X-Git-Url: https://git.gag.com/?p=fw%2Faltos;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Faltusmetrum.xsl;h=231371c792c4cc593cca1b40fb8fd54bd8f3dc2d;hp=ddb40719e7828ad15c4c1193b607cf561a6da764;hb=221157af586c6fd7368ee858a390f38bc5ed50f5;hpb=ca0879ba6e5295b4fa790705f742eb647a462ea0
diff --git a/doc/altusmetrum.xsl b/doc/altusmetrum.xsl
index ddb40719..231371c7 100644
--- a/doc/altusmetrum.xsl
+++ b/doc/altusmetrum.xsl
@@ -231,57 +231,56 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
TeleMetrum is a 1 inch by 2.75 inch circuit board. It was designed to
fit inside coupler for 29mm air-frame tubing, but using it in a tube that
small in diameter may require some creativity in mounting and wiring
- to succeed! The default 1/4
- wave UHF wire antenna attached to the center of the nose-cone end of
- the board is about 7 inches long, and wiring for a power switch and
+ to succeed! The presence of an accelerometer means TeleMetrum should
+ be aligned along the flight axis of the airframe, and by default the 1/4
+ wave UHF wire antenna should be on the nose-cone end of the board. The
+ antenna wire is about 7 inches long, and wiring for a power switch and
the e-matches for apogee and main ejection charges depart from the
- fin can end of the board. Given all this, an ideal "simple" avionics
+ fin can end of the board, meaning an ideal "simple" avionics
bay for TeleMetrum should have at least 10 inches of interior length.
TeleMini is a 0.5 inch by 1.5 inch circuit board. It was designed to
fit inside an 18mm air-frame tube, but using it in a tube that
small in diameter may require some creativity in mounting and wiring
- to succeed! The default 1/4
- wave UHF wire antenna attached to the center of the nose-cone end of
+ to succeed! Since there is no accelerometer, TeleMini can be mounted
+ in any convenient orientation. The default 1/4
+ wave UHF wire antenna attached to the center of one end of
the board is about 7 inches long, and wiring for a power switch and
the e-matches for apogee and main ejection charges depart from the
- fin can end of the board. Given all this, an ideal "simple" avionics
+ other end of the board, meaning an ideal "simple" avionics
bay for TeleMini should have at least 9 inches of interior length.
- A typical TeleMetrum or TeleMini installation using the on-board devices and
- default wire UHF antenna involves attaching only a suitable
- Lithium Polymer battery, a single pole switch for power on/off, and
- two pairs of wires connecting e-matches for the apogee and main ejection
- charges.
+ A typical TeleMetrum or TeleMini installation involves attaching
+ only a suitable Lithium Polymer battery, a single pole switch for
+ power on/off, and two pairs of wires connecting e-matches for the
+ apogee and main ejection charges.
By default, we use the unregulated output of the Li-Po battery directly
to fire ejection charges. This works marvelously with standard
low-current e-matches like the J-Tek from MJG Technologies, and with
- Quest Q2G2 igniters. However, if you
- want or need to use a separate pyro battery, check out the "External Pyro Battery"
- section in this manual for instructions on how to wire that up. The
- altimeters are designed to work with an external pyro battery of up to 15V.
+ Quest Q2G2 igniters. However, if you want or need to use a separate
+ pyro battery, check out the "External Pyro Battery" section in this
+ manual for instructions on how to wire that up. The altimeters are
+ designed to work with an external pyro battery of no more than 15 volts.
Ejection charges are wired directly to the screw terminal block
- at the aft end of the altimeter. This is very similar to what
- most other altimeter vendors provide and so may be the most
- familiar option. You'll need a very small straight blade
- screwdriver to connect and disconnect the board in this case,
- such as you might find in a jeweler's screwdriver set.
+ at the aft end of the altimeter. You'll need a very small straight
+ blade screwdriver for these screws, such as you might find in a
+ jeweler's screwdriver set.
TeleMetrum also uses the screw terminal block for the power
switch leads. On TeleMini, the power switch leads are soldered
- directly to the board and can be connected directly to the switch.
+ directly to the board and can be connected directly to a switch.
