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.
63 The main AltosDroid menu has a selection of operation
64 and configuration options.
68 Offers a menu of available TeleBT devices, and an
69 option to scan for additional devices.
73 Disconnects the current TeleBT or TeleDongle
74 device. You can reconnect TeleBT over bluetooth by
75 using Connect a Device. You can reconnect a USB device
76 by unplugging it and then plugging it back in.
78 Select radio frequency::
80 This selects which frequency to listen on by bringing
81 up a menu of pre-set radio frequencies. Pick the one
82 which matches your altimeter.
86 Switches the information displays to show data for a
87 different transmitting device. The map will always
88 show all of the devices in view. Trackers are shown
89 and selected by serial number, so make sure you note
90 the serial number of devices in each airframe.
94 Deletes all information about a transmitting device.
98 Offers additional configuration operations. See
103 Communicate with an altimeter in Idle mode. See <<_idle_mode>>
107 Shuts down AltosDroid.
113 Altus Metrum transmitters can be configured to operate
114 at lower data rates to improve transmission range. If
115 you have configured your device to do this, this menu
116 item allows you to change the receiver to match.
120 Selects which units used to report values.
124 Displays a menu of map types and lets you select
125 one. Hybrid maps include satellite images with a
126 roadmap overlaid. Satellite maps dispense with the
127 roadmap overlay. Roadmap shows just the roads. Terrain
128 includes roads along with shadows indicating changes
129 in elevation, and other geographical features.
133 Select between online and offline maps. Online maps
134 will show a 'move to current position' icon in the
135 upper right corner, while offline maps will have
136 copyright information all over the map. Otherwise,
137 they're pretty similar.
141 Brings up a dialog allowing you to download offline
142 map tiles so that you can have maps available even if
143 you have no network connectivity at the launch site.
147 This presents a dialog containing the current list of
148 frequencies that will be show in the 'Select radio
149 frequency' menu. You can change the label for existing
150 frequencies, delete or add new frequencies.
156 Lets you configure the callsign used by AltosDroid to
157 communicate with the flight computer. The callsign on
158 the two devices must match or the communication will
159 fail. This provides a modest amount of protection
160 against accidentally controlling another persons
165 This provides similar information to monitoring the
166 telemetry stream from a flight computer in flight
167 mode. The title of the application will change to
168 include (idle) so you can tell this mode is active.
172 Remotely reboots the flight computer. This is useful
173 when the flight computers turned on while the airframe
174 is horizontal and you want to restart the flight
175 computers in pad mode after raising the airframe to
180 Remotely control igniters for ground testing recovery
183 === AltosDroid Flight Monitoring
185 AltosDroid is designed to mimic the AltosUI flight
186 monitoring display, providing separate tabs for each
187 stage of your rocket flight along with a tab
188 containing a map of the local area with icons marking
189 the current location of the altimeter and the Android
194 The 'Pad' tab shows information used to decide when
195 the rocket is ready for flight. The first elements
196 include red/green indicators, if any of these is red,
197 you'll want to evaluate whether the rocket is ready to
200 When the pad tab is selected, the voice responses will
201 include status changes to the igniters and GPS
202 reception, letting you know if the rocket is still
207 This indicates whether the Li-Po battery powering the
208 transmitter has sufficient charge to last for the
209 duration of the flight. A value of more than 3.8V is
210 required for a 'GO' status.
214 This indicates whether the Li-Po battery powering the
215 TeleBT has sufficient charge to last for the duration
216 of the flight. A value of more than 3.8V is required
221 This indicates whether there is space remaining
222 on-board to store flight data for the upcoming
223 flight. If you've downloaded data, but failed to erase
224 flights, there may not be any space left. TeleMetrum
225 and TeleMega can store multiple flights, depending on
226 the configured maximum flight log size. TeleGPS logs
227 data continuously. TeleMini v1.0 stores only a single
228 flight, so it will need to be downloaded and erased
229 after each flight to capture data. This only affects
230 on-board flight logging; the altimeter will still
231 transmit telemetry and fire ejection charges at the
236 For a TeleMetrum or TeleMega device, this indicates
237 whether the GPS receiver is currently able to compute
238 position information. GPS requires at least 4
239 satellites to compute an accurate position.
