"/usr/share/xml/docbook/schema/dtd/4.5/docbookx.dtd">
<book>
<title>The Altus Metrum System</title>
- <subtitle>An Owner's Manual for TeleMetrum, TeleMini and TeleDongle Devices</subtitle>
+ <subtitle>An Owner's Manual for TeleMetrum, TeleMini, TeleDongle and TeleBT Devices</subtitle>
<bookinfo>
<author>
<firstname>Bdale</firstname>
<surname>Towns</surname>
</author>
<copyright>
- <year>2011</year>
+ <year>2013</year>
<holder>Bdale Garbee and Keith Packard</holder>
</copyright>
<legalnotice>
</para>
</legalnotice>
<revhistory>
+ <revision>
+ <revnumber>1.2.1</revnumber>
+ <date>21 May 2013</date>
+ <revremark>
+ Updated for software version 1.2. Version 1.2 adds support
+ for TeleBT and AltosDroid. It also adds a few minor features
+ and fixes bugs in AltosUI and the AltOS firmware.
+ </revremark>
+ </revision>
+ <revision>
+ <revnumber>1.2</revnumber>
+ <date>18 April 2013</date>
+ <revremark>
+ Updated for software version 1.2. Version 1.2 adds support
+ for MicroPeak and the MicroPeak USB interface.
+ </revremark>
+ </revision>
+ <revision>
+ <revnumber>1.1.1</revnumber>
+ <date>16 September 2012</date>
+ <revremark>
+ Updated for software version 1.1.1 Version 1.1.1 fixes a few
+ bugs found in version 1.1.
+ </revremark>
+ </revision>
+ <revision>
+ <revnumber>1.1</revnumber>
+ <date>13 September 2012</date>
+ <revremark>
+ Updated for software version 1.1. Version 1.1 has new
+ features but is otherwise compatible with version 1.0.
+ </revremark>
+ </revision>
<revision>
<revnumber>1.0</revnumber>
<date>24 August 2011</date>
support optional capabilities in the future.
</para>
<para>
- The newest device is TeleMini, a dual deploy altimeter with
+ Our second device was TeleMini, a dual deploy altimeter with
radio telemetry and radio direction finding. This device is only
13mm by 38mm (½ inch by 1½ inches) and can fit easily in an 18mm
air-frame.
</para>
<para>
- Complementing TeleMetrum and TeleMini is TeleDongle, a USB to RF
- interface for communicating with the altimeters. Combined with your
- choice of antenna and
- notebook computer, TeleDongle and our associated user interface software
- form a complete ground station capable of logging and displaying in-flight
- telemetry, aiding rocket recovery, then processing and archiving flight
+ TeleDongle was our first ground station, providing a USB to RF
+ interfaces for communicating with the altimeters. Combined with
+ your choice of antenna and notebook computer, TeleDongle and our
+ associated user interface software form a complete ground
+ station capable of logging and displaying in-flight telemetry,
+ aiding rocket recovery, then processing and archiving flight
data for analysis and review.
</para>
+ <para>
+ For a slightly more portable ground station experience that also
+ provides direct rocket recovery support, TeleBT offers flight
+ monitoring and data logging using a Bluetooth connection between
+ the receiver and an Android device that has the Altos Droid
+ application installed from the Google Play store.
+ </para>
<para>
More products will be added to the Altus Metrum family over time, and
we currently envision that this will be a single, comprehensive manual
<para>
The TeleMini battery can be charged by disconnecting it from the
TeleMini board and plugging it into a standalone battery charger
- board, and connecting that via a USB cable to a laptop or other USB
- power source
+ such as the LipoCharger product included in TeleMini Starter Kits,
+ and connecting that via a USB cable to a laptop or other USB
+ power source.
</para>
<para>
The other active device in the starter kit is the TeleDongle USB to
The latest version may always be downloaded from
<ulink url="http://altusmetrum.org/AltOS"/>.
</para>
+ <para>
+ If you're using a TeleBT instead of the TeleDongle, you'll want
+ to go install the Altos Droid application from the Google Play
+ store. You don't need a data plan to use Altos Droid, but
+ without network access, the Map view will be less useful as it
+ won't contain any map data. You can also use TeleBT connected
+ over USB with your laptop computer; it acts exactly like a
+ TeleDongle. Anywhere this manual talks about TeleDongle, you can
+ also read that as 'and TeleBT when connected via USB'.
