The Eggtimer LR GPS/Telemetry System is a GPS telemetry link that sends out a stream of NMEA-formatted serial data from a transmitter located in your rocket to a display receiver on the ground. The purpose is to track your rocket in flight, and more importantly get it back. Using an integrated GPS module, the Eggtimer LR transmitter sends out a position update once a second, giving you the exact latitude and longitude of the rocket at that point in time. Using the Eggfinder LCD-LR receiver, you’ll get the coordinates displayed on the screen, which can be plugged into a navigation app on your phone, or you can get the optional LCD-GPS Module and it will show you exactly which way to go and how far without any additional equipment. No worrying about your phone, and not Internet or apps required. With the optional Voice Module, it will literally “tell” you where to go… great for those long recoveries where you may have to drive out to the rocket.
Like other Eggtimer Rocketry products, they are sold as kits, depending on your options a complete transmitter/LCD receiver system can be had for as little as $120. This makes an Eggtimer LR the least expensive GPS tracking system on the market. We use RF radio modules that transmit on the 900 MHz license-free ISM band using LoRa spread-spectrum technology, with adjustible power levels up to 1000 mW (depending on the transmitter).
We pre-mount any parts that aren’t hand-solderable (i.e. the GPS modules, which are a leadless package) to make it easier on you. The surface mount parts are typically 1206-sized, and the IC’s have at least a 1.27mm/.050″ pitch, so with a decent iron and tip you shouldn’t have any trouble soldering them.
Eggfinder TX-LR Transmitter Kit: $70 Degree of Assembly Difficulty: 3/5
The Eggtimer TX-LR transmitter is our “basic” transmitter, designed to be mounted in the nose cone of most hobby rockets. It measures about .9″ x 3″, and the antenna adds about another 3″. It can easily fit in the nose cone of a 38mm or 54mm rocket, and can fit into a 29mm coupler if you have enough length. The Eggtimer TX-LR will also take an OpenLog datalogger module, so you can save your NMEA-formatted data to a micro-SD card so you can import the data into a program like Google Earth and get a really cool track of your rocket’s path. You can program it to any one of 1000 radio settings using the included pairing cable with an Eggfinder LCD receiver (non-US settings may vary). It requires a 2S/7.4V Lipo battery, and can be set to a power output as high as 1000 mW… which theoretically should give you over 100,000′ of range (no, we have not flight-tested that…)
Eggtimer Mini-LR Transmitter Kit: $75 Degree of Assembly Difficulty: 3/5
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The Eggtimer Mini-LR measures a mere .8″ wide x 3.5″ long INCLUDING the antenna (some other “mini” transmitters take up more space once you count the antenna). It will easily fit into a 24mm body tube, and it uses a special stubby antenna to make it even smaller. It’s so small that you can easily wrap it up in a Nomex “burrito” and attach it to your shock cord… no special sled necessary. It is functionally identical to the Eggfinder TX transmitter, except that there’s no place to add an OpenLog datalogger (just no room…) Also, because of the small size and it’s ability to use a 1S/3.7V Lipo battery it does not have as much output power… the maximum RF output power is 158 mW, but that still should be good for over 25,000′ of range.
Eggtimer LCD-LR Handheld Receiver Kit: $55 Degree of Assembly Difficulty: 2/5
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The Eggtimer LCD-LR receiver has a display that shows you the GPS coordinates, GPS altitude, and some fix quality informtion, and can be easily taken with you to retrieve your rocket so you have the most current GPS location as you approach it. It’s an extensible platform (just had to throw some buzz words in…), so there are things that you can add onto it to make it even better… see below.
Eggtimer LCD-GPS Module Kit: $40 Degree of Assembly Difficulty: 3/5
The Eggfinder LCD-GPS Module is an add-on for the Eggfinder LCD and Eggtimer LCD-LR receivers, it gives you a single-device tracking solution… no phone/tablet/laptop required. In addtion to the standard GPS coordinate and GPS ASL altitude display, you also get the distance to your rocket, its compass heading in relation to you, your track (the compass heading that you’re moving at), and (the best part…) an arrow and bearing to your rocket. You just follow the arrow and it will literally take you right to your rocket. It’s the easiest tracking solution around!
Eggtimer Voice Module Kit: $20 Degree of Assembly Difficulty: 2/5
The Eggtimer Voice Module is an add-on for the Eggfinder LCD and Eggtimer LCD-LR receivers, when used with an Eggtimer Rocketry GPS transmitter it will speak out your rocket’s compass direction and distance from your set waypoint. If you have the Eggfinder LCD-GPS module in your LCD receiver, it will also literally tell you which way you need to go and how far to get your rocket. Plug it into the AUX jack on your vehicle’s stereo, and you can concentrate on where you’re going instead of looking down at the display all the time. It’s ideal for those long recoveries in rough terrain! If you have an Eggtimer TRS/Quasar/Quasar-LR (or an Eggtimer altimeter with the Eggtimer Telemetry Module) it will speak out your real-time altitude, apogee, and deployment events too. It’s great for letting everybody know how awesome your flight is!
About our Degree of Difficulty Scale…
We rate Degree of Difficulty from 1 to 5, based on how small the parts are, how many parts there are, how long it takes to build, and how critical to proper operation minor soldering mistakes would be. A kit rated 1 is all through-hole, and is relatively forgiving of less than perfect solder joints. A kit rated 5 has a lot of small 0805 surface mount parts, and has .050″ pitch IC’s. If you’ve never built a kit before we recommend that you stay with the lower numbered kits, once you have successfully built a few of them then you can tackle the 4’s and 5’s.