Forums › Knowledge Base › DC30 and DC20 installation examples
- This topic has 14 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 11 months ago by
SCOTT EVANS.
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February 24, 2009 at 2:42 am #40545
slipstick
I’m writing an article and would like help from the club members.
First, I was wondering if anyone in NCR has acquired a DC30 yet that I could take a look at. The Dc20’s are getting cheap so no one may have bought the newer one yet (I just got my 3rd one for $87).
Secondly, If you have pictures of how you implimented a DC20 in your airframes/nose cones, I’d like to see your pictures. I might be able to use them.
Note: The article on GPS is finished, I was very limited on how many pictures I could use. Thanks for your help. We can continue to use this thread to show examples for folks wanting to install a DC20. I put more examples in this thread.Thirdly, if you can take pictures of any avbay you’ve built that incorporates unique features, Please send me pictures of those to. You may think what you did was common, but send them to me anyway. Let me decide and they may show up (with credits) on another article.
Email pictures to me so the resolution is high enough for print media please
Thanks!
call me or email me please.
303-921-8709 slipstick[at]mindspring[dot]comFebruary 24, 2009 at 5:54 am #49934Bruce R. Schaefer
Mike, in this economy, my wife and I are faced with keeping our house or not… just got cut off of unemployment… rent is more expensive, but, yes, I’ll get you pictures. I have the most complicated and un-user-friendly, and the easiest. 🙄
February 24, 2009 at 4:43 pm #49935mule
ParticipantBest I can do on the DC20 for now. 3″ bird, nose cone mount.
I have a better camera now, if this looks like something you like I will get some better ones.
GregFebruary 24, 2009 at 10:57 pm #49936slipstick
Best I can do on the DC20 for now. 3″ bird, nose cone mount.
I have a better camera now, if this looks like something you like I will get some better ones.
GregGreg,
yes but take it again without the clutter behind it and move the object a bit more away from the camera so it in focus. I can always zoom in with a picture editor if the original picture is clear.
I’m impressed that yours works after twisting the antenna connector 90 degree. Mine broke off when I tried that and it cost me $50 to get a warranty replacement from Garmin. (My attempts to resolder the connection failed to work).
Thanks
February 25, 2009 at 12:53 am #49937SCOTT EVANS
Thats the way I did mine, like Greg, however, last launch the wieght in the front of the nose cone busted loose and broke the antena and another small part. Are you saying it cant be soldered??? 😯
I was actually going to call you up Mike for some expertise on this.
🙄February 25, 2009 at 6:17 pm #49938mule
ParticipantI think the original pictures were taken with a cell phone camera. So, yeah, those are pretty bad.
I’ll have my wife get out the good camera tonight.I epoxied the base of the antenna on. It doesn’t move much. I really need to make a piece of foam to fit inside the nose cone to help dampen the shock of landing.
March 2, 2009 at 5:01 am #49939mule
ParticipantSorry this took so long, I was waiting to get my Daughter’s Nikon D70 out of the repair shop…… Dimension of this mounting position is 1.5″ x 1.5″x6.5″ tall. I used fiberglass circuit board as a mount to the DC20 and to an “L” bracket that bolts to the bulkhead using the cast eye bolt. This setup will work inside of a 1.5″ nose cone, I have trial fit it.
GregMarch 3, 2009 at 11:29 pm #49940slipstick
Are you saying it cant be soldered??? 😯
I was actually going to call you up Mike for some expertise on this.
🙄When I attempted to rotate the SMA connector it broke the shield from the board. There is not very much length to allow a 90 degree twist. I also failed to make it work by eliminating their SMA connector and attaching a coax directly to the board and using my own 50 ohm coax and connector at the antenna end. I think there is some sort of filter within that special SMA connector, and if you don’t use it it doesn’t work.
I believe in retrospec that laying the antenna over the GPS receiver (the white module) disrupts the WAAS signal. What You did as well as Greg did, is orient the antenna the other direction, so that method appears to work.
I was impressed with Rick McDonald’s trick. (see picture below). He unsoldered Garmin’s SMA connector, patched in a length of coax at the PWB end and spliced it to the SMA connector on the other end. If there was any magic within the SMA connector then this solves that problem. My only negative to his approach is that the antenna is blocked (shielded) by the PWB itself. Of course the rocket will be rotating so signals should come around. I tracked his 38mm bird with my handheld so it was good enough to find it.
Larger size: http://www.telerover.com/rockets/GPS/Figure_8_Rick_McDonald_38mm_Application.jpg
Larger size: http://www.telerover.com/rockets/GPS/Rick_McDonald_RelocatedSMA.jpgHere’s my installation in the 54mm Sustainer stage of “Gates of Heaven” which I will hopefully fly March 7. I’m missingthe push button swith and charge port (TBD). That will happen tonight.
Larger size: http://telerover.com/rockets/GPS/Figure_7_54mm_NoseCone.jpg
Larger size: http://www.telerover.com/rockets/CR/CR_231.jpg
Larger size: http://www.telerover.com/rockets/CR/CR_203.jpg
Larger size: http://www.telerover.com/rockets/CR/CR_232.jpgMay 29, 2009 at 4:53 pm #49941edward
ModeratorWhich model is preferred, the DC-20 or DC-30. After walking 19 miles (and finding my rocket) with a falconry tracker I was thinking of adding this to it so it might narrow the search down a bit and still use the falconry tracker.
Edward
October 21, 2009 at 1:36 pm #49942SCOTT EVANS
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