1 <html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>The Altus Metrum System</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.76.1"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="book" title="The Altus Metrum System"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="idm15041272"></a>The Altus Metrum System</h1></div><div><h2 class="subtitle">An Owner's Manual for TeleMetrum, TeleMini and TeleDongle Devices</h2></div><div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Bdale</span> <span class="surname">Garbee</span></h3></div></div><div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Keith</span> <span class="surname">Packard</span></h3></div></div><div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Bob</span> <span class="surname">Finch</span></h3></div></div><div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Anthony</span> <span class="surname">Towns</span></h3></div></div><div><p class="copyright">Copyright © 2011 Bdale Garbee and Keith Packard</p></div><div><div class="legalnotice" title="Legal Notice"><a name="idp145264"></a><p>
2 This document is released under the terms of the
3 <a class="ulink" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" target="_top">
4 Creative Commons ShareAlike 3.0
7 </p></div></div><div><div class="revhistory"><table border="1" width="100%" summary="Revision history"><tr><th align="left" valign="top" colspan="2"><b>Revision History</b></th></tr><tr><td align="left">Revision 1.0</td><td align="left">24 August 2011</td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="2">
8 Updated for software version 1.0. Note that 1.0 represents a
9 telemetry format change, meaning both ends of a link
10 (TeleMetrum/TeleMini and TeleDongle) must be updated or
11 communications will fail.
12 </td></tr><tr><td align="left">Revision 0.9</td><td align="left">18 January 2011</td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="2">
13 Updated for software version 0.9. Note that 0.9 represents a
14 telemetry format change, meaning both ends of a link (TeleMetrum and
15 TeleDongle) must be updated or communications will fail.
16 </td></tr><tr><td align="left">Revision 0.8</td><td align="left">24 November 2010</td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="2">Updated for software version 0.8 </td></tr></table></div></div></div><hr></div><div class="acknowledgements" title="Acknowledgements"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp149344"></a>Acknowledgements</h2></div></div></div>
18 Thanks to Bob Finch, W9YA, NAR 12965, TRA 12350 for writing "The
19 Mere-Mortals Quick Start/Usage Guide to the Altus Metrum Starter
20 Kit" which formed the basis of the original Getting Started chapter
21 in this manual. Bob was one of our first customers for a production
22 TeleMetrum, and his continued enthusiasm and contributions
23 are immensely gratifying and highly appreciated!
26 And thanks to Anthony (AJ) Towns for major contributions including
27 the AltosUI graphing and site map code and associated documentation.
28 Free software means that our customers and friends can become our
29 collaborators, and we certainly appreciate this level of
33 Have fun using these products, and we hope to meet all of you
34 out on the rocket flight line somewhere.
35 </p><div class="literallayout"><p><br>
36 Bdale Garbee, KB0G<br>
37 NAR #87103, TRA #12201<br>
39 Keith Packard, KD7SQG<br>
40 NAR #88757, TRA #12200<br>
43 </div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp1343560">1. Introduction and Overview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp1346608">2. Getting Started</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp1975848">3. Handling Precautions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp2438920">4. Hardware Overview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp2252792">5. System Operation</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2166840">1. Firmware Modes </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2590808">2. GPS </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2451080">3. Controlling An Altimeter Over The Radio Link</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2468312">4. Ground Testing </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp1692104">5. Radio Link </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp138056">6. Configurable Parameters</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp138904">6.1. Radio Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp140048">6.2. Apogee Delay</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp141880">6.3. Main Deployment Altitude</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp142456">6.4. Maximum Flight Log</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp74024">6.5. Ignite Mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp75352">6.6. Pad Orientation</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp76608">6. AltosUI</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp77696">1. Monitor Flight</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp174680">1.1. Launch Pad</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp183328">1.2. Ascent</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp185496">1.3. Descent</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp188720">1.4. Landed</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp191664">1.5. Site Map</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3912568">2. Save Flight Data</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3915488">3. Replay Flight</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3916736">4. Graph Data</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3919248">5. Export Data</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3920256">5.1. Comma Separated Value Format</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3921832">5.2. Keyhole Markup Language (for Google Earth)</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3922664">6. Configure Altimeter</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3926840">6.1. Main Deploy Altitude</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3927824">6.2. Apogee Delay</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3928864">6.3. Radio Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3929776">6.4. Radio Calibration</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3930840">6.5. Callsign</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3931576">6.6. Maximum Flight Log Size</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3932440">6.7. Ignite Mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3935280">6.8. Pad Orientation</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3937504">7. Configure AltosUI</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3938128">7.1. Voice Settings</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3940400">7.2. Log Directory</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3941624">7.3. Callsign</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3942592">7.4. Imperial Units</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3943496">7.5. Font Size</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3944200">7.6. Serial Debug</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3945112">7.7. Manage Frequencies</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3946096">8. Configure Groundstation</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3950016">8.1. Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3951000">8.2. Radio Calibration</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3951992">9. Flash Image</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3955064">10. Fire Igniter</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3957168">11. Scan Channels</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3958072">12. Load Maps</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3960200">13. Monitor Idle</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp3961072">7. Using Altus Metrum Products</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3961392">1. Being Legal</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3962352">2. In the Rocket</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3964464">3. On the Ground</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3971176">4. Data Analysis</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3973696">5. Future Plans</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp3975736">8. Altimeter Installation Recommendations</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3976720">1. Mounting the Altimeter</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3979056">2. Dealing with the Antenna</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3983040">3. Preserving GPS Reception</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3985424">4. Radio Frequency Interference</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3989152">5. The Barometric Sensor</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3990992">6. Ground Testing</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp3993128">9. Updating Device Firmware</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3995168">1. Updating TeleMetrum Firmware</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4000512">2. Updating TeleMini Firmware</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4005928">3. Updating TeleDongle Firmware</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp4013376">10. Hardware Specifications</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4013696">1. TeleMetrum Specifications</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4019424">2. TeleMini Specifications</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#idp4024248">11. FAQ</a></span></dt><dt><span class="appendix"><a href="#idp4028528">A. Notes for Older Software</a></span></dt><dt><span class="appendix"><a href="#idp4045288">B. Calibration</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4046264">1. Radio Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4049584">2. TeleMetrum Accelerometer</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="appendix"><a href="#idp4054448">C. Release Notes</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp1343560"></a>Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview</h2></div></div></div><p>
44 Welcome to the Altus Metrum community! Our circuits and software reflect
45 our passion for both hobby rocketry and Free Software. We hope their
46 capabilities and performance will delight you in every way, but by
47 releasing all of our hardware and software designs under open licenses,
48 we also hope to empower you to take as active a role in our collective
51 The first device created for our community was TeleMetrum, a dual
52 deploy altimeter with fully integrated GPS and radio telemetry
53 as standard features, and a "companion interface" that will
54 support optional capabilities in the future.
56 The newest device is TeleMini, a dual deploy altimeter with
57 radio telemetry and radio direction finding. This device is only
58 13mm by 38mm (½ inch by 1½ inches) and can fit easily in an 18mm
61 Complementing TeleMetrum and TeleMini is TeleDongle, a USB to RF
62 interface for communicating with the altimeters. Combined with your
64 notebook computer, TeleDongle and our associated user interface software
65 form a complete ground station capable of logging and displaying in-flight
66 telemetry, aiding rocket recovery, then processing and archiving flight
67 data for analysis and review.
69 More products will be added to the Altus Metrum family over time, and
70 we currently envision that this will be a single, comprehensive manual
71 for the entire product family.
72 </p></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 2. Getting Started"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp1346608"></a>Chapter 2. Getting Started</h2></div></div></div><p>
73 The first thing to do after you check the inventory of parts in your
74 "starter kit" is to charge the battery.
76 The TeleMetrum battery can be charged by plugging it into the
77 corresponding socket of the TeleMetrum and then using the USB A to
79 cable to plug the TeleMetrum into your computer's USB socket. The
80 TeleMetrum circuitry will charge the battery whenever it is plugged
81 in, because the TeleMetrum's on-off switch does NOT control the
84 When the GPS chip is initially searching for
85 satellites, TeleMetrum will consume more current than it can pull
86 from the USB port, so the battery must be attached in order to get
87 satellite lock. Once GPS is locked, the current consumption goes back
88 down enough to enable charging while
89 running. So it's a good idea to fully charge the battery as your
90 first item of business so there is no issue getting and maintaining
91 satellite lock. The yellow charge indicator led will go out when the
92 battery is nearly full and the charger goes to trickle charge. It
93 can take several hours to fully recharge a deeply discharged battery.
