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 Note that when turning TeleBT on, you may see a brief LED
40 flash, but there will be no "activity" indicated until you
41 pair with the device from AltosDroid.
43 Press the Android 'Menu' button or soft-key to see the
44 configuration options available. Select the 'Connect a
45 device' option and then the 'Scan for devices' entry
46 at the bottom to look for your TeleBT device. Select
47 your device, and when it asks for the code, enter
50 Subsequent connections will not require you to enter
51 that code, and your 'paired' device will appear in the
52 list without scanning.
54 === Connecting to TeleDongle or TeleBT over USB
56 Get a special USB On-the-go adapter cable. These
57 cables have a USB micro-B male connector on one end
58 and a standard A female connector on the other
59 end. Plug in your TeleDongle or TeleBT device to the
60 adapter cable and the adapter cable into your phone
61 and AltosDroid should automatically start up. If it
62 doesn't, the most likely reason is that your Android
63 device doesn't support USB On-the-go.
67 The main AltosDroid menu has a selection of operation
68 and configuration options.
72 Offers a menu of available TeleBT devices, and an
73 option to scan for additional devices.
77 Disconnects the current TeleBT or TeleDongle
78 device. You can reconnect TeleBT over bluetooth by
79 using Connect a Device. You can reconnect a USB device
80 by unplugging it and then plugging it back in.
82 Select radio frequency::
84 This selects which frequency to listen on by bringing
85 up a menu of pre-set radio frequencies. Pick the one
86 which matches your altimeter.
90 Switches the information displays to show data for a
91 different transmitting device. The map will always
92 show all of the devices in view. Trackers are shown
93 and selected by serial number, so make sure you note
94 the serial number of devices in each airframe.
98 Deletes all information about a transmitting device.
102 Offers additional configuration operations. See
107 Communicate with an altimeter in Idle mode. See <<_idle_mode>>
111 Shuts down AltosDroid.
117 Altus Metrum transmitters can be configured to operate
118 at lower data rates to improve transmission range. If
119 you have configured your device to do this, this menu
120 item allows you to change the receiver to match.
124 Selects which units used to report values.
128 Displays a menu of map types and lets you select
129 one. Hybrid maps include satellite images with a
130 roadmap overlaid. Satellite maps dispense with the
131 roadmap overlay. Roadmap shows just the roads. Terrain
132 includes roads along with shadows indicating changes
133 in elevation, and other geographical features.
137 Select between online and offline maps. Online maps
138 will show a 'move to current position' icon in the
139 upper right corner, while offline maps will have
140 copyright information all over the map. Otherwise,
141 they're pretty similar.
145 Brings up a dialog allowing you to download offline
146 map tiles so that you can have maps available even if
147 you have no network connectivity at the launch site.
151 This presents a dialog containing the current list of
152 frequencies that will be show in the 'Select radio
153 frequency' menu. You can change the label for existing
154 frequencies, delete or add new frequencies.
160 Lets you configure the callsign used by AltosDroid to
161 communicate with the flight computer. The callsign on
162 the two devices must match or the communication will
163 fail. This provides a modest amount of protection
164 against accidentally controlling another persons
169 This provides similar information to monitoring the
170 telemetry stream from a flight computer in flight
171 mode. The title of the application will change to
172 include (idle) so you can tell this mode is active.
176 Remotely reboots the flight computer. This is useful
177 when the flight computers turned on while the airframe
178 is horizontal and you want to restart the flight
179 computers in pad mode after raising the airframe to
184 Remotely control igniters for ground testing recovery
187 === AltosDroid Flight Monitoring
189 AltosDroid is designed to mimic the AltosUI flight
190 monitoring display, providing separate tabs for each
191 stage of your rocket flight along with a tab
192 containing a map of the local area with icons marking
193 the current location of the altimeter and the Android
198 The 'Pad' tab shows information used to decide when
199 the rocket is ready for flight. The first elements
200 include red/green indicators, if any of these is red,
201 you'll want to evaluate whether the rocket is ready to
204 When the pad tab is selected, the voice responses will
205 include status changes to the igniters and GPS
206 reception, letting you know if the rocket is still
211 This indicates whether the Li-Po battery powering the
212 transmitter has sufficient charge to last for the
213 duration of the flight. A value of more than 3.8V is
214 required for a 'GO' status.
