</copyright>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="micropeak-dime.jpg" width="6in"/>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-v1.0-top.jpg" width="4in"/>
</imageobject>
</mediaobject>
<legalnotice>
</legalnotice>
<revhistory>
<revision>
- <revnumber>1.0</revnumber>
- <date>28 May 2014</date>
+ <revnumber>1.4.1</revnumber>
+ <date>20 June 2014</date>
<revremark>
- Initial release with preliminary hardware.
+ Minor release fixing some installation bugs.
+ </revremark>
+ </revision>
+ <revision>
+ <revnumber>1.4</revnumber>
+ <date>13 June 2014</date>
+ <revremark>
+ Initial release
</revremark>
</revision>
</revhistory>
TeleGPS is designed to be easy to use. Requiring no external
components, flying takes just a few steps.
</para>
+ <para>
+ First, download and install the software from <ulink
+ url="http://altusmetrum.org/AltOS"/>. This will make sure that
+ you have the right device drivers installed.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Next, plug in the battery and USB cable and connect TeleGPS to
+ your computer. This will charge the battery and allow you to
+ configure the device.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Start the TeleGPS application and set the callsign and frequency
+ on your TeleGPS device; refer to the Configure TeleGPS section
+ in the TeleGPS Application chapter for instructions.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Unplug TeleGPS when the battery charger light goes green. This
+ will enable the radio and logging portions of the TeleGPS
+ firmware.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Connect TeleDongle to your computer and start TeleGPS or start
+ AltosDroid on your android device and connect to TeleBT. Set the
+ frequency to match the TeleGPS and you should be receiving telemetry.
+ </para>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Handling Precautions</title>
charge gasses.
</para>
</chapter>
+ <chapter>
+ <title>TeleGPS Hardware</title>
+ <section>
+ <title>Hooking Up Lithium Polymer Batteries</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS has a two pin JST PH series connector to connect up
+ a single-cell Lithium Polymer cell (3.7V nominal). You can
+ purchase matching batteries from the Altus Metrum store, or
+ other vendors, or you can make your own. Pin 1 of the
+ connector is positive, pin 2 is negative. Spark Fun sells a
+ cable with the connector attached, which they call a <ulink
+ url="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9914">JST Jumper 2
+ Wire Assembly</ulink>.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Many RC vendors also sell lithium polymer batteries with
+ this same connector. All that we have found use the opposite
+ polarity, and if you use them that way, you will damage or
+ destroy TeleGPS.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>On-board Data Recording</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS logs GPS data at a user-configurable rate. Data are
+ logged to a 2MB on-board flash memory part, which can be
+ partitioned into several equal-sized blocks, one for each
+ flight. 64kB of this storage are reserved to hold
+ configuration data, leaving 1984kB for flight data.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The on-board flash is partitioned into separate flight logs,
+ each of a fixed maximum size. Increase the maximum size of
+ each log and you reduce the number of flights that can be
+ stored. Decrease the size and you can store more flights.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ To compute the amount of space needed for a single log, you
+ can divide the expected time (in seconds) by the sample period
+ (by default, 1 second per sample) and then multiply the result
+ by 32 bytes per sample. For instance, a sample period of 1
+ second and a flight lasting one hour will take 32 * 3600 =
+ 115200 bytes. TeleGPS does try to reduce log space used by not
+ recording position information when it isn't moving, so actual
+ space consumed may be less than this.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The default size allows for four flights of 496kB each, which
+ provides over four hours of logging at 1 sample per second.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS will not overwrite existing flight data, so be sure to
+ download flight data and erase it from the onboard flash
+ before it fills up. TeleGPS will still report telemetry even
