We been changing to new frequencies on our telemetry systems. One of the results is that we no longer need the big “double boomer” phased antennas. We still use one of the single long antennas. The single antenna stand doesn’t need to be as beefy a stand as the double does. The old stand could hold two antennas in high winds without a problem but it came with a price. It takes two people thirty minutes to assemble each one of them in the field. They’re so complicated that we always have an antenna assemble training session before each mission.
Saturday the team took one of the dish antenna stands and modified it for single long antenna use. It came out fantastic. The new stand only takes five minutes to setup. Not only will the new stand save us gobs of time in the field, but it’s much easier to pack and has a much smaller part count.
Ed, Emmett and the new stand.
The old stand.
Work continues on the refurbishing the rocket launch box. Saturday the two layers of foil were glued to the inside surfaces. The foil protects the foam from catching fire from the rocket’s blast. We’re be using this box for a systems test flight. The rocket will be there but not launched. However the foil changes the radio environment of the box. It needs to be there so the test will be accurate.
Foiling the box interior.
Here are some older pics of launch boxes:
