INTRODUCTION

From Model Rocketry, The Journal of Miniature Astronautics, March 1971, v3n6: New Product Notes A new source of instrumentation will open to the science-minded model rocketeer as Estes Industries introduces its ROCKETRONICS System, a versatile product line featuring precision, yet modestly-priced electronic components. "Our ROCKETRONICS System will add a new dimension to model rocketry and offer many exciting possibilities to the youngster who wants more when flying his bird," says President Vernon Estes. "Starting with a basic unit, the rocketeer will be able to add the components that best suit his needs and which literally become an integral part of the flight as his rocket streaks upward, sending data back to its very own 'Mission Control' on the ground." The basic unit in the Estes ROCKETRONICS System is the TRANSROC, a four-inch long transmitter that fits neatly into a BT-50 body tube - the most popular body tube size on the market - or can be easily adapted to larger rockets. Powered by a 15-volt battery with a life of over 24 hours, this transmitter sends back an intermittent beep that can be picked up by standard walkie-talkies or other receivers set to Channel 14 of the 27 megahertz (megacycle) Citizen Band. No FCC license is required to operate the lightweight TRANSROC (0.6 ounces without the battery), which has an effective range of over one mile. "Used by itself," explains President Estes, "the TRANSROC is just the thing to help the rocketeer find his model in a patch of weeds. It's also great for basic demonstrations of radio broadcast techniques. But that's only the first step into the exciting world of Estes ROCKETRONICS." Once he has become familiar with his TRANSROC, the model rocketeer has a choice of Estes components that will make his transmitter much more valuable. He can, for instance, add a microphone unit that will let him hear and record all the sounds from on board the rocket: countdown, lift-off, stage separation, wind noises, and parachute ejection. With a Roll Rate Sensor, he can study spin rate. And the soon to be available Telemetry Module will enable him to receive and analyze such important data as temperature, acceleration, velocity, altitude, etc. In addition, he can design his own telemetry attachments to monitor these and other functions. "If the rocketeer wants a truly realistic flight," says Vern Estes, "all he has to do is to launch his TRANSROC with the Estes CINEROC - and produce a thrilling sound, color motion picture as the rocket zooms skyward." The TRANSROC kit (Cat. No. TX-1) will come complete with crystal and trailing wire antenna and will retail for $14.95, battery not included. The recommended battery (Eveready #504, Cat. No. PFB-15) sells for $1.50. Upon request, Estes Industries will send, free of charge, a complete listing of the new ROCKETRONICS line, including extra and replacement parts, crystals, accessories packages and modules, receivers, etc. Write to Estes, Dept. 31-B, Penrose, Colorado 81240 and ask for the ROCKETRONICS catalog.

CATALOG

From the 1975 Estes catalog:

RELATED FAQ

From the Model Rocketry Payloads Frequently Asked Questions, September 1997: 13.6 What sorts of data transmitters are available for rockets? What's been flown in the past? According to the Stine Handbook, the first purpose-designed model rocket telemetry transmitter was designed by Bill Robson and John Roe. The unit broadcast on the Citizen's Band and was first publicly flown at NARAM 2 in 1960. It was a simple multivibrator that put out a continuous tone which could be modulated by a sensor, but what to do with the wavering tone it sent back was left as an exercise for the reader :-) Stine still includes the schematic for this device in the current edition of the Handbook, although he finally admits to it being "a very old design." Foxmitter Using the same basic encoding principle (and still broadcasting on the Citizens' Band), Richard Fox designed the "Foxmitter" which was described in the May thru December '69 issues of the old _Model Rocketry_ magazine. An improved version, the "Foxmitter-2" was detailed in the June '70 thru Jan '71 issues of that same journal. The thing that made it an advance over the Roe/Robson design (and the reason it took so many issues to describe) is that the Foxmitter used a basic transmitter module into which multiple sensor modules could be plugged (one at a time). The sensors covered included a basic tone module (for tracking purposes), temperature, humidity, acceleration and even a microphone! A smaller/lighter Foxmitter III was described in the Sept '71 issue. In a couple of related articles in the Aug/Sept '70 MRM, Alan Stolzenberg used the Foxmitter as the basis for his "Bio-1" design which involved a very clever respiration sensor to monitor the flight subject from order Rodentia (see Section 4.3 below). This was, of course, before launching mammals and other higher orders fell into disfavor in the hobby. Transroc In a case of deja-vu all over again, Estes took a well developed homebrew design, in this case the Foxmitter, and turned it into a commercial product. This time, they also borrowed a page from the Heathkit notebook and let the customer do the assembly (it was also available pre- assembled). Like the Foxmitter, the Transroc used sensor modules to let you mix 'n match the parameters you wanted to measure. Available were the basic beeping tone module (aka "Rocketfinder" mode), a temperature module, spin rate module and a microphone module. The Transroc announced the beginning of the Estes "Rocketronics" line with its introduction in 1971. It also quietly marked the end when it disappeared with the 1977 catalog. Note: The current "Transroc II" sold by Estes is NOT an RF transmitter! It is an audio beeper designed to help you find your model after landing. It can be heard by the "naked ear" several hundred feet, but that can be extended by using the ground unit which is a highly directional microphone with a narrow pass filter on an amplifier.