95 The TeleMini battery can be charged by disconnecting it from the
96 TeleMini board and plugging it into a standalone battery charger
97 board, and connecting that via a USB cable to a laptop or other USB
100 The other active device in the starter kit is the TeleDongle USB to
101 RF interface. If you plug it in to your Mac or Linux computer it should
102 "just work", showing up as a serial port device. Windows systems need
103 driver information that is part of the AltOS download to know that the
104 existing USB modem driver will work. We therefore recommend installing
105 our software before plugging in TeleDongle if you are using a Windows
106 computer. If you are using Linux and are having problems, try moving
107 to a fresher kernel (2.6.33 or newer), as the USB serial driver had
108 ugly bugs in some earlier versions.
110 Next you should obtain and install the AltOS software. These include
111 the AltosUI ground station program, current firmware images for
112 TeleMetrum, TeleMini and TeleDongle, and a number of standalone
113 utilities that are rarely needed. Pre-built binary packages are
114 available for Linux, Microsoft Windows, and recent MacOSX versions.
115 Full source code and build instructions are also available.
116 The latest version may always be downloaded from
117 <a class="ulink" href="http://altusmetrum.org/AltOS" target="_top">http://altusmetrum.org/AltOS</a>.
118 </p></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 3. Handling Precautions"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp1975848"></a>Chapter 3. Handling Precautions</h2></div></div></div><p>
119 All Altus Metrum products are sophisticated electronic devices.
120 When handled gently and properly installed in an air-frame, they
121 will deliver impressive results. However, as with all electronic
122 devices, there are some precautions you must take.
124 The Lithium Polymer rechargeable batteries have an
125 extraordinary power density. This is great because we can fly with
126 much less battery mass than if we used alkaline batteries or previous
127 generation rechargeable batteries... but if they are punctured
128 or their leads are allowed to short, they can and will release their
130 Thus we recommend that you take some care when handling our batteries
131 and consider giving them some extra protection in your air-frame. We
132 often wrap them in suitable scraps of closed-cell packing foam before
133 strapping them down, for example.
135 The barometric sensors used on both TeleMetrum and TeleMini are
136 sensitive to sunlight. In normal TeleMetrum mounting situations, it
137 and all of the other surface mount components
138 are "down" towards whatever the underlying mounting surface is, so
139 this is not normally a problem. Please consider this, though, when
140 designing an installation, for example, in an air-frame with a
141 see-through plastic payload bay. It is particularly important to
142 consider this with TeleMini, both because the baro sensor is on the
143 "top" of the board, and because many model rockets with payload bays
144 use clear plastic for the payload bay! Replacing these with an opaque
145 cardboard tube, painting them, or wrapping them with a layer of masking
146 tape are all reasonable approaches to keep the sensor out of direct
149 The barometric sensor sampling port must be able to "breathe",
150 both by not being covered by foam or tape or other materials that might
151 directly block the hole on the top of the sensor, and also by having a
152 suitable static vent to outside air.
154 As with all other rocketry electronics, Altus Metrum altimeters must
155 be protected from exposure to corrosive motor exhaust and ejection
157 </p></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 4. Hardware Overview"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp2438920"></a>Chapter 4. Hardware Overview</h2></div></div></div><p>
158 TeleMetrum is a 1 inch by 2.75 inch circuit board. It was designed to
159 fit inside coupler for 29mm air-frame tubing, but using it in a tube that
160 small in diameter may require some creativity in mounting and wiring
161 to succeed! The presence of an accelerometer means TeleMetrum should
162 be aligned along the flight axis of the airframe, and by default the 1/4
163 wave UHF wire antenna should be on the nose-cone end of the board. The
164 antenna wire is about 7 inches long, and wiring for a power switch and
165 the e-matches for apogee and main ejection charges depart from the
166 fin can end of the board, meaning an ideal "simple" avionics
167 bay for TeleMetrum should have at least 10 inches of interior length.
169 TeleMini is a 0.5 inch by 1.5 inch circuit board. It was designed to
170 fit inside an 18mm air-frame tube, but using it in a tube that
171 small in diameter may require some creativity in mounting and wiring
172 to succeed! Since there is no accelerometer, TeleMini can be mounted
173 in any convenient orientation. The default 1/4
174 wave UHF wire antenna attached to the center of one end of
175 the board is about 7 inches long, and wiring for a power switch and
176 the e-matches for apogee and main ejection charges depart from the
177 other end of the board, meaning an ideal "simple" avionics
178 bay for TeleMini should have at least 9 inches of interior length.
180 A typical TeleMetrum or TeleMini installation involves attaching
181 only a suitable Lithium Polymer battery, a single pole switch for
182 power on/off, and two pairs of wires connecting e-matches for the
183 apogee and main ejection charges. All Altus Metrum products are
184 designed for use with single-cell batteries with 3.7 volts nominal.
