Adding A Light To A Rocket?

[The Lone Rocketeer]

Hey, All-

This is my first post and I have a question for anyone who can answer it.

I am wanting to put a light on a rocket so it can be launched at night and easily spotted. I've looked all over the web and I have not been able to find a kit with a light attached. If anyone has a link for a kit that has a light, I would appeciate it.

If not, what would be the easiest way to do this myself?
My first thought was to get a payloader with a transparent compartment and rig up a light in there somehow. How much weight can I put in there before I mess up the rocket's balance? I want to keep it small but visible while the rocket is airborn.

Maybe I should just get some glow in the dark Spraypaint? :D

I am new to this and haven't even gotten my first rocket yet. I just ordered the Quest Super Eagle Quick-Kit last night and I'm already impatient for it to get here. I've been looking at so much rocketry stuff on the web that it's a bit overwhelming. :eek: I've got about 8 or 9 rocket kits that I want to get after I get used to working with this first one. I also have a few half baked ideas in my head for a few home built models as well.

Anyway, I thank you all for your help and I look forward to learning more!

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Hey, All-

This is my first post and I have a question for anyone who can answer it.

I am wanting to put a light on a rocket so it can be launched at night and easily spotted. I've looked all over the web and I have not been able to find a kit with a light attached. If anyone has a link for a kit that has a light, I would appeciate it.

If not, what would be the easiest way to do this myself?
My first thought was to get a payloader with a transparent compartment and rig up a light in there somehow. How much weight can I put in there before I mess up the rocket's balance? I want to keep it small but visible while the rocket is airborn.

Maybe I should just get some glow in the dark Spraypaint? :D

I am new to this and haven't even gotten my first rocket yet. I just ordered the Quest Super Eagle Quick-Kit last night and I'm already impatient for it to get here. I've been looking at so much rocketry stuff on the web that it's a bit overwhelming. :eek: I've got about 8 or 9 rocket kits that I want to get after I get used to working with this first one. I also have a few half baked ideas in my head for a few home built models as well.

Anyway, I thank you all for your help and I look forward to learning more!

Try one of those chemical light sticks. I bought some back in 2001 that were small and made to fit into the mouthpieces that "people" wore at RAVES. Apparently whatever they imbibed while RAVING made them want to suck on things (I swear. This is what I was told by someone who ran raves.) and also made them attracted to bright things. The light sticks were smaller and thinner than a finger joint and they fit easily into the payload capsule of an Estes HiJax.

[Ltvscout]

Anyway, I thank you all for your help and I look forward to learning more!
There's a Yahoo Group called night_launch you could join that specializes in discussions of just what you're looking to do. Not that we can't help you here, I just wanted to give you other options. ;)

[The Lone Rocketeer]

Thanks to both of you so far. :)
I'll be sure to check out that other group as well.
If anyone else has any more ideas, I'd still like to hear them!

[jflis]

Glow in the dark paints and (depending on the expected altitude of the rocket) glow sticks create problems as they aren't bright enough to see way up high and you wind up loosing your rocket.

Although I have never built a night-launch rocket I have attended a few night launches. The most impressive and easy to see (that I've seen) used either strobe lights (heavy and expensive) or the super bright LED's that are now available (lower cost and much lighter).

One that I saw had to have 40-50 of these LED's in a pattern around the outside fo the body. Very cool and VERY bright.

Also (someone help me out here)... there is a company that makes a special paint that is a super bright glow in the dark that I have heard is very good for such rockets. It is pricey though.

For rockets, you could look into our (FlisKits) PayLord and StarLoad kits for larger rockets with clear payload sections. The PayLord is a 3 motor cluster using 18mm motors and teh StarLoad is a 3 motor cluster using 24mm motors.


have fun and keep us posted!
jim

[CPMcGraw]

...I am wanting to put a light on a rocket so it can be launched at night and easily spotted. I've looked all over the web and I have not been able to find a kit with a light attached...If not, what would be the easiest way to do this myself?

