3 AltosDroid provides the same flight monitoring capabilities as
4 AltosUI, but runs on Android devices. AltosDroid is designed
5 to connect to a TeleBT receiver over Bluetooth™ and (on
6 Android devices supporting USB On-the-go) TeleDongle and
7 TeleBT devices over USB. AltosDroid monitors telemetry data,
8 logging it to internal storage in the Android device, and
9 presents that data in a UI similar to the 'Monitor Flight'
12 This manual will explain how to configure AltosDroid, connect
13 to TeleBT or TeleDongle, operate the flight monitoring
14 interface and describe what the displayed data means.
16 === Installing AltosDroid
18 AltosDroid is available from the Google Play store. To
19 install it on your Android device, open the Google
20 Play Store application and search for
21 “altosdroid”. Make sure you don't have a space between
22 “altos” and “droid” or you probably won't find what
23 you want. That should bring you to the right page from
24 which you can download and install the application.
26 === Charging TeleBT Battery
28 Before using TeleBT with AltosDroid, make sure the
29 internal TeleBT battery is charged. To do this,
30 attach a micro USB cable from a computer or other USB
31 power source to TeleBT. A dual LED on the circuit
32 board should illuminate, showing red while the battery
33 is charging, green when charging is completed, and
34 both red and green on at the same time if there is a
37 === Connecting to TeleBT over Bluetooth™
39 Press the Android 'Menu' button or soft-key to see the
40 configuration options available. Select the 'Connect a
41 device' option and then the 'Scan for devices' entry
42 at the bottom to look for your TeleBT device. Select
43 your device, and when it asks for the code, enter
46 Subsequent connections will not require you to enter
47 that code, and your 'paired' device will appear in the
48 list without scanning.
50 === Connecting to TeleDongle or TeleBT over USB
52 Get a special USB On-the-go adapter cable. These
53 cables have a USB micro-B male connector on one end
54 and a standard A female connector on the other
55 end. Plug in your TeleDongle or TeleBT device to the
56 adapter cable and the adapter cable into your phone
57 and AltosDroid should automatically start up. If it
58 doesn't, the most likely reason is that your Android
59 device doesn't support USB On-the-go.
61 === Configuring AltosDroid
63 There are several configuration and operation
64 parameters available in the AltosDroid menu.
66 Select radio frequency::
68 This selects which frequency to listen on by bringing
69 up a menu of pre-set radio frequencies. Pick the one
70 which matches your altimeter.
74 Altus Metrum transmitters can be configured to operate
75 at lower data rates to improve transmission range. If
76 you have configured your device to do this, this menu
77 item allows you to change the receiver to match.
81 This toggles between metric and imperial units.
85 Brings up a dialog allowing you to download offline
86 map tiles so that you can have maps available even if
87 you have no network connectivity at the launch site.
91 Displays a menu of map types and lets you select
92 one. Hybrid maps include satellite images with a
93 roadmap overlaid. Satellite maps dispense with the
94 roadmap overlay. Roadmap shows just the roads. Terrain
95 includes roads along with shadows indicating changes
96 in elevation, and other geographical features.
98 Toggle Online/Offline maps::
100 Switches between online and offline maps. Online maps
101 will show a 'move to current position' icon in the
102 upper right corner, while offline maps will have
103 copyright information all over the map. Otherwise,
104 they're pretty similar.
108 Switches the information displays to show data for a
109 different transmitting device. The map will always
110 show all of the devices in view. Trackers are shown
111 and selected by serial number, so make sure you note
112 the serial number of devices in each airframe.
116 Deletes all information about a transmitting device.
118 === AltosDroid Flight Monitoring
120 AltosDroid is designed to mimic the AltosUI flight
121 monitoring display, providing separate tabs for each
122 stage of your rocket flight along with a tab
123 containing a map of the local area with icons marking
124 the current location of the altimeter and the Android
129 The 'Pad' tab shows information used to decide when
130 the rocket is ready for flight. The first elements
131 include red/green indicators, if any of these is red,
132 you'll want to evaluate whether the rocket is ready to
135 When the pad tab is selected, the voice responses will
136 include status changes to the igniters and GPS
137 reception, letting you know if the rocket is still
142 This indicates whether the Li-Po battery powering the
143 transmitter has sufficient charge to last for the
144 duration of the flight. A value of more than 3.8V is
145 required for a 'GO' status.
