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-<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
- "/usr/share/xml/docbook/schema/dtd/4.5/docbookx.dtd">
-
-<book>
- <title>AltosUI</title>
- <subtitle>Altos Metrum Graphical User Interface Manual</subtitle>
- <bookinfo>
- <author>
- <firstname>Bdale</firstname>
- <surname>Garbee</surname>
- </author>
- <author>
- <firstname>Keith</firstname>
- <surname>Packard</surname>
- </author>
- <copyright>
- <year>2010</year>
- <holder>Bdale Garbee and Keith Packard</holder>
- </copyright>
- <legalnotice>
- <para>
- This document is released under the terms of the
- <ulink url="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">
- Creative Commons ShareAlike 3.0
- </ulink>
- license.
- </para>
- </legalnotice>
- <revhistory>
- <revision>
- <revnumber>0.1</revnumber>
- <date>19 November 2010</date>
- <revremark>Initial content</revremark>
- </revision>
- </revhistory>
- </bookinfo>
- <chapter>
- <title>Introduction</title>
- <para>
- The AltosUI program provides a graphical user interface for
- interacting with the Altus Metrum product family, including
- TeleMetrum and TeleDongle. AltosUI can monitor telemetry data,
- configure TeleMetrum and TeleDongle devices and many other
- tasks. The primary interface window provides a selection of
- buttons, one for each major activity in the system. This manual
- is split into chapters, each of which documents one of the tasks
- provided from the top-level toolbar.
- </para>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Packet Command Mode</title>
- <subtitle>Controlling TeleMetrum Over The Radio Link</subtitle>
- <para>
- One of the unique features of the Altos Metrum environment is
- the ability to create a two way command link between TeleDongle
- and TeleMetrum using the digital radio transceivers built into
- each device. This allows you to interact with TeleMetrum from
- afar, as if it were directly connected to the computer.
- </para>
- <para>
- 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.
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Save Flight Data—Recover flight data from the rocket without
- opening it up.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Configure TeleMetrum—Reset apogee delays or main deploy
- heights to respond to changing launch conditions. You can
- also 'reboot' the TeleMetrum device. Use this to remotely
- enable the flight computer by turning TeleMetrum on while
- horizontal, then once the airframe is oriented for launch,
- you can reboot TeleMetrum and have it restart in pad mode
- without having to climb the scary ladder.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Fire Igniters—Test your deployment charges without snaking
- wires out through holes in the airframe. Simply assembly the
- rocket as if for flight with the apogee and main charges
- loaded, then remotely command TeleMetrum to fire the
- igniters.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
- Packet command mode uses the same RF channels as telemetry
- mode. Configure the desired TeleDongle channel using the
- flight monitor window channel selector and then close that
- window before performing the desired operation.
- </para>
- <para>
- TeleMetrum only enables packet command mode in 'idle' mode, so
- make sure you have TeleMetrum lying horizontally when you turn
- it on. Otherwise, TeleMetrum will start in 'pad' mode ready for
- flight and will not be listening for command packets from TeleDongle.
- </para>
- <para>
- When packet command mode is enabled, you can monitor the link
- by watching the lights on the TeleDongle and TeleMetrum
- devices. The red LED will flash each time TeleDongle or
- TeleMetrum transmit a packet while the green LED will light up
- on TeleDongle while it is waiting to receive a packet from
- TeleMetrum.
- </para>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Monitor Flight</title>
- <subtitle>Receive, Record and Display Telemetry Data</subtitle>
- <para>
- Selecting this item brings up a dialog box listing all of the
- connected TeleDongle devices. When you choose one of these,
- AltosUI will create a window to display telemetry data as
- received by the selected TeleDongle device.
- </para>
- <para>
- All telemetry data received are automatically recorded in
- suitable log files. The name of the files includes the current
- date and rocket serial and flight numbers.
- </para>
- <para>
- The radio channel being monitored by the TeleDongle device is
- displayed at the top of the window. You can configure the
- channel by clicking on the channel box and selecting the desired
- channel. AltosUI remembers the last channel selected for each
- TeleDongle and selects that automatically the next time you use
- that device.
- </para>
- <para>
- Below the TeleDongle channel selector, the window contains a few
- significant pieces of information about the TeleMetrum providing
- the telemetry data stream:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>The TeleMetrum callsign</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>The TeleMetrum serial number</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>The flight number. Each TeleMetrum remembers how many
- times it has flown.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- The rocket flight state. Each flight passes through several
- states including Pad, Boost, Fast, Coast, Drogue, Main and
- Landed.
- </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 -99dBm;
- weaker signals may not be receiveable. The packet link uses
- error correction and detection techniques which prevent
- incorrect data from being reported.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
- Finally, the largest portion of the window contains a set of
- tabs, each of which contain some information about the rocket.
- They're arranged in 'flight order' so that as the flight
- progresses, the selected tab automatically switches to display
- data relevant to the current state of the flight. You can select
- other tabs at any time. The final 'table' tab contains all of
- the telemetry data in one place.