For most air-frames, the integrated antennas are more than
- adequate However, if you are installing in a carbon-fiber
- electronics bay which is opaque to RF signals, you may need to
+ adequate. However, if you are installing in a carbon-fiber or
+ metal electronics bay which is opaque to RF signals, you may need to
use off-board external antennas instead. In this case, you can
order an altimeter with an SMA connector for the UHF antenna
connection, and, on TeleMetrum, you can unplug the integrated GPS
@@ -303,7 +302,8 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
TeleMetrum assumes it's on a rail or rod being prepared for
launch, so the firmware chooses flight mode. However, if the
rocket is more or less horizontal, the firmware instead enters
- idle mode. For TeleMini, "idle" mode is selected when the
+ idle mode. Since TeleMini doesn't have an accelerometer we can
+ use to determine orientation, "idle" mode is selected when the
board receives a command packet within the first five seconds
of operation; if no packet is received, the board enters
"flight" mode.
@@ -311,8 +311,8 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
At power on, you will hear three beeps or see three flashes
("S" in Morse code for start up) and then a pause while
- the altimeter completes initialization and self tests, and decides which
- mode to enter next.
+ the altimeter completes initialization and self test, and decides
+ which mode to enter next.
In flight or "pad" mode, the altimeter engages the flight
@@ -330,44 +330,43 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
flights, do what makes sense.
- In idle mode, you will hear an audible "di-dit" or see two short flashes ("I" for idle), and
- the normal flight state machine is disengaged, thus
- no ejection charges will fire. The altimeters also listen on the RF
- link when in idle mode for packet mode requests sent from TeleDongle.
- Commands can be issued to a TeleMetrum in idle mode over either
- USB or the RF link equivalently. TeleMini uses only the RF link.
+ If idle mode is entered, you will hear an audible "di-dit" or see
+ two short flashes ("I" for idle), and the flight state machine is
+ disengaged, thus no ejection charges will fire. The altimeters also
+ listen on the RF link when in idle mode for requests sent via
+ TeleDongle. Commands can be issued to a TeleMetrum in idle mode
+ over either
+ USB or the RF link equivalently. TeleMini only has the RF link.
Idle mode is useful for configuring the altimeter, for extracting data
from the on-board storage chip after flight, and for ground testing
pyro charges.
- One "neat trick" of particular value when the altimeter is used with very
- large air-frames, is that you can power the board up while the rocket
- is horizontal, such that it comes up in idle mode. Then you can
- raise the air-frame to launch position, use a TeleDongle to open
- a packet connection, and issue a 'reset' command which will cause
- the altimeter to reboot and come up in
- flight mode. This is much safer than standing on the top step of a
- rickety step-ladder or hanging off the side of a launch tower with
- a screw-driver trying to turn on your avionics before installing
- igniters!
+ One "neat trick" of particular value when TeleMetrum is used with
+ very large air-frames, is that you can power the board up while the
+ rocket is horizontal, such that it comes up in idle mode. Then you can
+ raise the air-frame to launch position, and issue a 'reset' command
+ via TeleDongle over the RF link to cause the altimeter to reboot and
+ come up in flight mode. This is much safer than standing on the top
+ step of a rickety step-ladder or hanging off the side of a launch
+ tower with a screw-driver trying to turn on your avionics before
+ installing igniters!
GPS
- TeleMetrum includes a complete GPS receiver. See a later section for
- a brief explanation of how GPS works that will help you understand
- the information in the telemetry stream. The bottom line is that
- the TeleMetrum GPS receiver needs to lock onto at least four
- satellites to obtain a solid 3 dimensional position fix and know
- what time it is!
+ TeleMetrum includes a complete GPS receiver. A complete explanation
+ of how GPS works is beyond the scope of this manual, but the bottom
+ line is that the TeleMetrum GPS receiver needs to lock onto at least
+ four satellites to obtain a solid 3 dimensional position fix and know
+ what time it is.
- TeleMetrum provides backup power to the GPS chip any time a Li-Po
+ TeleMetrum provides backup power to the GPS chip any time a
battery is connected. This allows the receiver to "warm start" on
- the launch rail much faster than if every power-on were a "cold start"
- for the GPS receiver. In typical operations, powering up TeleMetrum
+ the launch rail much faster than if every power-on were a GPS
+ "cold start". In typical operations, powering up TeleMetrum
on the flight line in idle mode while performing final air-frame
preparation will be sufficient to allow the GPS receiver to cold
start and acquire lock. Then the board can be powered down during
@@ -383,29 +382,19 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
An important aspect of preparing a rocket using electronic deployment
for flight is ground testing the recovery system. Thanks
to the bi-directional RF link central to the Altus Metrum system,
- this can be accomplished in a TeleMetrum- or TeleMini- equipped rocket without as
- much work as you may be accustomed to with other systems. It can
- even be fun!