+ </para>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Handling Precautions</title>
A typical TeleMetrum or TeleMini installation involves attaching
only a suitable Lithium Polymer battery, a single pole switch for
power on/off, and two pairs of wires connecting e-matches for the
- apogee and main ejection charges.
+ apogee and main ejection charges. All Altus Metrum products are
+ designed for use with single-cell batteries with 3.7 volts nominal.
+ </para>
+ <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>
By default, we use the unregulated output of the Li-Po battery directly
flights, do what makes sense.
</para>
<para>
- If idle mode is entered, you will hear an audible "di-dit" or see
- two short flashes ("I" for idle), and the flight state machine is
- disengaged, thus no ejection charges will fire. The altimeters also
- listen for the radio link when in idle mode for requests sent via
- TeleDongle. Commands can be issued to a TeleMetrum in idle mode
- over either
- USB or the radio link equivalently. TeleMini only has the radio link.
- Idle mode is useful for configuring the altimeter, for extracting data
- from the on-board storage chip after flight, and for ground testing
+ If idle mode is entered, you will hear an audible "di-dit" or
+ see two short flashes ("I" for idle), and the flight state
+ machine is disengaged, thus no ejection charges will fire.
+ The altimeters also listen for the radio link when in idle
+ mode for requests sent via TeleDongle. Commands can be issued
+ to a TeleMetrum in idle mode over either USB or the radio link
+ equivalently. TeleMini only has the radio link. Idle mode is
+ useful for configuring the altimeter, for extracting data from
+ the on-board storage chip after flight, and for ground testing
pyro charges.
</para>
<para>
tower with a screw-driver trying to turn on your avionics before
installing igniters!
</para>
+ <para>
+ TeleMini is configured via the radio link. Of course, that
+ means you need to know the TeleMini radio configuration values
+ or you won't be able to communicate with it. For situations
+ when you don't have the radio configuration values, TeleMini
+ offers an 'emergency recovery' mode. In this mode, TeleMini is
+ configured as follows:
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ Sets the radio frequency to 434.550MHz
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ Sets the radio calibration back to the factory value.
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ Sets the callsign to N0CALL
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ Does not go to 'pad' mode after five seconds.
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ To get into 'emergency recovery' mode, first find the row of
+ four small holes opposite the switch wiring. Using a short
+ piece of small gauge wire, connect the outer two holes
+ together, then power TeleMini up. Once the red LED is lit,
+ disconnect the wire and the board should signal that it's in
+ 'idle' mode after the initial five second startup period.
+ </para>
</section>
<section>
<title>GPS </title>
<section>
<title>Controlling An Altimeter Over The Radio Link</title>
<para>
- One of the unique features of the Altus Metrum system is
- the ability to create a two way command link between TeleDongle
- and an altimeter using the digital radio transceivers built into
- each device. This allows you to interact with the altimeter from
- afar, as if it were directly connected to the computer.
+ One of the unique features of the Altus Metrum system is the
+ ability to create a two way command link between TeleDongle
+ and an altimeter using the digital radio transceivers
+ built into each device. This allows you to interact with the
+ altimeter from afar, as if it were directly connected to the
+ computer.
</para>
<para>
Any operation which can be performed with TeleMetrum can
<para>
You can monitor the operation of the radio link by watching the
lights on the devices. The red LED will flash each time a packet
- is tramsitted, while the green LED will light up on TeleDongle when
+ is transmitted, while the green LED will light up on TeleDongle when
it is waiting to receive a packet from the altimeter.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>Maximum Flight Log</title>
<para>
- TeleMetrum version 1.1 has 2MB of on-board flash storage,
+ TeleMetrum version 1.1 and 1.2 have 2MB of on-board flash storage,
enough to hold over 40 minutes of data at full data rate
(100 samples/second). TeleMetrum 1.0 has 1MB of on-board
- storage. As data are stored at a reduced rate during
- descent, there's plenty of space to store many flights worth
- of data.
+ storage. As data are stored at a reduced rate during descent
+ (10 samples/second), there's plenty of space to store many
+ flights worth of data.
</para>
<para>
The on-board flash is partitioned into separate flight logs,
</para>
<para>
All of the configuration data is also stored in the flash
- memory, which consumes 64kB on TeleMetrum v1.1 and 256B on
+ memory, which consumes 64kB on TeleMetrum v1.1/v1.2 and 256B on
TeleMetrum v1.0. This configuration space is not available
for storing flight log data.
</para>
</para>
<para>
The default size, 192kB, allows for 10 flights of storage on
- TeleMetrum v1.1 and 5 flights on TeleMetrum v1.0. This
+ TeleMetrum v1.1/v1.2 and 5 flights on TeleMetrum v1.0. This
ensures that you won't need to erase the memory before
flying each time while still allowing more than sufficient
storage for each flight.
</para>
+ <para>
+ As TeleMini does not contain an accelerometer, it stores
+ data at 10 samples per second during ascent and one sample
+ per second during descent. Each sample is a two byte reading
+ from the barometer. These are stored in 5kB of
+ on-chip flash memory which can hold 256 seconds at the
+ ascent rate or 2560 seconds at the descent rate. Because of
+ the limited storage, TeleMini cannot hold data for more than
+ one flight, and so must be erased after each flight or it
+ will not capture data for subsequent flights.
+ </para>
</section>
<section>
<title>Ignite Mode</title>
</para>
</section>
</section>
- <section>
- <title>Calibration</title>
- <para>
- There are only two calibrations required for a TeleMetrum board, and
- only one for TeleDongle and TeleMini.
- </para>
- <section>
- <title>Radio Frequency</title>
- <para>
- The radio frequency is synthesized from a clock based on the 48 MHz
- crystal on the board. The actual frequency of this oscillator must be
- measured to generate a calibration constant. While our GFSK modulation
- bandwidth is wide enough to allow boards to communicate even when
- their oscillators are not on exactly the same frequency, performance
- is best when they are closely matched.
- Radio frequency calibration requires a calibrated frequency counter.
- Fortunately, once set, the variation in frequency due to aging and
- temperature changes is small enough that re-calibration by customers
- should generally not be required.
- </para>
- <para>
- When the radio calibration value is changed, the radio
- frequency value is reset to the same value, so you'll need
- to recompute and reset the radio frequency value using the
- new radio calibration value.
- </para>
- </section>
- <section>
- <title>TeleMetrum Accelerometer</title>
- <para>
- The TeleMetrum accelerometer we use has its own 5 volt power supply and
- the output must be passed through a resistive voltage divider to match
- the input of our 3.3 volt ADC. This means that unlike the barometric
- sensor, the output of the acceleration sensor is not ratio-metric to
- the ADC converter, and calibration is required. We also support the
- use of any of several accelerometers from a Freescale family that
- includes at least +/- 40g, 50g, 100g, and 200g parts. Using gravity,
- a simple 2-point calibration yields acceptable results capturing both
- the different sensitivities and ranges of the different accelerometer
- parts and any variation in power supply voltages or resistor values
- in the divider network.
- </para>
- <para>
- To calibrate the acceleration sensor, use the 'c a 0' command. You
- will be prompted to orient the board vertically with the UHF antenna
- up and press a key, then to orient the board vertically with the
- UHF antenna down and press a key.
- As with all 'c' sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
- change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
- </para>
- <para>
- The +1g and -1g calibration points are included in each telemetry
- frame and are part of the header extracted by ao-dumplog after flight.
- Note that we always store and return raw ADC samples for each
- sensor... nothing is permanently "lost" or "damaged" if the
- calibration is poor.
- </para>
- <para>
- In the unlikely event an accel cal that goes badly, it is possible
- that TeleMetrum may always come up in 'pad mode' and as such not be
- listening to either the USB or radio link. If that happens,
- there is a special hook in the firmware to force the board back
- in to 'idle mode' so you can re-do the cal. To use this hook, you
- just need to ground the SPI clock pin at power-on. This pin is
- available as pin 2 on the 8-pin companion connector, and pin 1 is
- ground. So either carefully install a fine-gauge wire jumper
- between the two pins closest to the index hole end of the 8-pin
- connector, or plug in the programming cable to the 8-pin connector
- and use a small screwdriver or similar to short the two pins closest
- to the index post on the 4-pin end of the programming cable, and
- power up the board. It should come up in 'idle mode' (two beeps).
- </para>
- </section>
- </section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
you know how strong a signal TeleDongle is receiving. The
radio inside TeleDongle operates down to about -99dBm;
weaker signals may not be receivable. The packet link uses
- error correction and detection techniques which prevent
+ 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
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.
+ other tabs at any time. The final 'table' tab displays all of
+ the raw telemetry values in one place in a spreadsheet-like format.
</para>
<section>
<title>Launch Pad</title>
<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.
+ height. Good descent rates vary based on the choice of recovery
+ components, but generally range from 15-30m/s on drogue and should
+ be below 10m/s when under the main parachute in a dual-deploy flight.
</para>
<para>
- For TeleMetrum altimeters, you can locate the rocket in the sky
- using 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.
