building small transmitter and reciever

[Callipygous]

Greetings gents! Long time no see. My friend and I have a project in mind that I'm hoping you guys could offer some insight/advice on. My hope is to build a small transmitter that can be fired either from a spudgun, or in a model rocket, and another device that will ping it, so I can launch it off into some local park, and then triangulate its location and go find it.

I know how to build a spudgun that will launch a potato core somewhere around the half mile mark. I have some experience with model rockets, but not as much, and I'm not sure what kind of range they could give me. I'm also not sure how difficult it would be to put together the actual electronics, and in such a small size. If anyone knows a good resource for figuring that out I would appreciate it. I'm also looking for ideas on deploying a delayed parachute if I go with the spudgun method.

Edited October 2, 2012 by Callipygous

[InigoMontoya]

A couple of thoughts....

 

1) Are you building this as a project in and of itself or are you using this to further a larger project. More to the point, what you ask for is commercially available. Do you WANT to build one or were you just unaware that you could buy one?

 

2) Your potatoes aren't going as far as you think they are.

[Callipygous]

1. What I described is the full project I have in mind. I do really want to build it myself, that's at least half the fun for me.

2. I admit I don't have any sort of accurate measurement system, it's purely estimate. But why do you say that?

[InigoMontoya]

1) OK, I'm not an RF guy. I wouldn't have the first clue. I asked because I know some folks who play around with the COTS stuff and could ask for recommendations. But if you want to build it yourself.... No clue!

 

2) I know a thing or twelve about potato guns (

). One thing that most folks don't realize is that shooting a potato is a lot like throwing a feather. It doesn't matter how hard you throw it, it slows down quite quickly and doesn't end up going very far. Granted, a potato will go a lot further than a feather, but getting one to go half a mile is virtually unheard of (read: I've never heard of a *reliable* measurement indicating such ranges).

[Callipygous]

Well sweet hot damn son. So the gun in question is pneumatic, with a piston valve. Our favored projectile is a concrete plug made by using cuts of pipe the same size as the barrel as a form. I just said potato core because didn't put much thought into the sentence, not thinking that was the pertinent info. As I said, I don't have an accurate measurement, I was going by the fact that the rancher told us the fence we were firing toward was 700 yards away and we were getting a good deal past it.

[Ronald Hyde]

The last time I needed a small transmitter/receiver set I got an on sale toy truck, much cheaper than I could build one.

For my purpose I had to modify if by installing a small Schmidt Trigger circuit in the receiver, no problem at all, it worked

great.

[InigoMontoya]

Our favored projectile is a concrete plug made by using cuts of pipe the same size as the barrel as a form.

OK, half a mile is doable then. I just took you at your word when you said you were shooting potatoes.