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+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
+<!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>
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+ <chapter>
+ <title>Fire Igniter</title>
+ <para>
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+</book>
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