+ For TeleMetrum altimeters, you can locate the rocket in the
+ sky using 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. Ground Distance shows how far it is to a point
+ directly under the rocket and can help figure out where the
+ rocket is likely to land. 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.
+ the status of the apogee charge is. Note that some commercial
+ e-matches are designed to retain continuity even after being
+ fired, and will continue to show as green or return from red to
+ green after firing.
</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
+ recovery. While the radio signal is often 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>
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
+ whether to walk or hitch a ride. Take the reported
latitude and longitude and enter them into your hand-held GPS
unit and have that compute a track to the landing location.
</para>
<para>
Both TeleMini and TeleMetrum will continue to transmit RDF
tones after landing, allowing you to locate the rocket by
- following the radio signal. You may need to get away from
- the clutter of the flight line, or even get up on a hill (or
- your neighbor's RV) to receive the RDF signal.
+ following the radio signal if necessary. You may need to get
+ away from the clutter of the flight line, or even get up on
+ a hill (or your neighbor's RV roof) to receive the RDF signal.
</para>
<para>
The maximum height, speed and acceleration reported
during the flight are displayed for your admiring observers.
+ The accuracy of these immediate values depends on the quality
+ of your radio link and how many packets were received.
+ Recovering the on-board data after flight will likely yield
+ more precise results.
</para>
<para>
To get more detailed information about the flight, you can
<section>
<title>Site Map</title>
<para>
- When the TeleMetrum gets a GPS fix, the Site Map tab will map
+ When the TeleMetrum has a GPS fix, the Site Map tab will map
the rocket's position to make it easier for you to locate the
rocket, both while it is in the air, and when it has landed. The
rocket's state is indicated by color: white for pad, red for
</para>
<para>
Images are fetched automatically via the Google Maps Static API,
- and are cached for reuse. If map images cannot be downloaded,
+ 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>
<title>Save Flight Data</title>
<para>
The altimeter records flight data to its internal flash memory.
- The TeleMetrum data is recorded at a much higher rate than the telemetry
+ TeleMetrum 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
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 or TeleMini device connected via the
- packet command link to the specified TeleDongle. See the chapter
- on Packet Command Mode for more information about this.
+ will be downloaded from an altimeter over radio link via the
+ specified TeleDongle. See the chapter on Controlling An Altimeter
+ Over The Radio Link for more information.
</para>
<para>
After the device has been selected, a dialog showing the
select which flights to download and which to delete. With
version 0.9 or newer firmware, you must erase flights in order
for the space they consume to be reused by another
- flight. This prevents you from accidentally losing flight data
+ flight. This prevents accidentally losing flight data
if you neglect to download data before flying again. Note that
if there is no more space available in the device, then no
- data will be recorded for a flight.
+ data will be recorded during the next flight.
</para>
<para>
The file name for each flight log is computed automatically
<para>
Once a flight record is selected, a window with two tabs is
opened. The first tab contains a graph with acceleration
- (blue), velocity (green) and altitude (red) of the flight are
- plotted and displayed, measured in metric units. The
+ (blue), velocity (green) and altitude (red) of the flight,
+ measured in metric units. The
apogee(yellow) and main(magenta) igniter voltages are also
displayed; high voltages indicate continuity, low voltages
indicate open circuits. The second tab contains some basic
<para>
Note that telemetry files will generally produce poor graphs
due to the lower sampling rate and missed telemetry packets.
- Use saved flight data for graphing where possible.
+ Use saved flight data in .eeprom files for graphing where possible.
</para>
</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 flight
+ 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
configuration information from the altimeter, 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.
+ many tools can be configured to skip over.
</para>
<para>
The remaining lines of the file contain the data, with each
<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.
+ 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>
<para>
Select this button and then select either a TeleMetrum or
TeleDongle Device from the list provided. Selecting a TeleDongle
- device will use Packet Command Mode to configure a remote
- altimeter. Learn how to use this in the Packet Command
- Mode chapter.
+ device will use the radio link to configure a remote altimeter.
</para>
<para>
The first few lines of the dialog provide information about the
<para>
Reboot. This reboots the device. Use this to
switch from idle to pad mode by rebooting once the rocket is
- oriented for flight.
+ oriented for flight, or to confirm changes you think you saved
+ are really saved.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<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 over pressurize the apogee deployment
+ the same time, as that can over pressurize the apogee deployment
bay and cause a structural failure of the air-frame. The Apogee
Delay parameter tells the flight computer to fire the apogee
charge a certain number of seconds after apogee has been
<para>
The radios in every Altus Metrum device are calibrated at the
factory to ensure that they transmit and receive on the
- specified frequency. You can adjust that
- calibration by changing this value. To change the TeleDongle's
- calibration, you must reprogram the unit completely.
