Recently, Dr. Thomas Hays KI5AIF and Jarod Manning KI5FHT gave a great presentation on High Power Rocketry to the South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) members. In this presentation, they show a couple of supersonic flights and talk about the rockets and the radios that make them happen. This telemetry device uses a UHF radio to send back position, speed, and more data in real-time to the support team on the ground. To help the students understand the radio process, and the RF 'budget' for the flights, Dr. Hays encourages his students to get their amateur license. We hope you enjoy this as much as we did. SCARS is located in Norman, OK and is on the web at https://w5nor.org
Reminds me of way back in high school. Was a member of SOLAR (Society of Lynchburg Amateur Rocketeers). Started with 3' x 1" diameter rockets. Finished with 2 1/2" dia, 12' long, two stage units. Fuel was zinc dust and sulfur. Had a railroad tie blockhouse with remote theodolite tracking stations with comms back to blockhouse - with sound powered phones (transistors were expensive!). We also preempted the Navy Polaris launch by several months, launching a two stage unit from beneath a farm pond. One of our members got a summer job offer from NASA with that launch. Sadly, in the early 60s it was not so practical to use telemetry. We had plans for a 12' x 1' liquid fueled rocket using hydrazine and red fuming nitric acid but never the had funds to make it happen. The FAA finally tracked us on radar and shut us down. Woody - KZ4AK kz4ak.com
This is so cool. And a great way to apply amatuer radio tech to rocket tech I was a rocketeer back 22 years ago I launched a a micro powered radio beacon under part 15 rules in an crude attempt to radio locate the ejected nose cone it was basic but fun always wanted to launch a tv camera on one but was too complicated and expensive at the time . These days I’m getting into drones may continue where I left off when I find more time congratulations on this 73 de George Kf4zku
I was part of a nerdy group of kids interested in rockets and other radio controlled things. Back in those days all radio control was on 27 Mc, which was the same frequency as Mrs Sneedby's garage door opener. You can imagine what happened when she opened and closed her door. Two of us were elected to get our ham tickets so that we could move our radio control to 220 Mc. My friend Bruce let his license lapse, and I've been on the air ever since. Oh yes, after I set our basement on fire experimenting with rocket fuels, my dad nixed any future experimentation. This explains why I'm not a chemical engineer and did not work for NASA...
Altus Metrum makes some really cool rocket computers that utilize the amateur bands to talk back to the ground. Definitely worth checking out: https://altusmetrum.org/ Also worth going to the Kansas Kloudbusters page / launches. They're a great group that helps MANY in the region get airborne. http://www.kloudbusters.org/
Great presentation , also another interest area for Amateur Radio and the introduction of Students to Rocketry .... using data links for tracking and recovery of the rockets as well as real time out put of data from the payloads .... zl2sci
This may have made you a prime candidate to work for NASA! Think of the experience you earned w/o costing them a penny. Perhaps Thiakol could have used your rocket fuel experience!
Thanks for the comment. I mostly was involved with solid fuels. Back in those days, kids could go to the local chemical supply company and buy just about anything they wanted. Thinking back, I had a lot of explosives. If I were a kid and had that stuff these days, the FBI and other federal agencies would be knocking at my door. I'd even be discussed on CNN. In all honesty, I loved the chemistry... more than electronics, which explains my career... I think that we had more freedom to explore back in those days. Also, I can't remember hearing about a nerdy kid doing destruction to others... Science was fun!!!
Absolutely right-- And if we did what we did then-- now-- society would label us terrorists rather than explorers and inventors! Messed up... Remember those aluminum cigar tubes? When I was kid (seven) I had the brilliant idea of taking those red-rolls caps and sticking them in like a jelly roll, after soaking with lighter fluid. Glued wings on the sides. Lit with nichrome wire and two 9v batteries.. This ended up being a poor rocket and, unfortunately, a fair,loud, and uncontrolled incendiary device. Managed only to burn a 100 square foot patch of lawn before hosing it out...end of THAT!
Yes, but there were probably millions of kids who did something similar, yet not to that level of October Sky . Estes rockets were a major part of growing up in the mid 60's. Most stopped at that--dumb stuff like sanding balsa wood nosecones rather than mixing sugar based rocket fuel..
that's where I was at.. got to building a 2 stage (which I lost the first time I fired it off) then stuck with single stage, using the streamer rather than parachute, to avoid losing rockets LOL. when Estes came out with their bigger (for me) engine (maybe it was a D? or whatever) I bought a batch and 2 out of the 4 were defective... one blew up my rocket (not horizontally, just quick explosion at both ends)... always wanted to try radio telemetry or videos but it was beyond my means. anyways, cool video by the OP
rocket motors do not function by explosion. (Thanks Nate for demonstrating the point, above post.) Yes rocket motors burn vigorously, with enthusiasm, that's how they work. Solids can occasionally overpressure, but the motors are designed to let go easily. So burning propellant grains fall out, in a safe area, no harm no foul.
I can't ever remember your being in my basement to see the explosives on the shelf and workbench. Refresh me! And there are those who would suggest that such engines are the result of controlled explosions.....
