Brad Shea's Page

Usually a lot of info is published and people are talking and buzzing about their projects. I'm not hearing squat this year. Rumor has it there is a night launch - and I have seen a duty roster with the timeslot for RSO and LCO so I suspect it's real. Just grumbling!

I am in the process of building a Night Skeeter - 'er, that is... more accurately I am looking at the package contents with my mouth agape. This is the single most complex looking kit I have ever opened. I'm a scratch builder at heart and haven't dealt with a lot of complex kits so I may be overstating this. I'm scratching my head trying to decide if I have the guts to go this alone or if I use a lifeline and call a friend who is a certified solderer. My buddy is an electronics wizard - and it… Continue

I finished in the bottom half of the pack. No prize - other than the fun of it. But it was a lot of fun. I did finish in the top five on pictures and on writing. But my lackluster finishing job (per the judges) was my downfall. My original intent was to have this more decorated but as I got further along I decided it looked best in the plain silver finish. I guess I could have created a few decals to give a few more details but nothing leaped out at me. In any case, the contest generated some… Continue

I wonder if anyone else on the site entered the EMRR box o' parts contest. I got my box today. Wow - there's a PILE of stuff in that box. The box and a few parts were partially crushed but frankly there was so much in the box in the first place that it really wasn't a big deal.

I'm excited. There seem to be a number of new electronics available or soon to be available for the rocket marketplace. For a while it looked like the choices for altimeters were going to get narrower and narrower as a few manufacturers dropped away from the marketplace. I was afraid we were regressing to a time when altimeter technology was rarer than today. I am particularly happy to see new features in some altimeter designs that address common failure modes and make more intelligent decisio… Continue