186 By default, we use the unregulated output of the Li-Po battery directly
187 to fire ejection charges. This works marvelously with standard
188 low-current e-matches like the J-Tek from MJG Technologies, and with
189 Quest Q2G2 igniters. However, if you want or need to use a separate
190 pyro battery, check out the "External Pyro Battery" section in this
191 manual for instructions on how to wire that up. The altimeters are
192 designed to work with an external pyro battery of no more than 15 volts.
194 Ejection charges are wired directly to the screw terminal block
195 at the aft end of the altimeter. You'll need a very small straight
196 blade screwdriver for these screws, such as you might find in a
197 jeweler's screwdriver set.
199 TeleMetrum also uses the screw terminal block for the power
200 switch leads. On TeleMini, the power switch leads are soldered
201 directly to the board and can be connected directly to a switch.
203 For most air-frames, the integrated antennas are more than
204 adequate. However, if you are installing in a carbon-fiber or
205 metal electronics bay which is opaque to RF signals, you may need to
206 use off-board external antennas instead. In this case, you can
207 order an altimeter with an SMA connector for the UHF antenna
208 connection, and, on TeleMetrum, you can unplug the integrated GPS
209 antenna and select an appropriate off-board GPS antenna with
210 cable terminating in a U.FL connector.
211 </p></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 5. System Operation"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp2252792"></a>Chapter 5. System Operation</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2166840">1. Firmware Modes </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2590808">2. GPS </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2451080">3. Controlling An Altimeter Over The Radio Link</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp2468312">4. Ground Testing </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp1692104">5. Radio Link </a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp138056">6. Configurable Parameters</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp138904">6.1. Radio Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp140048">6.2. Apogee Delay</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp141880">6.3. Main Deployment Altitude</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp142456">6.4. Maximum Flight Log</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp74024">6.5. Ignite Mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp75352">6.6. Pad Orientation</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></div><div class="section" title="1. Firmware Modes"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp2166840"></a>1. Firmware Modes </h2></div></div></div><p>
212 The AltOS firmware build for the altimeters has two
213 fundamental modes, "idle" and "flight". Which of these modes
214 the firmware operates in is determined at start up time. For
215 TeleMetrum, the mode is controlled by the orientation of the
216 rocket (well, actually the board, of course...) at the time
217 power is switched on. If the rocket is "nose up", then
218 TeleMetrum assumes it's on a rail or rod being prepared for
219 launch, so the firmware chooses flight mode. However, if the
220 rocket is more or less horizontal, the firmware instead enters
221 idle mode. Since TeleMini doesn't have an accelerometer we can
222 use to determine orientation, "idle" mode is selected when the
223 board receives a command packet within the first five seconds
224 of operation; if no packet is received, the board enters
227 At power on, you will hear three beeps or see three flashes
228 ("S" in Morse code for start up) and then a pause while
229 the altimeter completes initialization and self test, and decides
230 which mode to enter next.
232 In flight or "pad" mode, the altimeter engages the flight
233 state machine, goes into transmit-only mode to
234 send telemetry, and waits for launch to be detected.
235 Flight mode is indicated by an "di-dah-dah-dit" ("P" for pad)
236 on the beeper or lights, followed by beeps or flashes
237 indicating the state of the pyrotechnic igniter continuity.
238 One beep/flash indicates apogee continuity, two beeps/flashes
239 indicate main continuity, three beeps/flashes indicate both
240 apogee and main continuity, and one longer "brap" sound or
241 rapidly alternating lights indicates no continuity. For a
242 dual deploy flight, make sure you're getting three beeps or
243 flashes before launching! For apogee-only or motor eject
244 flights, do what makes sense.