It's not the light that creates the problem, but the battery. That's usually the heaviest component. Think about the newer super-bright LEDs instead of traditional incandescent lamps...

My first thought was to get a payloader with a transparent compartment and rig up a light in there somehow. How much weight can I put in there before I mess up the rocket's balance? I want to keep it small but visible while the rocket is airborn.

This is one of the tasks that RockSim can perform for you easily. You might want to go download the Demo version and play with it, using a pre-designed model.

I am new to this and haven't even gotten my first rocket yet. I just ordered the Quest Super Eagle Quick-Kit last night and I'm already impatient for it to get here. I've been looking at so much rocketry stuff on the web that it's a bit overwhelming. :eek: I've got about 8 or 9 rocket kits that I want to get after I get used to working with this first one.

Be sure to pick up a Quest Astra and an Estes Alpha (not the Astra III or the Alpha III, since these have plastic fins) to keep in your collection. Both of these use traditional construction methods instead of time-saving plastic structural pieces. You should always look for those kits that require basic rocket-building skills, as these will help you for the project you've described.

I also have a few half baked ideas in my head for a few home built models as well.

If you haven't already been here, check out this website:

http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com (http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com/)

Anyway, I thank you all for your help and I look forward to learning more!

That's the spirit! Learning more.

Read through the other threads on this forum (be careful with the Teri Garr and tractor threads, these take a little more "deep thought" to understand :D ... 42). You can glean quite a bit of rocketry history from these guys.

[The Lone Rocketeer]

Thanks a lot guys!
More info to digest. :)

CPMcGraw, I've tried the RockSim thing a couple of times without much luck getting it to work properly. The software perplexes me. :(

The LED's are definately a direction I am looking. Of course, I'll have to balance the weight of the battery as well. I'm wondering how small a battery I could use if I used just one or two LEDs?

[CPMcGraw]

CPMcGraw, I've tried the RockSim thing a couple of times without much luck getting it to work properly. The software perplexes me. :(

Don't give up on it. Almost all of the BARCLONE designs were "assembled" in about 10 to 20 minutes with this software! Seriously! I agree, at first the software is a little cumbersome; it has its flaws and irritating moments even for us "seasoned veterans" who use it regularly. Apogee has improved the software considerably since it was first released, and Version 8 is very easy to work with once you get the general idea. Most of RockSim is pick-and-place from a database of virtual components, but it allows you to create your own components and save them to the database as well. Study the pre-built models and observe how the components are put in place. Then start looking through the different screens. There are a lot of screens. Don't Panic...

The LED's are definately a direction I am looking. Of course, I'll have to balance the weight of the battery as well. I'm wondering how small a battery I could use if I used just one or two LEDs?

If you go with a battery, I'd think along the lines of using either a single 1.5v AA or AAA cell, OR using a 9v.

Alternate idea: Those super-bright LEDs are just that. Ever see those commercials on TV about the "Faraday Flashlights"? The ones that have NO BATTERIES? Guess what they're using? Maybe you could take one of these apart, and adapt the circuitry to fit the payload body. Keep the "Faraday Coil" and the moving magnet separate, but use the rest of the storage and light section in the rocket. Connect the two with a small jack and plug arrangement. You charge up the storage cells just before flight, then remove the charging piece and go hit the button.

[The Lone Rocketeer]

If you go with a battery, I'd think along the lines of using either a single 1.5v AA or AAA cell, OR using a 9v.
I'm not sure what other option I'd use to power a light except a battery?

Alternate idea: Those super-bright LEDs are just that. Ever see those commercials on TV about the "Faraday Flashlights"? The ones that have NO BATTERIES? Guess what they're using? Maybe you could take one of these apart, and adapt the circuitry to fit the payload body. Keep the "Faraday Coil" and the moving magnet separate, but use the rest of the storage and light section in the rocket. Connect the two with a small jack and plug arrangement. You charge up the storage cells just before flight, then remove the charging piece and go hit the button.
This would be a cool idea!
One of the smaller flashlights might be just the ticket.
This deserves some more looking into.......