+ 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>
size. A smaller value will allow more flights to be stored,
a larger value will record data from longer flights.
</para>
- <para>
- During ascent, TeleMetrum records barometer and
- accelerometer values 100 times per second, other analog
- information (voltages and temperature) 6 times per second
- and GPS data once per second. During descent, the non-GPS
- data is recorded 1/10th as often. Each barometer +
- accelerometer record takes 8 bytes.
- </para>
- <para>
- The default, 192kB, will store over 200 seconds of data at
- the ascent rate, or over 2000 seconds of data at the descent
- rate. That's plenty for most flights. This leaves enough
- storage for five flights in a 1MB system, or 10 flights in a
- 2MB system.
- </para>
- <para>
- The configuration block takes the last available block of
- memory, on v1.0 boards that's just 256 bytes. However, the
- flash part on the v1.1 boards uses 64kB for each block.
- </para>
- <para>
- TeleMini has 5kB of on-board storage, which is plenty for a
- single flight. Make sure you download and delete the data
- before a subsequent flight or it will not log any data.
- </para>
</section>
<section>
<title>Ignite Mode</title>
<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
+ 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>
</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, 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>Font Size</title>
<para>
</para>
</section>
</section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Configure Groundstation</title>
+ <para>
+ Select this button and then select a TeleDongle 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>
+ Note that the TeleDongle itself doesn't save any configuration
+ data, the settings here are recorded on the local machine in
+ the Java preferences database. Moving the TeleDongle to
+ another machine, or using a different user account on the same
+ machine will cause settings made here to have no effect.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ At the bottom of the dialog, there are three buttons:
+ </para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Save. This writes any changes to the
+ local Java preferences file. 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>
+ 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>Frequency</title>
+ <para>
+ This configures the frequency to use for both telemetry and
+ packet command mode. Set this before starting any operation
+ involving packet command mode so that it will use the right
+ frequency. Telemetry monitoring mode also provides a menu to
+ change the frequency, and that menu also sets the same Java
+ preference value used here.
+ </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. To change a TeleDongle's calibration,
+ you must reprogram the unit completely, so this entry simply
+ shows the current value and doesn't allow any changes.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </section>
<section>
<title>Flash Image</title>
<para>
</para>
</section>
</chapter>
+ <chapter>
+ <title>AltosDroid</title>
+ <para>
+ AltosDroid provides the same flight monitoring capabilities as
+ AltosUI, but runs on Android devices and is designed to connect
+ to a TeleBT receiver over Bluetooth™. Altos Droid monitors
+ telemetry data, logging it to internal storage in the Android
+ device, and presents that data in a UI the same way the 'Monitor
+ Flight' window does in AltosUI.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ This manual will explain how to configure AltosDroid, connect
+ to TeleBT, operate the flight monitoring interface and describe
+ what the displayed data means.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Installing AltosDroid</title>
+ <para>
+ AltosDroid is included in the Google Play store. To install
+ it on your Android device, open open the Google Play Store
+ application and search for "altosdroid". Make sure you don't
+ have a space between "altos" and "droid" or you probably won't
+ find what you want. That should bring you to the right page
+ from which you can download and install the application.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Connecting to TeleBT</title>
+ <para>
+ Press the Android 'Menu' button or soft-key to see the
+ configuration options available. Select the 'Connect a device'
+ option and then the 'Scan for devices' entry at the bottom to
+ look for your TeleBT device. Select your device, and when it
+ asks for the code, enter '1234'.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Subsequent connections will not require you to enter that
+ code, and your 'paired' device will appear in the list without
+ scanning.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Configuring AltosDroid</title>
+ <para>
+ The only configuration option available for AltosDroid is
+ which frequency to listen on. Press the Android 'Menu' button
+ or soft-key and pick the 'Select radio frequency' entry. That
+ brings up a menu of pre-set radio frequencies; pick the one
+ which matches your altimeter.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Altos Droid Flight Monitoring</title>
+ <para>
+ Altos Droid is designed to mimic the AltosUI flight monitoring
+ display, providing separate tabs for each stage of your rocket
+ flight along with a tab containing a map of the local area
+ with icons marking the current location of the altimeter and
