Electronics projects for Rocketry

this would be relatively easy to do and would sell for around $100. so we could sell a couple dozen to the remaining high power enthusiasts :P woo hoo

the Jameco kit tracks to "200 mph" but I am sure that can be hacked. it even has a sound output so you can hear the Doppler.

... me too since it has NO use in atmospheric conditions and anyways whaddaya gonna do with what 1/2 Newton for 2 years ... but it's fun to think about.

And how would you determine continuity...? :-)

A simple laser pointer wouldn't work for hybrids - it would still have to be modulated to accomodate the fill/dump/launch setup.

Been there, done that. Couple of times, in snow.

Modular data recorder: pressure altitude, acceleration, temperature (small NTC thermistor which can be mounted outboard), rate gyro(s), all sending units can be added independently as budget allows, data is recorded to an eeprom at

10 Hz? (20 Hz? Hz donut?)

"Tater Schuld" wrote:

I haven't done any tinkering in a while - do you have supplier URL?

What chip packages are available? Anything dev-friendly? DIP's are getting hard to find these days, which makes prototyping a little harder for the casual tinkerer.

I used to have no trouble writing 8 channels of data to a 24LC256 at about 10 Hz., but for accelerometer data this is somewhat ponderous.

That's ULR

I want a multi station wireless lan weather station where I can get wind speed and directional data from several remote weather stations...in real time.....also temperature.....

They have boards where no tcp/ip programming is required...... shockie B)

Davis Instruments makes wireless wx units.

NBC4.tv

Jerry

Actually built a 555 (really a 556 dual) setup, though it was pretty complex and I still can quite get it to work right.

Why not go with 802.11 transmitter... no ham license and 2.4 mile (max) range on standard 90 degree transmitter... only a couple hundred dollars... you could even go with 180 degree antenna, or 2 90's that overlap slightly. If you *really* want distance, then a directional 30 mile (max) transmitter should be much farther than anything you could possibly need. Launch system would certainly have all the capability you require, and much, much more. You could use old 486 laptops, PDA's, or several other 802.11 devices as client hubs to multi-launchpads.

Ultimate flexibility, online continuity checking, spatial freedom, ability to code anything for the "client" launchpad group controllers, bells and whistles included... (maybe even a DEFCON siren... ). And integrated sound system to boot, with mic from central PC. This also means you could stick net cameras at the pad to observe rocket status and take off.

Basically, you'd be designing some type of standard "black box" to stick at each launchpad group, each equipped with a receiving antenna, battery(/ies), and inverter.

Overkill? Maybe... and most likely yes.

OOOhhh but it'd be cool..

~Duane "yes, I'm a computer geek" Phillips.

Because I don't want to get caught up with IP protocols to do a simple master/slave system.

What I may do is make the communications interface modular... plug in an RS-485 card for wired connections, and a radio transceiver card for wireless. I think a 2-mile range is good for a wireless setup, and (according to some manufacturers' datasheets) that range can be extended to six or seven miles by using a half-wave instead of a quarter-wave antenna.

Done that. His current systems use the CB frequencies, and he's looking around for something different.

Why not? There are bridge chips and embedded controllers that do it seamlessly.

Just make misfire alley controllers, one discreet controller per lane.

Jerry

802.11b is better, more range, besides you dont need the extra bandwidth. There are Ethernet to binary adapters, plug and play as they were.

Or just get a LINX transceiver from Digikey. I will get one for my Hybrid launch system. Currently running RS-232, the tranceiver will be a drop in replacement for the wire.

RDH8

Sounds like the solar project I was working on, but if your powering LED's I assume its a night launch.

I have 3, flown the low power model, have yet to fly the others.

I have one of these in the works too. If I can just nail the issues I have with downloading EEPROM data through a 1-wire network to Windows 98 then I would get some time to work on this. Its 32Meg, samples at 1kHz and non-volitile. Currently only 4channels, pressure and 3axis acceleration but its expandable.

Just use some thermalite, have the igniter light that , gives you your delay before ignition.

RDH8

I considered this. I used a Linx 433-Mhz transmitter for a radio-tracking beacon I built. So I started looking at the specs for their 900-Mhz models.

Their biggest drawback is lack of effective range. Their 'advertised' maximum range is 1000 feet - I'd expect that practical issues would limit that to 750 or so. A broadband-RF amplifier could boost that range by (possibly) a factor of 5, making the range approximately 3800 feet. If I'm not mistaken, some of the larger launches in the southwestern States place away pads over a mile from the RSO/LCO setup. In order to accomodate that, the range has to be extended significantly.

I want to stay away from directional antennas, since they would limit placement of the distribution boxes.

OTOH - if I design the system with a modular, plug-in communications card, I can set it up to work as a wired, short-range wireless, or long-range wireless system. The only difference would be the way continuity-signal quality is reported... and that might be changed anyway. :-)