+ this can be accomplished in a TeleMetrum or TeleMini equipped rocket
+ with less work than you may be accustomed to with other systems. It
+ can even be fun!
Just prep the rocket for flight, then power up the altimeter
in "idle" mode (placing air-frame horizontal for TeleMetrum or
- starting the RF packet connection for TeleMini). This will cause the
- firmware to go into "idle" mode, in which the normal flight
+ selected the Configure Altimeter tab for TeleMini). This will cause
+ the firmware to go into "idle" mode, in which the normal flight
state machine is disabled and charges will not fire without
- manual command. Then, establish an RF packet connection from
- a TeleDongle-equipped computer using the P command from a safe
- distance. You can now command the altimeter to fire the apogee
- or main charges to complete your testing.
-
-
- In order to reduce the chance of accidental firing of pyrotechnic
- charges, the command to fire a charge is intentionally somewhat
- difficult to type, and the built-in help is slightly cryptic to
- prevent accidental echoing of characters from the help text back at
- the board from firing a charge. The command to fire the apogee
- drogue charge is 'i DoIt drogue' and the command to fire the main
- charge is 'i DoIt main'.
+ manual command. You can now command the altimeter to fire the apogee
+ or main charges from a safe distance using your computer and
+ TeleDongle and the Fire Igniter tab to complete ejection testing.
@@ -953,6 +942,21 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
required for a 'GO' status.
+
+
+ On-board Data Logging. This indicates whether there is
+ space remaining on-board to store flight data for the
+ upcoming flight. If you've downloaded data, but failed
+ to erase flights, there may not be any space
+ left. TeleMetrum can store multiple flights, depending
+ on the configured maximum flight log size. TeleMini
+ stores only a single flight, so it will need to be
+ downloaded and erased after each flight to capture
+ data. This only affects on-board flight logging; the
+ altimeter will still transmit telemetry and fire
+ ejection charges at the proper times.
+
+
GPS Locked. For a TeleMetrum device, this indicates whether the GPS receiver is
@@ -1102,12 +1106,13 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
afar, as if it were directly connected to the computer.
- Any operation which can be performed with TeleMetrum
- can either be done with TeleMetrum directly connected to
- the computer via the USB cable, or through the packet
- link. Simply select the appropriate TeleDongle device when
- the list of devices is presented and AltosUI will use packet
- command mode.
+ Any operation which can be performed with TeleMetrum can
+ either be done with TeleMetrum directly connected to the
+ computer via the USB cable, or through the packet
+ link. TeleMini doesn't provide a USB connector and so it can
+ only be controlled through the packet link. Select the
+ appropriate TeleDongle device when the list of devices is
+ presented and AltosUI will use packet command mode.
One oddity in the current interface is how AltosUI selects the
@@ -1166,7 +1171,12 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
TeleMini listens for a command packet for five seconds after
first being turned on, if it doesn't hear anything, it enters
'pad' mode, ready for flight and will no longer listen for
- command packets.
+ command packets. The easiest way to connect to TeleMini is to
+ initiate the command and select the TeleDongle device. At this
+ point, the TeleDongle will be attempting to communicate with
+ the TeleMini. Now turn TeleMini on, and it should immediately
+ start communicating with the TeleDongle and the desired
+ operation can be performed.
When packet command mode is enabled, you can monitor the link
@@ -2318,6 +2328,15 @@ NAR #88757, TRA #12200
inside 'ao-view'. If this doesn't work, disconnect from the
TeleDongle, unplug it, and try again after plugging it back in.
+
+ In order to reduce the chance of accidental firing of pyrotechnic
+ charges, the command to fire a charge is intentionally somewhat
+ difficult to type, and the built-in help is slightly cryptic to
+ prevent accidental echoing of characters from the help text back at
+ the board from firing a charge. The command to fire the apogee
+ drogue charge is 'i DoIt drogue' and the command to fire the main
+ charge is 'i DoIt main'.
+
On TeleMetrum, the GPS will eventually find enough satellites, lock in on them,
and 'ao-view' will both auditorily announce and visually indicate