+ the Android device.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>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 Li-Po 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 Li-Po 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 Li-Po battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is
+ required for a 'GO' status.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ On-board Data Logging. This indicates whether there is
+ space remaining on-board to store flight data for the
+ upcoming flight. If you've downloaded data, but failed
+ to erase flights, there may not be any space
+ left. TeleMetrum can store multiple flights, depending
+ on the configured maximum flight log size. TeleMini
+ stores only a single flight, so it will need to be
+ downloaded and erased after each flight to capture
+ data. This only affects on-board flight logging; the
+ altimeter will still transmit telemetry and fire
+ ejection charges at the proper times.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ GPS Locked. For a TeleMetrum device, 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. For a TeleMetrum device, 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>
+ <section>
+ <title>Downloading Flight Logs</title>
+ <para>
+ Altos Droid always saves every bit of telemetry data it
+ receives. To download that to a computer for use with AltosUI,
+ simply remove the SD card from your Android device, or connect
+ your device to your computer's USB port and browse the files
+ on that device. You will find '.telem' files in the TeleMetrum
+ directory that will work with AltosUI directly.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Using Altus Metrum Products</title>
<section>
<para>
In the rocket itself, you just need a <ulink url="http://www.altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/">TeleMetrum</ulink> or
<ulink url="http://www.altusmetrum.org/TeleMini/">TeleMini</ulink> board and
- a Li-Po rechargeable battery. An 860mAh battery weighs less than a 9V
- alkaline battery, and will run a TeleMetrum for hours.
+ a single-cell, 3.7 volt nominal Li-Po rechargeable battery. An
+ 850mAh battery weighs less than a 9V alkaline battery, and will
+ run a TeleMetrum for hours.
A 110mAh battery weighs less than a triple A battery and will run a TeleMetrum for
a few hours, or a TeleMini for much (much) longer.
</para>
<title>On the Ground</title>
<para>
To receive the data stream from the rocket, you need an antenna and short
- feed-line connected to one of our <ulink url="http://www.altusmetrum.org/TeleDongle/">TeleDongle</ulink> units. The
+ feed-line connected to one of our <ulink url="http://www.altusmetrum.org/TeleDongle/">TeleDongle</ulink> units. If possible, use an SMA to BNC
+ adapter instead of feedline between the antenna feedpoint and
+ TeleDongle, as this will give you the best performance. The
TeleDongle in turn plugs directly into the USB port on a notebook
computer. Because TeleDongle looks like a simple serial port, your computer
does not require special device drivers... just plug it in.
So, to recap, on the ground the hardware you'll need includes:
<orderedlist inheritnum='inherit' numeration='arabic'>
<listitem>
- an antenna and feed-line
+ an antenna and feed-line or adapter
</listitem>
<listitem>
a TeleDongle
Arrow Antennas.
</ulink>
The 440-3 and 440-5 are both good choices for finding a
- TeleMetrum- or TeleMini- equipped rocket when used with a suitable 70cm HT.
+ TeleMetrum- or TeleMini- equipped rocket when used with a suitable
+ 70cm HT. TeleDongle and an SMA to BNC adapter fit perfectly
+ between the driven element and reflector of Arrow antennas.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<section>
<title>Future Plans</title>
<para>
- In the future, we intend to offer "companion boards" for the rocket that will
- plug in to TeleMetrum to collect additional data, provide more pyro channels,
- and so forth. A reference design for a companion board will be documented
- soon, and will be compatible with open source Arduino programming tools.
+ In the future, we intend to offer "companion boards" for the rocket
+ that will plug in to TeleMetrum to collect additional data, provide
+ more pyro channels, and so forth.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Also under design is a new flight computer with more sensors, more
+ pyro channels, and a more powerful radio system designed for use
+ in multi-stage, complex, and extreme altitude projects.
</para>
<para>
- We are also working on the design of a hand-held ground terminal that will
- allow monitoring the rocket's status, collecting data during flight, and
- logging data after flight without the need for a notebook computer on the
- flight line. Particularly since it is so difficult to read most notebook
- screens in direct sunlight, we think this will be a great thing to have.
+ We are also working on alternatives to TeleDongle. One is a
+ a stand-alone, hand-held ground terminal that will allow monitoring
+ the rocket's status, collecting data during flight, and logging data
+ after flight without the need for a notebook computer on the
+ flight line. Particularly since it is so difficult to read most
+ notebook screens in direct sunlight, we think this will be a great
+ thing to have. We are also working on a TeleDongle variant with
+ Bluetooth that will work with Android phones and tablets.
