# TeleMetrum
This is a recording dual-deploy altimeter for high power model rocketry
with integrated GPS and telemetry link.
Production units are available from the
[Garbee and Garbee](http://auric.gag.com) web
store. TeleMetrum starter kits are also available from
[Apogee Components](http://www.apogeerockets.com/Altus_Metrum_GPS.asp)
and [Australian Rocketry](http://www.ausrocketry.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=111&products_id=4302).
For the latest TeleMetrum firmware and related ground station software, please
visit the [AltOS](../AltOS) page on this site.
These are photos of our current production version:
## Features ##
### User View ###
* Recording altimeter for model rocketry
* Supports dual deployment (can fire 2 ejection charges)
* 70cm ham-band transceiver for telemetry downlink
* Barometric pressure sensor good to 45k feet MSL
* 1-axis high-g accelerometer for motor characterization
* On-board, integrated GPS receiver
* On-board non-volatile memory for flight data storage
* USB for power, configuration, and data recovery
* Integrated support for LiPo rechargeable batteries
* Uses LiPo to fire e-matches, can be factory modified to support separate pyro battery
* 2.75 x 1 inch board designed to fit inside 29mm airframe coupler tube
### Developer View ###
* Hardware Features
* [TI CC1111F32](http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/cc1111f32.html) Low Power RF System-on-Chip
* Sub-1Ghz transceiver
* 8051 MCU
* 32k Flash
* 4k RAM
* USB 2.0
* 6 12-bit analog inputs (11 bits with single-ended sensors)
* 2 channels of serial I/O
* digital I/O
* [Winbond W25Q16](http://www.winbond.com/NR/exeres/A3D21C82-A0B6-4586-A770-2F0883A805FF.htm) serial flash memory
* 2M x 8
* SPI interface
* [SkyTraq](http://www.skytraq.com.tw/) Venus634FLPx GPS receiver
* on-board [Taoglas AP.17A.01](http://www.taoglas.com/antennas/GPS_Antennas/Internal_GPS_-_Active_Patch_Modules/)
single-stage active patch antenna
* U.FL connector with 3.3V DC can be re-purposed for optional external amplified antennas
* async serial interface
* [Freescale MP3H6115A](http://www.freescale.com/webapp/search.partparamdetail.framework?PART_NUMBER=MP3H6115A6U) pressure sensor
* [Freescale MMA2202EG](http://www.freescale.com/webapp/search.partparamdetail.framework?PART_NUMBER=MMA2202EG) 50g accelerometer. Can use 40-200g variants!
* Software Features
* Written mostly in C with some 8051 assembler
* Runs from on-chip flash, uses on-chip RAM, stores flight data to
serial DataFlash chip
* USB serial emulation for "console" interface
* Tools Used
* [gEDA](http://www.gpleda.org/) for schematic capture and PCB layout
* [SDCC](http://sdcc.sourceforge.net/) compiler and source debugger
* Licenses
* The hardware is licensed under the [TAPR](http://www.tapr.org) [Open Hardware License](http://www.tapr.org/ohl.html)
* The software is licensed [GPL version 2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html)
## [Production History](../production) ##
## [Flight Logs](flightlogs) ##
## Artifacts ##
There is a single manual for TeleMetrum and all other Altus Metrum products,
which is available in [html](../AltOS/doc/altusmetrum.html) and
[pdf](../AltOS/doc/altusmetrum.pdf) formats.
The hardware design current gEDA files are available from
[git.gag.com](http://git.gag.com) in the project
[hw/telemetrum](http://git.gag.com/?p=hw/telemetrum;a=summary).
Work on the next version proceeds on the master branch, with occasional
temporary branches created when Bdale is making some major / speculative
change. Branched with names like 'v0.2' document what we're actually flying
on the respective PCB revisions. The 'ground' branch has a cut-down schematic
used to generate the BOM for partially loading v0.1 boards to used on the
ground. We call the on-the-ground version '[TeleDongle](../TeleDongle)', and
newer versions have their own PCB design.