+ if memory is full, so the only thing you will lose is the
+ on-board data log.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Installation</title>
+ <para>
+ The battery connectors are a standard 2-pin JST connector and
+ match batteries sold by Spark Fun. These batteries are
+ single-cell Lithium Polymer batteries that nominally provide 3.7
+ volts. Other vendors sell similar batteries for RC aircraft
+ using mating connectors, however the polarity for those is
+ generally reversed from the batteries used by Altus Metrum
+ products. In particular, the Tenergy batteries supplied for use
+ in Featherweight flight computers are not compatible with Altus
+ Metrum flight computers or battery chargers. <emphasis>Check
+ polarity and voltage before connecting any battery not purchased
+ from Altus Metrum or Spark Fun.</emphasis>
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS uses an integrate GPS patch antenna and won't
+ receive GPS signals if installed inside a metal or carbon
+ fiber compartment. Test GPS reception and telemetry
+ transmission with the system installed and all other
+ electronics powered up to verify signal reception and make
+ sure there isn't any interference from other systems.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </chapter>
+ <chapter>
+ <title>System Operation</title>
+ <section>
+ <title>GFSK Telemetry</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS's native telemetry system doesn't use a 'normal packet
+ radio' mode like APRS because it's not very efficient. The
+ GFSK modulation we use is FSK with the base-band pulses passed
+ through a Gaussian filter before they go into the modulator to
+ limit the transmitted bandwidth. When combined with forward
+ error correction and interleaving, this allows us to have a
+ very robust 19.2 kilobit data link with only 10-40 milliwatts
+ of transmit power, a whip antenna in the rocket, and a
+ hand-held Yagi on the ground. We've had flights to above 21k
+ feet AGL with great reception, and calculations suggest we
+ should be good to well over 40k feet AGL with a 5-element yagi
+ on the ground with our 10mW units and over 100k feet AGL with
+ the 40mW devices.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>APRS</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS can send APRS if desired, and the
+ interval between APRS packets can be configured. As each APRS
+ packet takes a full second to transmit, we recommend an
+ interval of at least 5 seconds to avoid consuming too much
+ battery power or radio channel bandwidth. You can configure
+ the APRS interval using AltosUI; that process is described in
+ the Configure Altimeter section of the AltosUI chapter.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ AltOS uses the APRS compressed position report data format,
+ which provides for higher position precision and shorter
+ packets than the original APRS format. It also includes
+ altitude data, which is invaluable when tracking rockets. We
+ haven't found a receiver which doesn't handle compressed
+ positions, but it's just possible that you have one, so if you
+ have an older device that can receive the raw packets but
+ isn't displaying position information, it's possible that this
+ is the cause.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The APRS packet format includes a comment field that can have
+ arbitrary text in it. AltOS uses this to send status
+ information about the flight computer. It sends four fields as
+ shown in the following table.
+ </para>
+ <table frame='all'>
+ <title>Altus Metrum APRS Comments</title>
+ <?dbfo keep-together="always"?>
+ <tgroup cols='3' align='center' colsep='1' rowsep='1'>
+ <colspec align='center' colwidth='*' colname='Field'/>
+ <colspec align='center' colwidth='*' colname='Example'/>
+ <colspec align='center' colwidth='4*' colname='Description'/>
+ <thead>
+ <row>
+ <entry align='center'>Field</entry>
+ <entry align='center'>Example</entry>
+ <entry align='center'>Description</entry>
+ </row>
+ </thead>
+ <tbody>
+ <row>
+ <entry>1</entry>
+ <entry>L</entry>
+ <entry>GPS Status U for unlocked, L for locked</entry>
+ </row>
+ <row>
+ <entry>2</entry>
+ <entry>6</entry>
+ <entry>Number of Satellites in View</entry>
+ </row>
+ <row>
+ <entry>3</entry>
+ <entry>B4.0</entry>
+ <entry>Battery Voltage</entry>
+ </row>
+ </tbody>
+ </tgroup>
+ </table>
+ <para>
+ Here's an example of an APRS comment showing GPS lock with 6
+ satellites in view and a battery at 4.0V.