</para>
<para>
- Because all of our work is open, both the hardware designs and the software,
- if you have some great idea for an addition to the current Altus Metrum family,
- feel free to dive in and help! Or let us know what you'd like to see that
- we aren't already working on, and maybe we'll get excited about it too...
+ Because all of our work is open, both the hardware designs and the
+ software, if you have some great idea for an addition to the current
+ Altus Metrum family, feel free to dive in and help! Or let us know
+ what you'd like to see that we aren't already working on, and maybe
+ we'll get excited about it too...
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Watch our
+ <ulink url="http://altusmetrum.org/">web site</ulink> for more news
+ and information as our family of products evolves!
</para>
</section>
</chapter>
<para>
Any altimeter will generate RFI; the digital circuits use
high-frequency clocks that spray radio interference across a
- wide band. Altusmetrum altimeters generate intentional radio
+ wide band. Altus Metrum altimeters generate intentional radio
signals as well, increasing the amount of RF energy around the board.
</para>
<para>
<para>
Voltages are induced when radio frequency energy is
transmitted from one circuit to another. Here are things that
- increase the induced voltage and current:
+ influence the induced voltage and current:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
To accurately measure atmospheric pressure, the ebay
containing the altimeter must be vented outside the
air-frame. The vent must be placed in a region of linear
- airflow, smooth and not in an area of increasing or decreasing
- pressure.
+ airflow, have smooth edges, and away from areas of increasing or
+ decreasing pressure.
</para>
<para>
The barometric sensor in the altimeter is quite sensitive to
mode. This will catch any mistakes in wiring and any residual
RFI issues that might accidentally fire igniters at the wrong
time. Let the air-frame sit for several minutes, checking for
- adequate telemetry signal strength and GPS lock.
+ adequate telemetry signal strength and GPS lock. If any igniters
+ fire unexpectedly, find and resolve the issue before loading any
+ BP charges!
</para>
<para>
Ground test the ejection charges. Prepare the rocket for
<chapter>
<title>Updating Device Firmware</title>
<para>
- The big conceptual thing to realize is that you have to use a
+ The big concept to understand is that you have to use a
TeleDongle as a programmer to update a TeleMetrum or TeleMini,
and a TeleMetrum or other TeleDongle to program the TeleDongle
Due to limited memory resources in the cc1111, we don't support
- programming directly over USB.
+ programming directly over USB.
</para>
<para>
You may wish to begin by ensuring you have current firmware images.
</listitem>
<listitem>
Select the image you want put on the TeleMetrum, which should have a
- name in the form telemetrum-v1.1-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible
+ name in the form telemetrum-v1.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible
in the default directory, if not you may have to poke around
your system to find it.
</listitem>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- RF interface for battery charging, configuration, and data recovery.
+ RF interface for configuration, and data recovery.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
once you enable the voice output!
</para>
</appendix>
+ <appendix>
+ <title>Drill Templates</title>
+ <para>
+ These images, when printed, provide precise templates for the
+ mounting holes in Altus Metrum flight computers
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>TeleMetrum template</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleMetrum has overall dimensions of 1.000 x 2.750 inches, and the
+ mounting holes are sized for use with 4-40 or M3 screws.
+ </para>
+ <mediaobject id="TeleMetrumTemplate">
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata format="SVG" fileref="telemetrum.svg"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>TeleMini template</title>
+ <para>
+ TeleMini has overall dimensions of 0.500 x 1.500 inches, and the
+ mounting holes are sized for use with 2-56 or M2 screws.
+ </para>
+ <mediaobject id="TeleMiniTemplate">
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata format="SVG" fileref="telemini.svg"/>
+ </imageobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </section>
+ </appendix>
+ <appendix>
+ <title>Calibration</title>
+ <para>
+ There are only two calibrations required for a TeleMetrum board, and
+ only one for TeleDongle and TeleMini. All boards are shipped from
+ the factory pre-calibrated, but the procedures are documented here
+ in case they are ever needed. Re-calibration is not supported by
+ AltosUI, you must connect to the board with a serial terminal program
+ and interact directly with the on-board command interpreter to effect
+ calibration.
+ </para>
+ <section>
+ <title>Radio Frequency</title>
+ <para>
+ The radio frequency is synthesized from a clock based on the 48 MHz
+ crystal on the board. The actual frequency of this oscillator
+ must be measured to generate a calibration constant. While our
+ GFSK modulation
+ bandwidth is wide enough to allow boards to communicate even when
+ their oscillators are not on exactly the same frequency, performance
+ is best when they are closely matched.
+ Radio frequency calibration requires a calibrated frequency counter.