For those who don't have ready access to the gEDA suite, here are pdf snapshots
of the files for Production PCB version 1.1 in more easily readable form.
* [schematic](v1.1/telemetrum.pdf)
* [pcb artwork](v1.1/telemetrum.pcb.pdf)
* [bill of materials](v1.1/partslist.csv)
Rockets we know of flying with TeleMetrum boards have exceeded 50g acceleration,
been well above Mach 1, and reached altitudes
greater than 25k feet AGL with great results. Keith's second generation
ground station program called AltosUI works on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems
and logs telemetry to disk, displays current and max values for key parameters
during flight, includes voice synthesis during the flight so that
our eyes can stay on the rockets, and even includes live display of rocket
position over moving maps! After flight, altosui can extract the
complete flight log from TeleMetrum, can display plots of the data from either
the telemetry received by radio or the onboard flight log, can output a kml
file for use with [Google Earth](http://earth.google.com), and can also
output all the flight data as a csv file for easy import to spreadsheet
programs or other analysis tools allowing you to perform whatever
custom analysis you can envision! More details on the software,
including full source code and pre-built packages
can be found on the [AltOS](../AltOS) page on this site. Feel free to
download the software and try it before purchasing our hardware!
## Future Plans ##
TeleMetrum v1.2 is back from our assembler and the first batch are being
prepared for sale, hopefully by Christmas day. The significant user-visible
change is that we've moved to a 70g accelerometer by default, due to poor
availability of the part we previously used due to damage to the Freescale
facility in Sendai caused by the Japan earthquake / tsunami. Full details
will be posted here when they're available to order.
## Problems ##
* The CC1111F32 is a 36-pin QFN package, which necessitates reflow
soldering. Since we needed to reflow solder anyway, and because TI used
them in their reference design, we went a little crazy and used 0402
passive parts everywhere. That means working under a microscope to
place parts! Without an inspection microscope, loading and testing these
boards might be impossible.
* The addition of on-board GPS in v0.2 and later boards means that the total
power consumption
can exceed the rate at which we draw power from the USB interface,
particularly when the GPS is in cold start mode. This means a battery must
be attached during operation, and also that the battery will only charge
effectively from USB when the board is turned off.
## [History of TeleMetrum](history) ##
## Features ##
### User View ###
* Recording altimeter for model rocketry
* Supports dual deployment (can fire 2 ejection charges)
* 70cm ham-band transceiver for telemetry downlink
* Barometric pressure sensor good to 45k feet MSL
* 1-axis high-g accelerometer for motor characterization
* On-board, integrated GPS receiver
* On-board non-volatile memory for flight data storage
* USB for power, configuration, and data recovery
* Integrated support for LiPo rechargeable batteries
* Uses LiPo to fire e-matches, can be factory modified to support separate pyro battery
* 2.75 x 1 inch board designed to fit inside 29mm airframe coupler tube
### Developer View ###
* Hardware Features
* [TI CC1111F32](http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/cc1111f32.html) Low Power RF System-on-Chip
* Sub-1Ghz transceiver
* 8051 MCU
* 32k Flash
* 4k RAM
* USB 2.0
* 6 12-bit analog inputs (11 bits with single-ended sensors)
* 2 channels of serial I/O
* digital I/O
* [Winbond W25Q16](http://www.winbond.com/NR/exeres/A3D21C82-A0B6-4586-A770-2F0883A805FF.htm) serial flash memory
* 2M x 8
* SPI interface
* [SkyTraq](http://www.skytraq.com.tw/) Venus634FLPx GPS receiver
* on-board [Taoglas AP.17A.01](http://www.taoglas.com/antennas/GPS_Antennas/Internal_GPS_-_Active_Patch_Modules/)
single-stage active patch antenna
* U.FL connector with 3.3V DC can be re-purposed for optional external amplified antennas
* async serial interface
* [Freescale MP3H6115A](http://www.freescale.com/webapp/search.partparamdetail.framework?PART_NUMBER=MP3H6115A6U) pressure sensor
* [Freescale MMA2202EG](http://www.freescale.com/webapp/search.partparamdetail.framework?PART_NUMBER=MMA2202EG) 50g accelerometer. Can use 40-200g variants!