+ <screen>
+ L6 B4.0
+ </screen>
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Make sure your primary battery is above 3.8V and GPS is locked
+ with at least 5 or 6 satellites in view before starting. If GPS
+ is switching between L and U regularly, then it doesn't have a
+ good lock and you should wait until it becomes stable.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ If the GPS receiver loses lock, the APRS data transmitted will
+ contain the last position for which GPS lock was
+ available. You can tell that this has happened by noticing
+ that the GPS status character switches from 'L' to 'U'. Before
+ GPS has locked, APRS will transmit zero for latitude,
+ longitude and altitude.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Configurable Parameters</title>
+ <para>
+ Configuring TeleGPS is very
+ simple; the few configurable parameters can all be set
+ using the TeleGPS application over USB. Read
+ the Configure TeleGPS section in the TeleGPS Software chapter below
+ for more information.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Radio Frequency</title>
+ <para>
+ Altus Metrum boards support radio frequencies in the 70cm
+ band. By default, the configuration interface provides a
+ list of 10 “standard” frequencies in 100kHz channels starting at
+ 434.550MHz. However, the firmware supports use of
+ any 50kHz multiple within the 70cm band. At any given
+ launch, we highly recommend coordinating when and by whom each
+ frequency will be used to avoid interference. And of course, both
+ TeleGPS and the receiver must be configured to the same
+ frequency to successfully communicate with each other.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Callsign</title>
+ <para>
+ This sets the callsign used for telemetry and APRS to
+ identify the device.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Telemetry/RDF/APRS Enable</title>
+ <para>
+ You can completely disable the radio, if necessary, leaving
+ TeleGPS only logging data to internal memory.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>APRS Interval</title>
+ <para>
+ This selects how often APRS packets are transmitted. Set
+ this to zero to disable APRS without also disabling the
+ regular telemetry and RDF transmissions. As APRS takes a
+ full second to transmit a single position report, we
+ recommend sending packets no more than once every 5 seconds.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Maximum Flight Log</title>
+ <para>
+ Changing this value will set the maximum amount of flight
+ log storage that an individual flight will use. The
+ available storage is divided into as many flights of the
+ specified size as can fit in the available space. You can
+ download and erase individual flight logs. If you fill up
+ the available storage, future flights will not get logged
+ until you erase some of the stored ones.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Logging Trigger Motion</title>
+ <para>
+ If TeleGPS moves less than this distance over a long period
+ of time, it will not log that location, saving storage space.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Position Reporting Interval</title>
+ <para>
+ This sets how often TeleGPS reports position information via
+ telemetry and to the on-board log. Reducing this value will
+ save power and logging memory consumption.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </section>
+ </chapter>
+ <chapter>
+ <title>TeleGPS Application</title>
+ <para>
+ The TeleGPS application provides a graphical user interface for
+ interacting with the Altus Metrum product family. TeleGPS can
+ monitor telemetry data, configure devices and many other
+ tasks. The primary interface window is for displaying data
+ received over the telemetry link. There are additional
+ tasks available from the main window menu bar. This chapter
+ is split into sections, each of which documents one of the tasks
+ provided from the top-level toolbar.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Telemetry Monitoring</title>
+ <para>
+ This is the window brought up when you start the
+ application. If you have a TeleDongle device connected to the
+ computer, it will automatically be selected for telemetry monitoring
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ All telemetry data received are automatically recorded in
+ suitable log files. The name of the files includes the current
+ date and TeleGPS serial and flight numbers.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The radio frequency being monitored by the TeleDongle device
+ is displayed at the top of the window. You can configure the
+ frequency by clicking on the frequency box and selecting the
+ desired frequency. The TeleGPS application remembers the last
+ frequency selected for each TeleDongle and selects that
+ automatically the next time you use that device.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Below the TeleDongle frequency selector, the window contains a few
+ significant pieces of information about the altimeter providing
+ the telemetry data stream:
+ </para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>The configured call-sign</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>The device serial number</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>The flight number. TeleGPS remembers how many
+ times it has flown.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The Received Signal Strength Indicator value. This lets
+ you know how strong a signal TeleDongle is receiving. The
+ radio inside TeleDongle operates down to about -100dBm;
+ weaker signals may not be receivable. The packet link uses
+ error detection and correction techniques which prevent
+ incorrect data from being reported.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The age of the displayed data, in seconds since the last
+ successfully received telemetry packet. In normal operation
+ this will stay in the low single digits. If the number starts
+ counting up, then you are no longer receiving data over the radio
+ link from the flight computer.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ <para>
+ Finally, the largest portion of the window contains a set of
+ tabs, each of which contain some information about the TeleGPS
+ board. The final 'table' tab displays many of the raw telemetry
+ values in one place in a spreadsheet-like format.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Map</title>
+ <para>
+ The Map tab shows the TeleGPS track over time on top of map
+ data making it easy to locate the device.