243 For a TeleMetrum or TeleMega device, this indicates
244 whether GPS has reported at least 10 consecutive
245 positions without losing lock. This ensures that the
246 GPS receiver has reliable reception from the
251 This indicates whether the apogee igniter has
252 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
253 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
254 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
259 This indicates whether the main igniter has
260 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
261 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
262 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
267 This indicates whether the indicated additional pyro
268 channel igniter has continuity. If the igniter has a
269 low resistance, then the voltage measured here will be
270 close to the Li-Po battery voltage. A value greater
271 than 3.2V is required for a 'GO' status.
273 The Pad tab also shows the location of the Android
278 The 'Flight' tab shows information used to evaluate
279 and spot a rocket while in flight. It displays speed
280 and height data to monitor the health of the rocket,
281 along with elevation, range and bearing to help locate
282 the rocket in the sky.
284 While the Flight tab is displayed, the voice
285 announcements will include current speed, height,
286 elevation and bearing information.
290 Shows current vertical speed. During descent, the
291 speed values are averaged over a fairly long time to
292 try and make them steadier.
296 Shows the current height above the launch pad.
300 Shows the maximum vertical speed seen during the
305 Shows the maximum height above launch pad.
309 This is the angle above the horizon from the android
310 devices current position.
314 The total distance from the android device to the
315 rocket, including both ground distance and difference
316 in altitude. Use this to gauge how large the rocket is
317 likely to appear in the sky.
321 This is the azimuth from true north for the rocket
322 from the android device. Use this in combination with
323 the Elevation value to help locate the rocket in the
324 sky, or at least to help point the antenna in the
325 general direction. This is provided in both degrees
326 and a compass point (like West South West). You'll
327 want to know which direction is true north before
328 launching your rocket.
332 This shows the distance across the ground to the
333 lat/lon where the rocket is located. Use this to
334 estimate what is currently under the rocket.
338 Displays the last known location of the rocket.
342 This indicates whether the apogee igniter has
343 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
344 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
345 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
350 This indicates whether the main igniter has
351 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
352 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
353 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
358 The 'Recover' tab shows information used while
359 recovering the rocket on the ground after flight.
361 While the Recover tab is displayed, the voice
362 announcements will include distance along with either
363 bearing or direction, depending on whether you are
368 This is the azimuth from true north for the rocket
369 from the android device. Use this in combination with
370 the Elevation value to help locate the rocket in the
371 sky, or at least to help point the antenna in the
372 general direction. This is provided in both degrees
373 and a compass point (like West South West). You'll
374 want to know which direction is true north before
375 launching your rocket.
379 When you are in motion, this provides the angle from
380 your current direction of motion towards the rocket.
384 Distance over the ground to the rocket.
388 Displays the last known location of the rocket.
392 Displays the location of the Android device.
396 Shows the maximum height above launch pad seen during
401 Shows the maximum vertical speed seen during the
406 Shows the maximum vertical acceleration seen during
411 The 'Map' tab shows a map of the area around the
412 rocket being tracked along with information needed to
415 On the map itself, icons showing the location of the
416 android device along with the last known location of
417 each tracker. A blue line is drawn from the android
418 device location to the currently selected tracker.
420 Below the map, the distance and either bearing or
421 direction along with the lat/lon of the target and the
422 android device are shown
424 The Map tab provides the same voice announcements as
427 === Downloading Flight Logs
429 AltosDroid always saves every bit of telemetry data it
430 receives. To download that to a computer for use with
431 AltosUI, remove the SD card from your Android device,
432 or connect your device to your computer's USB port and
433 browse the files on that device. You will find
434 '.telem' files in the TeleMetrum directory that will
435 work with AltosUI directly.