149 This indicates whether the Li-Po battery powering the
150 TeleBT has sufficient charge to last for the duration
151 of the flight. A value of more than 3.8V is required
156 This indicates whether there is space remaining
157 on-board to store flight data for the upcoming
158 flight. If you've downloaded data, but failed to erase
159 flights, there may not be any space left. TeleMetrum
160 and TeleMega can store multiple flights, depending on
161 the configured maximum flight log size. TeleGPS logs
162 data continuously. TeleMini stores only a single
163 flight, so it will need to be downloaded and erased
164 after each flight to capture data. This only affects
165 on-board flight logging; the altimeter will still
166 transmit telemetry and fire ejection charges at the
171 For a TeleMetrum or TeleMega device, this indicates
172 whether the GPS receiver is currently able to compute
173 position information. GPS requires at least 4
174 satellites to compute an accurate position.
178 For a TeleMetrum or TeleMega device, this indicates
179 whether GPS has reported at least 10 consecutive
180 positions without losing lock. This ensures that the
181 GPS receiver has reliable reception from the
186 This indicates whether the apogee igniter has
187 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
188 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
189 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
194 This indicates whether the main igniter has
195 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
196 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
197 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
202 This indicates whether the indicated additional pyro
203 channel igniter has continuity. If the igniter has a
204 low resistance, then the voltage measured here will be
205 close to the Li-Po battery voltage. A value greater
206 than 3.2V is required for a 'GO' status.
208 The Pad tab also shows the location of the Android
213 The 'Flight' tab shows information used to evaluate
214 and spot a rocket while in flight. It displays speed
215 and height data to monitor the health of the rocket,
216 along with elevation, range and bearing to help locate
217 the rocket in the sky.
219 While the Flight tab is displayed, the voice
220 announcements will include current speed, height,
221 elevation and bearing information.
225 Shows current vertical speed. During descent, the
226 speed values are averaged over a fairly long time to
227 try and make them steadier.
231 Shows the current height above the launch pad.
235 Shows the maximum vertical speed seen during the
240 Shows the maximum height above launch pad.
244 This is the angle above the horizon from the android
245 devices current position.
249 The total distance from the android device to the
250 rocket, including both ground distance and difference
251 in altitude. Use this to gauge how large the rocket is
252 likely to appear in the sky.
256 This is the aziumuth from true north for the rocket
257 from the android device. Use this in combination with
258 the Elevation value to help locate the rocket in the
259 sky, or at least to help point the antenna in the
260 general direction. This is provided in both degrees
261 and a compass point (like West South West). You'll
262 want to know which direction is true north before
263 launching your rocket.
267 This shows the distance across the ground to the
268 lat/lon where the rocket is located. Use this to
269 estimate what is currently under the rocket.
273 Displays the last known location of the rocket.
277 This indicates whether the apogee igniter has
278 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
279 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
280 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
285 This indicates whether the main igniter has
286 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
287 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
288 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
293 The 'Recover' tab shows information used while
294 recovering the rocket on the ground after flight.
296 While the Recover tab is displayed, the voice
297 announcements will include distance along with either
298 bearing or direction, depending on whether you are
303 This is the aziumuth from true north for the rocket
304 from the android device. Use this in combination with
305 the Elevation value to help locate the rocket in the
306 sky, or at least to help point the antenna in the
307 general direction. This is provided in both degrees
308 and a compass point (like West South West). You'll
309 want to know which direction is true north before
310 launching your rocket.
314 When you are in motion, this provides the angle from
315 your current direction of motion towards the rocket.
319 Distance over the ground to the rocket.
323 Displays the last known location of the rocket.
327 Displays the location of the Android device.
331 Shows the maximum height above launch pad.
335 Shows the maximum vertical speed seen during the
340 Shows the maximum vertical acceleration seen during
345 The 'Map' tab shows a map of the area around the
346 rocket being tracked along with information needed to
349 On the map itself, icons showing the location of the
350 android device along with the last known location of
351 each tracker. A blue line is drawn from the android
352 device location to the currently selected tracker.
354 Below the map, the distance and either bearing or
355 direction along with the lat/lon of the target and the
356 android device are shown
358 The Map tab provides the same voice announcements as
361 === Downloading Flight Logs
363 AltosDroid always saves every bit of telemetry data it
364 receives. To download that to a computer for use with
365 AltosUI, remove the SD card from your Android device,
366 or connect your device to your computer's USB port and
367 browse the files on that device. You will find
368 '.telem' files in the TeleMetrum directory that will
369 work with AltosUI directly.