+ </para>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-map.png" width="5.5in"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ <para>
+ The map's default scale is approximately 3m (10ft) per pixel. The map
+ can be dragged using the left mouse button. The map will attempt
+ to keep the rocket roughly centered while data is being received.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ You can adjust the style of map and the zoom level with
+ buttons on the right side of the map window. You can draw a
+ line on the map by moving the mouse over the map with a
+ button other than the left one pressed, or by pressing the
+ left button while also holding down the shift key. The
+ length of the line in real-world units will be shown at the
+ start of the line.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Images are fetched automatically via the Google Maps Static API,
+ and cached on disk for reuse. If map images cannot be downloaded,
+ the rocket's path will be traced on a dark gray background
+ instead.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ You can pre-load images for your favorite launch sites
+ before you leave home; check out the 'Preload Maps' section below.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Location</title>
+ <para>
+ The Location tab shows the raw GPS data received from TeleGPS.
+ </para>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-location.png" width="5.5in"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Status</title>
+ <para>
+ The Status tab shows data relative to the location of
+ TeleGPS when the application first received telemetry from
+ it.
+ </para>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-status.png" width="5.5in"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Table</title>
+ <para>
+ The Table tab shows detailed information about the GPS
+ receiver
+ </para>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-table.png" width="5.5in"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ </section>
+ </section>
+ <!--
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+ -->
+ <section>
+ <title>TeleGPS Menus</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS has three or four menus at the top of the window:
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>File</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ New Window, Graph Data, Export Data, Load Maps, Preferences, Close and Exit
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Monitor</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Connect Device, Disconnect and Scan Channels
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Device</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Download Data, Configure Device and Flash Device
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Frequency</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ This shows the current monitoring frequency with a
+ drop-down menu listing other configured
+ frequencies. You can change the set of frequencies
+ shown here from the Preferences dialog. This menu is
+ only shown when the TeleGPS application is connected
+ to a TeleDongle or TeleBT device.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>New Window</title>
+ <para>
+ This creates another telemetry monitoring window, in case
+ you have multiple TeleDongle devices connected to the
+ computer.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Graph Data</title>
+ <para>
+ This brings up a file dialog to load a saved log, either
+ a .telem file of recorded telemetry or .eeprom of saved
+ data from on-board memory. It looks a bit like the flight
+ monitoring window, using a selection of tabs to show
+ different views of the saved data.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Graph</title>
+ <para>
+ The Graph tab shows a plot of the the GPS data
+ collected. The X axis is time in seconds; there are a
+ variety of Y axes available for different kinds of data.
+ </para>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-graph-graph.png" width="6in" scalefit="1"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Configure Graph</title>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-graph-configure.png" width="6in" scalefit="1"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ <para>
+ This selects which graph elements to show, and, at the
+ bottom, lets you switch between metric and imperial units
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Statistics</title>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-graph-stats.png" width="6in" scalefit="1"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ <para>
+ Shows overall data computed from the flight.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Map</title>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-graph-map.png" width="6in" scalefit="1"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ <para>
+ Shows a map of the area overlaid with the GPS track. As with
+ the telemetry monitoring window, you can select the style
+ of map and zoom level using buttons along the side;
+ you can scroll the map by dragging within the map pressing
+ the left button and you can draw a line to measure
+ distances using either the left button with the shift key,
+ or any other button.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Export Data</title>
+ <para>
+ This tool takes the raw data files and makes them available for
+ external analysis. When you select this button, you are prompted to
+ select a data file, which can be either a .eeprom or .telem.
+ The .eeprom files contain higher resolution and more continuous data,
+ while .telem files contain receiver signal strength information.
