very short order found that surface mount wasn't all that hard. Since then I've built probably >15 Eggtimer boards of various types & functions, they use large surface mount parts all went together easily (follow the excellent instructions!)....and they work great. So my recommendation is to get initial experience with a practice board from Amazon (search on "surface mount practice kit") to build up some skill and confidence, then start with an easy Eggtimer kit.

 

[jahall4]

When I was much younger I used to build a lot of "through the hole" Heathkit and Radio Shack projects and I am better than most with a soldering iron. That being said, I was nervous about doing surface mount (as are some of my ham radio buddies). I bought a couple of cheap $7 surface mount "practice boards" from Amazon and in very short order found that surface mount wasn't all that hard. Since then I've built probably >15 Eggtimer boards of various types & functions, they use large surface mount parts all went together easily (follow the excellent instructions!)....and they work great. So my recommendation is to get initial experience with a practice board from Amazon (search on "surface mount practice kit") to build up some skill and confidence, then start with an easy Eggtimer kit.

Yep, IMO, with a heat gun on a solder station surface mounts are easier than thru wall, just have to use magnification.

 

[manixFan]

I like Cris' stuff. I'm also researching the falconry tracker route for places where the size and weight of an Eggfinder Mini are deal breakers. Looked at the LL Electronics LF-3. The other one that looks promising is the Marshall Micro. Do you have any experience with either of these?

I’m sure @Rocketjunkie will chime in, but just for another datapoint I’ve used both systems. (Marshall and Rocket Hunter, which is basically an LL). There are two big issues – the cost of the receiver and the amount of time it takes to get good with the system. For example, with a beacon I tracked a rocket to 24,000’ that landed 4 miles away. So they can work for long distances. But they take far more time to find a rocket than a GPS, even if you have a good heading at landing. It was not uncommon to spend an entire afternoon tracking a rocket. Since I started using GPS trackers I have basically quit using them. The beacon trackers are essentially the same price (or much more) as a GPS system like the Featherweight or Eggfinder, but take far more time and expertise. And the receivers are much larger and cumbersome when you add in the antenna.


Tony

(Edited to fix attribution)