- </para>
- <section>
- <title>Launch Pad</title>
- <para>
- The 'Launch Pad' tab shows information used to decide when the
- rocket is ready for flight. The first elements include red/green
- indicators, if any of these is red, you'll want to evaluate
- whether the rocket is ready to launch:
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Battery Voltage. This indicates whether the LiPo battery
- powering the TeleMetrum has sufficient charge to last for
- the duration of the flight. A value of more than
- 3.7V is required for a 'GO' status.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Apogee Igniter Voltage. This indicates whether the apogee
- igniter has continuity. If the igniter has a low
- resistance, then the voltage measured here will be close
- to the LiPo battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is
- required for a 'GO' status.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Main Igniter Voltage. This indicates whether the main
- igniter has continuity. If the igniter has a low
- resistance, then the voltage measured here will be close
- to the LiPo battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is
- required for a 'GO' status.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- GPS Locked. This indicates whether the GPS receiver is
- currently able to compute position information. GPS requires
- at least 4 satellites to compute an accurate position.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- GPS Ready. This indicates whether GPS has reported at least
- 10 consecutive positions without losing lock. This ensures
- that the GPS receiver has reliable reception from the
- satellites.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
- The LaunchPad tab also shows the computed launch pad position
- and altitude, averaging many reported positions to improve the
- accuracy of the fix.
- </para>
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>Ascent</title>
- <para>
- This tab is shown during Boost, Fast and Coast
- phases. The information displayed here helps monitor the
- rocket as it heads towards apogee.
- </para>
- <para>
- The height, speed and acceleration are shown along with the
- maxium values for each of them. This allows you to quickly
- answer the most commonly asked questions you'll hear during
- flight.
- </para>
- <para>
- The current latitude and longitude reported by the GPS are
- also shown. Note that under high acceleration, these values
- may not get updated as the GPS receiver loses position
- fix. Once the rocket starts coasting, the receiver should
- start reporting position again.
- </para>
- <para>
- Finally, the current igniter voltages are reported as in the
- Launch Pad tab. This can help diagnose deployment failures
- caused by wiring which comes loose under high acceleration.
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>Descent</title>
- <para>
- Once the rocket has reached apogee and (we hope) activated the
- apogee charge, attention switches to tracking the rocket on
- the way back to the ground, and for dual-deploy flights,
- waiting for the main charge to fire.
- </para>
- <para>
- To monitor whether the apogee charge operated correctly, the
- current descent rate is reported along with the current
- height. Good descent rates generally range from 15-30m/s.
- </para>
- <para>
- To help locate the rocket in the sky, use the elevation and
- bearing information to figure out where to look. Elevation is
- in degrees above the horizon. Bearing is reported in degrees
- relative to true north. Range can help figure out how big the
- rocket will appear. Note that all of these values are relative
- to the pad location. If the elevation is near 90°, the rocket
- is over the pad, not over you.
- </para>
- <para>
- Finally, the igniter voltages are reported in this tab as
- well, both to monitor the main charge as well as to see what
- the status of the apogee charge is.
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>Landed</title>
- <para>
- Once the rocket is on the ground, attention switches to
- recovery. While the radio signal is generally lost once the
- rocket is on the ground, the last reported GPS position is
- generally within a short distance of the actual landing location.
- </para>
- <para>
- The last reported GPS position is reported both by
- latitude and longitude as well as a bearing and distance from
- the launch pad. The distance should give you a good idea of
- whether you'll want to walk or hitch a ride. Take the reported
- latitude and longitude and enter them into your handheld GPS
- unit and have that compute a track to the landing location.
- </para>
- <para>
- Finally, the maximum height, speed and acceleration reported
- during the flight are displayed for your admiring observers.
- </para>
- </section>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Save Flight Data</title>
- <para>
- TeleMetrum records flight data to its internal flash memory.
- This data is recorded at a much higher rate than the telemetry
- system can handle, and is not subject to radio drop-outs. As
- such, it provides a more complete and precise record of the
- flight. The 'Save Flight Data' button allows you to read the
- flash memory and write it to disk.
- </para>
- <para>
- Clicking on the 'Save Flight Data' button brings up a list of
- connected TeleMetrum and TeleDongle devices. If you select a
- TeleMetrum device, the flight data will be downloaded from that
- device directly. If you select a TeleDongle device, flight data
- will be downloaded from a TeleMetrum device connected via the
- packet command link to the specified TeleDongle. See the chapter
- on Packet Command Mode for more information about this.
- </para>
- <para>
- The filename for the data is computed automatically from the recorded
- flight date, TeleMetrum serial number and flight number
- information.
- </para>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Replay Flight</title>
- <para>
- Select this button and you are prompted to select a flight
- record file, either a .telem file recording telemetry data or a
- .eeprom file containing flight data saved from the TeleMetrum
- flash memory.