+ Next, a second dialog appears which is used to select
+ where to write the resulting file. It has a selector to choose
+ between CSV and KML file formats.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Comma Separated Value Format</title>
+ <para>
+ This is a text file containing the data in a form suitable for
+ import into a spreadsheet or other external data analysis
+ tool. The first few lines of the file contain the version and
+ configuration information from TeleGPS, then
+ there is a single header line which labels all of the
+ fields. All of these lines start with a '#' character which
+ many tools can be configured to skip over.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The remaining lines of the file contain the data, with each
+ field separated by a comma and at least one space. All of
+ the sensor values are converted to standard units, with the
+ barometric data reported in both pressure, altitude and
+ height above pad units.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Keyhole Markup Language (for Google Earth)</title>
+ <para>
+ This is the format used by Google Earth to provide an overlay
+ within that application. With this, you can use Google Earth to
+ see the whole flight path in 3D.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Load Maps</title>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="load-maps.png" width="5.2in" scalefit="1"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ <para>
+ Before using TeleGPS, you can use Load Maps to load map data
+ in case you don't have access to the internet while
+ receiving telemetry.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ There's a drop-down menu of rocket launch sites we know
+ about; if your favorites aren't there, please let us know
+ the lat/lon and name of the site. The contents of this list
+ are actually downloaded from our server at run-time, so as
+ new sites are sent in, they'll get automatically added to
+ this list. If the launch site isn't in the list, you can
+ manually enter the lat/lon values
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ There are four different kinds of maps you can view; you can
+ select which to download by selecting as many as you like from
+ the available types:
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Hybrid</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ A combination of satellite imagery and road data. This
+ is the default view.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Satellite</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Just the satellite imagery without any annotation.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Roadmap</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Roads, political boundaries and a few geographic features.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Terrain</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Contour intervals and shading that show hills and
+ valleys.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ You can specify the range of zoom levels to download; smaller
+ numbers show more area with less resolution. The default
+ level, 0, shows about 3m/pixel. One zoom level change
+ doubles or halves that number.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The Tile Radius value sets how large an area around the center
+ point to download. Each tile is 512x512 pixels, and the
+ 'radius' value specifies how many tiles away from the center
+ will be downloaded. Specify a radius of 0 and you get only the
+ center tile. A radius of 1 loads a 3x3 grid, centered on the
+ specified location.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Clicking the 'Load Map' button will fetch images from Google
+ Maps; note that Google limits how many images you can fetch at
+ once, so if you load more than one launch site, you may get
+ some gray areas in the map which indicate that Google is tired
+ of sending data to you. Try again later.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Preferences</title>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-preferences.png" width="2.4in" scalefit="1"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ <section>
+ <title>Voice Settings</title>
+ <para>
+ AltosUI provides voice announcements during flight so that you
+ can keep your eyes on the sky and still get information about
+ the current flight status. However, sometimes you don't want
+ to hear them.
+ </para>
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Enable</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Turns all voice announcements on and off</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Test Voice</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Plays a short message allowing you to verify
+ that the audio system is working and the volume settings
+ are reasonable
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Log Directory</title>
+ <para>
+ AltosUI logs all telemetry data and saves all TeleMetrum flash
+ data to this directory. This directory is also used as the
+ staring point when selecting data files for display or export.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Click on the directory name to bring up a directory choosing
+ dialog, select a new directory and click 'Select Directory' to
+ change where AltosUI reads and writes data files.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Callsign</title>
+ <para>
+ This value is transmitted in each command packet sent from
+ TeleDongle and received from an altimeter. It is not used in
+ telemetry mode, as the callsign configured in the altimeter board
+ is included in all telemetry packets. Configure this
+ with the AltosUI operators call sign as needed to comply with
+ your local radio regulations.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Note that to successfully command a flight computer over the radio
+ (to configure the altimeter, monitor idle, or fire pyro charges),
+ the callsign configured here must exactly match the callsign
+ configured in the flight computer. This matching is case
+ sensitive.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Imperial Units</title>
+ <para>
+ This switches between metric units (meters) and imperial
+ units (feet and miles). This affects the display of values
+ use during flight monitoring, configuration, data graphing
+ and all of the voice announcements. It does not change the
+ units used when exporting to CSV files, those are always
+ produced in metric units.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Serial Debug</title>
+ <para>
+ This causes all communication with a connected device to be
+ dumped to the console from which AltosUI was started. If
+ you've started it from an icon or menu entry, the output
+ will simply be discarded. This mode can be useful to debug
+ various serial communication issues.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Font Size</title>
+ <para>
+ Selects the set of fonts used in the flight monitor
+ window. Choose between the small, medium and large sets.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Look & Feel</title>
+ <para>
+ Adjust the style of the windows. By default, the TeleGPS
+ application attempts to blend in with the native style.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Manage Frequencies</title>
+ <para>
+ This brings up a dialog where you can configure the set of
+ frequencies shown in the various frequency menus. You can
+ add as many as you like, or even reconfigure the default
+ set. Changing this list does not affect the frequency
+ settings of any devices, it only changes the set of
+ frequencies shown in the menus.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Close</title>
+ <para>
+ This closes the current window, leaving any other windows
+ open and the application running.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Exit</title>
+ <para>
+ This closes all TeleGPS windows and terminates the application.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Connect Device</title>
+ <para>
+ Selecting this item brings up a dialog box listing all of
+ the connected TeleDongle devices. When you choose one of
+ these, AltosUI will display telemetry data as received by
+ the selected TeleDongle device.
