Eggfinder GPS Tracker
Users Manual
TX Board Rev B4d
RX Board Rev B4d
© 2014 Eggtimer Rocketry All Rights Reserved
Page 1: ...Eggfinder GPS Tracker Users Manual TX Board Rev B4d RX Board Rev B4d 2014 Eggtimer Rocketry All Rights Reserved...
Page 2: ...not eat or drink while using it Wash your hands after handling it Keep it in the protective bag when you re not using it The MSDS can be found at http www kester com download 245 20FluxCored 20Wire 20...
Page 3: ...l purposes the Eggfinder is considered by the FCC to be generally exempt from authorization requirements Nonethless we have made a good faith attempt to comply with all technical regulations and you s...
Page 4: ...available for free on the Internet you can actually track your rocket in flight and ultimately find out exactly where it landed Like other Eggtimer Rocketry products we sell it as a kit to keep costs...
Page 5: ...approach is to use some sort of radio system This is a two part system There must be some kind of transmitter in the rocket that sends out some kind of signal and there must also be some kind of rece...
Page 6: ...The Eggfinder is a no frills system designed for one purpose getting your rocket back It does not have any kind of built in recording capability although you can and most likely will record the recei...
Page 7: ...if it s too windy to fly an Eggfinder isn t going to help the situation Having a transmitter doesn t mean that you don t need to pay attention to your rocket a visual fix on your rocket is still the b...
Page 8: ...of it The best place to mount a telemetry tracker is in the nose cone There are many ways that you can mount it we have had good success with simply mounting it on a small piece of basswood plywood lo...
Page 9: ...sn t run down before you can find it Since the Eggfinder should tell you within a relatively small distance where your rocket landed it shouldn t take you very long to find it but an extra hour or so...
Page 10: ...n SDK for Android there may be some pre built Android drivers available Note that they currently do not offer a Windows 8 driver however we have heard that older Windows Vista drivers pre Windows 7 wi...
Page 11: ...al Maritime Electronics Association GPS data is a simple text display with a number of records that give you information about the location of the GPS unit and the satellite environment Realistically...
Page 12: ...Of course you ll still need to figure out how to get to your rocket that s a little further on Using MapSphere to Track Your Rocket MapSphere is a really good Windows program for taking the GPS input...
Page 13: ...icrosoft Live Search Maps Streets map instead Sometimes the streets provide better visual clues of where your rocket went than the satellite map This is an example of what a real flight track looks li...
Page 14: ...ttle on the drogue chute and drifted more on the main chute Note that there is a discontinuity in the graph that can happen once the rocket starts moving fast Also note the small movement before launc...
Page 15: ...off in the general direction of the compass heading chances are very good that you will find your rocket as long as the rocket has landed out in a relatively open area If you have trees tall grass or...
Page 16: ...t the entry at the beginning of the file will most likely be repeated many time since it should be giving you the exact same location of the launchpad for as long as your rocket is sitting there since...
Page 17: ...ice and you have interfaced the Eggfinder RX to a Bluetooth Serial board you can actually capture the last location from your Eggfinder without having to enter it manually Before you start using it we...
Page 18: ...ing if it s a big field in the right direction OK here s what the screens look like in MotionX Add the destination Waypoint http www eggtimerrocketry com page16 php view preview category 9 image 137 h...
Page 19: ...With the Eggfinder we were able to walk right up to the landing spot without really looking around for it We actually saw it on the ground in a clearing about 200 before we got there when we stood at...
Page 20: ...the center it will bulge and flatten out at the center so the power output is higher there at the cost of being less at the top and bottom where you squished it That s basically what a dipole or stick...
Page 21: ...t can be connected directly to the RP SMA connector on the TX board You can also use a rubber duckie type antenna that screws directly onto the RP SMA connector on the Eggfinder TX board Some of these...
Page 22: ...2400 MHz so the loss will actually be less than the cable s specifications Some cable types that are commonly used for these frequencies are LMR 400 and RG 174 if you have a local electronics store ne...
Page 23: ...00 MHz steps per channel Modulation FSK Modulation Delta 35 KHz Antenna Options 80 cm 1 4 wave Stick permanent antenna RP SMA connector for external or other removable antenna Eggfinder RX Receiver Mo...
Page 24: ...Press the button until the GREEN light comes on then release Wait for the AMBER light to start blinking before closing up your rocket this means that the Eggfinder has acquired enough satellites to s...