218 This indicates whether the Li-Po battery powering the
219 TeleBT has sufficient charge to last for the duration
220 of the flight. A value of more than 3.8V is required
225 This indicates whether there is space remaining
226 on-board to store flight data for the upcoming
227 flight. If you've downloaded data, but failed to erase
228 flights, there may not be any space left. TeleMetrum
229 and TeleMega can store multiple flights, depending on
230 the configured maximum flight log size. TeleGPS logs
231 data continuously. TeleMini v1.0 stores only a single
232 flight, so it will need to be downloaded and erased
233 after each flight to capture data. This only affects
234 on-board flight logging; the altimeter will still
235 transmit telemetry and fire ejection charges at the
240 For a TeleMetrum or TeleMega device, this indicates
241 whether the GPS receiver is currently able to compute
242 position information. GPS requires at least 4
243 satellites to compute an accurate position.
247 For a TeleMetrum or TeleMega device, this indicates
248 whether GPS has reported at least 10 consecutive
249 positions without losing lock. This ensures that the
250 GPS receiver has reliable reception from the
255 This indicates whether the apogee igniter has
256 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
257 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
258 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
263 This indicates whether the main igniter has
264 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
265 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
266 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
271 This indicates whether the indicated additional pyro
272 channel igniter has continuity. If the igniter has a
273 low resistance, then the voltage measured here will be
274 close to the Li-Po battery voltage. A value greater
275 than 3.2V is required for a 'GO' status.
277 The Pad tab also shows the location of the Android
282 The 'Flight' tab shows information used to evaluate
283 and spot a rocket while in flight. It displays speed
284 and height data to monitor the health of the rocket,
285 along with elevation, range and bearing to help locate
286 the rocket in the sky.
288 While the Flight tab is displayed, the voice
289 announcements will include current speed, height,
290 elevation and bearing information.
294 Shows current vertical speed. During descent, the
295 speed values are averaged over a fairly long time to
296 try and make them steadier.
300 Shows the current height above the launch pad.
304 Shows the maximum vertical speed seen during the
309 Shows the maximum height above launch pad.
313 This is the angle above the horizon from the android
314 devices current position.
318 The total distance from the android device to the
319 rocket, including both ground distance and difference
320 in altitude. Use this to gauge how large the rocket is
321 likely to appear in the sky.
325 This is the azimuth from true north for the rocket
326 from the android device. Use this in combination with
327 the Elevation value to help locate the rocket in the
328 sky, or at least to help point the antenna in the
329 general direction. This is provided in both degrees
330 and a compass point (like West South West). You'll
331 want to know which direction is true north before
332 launching your rocket.
336 This shows the distance across the ground to the
337 lat/lon where the rocket is located. Use this to
338 estimate what is currently under the rocket.
342 Displays the last known location of the rocket.
346 This indicates whether the apogee igniter has
347 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
348 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
349 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
354 This indicates whether the main igniter has
355 continuity. If the igniter has a low resistance, then
356 the voltage measured here will be close to the Li-Po
357 battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is required
362 The 'Recover' tab shows information used while
363 recovering the rocket on the ground after flight.
365 While the Recover tab is displayed, the voice
366 announcements will include distance along with either
367 bearing or direction, depending on whether you are
372 This is the azimuth from true north for the rocket
373 from the android device. Use this in combination with
374 the Elevation value to help locate the rocket in the
375 sky, or at least to help point the antenna in the
376 general direction. This is provided in both degrees
377 and a compass point (like West South West). You'll
378 want to know which direction is true north before
379 launching your rocket.
383 When you are in motion, this provides the angle from
384 your current direction of motion towards the rocket.
388 Distance over the ground to the rocket.
392 Displays the last known location of the rocket.
396 Displays the location of the Android device.
400 Shows the maximum height above launch pad seen during
405 Shows the maximum vertical speed seen during the
410 Shows the maximum vertical acceleration seen during
415 The 'Map' tab shows a map of the area around the
416 rocket being tracked along with information needed to
419 On the map itself, icons showing the location of the
420 android device along with the last known location of
421 each tracker. A blue line is drawn from the android
422 device location to the currently selected tracker.
424 Below the map, the distance and either bearing or
425 direction along with the lat/lon of the target and the
426 android device are shown
428 The Map tab provides the same voice announcements as
431 === Downloading Flight Logs
433 AltosDroid always saves every bit of telemetry data it
434 receives. To download that to a computer for use with
435 AltosUI, remove the SD card from your Android device,
436 or connect your device to your computer's USB port and
437 browse the files on that device. You will find
438 '.telem' files in the TeleMetrum directory that will
439 work with AltosUI directly.
projects / fw / altos / blob