+ </para>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="device-selection.png" width="3.1in"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Disconnect</title>
+ <para>
+ Disconnects the currently connected TeleDongle or TeleBT
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Scan Channels</title>
+ <para>
+ Scans the configured set of frequencies looking for
+ telemetry signals. A list of all of the discovered signals
+ is show; selecting one of those and clicking on 'Monitor'
+ will select that frequency in the associated TeleGPS
+ application window.
+ </para>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-scan.png" width="3.1in"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Download Data</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS records data to its internal flash memory.
+ On-board data is recorded at the same rate as telemetry
+ but is not subject to radio drop-outs. As
+ such, it generally provides a more complete and precise record.
+ The 'Download Data' menu entry allows you to read the
+ flash memory and write it to disk.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Select the 'Download Data' menu entry to bring up a list of
+ connected TeleGPS devices. After the device has been
+ selected, a dialog showing the data stored in the
+ device will be shown allowing you to select which entries to
+ download and which to delete. You must erase flights in order for the space they
+ consume to be reused by another track. This prevents
+ accidentally losing data if you neglect to download
+ data before starting TeleGPS again. Note that if there is no more
+ space available in the device, then no data will be recorded.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The file name for each data log is computed automatically
+ from the recorded date, altimeter serial number and flight
+ number information.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Configure Device</title>
+ <informalfigure>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="telegps-configure.png" width="3.6in" scalefit="1"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+ <para>
+ Select this button and then select any connected TeleGPS
+ device from the list provided.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The first few lines of the dialog provide information about the
+ connected device, including the product name,
+ software version and hardware serial number. Below that are the
+ individual configuration entries.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ At the bottom of the dialog, there are four buttons:
+ </para>
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Save</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ This writes any changes to the
+ configuration parameter block in flash memory. If you don't
+ press this button, any changes you make will be lost.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Reset</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ This resets the dialog to the most recently saved values,
+ erasing any changes you have made.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Reboot</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ This reboots the device. This will restart logging for
+ a new flight number, if any log information has been
+ saved for the current flight.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Close</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ This closes the dialog. Any unsaved changes will be
+ lost.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+ <para>
+ The rest of the dialog contains the parameters to be configured.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Frequency</title>
+ <para>
+ This configures which of the frequencies to use for both
+ telemetry and packet command mode. Note that if you set this
+ value via packet command mode, the TeleDongle frequency will
+ also be automatically reconfigured to match so that
+ communication will continue afterwards.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>RF Calibration</title>
+ <para>
+ The radios in every Altus Metrum device are calibrated at the
+ factory to ensure that they transmit and receive on the
+ specified frequency. If you need to you can adjust the calibration
+ by changing this value. Do not do this without understanding what
+ the value means, read the appendix on calibration and/or the source
+ code for more information. To change a TeleDongle's calibration,
+ you must reprogram the unit completely.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Telemetry/RDF/APRS Enable</title>
+ <para>
+ Enables the radio for transmission during flight. When
+ disabled, the radio will not transmit anything during flight
+ at all.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>APRS Interval</title>
+ <para>
+ How often to transmit GPS information via APRS (in
+ seconds). When set to zero, APRS transmission is
+ disabled. This option is available on TeleMetrum v2 and
+ TeleMega boards. TeleMetrum v1 boards cannot transmit APRS
+ packets. Note that a single APRS packet takes nearly a full
+ second to transmit, so enabling this option will prevent
+ sending any other telemetry during that time.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Callsign</title>
+ <para>
+ This sets the call sign included in each telemetry packet. Set this
+ as needed to conform to your local radio regulations.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Maximum Log Size</title>
+ <para>
+ This sets the space (in kilobytes) allocated for each data
+ log. The available space will be divided into chunks of this
+ size. A smaller value will allow more logs to be stored,
+ a larger value will record data for longer times.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Logging Trigger Motion</title>
+ <para>
+ If TeleGPS moves less than this distance over a long period
+ of time, it will not log that location, saving storage space.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Position Reporting Interval</title>
+ <para>
+ This sets how often TeleGPS reports position information via
+ telemetry and to the on-board log. Reducing this value will
+ save power and logging memory consumption.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Flash Device</title>
+ <para>
+ This reprograms TeleGPS devices with new firmware. Please
+ read the directions for flashing devices in the Updating
+ Device Firmware chapter below.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </section>
+ </chapter>
+ <chapter>
+ <title>Updating Device Firmware</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleGPS is programmed directly over its USB connectors.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ You may wish to begin by ensuring you have current firmware images.
