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2021-06-08 3:23 pm
You probably wouldn't be able to do milliseconds on it though
I'm just curious as to how you would displays milliseconds on ANY display? Wouldn't they be a blur, as they would literally be changing a thousand times per second?
Indeed, I was wondering that as well! So much precision...
If you wanted to display the final results including milliseconds you could only activate that digit after the final reading was in.
We don't time the button presses or launches. It seems kind of obvious who's rockets left the pads first and last. We are "testing" the rockets, not the Scout's/LCO's hand/ear reflex timing.
It does raise an interesting idea though... The children always ask "how high did it go?" We just answer with an approximate calculation, given the mass of the rockets and the Newton Seconds of the engines. However, if we could figure out how to add an altitude tracker to the system... We have a cheap standalone altimeter that on some rare occasions we fly. If we could get the mass down enough....to add a Wi-Fi altimeter to one rocket on each launch... We could have the Countdown/Message display show that value as a proxy for the entire set of rockets on that launch. Then again, with such little rockets, adding that extra payload might not produce a truly representative altitude for the unloaded rockets.
Topic starter
2021-06-08 3:31 pm
What about using the sun to light the sign? There are skylights(they might be called sun tunnels) that use a dome and really shiny tubes to funnel light down. You don't necessarily need that but something like it to reflect light like a solar oven does. If you can block and unblock the light from shinning through, then that would be really low power. A white translucent plastic that could be blocked(sections of the diffusion sheet from a broken flat screen TV would work). Sliding bars that overlap to block light or closing off tubes to block light, or even the flaps that was used in the video above. I am just trying to think outside of the box here. It'd be fun to use those polarizing filters and rotate one to block and unblock it. I guess an overcast could ruin your day though.
That's a remarkable idea! We _are_ in a sunny field. But I had ruled out using a solar PV panel, because it would be that much more "stuff" to have to drag around, setup, & store--and worried about rocket exhaust damaging it.
But using "solar tubes" and shutters....interesting! I've pitched solar tubes for some of my former employer's construction projects. Never thought about anything more complex than just a diffuser at the end. Yet they have indeed used more reflectors around a single light source, for the Pharos of Alexandria, and many other lighthouses.
Think I'd prefer something a little more predictable/reliable for this system. But I cannot get the idea of exploring your solar tubes & shutters out of my head. I would bet the Cub Scouts would eat up a chance to try engineering that....more of a challenge than the traditional solar hot dog cooker.
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