+ Fortunately, once set, the variation in frequency due to aging and
+ temperature changes is small enough that re-calibration by customers
+ should generally not be required.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ To calibrate the radio frequency, connect the UHF antenna port to a
+ frequency counter, set the board to 434.550MHz, and use the 'C'
+ command in the on-board command interpreter to generate a CW
+ carrier. For TeleMetrum, this is best done over USB. For TeleMini,
+ note that the only way to escape the 'C' command is via power cycle
+ since the board will no longer be listening for commands once it
+ starts generating a CW carrier.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Wait for the transmitter temperature to stabilize and the frequency
+ to settle down. Then, divide 434.550 MHz by the
+ measured frequency and multiply by the current radio cal value show
+ in the 'c s' command. For an unprogrammed board, the default value
+ is 1186611. Take the resulting integer and program it using the 'c f'
+ command. Testing with the 'C' command again should show a carrier
+ within a few tens of Hertz of the intended frequency.
+ As with all 'c' sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
+ change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Note that any time you re-do the radio frequency calibration, the
+ radio frequency is reset to the default 434.550 Mhz. If you want
+ to use another frequency, you will have to set that again after
+ calibration is completed.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>TeleMetrum Accelerometer</title>
+ <para>
+ The TeleMetrum accelerometer we use has its own 5 volt power
+ supply and
+ the output must be passed through a resistive voltage divider to match
+ the input of our 3.3 volt ADC. This means that unlike the barometric
+ sensor, the output of the acceleration sensor is not ratio-metric to
+ the ADC converter, and calibration is required. Explicitly
+ calibrating the accelerometers also allows us to load any device
+ from a Freescale family that includes at least +/- 40g, 50g, 100g,
+ and 200g parts. Using gravity,
+ a simple 2-point calibration yields acceptable results capturing both
+ the different sensitivities and ranges of the different accelerometer
+ parts and any variation in power supply voltages or resistor values
+ in the divider network.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ To calibrate the acceleration sensor, use the 'c a 0' command. You
+ will be prompted to orient the board vertically with the UHF antenna
+ up and press a key, then to orient the board vertically with the
+ UHF antenna down and press a key. Note that the accuracy of this
+ calibration depends primarily on how perfectly vertical and still
+ the board is held during the cal process. As with all 'c'
+ sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
+ change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The +1g and -1g calibration points are included in each telemetry
+ frame and are part of the header stored in onboard flash to be
+ downloaded after flight. We always store and return raw ADC
+ samples for each sensor... so nothing is permanently "lost" or
+ "damaged" if the calibration is poor.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ In the unlikely event an accel cal goes badly, it is possible
+ that TeleMetrum may always come up in 'pad mode' and as such not be
+ listening to either the USB or radio link. If that happens,
+ there is a special hook in the firmware to force the board back
+ in to 'idle mode' so you can re-do the cal. To use this hook, you
+ just need to ground the SPI clock pin at power-on. This pin is
+ available as pin 2 on the 8-pin companion connector, and pin 1 is
+ ground. So either carefully install a fine-gauge wire jumper
+ between the two pins closest to the index hole end of the 8-pin
+ connector, or plug in the programming cable to the 8-pin connector
+ and use a small screwdriver or similar to short the two pins closest
+ to the index post on the 4-pin end of the programming cable, and
+ power up the board. It should come up in 'idle mode' (two beeps),
+ allowing a re-cal.
+ </para>
+ </section>
+ </appendix>
<appendix
xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">
<title>Release Notes</title>
- <xi:include href="release-notes-1.0.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/>
- <xi:include href="release-notes-0.9.2.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/>
- <xi:include href="release-notes-0.9.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/>
- <xi:include href="release-notes-0.8.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/>
- <xi:include href="release-notes-0.7.1.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 1.21</title><xi:include href="release-notes-1.2.1.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 1.2</title><xi:include href="release-notes-1.2.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 1.1.1</title><xi:include href="release-notes-1.1.1.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 1.1</title><xi:include href="release-notes-1.1.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 1.0.1</title><xi:include href="release-notes-1.0.1.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 0.9.2</title><xi:include href="release-notes-0.9.2.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 0.9</title><xi:include href="release-notes-0.9.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 0.8</title><xi:include href="release-notes-0.8.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
+ <simplesect><title>Version 0.7.1</title><xi:include href="release-notes-0.7.1.xsl" xpointer="xpointer(/article/*)"/></simplesect>
</appendix>
</book>
projects / fw / altos / blobdiff