+ These are distributed as part of the TeleGPS software bundle that
+ also includes the TeleGPS ground station program. Newer ground
+ station versions typically work fine with older firmware versions,
+ so you don't need to update your devices just to try out new
+ software features. You can always download the most recent
+ version from <ulink url="http://www.altusmetrum.org/AltOS/"/>.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>
+ Updating TeleGPS Firmware
+ </title>
+ <orderedlist inheritnum='inherit' numeration='arabic'>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Attach a battery and power switch to the target
+ device. Power up the device.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Using a Micro USB cable, connect the target device to your
+ computer's USB socket.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Run TeleGPS, and select 'Flash Device' from the Device menu.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Select the target device in the Device Selection dialog.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Select the image you want to flash to the device, which
+ should have a name in the form
+ <product>-v<product-version>-<software-version>.ihx, such
+ as TeleGPS-v1.0-1.4.0.ihx.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Make sure the configuration parameters are reasonable
+ looking. If the serial number and/or RF configuration
+ values aren't right, you'll need to change them.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed to flash
+ the device with new firmware, showing a progress bar.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Verify that the device is working by using the 'Configure
+ Altimeter' item to check over the configuration.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+<!--
+ <section>
+ <title>Recovering From Self-Flashing Failure</title>
+ <para>
+ If the firmware loading fails, it can leave the device
+ unable to boot. Not to worry, you can force the device to
+ start the boot loader instead, which will let you try to
+ flash the device again.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ On each device, connecting two pins from one of the exposed
+ connectors will force the boot loader to start, even if the
+ regular operating system has been corrupted in some way.
+ </para>
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>TeleMega</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion connector. Pin 1
+ can be identified by the square pad around it, and then
+ the pins could sequentially across the board. Be very
+ careful to <emphasis>not</emphasis> short pin 8 to
+ anything as that is connected directly to the battery. Pin
+ 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash if that is
+ connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage the board.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>TeleMetrum v2</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the companion connector. Pin 1
+ can be identified by the square pad around it, and then
+ the pins could sequentially across the board. Be very
+ careful to <emphasis>not</emphasis> short pin 8 to
+ anything as that is connected directly to the battery. Pin
+ 7 carries 3.3V and the board will crash if that is
+ connected to pin 1, but shouldn't damage the board.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>EasyMini</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Connect pin 6 and pin 1 of the debug connector, which is
+ the six holes next to the beeper. Pin 1 can be identified
+ by the square pad around it, and then the pins could
+ sequentially across the board, making Pin 6 the one on the
+ other end of the row.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+ </section>
+ -->
+ </section>
+ </chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Technical Information</title>
<section>
<title>Mechanical Considerations</title>
<para>
TeleGPS is designed to be rugged enough for typical rocketry
- applications.
+ applications. The 4 mounting holes on the board are sized for
+ use with 4-40 or M3 screws.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>On-board data storage</title>
<para>
- TeleGPS has some bytes of non-volatile storage, separate
- from the code storage memory. The TeleGPS firmware uses this
- to store information about the last completed
- flight.
+ TeleGPS has 2MB of non-volatile storage, separate from the
+ code storage memory. The TeleGPS firmware uses this to log
+ information during flight.
</para>
</section>
</chapter>
+ <appendix>
+ <title>Release Notes</title>
+ <simplesect>
+ <title>Version 1.41</title>
+ <xi:include
+ xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+ href="release-notes-1.4.1.xsl"
+ xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/>
+ </simplesect>
+ <simplesect>
+ <title>Version 1.4</title>
+ <xi:include
+ xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
+ href="release-notes-1.4.xsl"
+ xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/>
+ </simplesect>
+ </appendix>
</book>
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