Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1456221
by Adam J Nehr III We have all dealt with the frustra- tions of sport rocketry: rocket-eating trees, ponds, power lines, high altitude wind currents, and even bulls in a pasture, that claim ownership of our prized creations! It can be even more frustrating when our rockets are lost to a wide-open field with moderately short grass just high enough to conceal the rocket! Also, if you are unfor- tunate enough to encounter a rocket-eating tree, especially one in a forest, determining where in that evil arbor your rocket is be- ing held can be surprisingly difficult! So how do you create a system that is reliable, but still cheap, small, and light- weight, that will greatly enhance the locat- ing and recovery of your rocket? If your 6 MARCH/APRIL 2022 SPORT ROCKETRY Figure 1. Completed Screamers. rocket isn't GPS-equipped, this system is all you will have to help you (unless you have a radio tracker, but that's another ar- ticle, in the future). is is especially true if your launch vehicle is a modest sized item and not a full scale Saturn V. And, assum- ing you have a modest vehicle, three factors are present when engineering a solution to this dilemma and creating a location-assist device. ey are the usual trinity of misery, as mentioned above and confronted in all of rocketry: cost, size, and weight! Any system relying on GPS or radio would be heavy, expensive, and require other electronic systems to locate it. So we settled on an audible locator as the best choice due to the three limitations above. is has been done before, but not this in- expensively or effectively. We nicknamed this device "e Screamer." To actually design such a system, you apply the two basic principles of modern aerospace engineering: find the "Occam's Razor" solution to your problem, and then buy the parts on Amazon! Now, like clothing, one size does not fit all! Due to available components and their size, this system, as shown, will not be useable on all rockets. But, the system shown here has flown on hundreds of rock- ets from 1" diameter (BT-50) tube size to Figure 2. Parts. the the SCReAMeR SCReAMeR the the SCReAMeR SCReAMeR