I've caught a few ads on "GPS pet tracking" devices and we rocket folks have been doing that for years independently, without "subscription" fees to get back rockets.
I suspect some of that stuff is based on the cell phone system and one needs to do a "monthly" subscription thing and pay for it all the time. I laugh and didn't look into the details.
Rocket folks used the Ham band APRS stuff in the old days and later the no license required 900Mhz tracking transmitter systems when they came out. The Ham band devices had better air and ground range but it's not for me to diss the 900mhz stuff as I've used it and used it with a 900Mhz Yagi antenna when one knows generally where a rocket has landed and works fine at getting a rocket back. Larger ground footprint with a 900 Mhz Yagi but not necessarily needed for a sport flier.
Once one gets a 900mhz GPS tracker last known position, stick a 900Mhz Yagi on the receiver and proceed to the last known position. It will increase the ground footprint of a 900Mhz GPS tracker. I tested it to prove it. Unless of course the GPS receiver is facing in the dirt!! I used a 900Mhz multi-element Yagi receive antenna and went to a successfully downed rocket and was able to point the antenna in the general direction. As soon as I got a new receive signal with the Yagi antenna, I put the stock screw-in vertical antenna into the Egg-Finder receiver and the signal disappeared.
Don't get me wrong, I would have recovered the rocket with the stock Egg-Finder antenna eventually because it's the "last known" position that is key with a GPS rocket tracker. Walking towards the recovery site, I would have picked up a signal closer up with the stock antenna and got the rocket back. I have to admit I was good at building electronic kits so I've used a lot of EF stuff without any problems. I dorked one kit with overheating but a built a pile more without problems.
The Rf "ground footprint" might be inportant if the chute doesn't collapse and a rocket gets pulled across a field with a wind.
I never had that happen but it's a possibility. Usually the rocket/chute got hung up in a cornfield furrow clod where I flew and I wasn't trying to recover a "ground moving object." Kurt
I suspect some of that stuff is based on the cell phone system and one needs to do a "monthly" subscription thing and pay for it all the time. I laugh and didn't look into the details.
Rocket folks used the Ham band APRS stuff in the old days and later the no license required 900Mhz tracking transmitter systems when they came out. The Ham band devices had better air and ground range but it's not for me to diss the 900mhz stuff as I've used it and used it with a 900Mhz Yagi antenna when one knows generally where a rocket has landed and works fine at getting a rocket back. Larger ground footprint with a 900 Mhz Yagi but not necessarily needed for a sport flier.
Once one gets a 900mhz GPS tracker last known position, stick a 900Mhz Yagi on the receiver and proceed to the last known position. It will increase the ground footprint of a 900Mhz GPS tracker. I tested it to prove it. Unless of course the GPS receiver is facing in the dirt!! I used a 900Mhz multi-element Yagi receive antenna and went to a successfully downed rocket and was able to point the antenna in the general direction. As soon as I got a new receive signal with the Yagi antenna, I put the stock screw-in vertical antenna into the Egg-Finder receiver and the signal disappeared.
Don't get me wrong, I would have recovered the rocket with the stock Egg-Finder antenna eventually because it's the "last known" position that is key with a GPS rocket tracker. Walking towards the recovery site, I would have picked up a signal closer up with the stock antenna and got the rocket back. I have to admit I was good at building electronic kits so I've used a lot of EF stuff without any problems. I dorked one kit with overheating but a built a pile more without problems.
The Rf "ground footprint" might be inportant if the chute doesn't collapse and a rocket gets pulled across a field with a wind.
I never had that happen but it's a possibility. Usually the rocket/chute got hung up in a cornfield furrow clod where I flew and I wasn't trying to recover a "ground moving object." Kurt