- </para>
- <para>
- Once a flight record is selected, the flight monitor interface
- is displayed and the flight is re-enacted in real time. Check
- the Monitor Flight chapter above to learn how this window operates.
- </para>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Graph Data</title>
- <para>
- This section should be written by AJ.
- </para>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <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 flight
- data file (either .eeprom or .telem will do, remember that
- .eeprom files contain higher resolution and more continuous
- data). 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 the TeleMetrum device, then
- there is a single header line which labels all of the
- fields. All of these lines start with a '#' character which
- most 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
- Googleearth to provide an overlay within that
- application. With this, you can use Googleearth to see the
- whole flight path in 3D.
- </para>
- </section>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Configure TeleMetrum</title>
- <para>
- Select this button and then select either a TeleMetrum or
- TeleDongle Device from the list provided. Selecting a TeleDongle
- device will use Packet Comamnd Mode to configure remote
- TeleMetrum device. Learn how to use this in the Packet Command
- Mode chapter.
- </para>
- <para>
- The first few lines of the dialog provide information about the
- connected TeleMetrum 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>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Save. This writes any changes to the TeleMetrum
- configuration parameter block in flash memory. If you don't
- press this button, any changes you make will be lost.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Reset. This resets the dialog to the most recently saved values,
- erasing any changes you have made.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Reboot. This reboots the TeleMetrum device. Use this to
- switch from idle to pad mode by rebooting once the rocket is
- oriented for flight.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Close. This closes the dialog. Any unsaved changes will be
- lost.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
- The rest of the dialog contains the parameters to be configured.
- </para>
- <section>
- <title>Main Deploy Altitude</title>
- <para>
- This sets the altitude (above the recorded pad altitude) at
- which the 'main' igniter will fire. The drop-down menu shows
- some common values, but you can edit the text directly and
- choose whatever you like. If the apogee charge fires below
- this altitude, then the main charge will fire two seconds
- after the apogee charge fires.
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>Apogee Delay</title>
- <para>
- When flying redundant electronics, it's often important to
- ensure that multiple apogee charges don't fire at precisely
- the same time as that can overpressurize the apogee deployment
- bay and cause a structural failure of the airframe. The Apogee
- Delay parameter tells the flight computer to fire the apogee
- charge a certain number of seconds after apogee has been
- detected.
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>Radio Channel</title>
- <para>
- This configures which of the 10 radio channels to use for both
- telemetry and packet command mode. Note that if you set this
- value via packet command mode, you will have to reconfigure
- the TeleDongle channel before you will be able to use packet
- command mode again.
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>Radio 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 for each channel. You can adjust that
- calibration by changing this value. To change the TeleDongle's
- calibration, you must reprogram the unit completely.
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>Callsign</title>
- <para>
- This sets the callsign included in each telemetry packet. Set this
- as needed to conform to your local radio regulations.
- </para>
- </section>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Configure AltosUI</title>
- <para>
- This button presents a dialog so that you can configure the AltosUI global settings.
- </para>
- <section>
- <title>Voice Settings</title>
- <para>
- AltosUI provides voice annoucements 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>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>Enable—turns all voice announcements on and off</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Test Voice—Plays a short message allowing you to verify
- that the audio systme is working and the volume settings
- are reasonable
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </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 used in command packet mode and is transmitted
- in each packet sent from TeleDongle and received from
- TeleMetrum. It is not used in telemetry mode as that transmits
- packets only from TeleMetrum to TeleDongle. Configure this
- with the AltosUI operators callsign as needed to comply with
- your local radio regulations.
- </para>
- </section>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Flash Image</title>
- <para>
- This reprograms any Altus Metrum device by using a TeleMetrum or
- TeleDongle as a programming dongle. Please read the directions
- for connecting the programming cable in the main TeleMetrum
- manual before reading these instructions.
- </para>
- <para>
- Once you have the programmer and target devices connected,
- push the 'Flash Image' button. That will present a dialog box
- listing all of the connected devices. Carefully select the
- programmer device, not the device to be programmed.
- </para>
- <para>
- Next, select the image to flash to the device. These are named
- with the product name and firmware version. The file selector
- will start in the directory containing the firmware included
- with the AltosUI package. Navigate to the directory containing
- the desired firmware if it isn't there.
- </para>
- <para>
- Next, a small dialog containing the device serial number and
- RF calibration values should appear. If these values are
- incorrect (possibly due to a corrupted image in the device),
- enter the correct values here.
- </para>
- <para>
- Finally, a dialog containing a progress bar will follow the
- programming process.
- </para>
- <para>
- When programming is complete, the target device will
- reboot. Note that if the target device is connected via USB, you
- will have to unplug it and then plug it back in for the USB
- connection to reset so that you can communicate with the device
- again.
- </para>
- </chapter>
- <chapter>
- <title>Fire Igniter</title>
- <para>
- </para>
- </chapter>
-</book>
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