* Software Features
* Written mostly in C with some 8051 assembler
* Runs from on-chip flash, uses on-chip RAM, stores flight data to
serial DataFlash chip
* USB serial emulation for "console" interface
* Tools Used
* [gEDA](http://www.gpleda.org/) for schematic capture and PCB layout
* [SDCC](http://sdcc.sourceforge.net/) compiler and source debugger
* Licenses
* The hardware is licensed under the [TAPR](http://www.tapr.org) [Open Hardware License](http://www.tapr.org/ohl.html)
* The software is licensed [GPL version 2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html)
## [Production History](../production) ##
## [Flight Logs](flightlogs) ##
## Artifacts ##
There is a single manual for TeleMetrum and all other Altus Metrum products,
which is available in [html](../AltOS/doc/altusmetrum.html) and
[pdf](../AltOS/doc/altusmetrum.pdf) formats.
The hardware design current gEDA files are available from
[git.gag.com](http://git.gag.com) in the project
[hw/telemetrum](http://git.gag.com/?p=hw/telemetrum;a=summary).
Work on the next version proceeds on the master branch, with occasional
temporary branches created when Bdale is making some major / speculative
change. Branched with names like 'v0.2' document what we're actually flying
on the respective PCB revisions. The 'ground' branch has a cut-down schematic
used to generate the BOM for partially loading v0.1 boards to used on the
ground. We call the on-the-ground version '[TeleDongle](../TeleDongle)', and
newer versions have their own PCB design.
For those who don't have ready access to the gEDA suite, here are pdf snapshots
of the files for Production PCB version 1.1 in more easily readable form.
* [schematic](v1.1/telemetrum.pdf)
* [pcb artwork](v1.1/telemetrum.pcb.pdf)
* [bill of materials](v1.1/partslist.csv)
Rockets we know of flying with TeleMetrum boards have exceeded 50g acceleration,
been well above Mach 1, and reached altitudes
greater than 25k feet AGL with great results. Keith's second generation
ground station program called AltosUI works on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems
and logs telemetry to disk, displays current and max values for key parameters
during flight, includes voice synthesis during the flight so that
our eyes can stay on the rockets, and even includes live display of rocket
position over moving maps! After flight, altosui can extract the
complete flight log from TeleMetrum, can display plots of the data from either
the telemetry received by radio or the onboard flight log, can output a kml
file for use with [Google Earth](http://earth.google.com), and can also
output all the flight data as a csv file for easy import to spreadsheet
programs or other analysis tools allowing you to perform whatever
custom analysis you can envision! More details on the software,
including full source code and pre-built packages
can be found on the [AltOS](../AltOS) page on this site. Feel free to
download the software and try it before purchasing our hardware!
## Future Plans ##
TeleMetrum v1.2 is back from our assembler and the first batch are being
prepared for sale, hopefully by Christmas day. The significant user-visible
change is that we've moved to a 70g accelerometer by default, due to poor
availability of the part we previously used due to damage to the Freescale
facility in Sendai caused by the Japan earthquake / tsunami. Full details
will be posted here when they're available to order.
## Problems ##
* The CC1111F32 is a 36-pin QFN package, which necessitates reflow
soldering. Since we needed to reflow solder anyway, and because TI used
them in their reference design, we went a little crazy and used 0402
passive parts everywhere. That means working under a microscope to
place parts! Without an inspection microscope, loading and testing these
boards might be impossible.
* The addition of on-board GPS in v0.2 and later boards means that the total
power consumption
can exceed the rate at which we draw power from the USB interface,
particularly when the GPS is in cold start mode. This means a battery must
be attached during operation, and also that the battery will only charge
effectively from USB when the board is turned off.
## [History of TeleMetrum](history) ##