246 If idle mode is entered, you will hear an audible "di-dit" or see
247 two short flashes ("I" for idle), and the flight state machine is
248 disengaged, thus no ejection charges will fire. The altimeters also
249 listen for the radio link when in idle mode for requests sent via
250 TeleDongle. Commands can be issued to a TeleMetrum in idle mode
252 USB or the radio link equivalently. TeleMini only has the radio link.
253 Idle mode is useful for configuring the altimeter, for extracting data
254 from the on-board storage chip after flight, and for ground testing
257 One "neat trick" of particular value when TeleMetrum is used with
258 very large air-frames, is that you can power the board up while the
259 rocket is horizontal, such that it comes up in idle mode. Then you can
260 raise the air-frame to launch position, and issue a 'reset' command
261 via TeleDongle over the radio link to cause the altimeter to reboot and
262 come up in flight mode. This is much safer than standing on the top
263 step of a rickety step-ladder or hanging off the side of a launch
264 tower with a screw-driver trying to turn on your avionics before
266 </p></div><div class="section" title="2. GPS"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp2590808"></a>2. GPS </h2></div></div></div><p>
267 TeleMetrum includes a complete GPS receiver. A complete explanation
268 of how GPS works is beyond the scope of this manual, but the bottom
269 line is that the TeleMetrum GPS receiver needs to lock onto at least
270 four satellites to obtain a solid 3 dimensional position fix and know
273 TeleMetrum provides backup power to the GPS chip any time a
274 battery is connected. This allows the receiver to "warm start" on
275 the launch rail much faster than if every power-on were a GPS
276 "cold start". In typical operations, powering up TeleMetrum
277 on the flight line in idle mode while performing final air-frame
278 preparation will be sufficient to allow the GPS receiver to cold
279 start and acquire lock. Then the board can be powered down during
280 RSO review and installation on a launch rod or rail. When the board
281 is turned back on, the GPS system should lock very quickly, typically
282 long before igniter installation and return to the flight line are
284 </p></div><div class="section" title="3. Controlling An Altimeter Over The Radio Link"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp2451080"></a>3. Controlling An Altimeter Over The Radio Link</h2></div></div></div><p>
285 One of the unique features of the Altus Metrum system is
286 the ability to create a two way command link between TeleDongle
287 and an altimeter using the digital radio transceivers built into
288 each device. This allows you to interact with the altimeter from
289 afar, as if it were directly connected to the computer.
291 Any operation which can be performed with TeleMetrum can
292 either be done with TeleMetrum directly connected to the
293 computer via the USB cable, or through the radio
294 link. TeleMini doesn't provide a USB connector and so it is
295 always communicated with over radio. Select the appropriate
296 TeleDongle device when the list of devices is presented and
297 AltosUI will interact with an altimeter over the radio link.
299 One oddity in the current interface is how AltosUI selects the
300 frequency for radio communications. Instead of providing
301 an interface to specifically configure the frequency, it uses
302 whatever frequency was most recently selected for the target
303 TeleDongle device in Monitor Flight mode. If you haven't ever
304 used that mode with the TeleDongle in question, select the
305 Monitor Flight button from the top level UI, and pick the
306 appropriate TeleDongle device. Once the flight monitoring
307 window is open, select the desired frequency and then close it
308 down again. All radio communications will now use that frequency.
309 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
310 Save Flight Data—Recover flight data from the rocket without
312 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
313 Configure altimeter apogee delays or main deploy heights
314 to respond to changing launch conditions. You can also
315 'reboot' the altimeter. Use this to remotely enable the
316 flight computer by turning TeleMetrum on in "idle" mode,
317 then once the air-frame is oriented for launch, you can
318 reboot the altimeter and have it restart in pad mode
319 without having to climb the scary ladder.
320 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
321 Fire Igniters—Test your deployment charges without snaking
322 wires out through holes in the air-frame. Simply assembly the
323 rocket as if for flight with the apogee and main charges
324 loaded, then remotely command the altimeter to fire the
326 </p></li></ul></div><p>
327 Operation over the radio link for configuring an altimeter, ground
328 testing igniters, and so forth uses the same RF frequencies as flight
329 telemetry. To configure the desired TeleDongle frequency, select
330 the monitor flight tab, then use the frequency selector and
331 close the window before performing other desired radio operations.
333 TeleMetrum only enables radio commanding in 'idle' mode, so
334 make sure you have TeleMetrum lying horizontally when you turn
335 it on. Otherwise, TeleMetrum will start in 'pad' mode ready for
336 flight, and will not be listening for command packets from TeleDongle.
338 TeleMini listens for a command packet for five seconds after
339 first being turned on, if it doesn't hear anything, it enters
340 'pad' mode, ready for flight and will no longer listen for
341 command packets. The easiest way to connect to TeleMini is to
342 initiate the command and select the TeleDongle device. At this
343 point, the TeleDongle will be attempting to communicate with
344 the TeleMini. Now turn TeleMini on, and it should immediately
345 start communicating with the TeleDongle and the desired
346 operation can be performed.
348 You can monitor the operation of the radio link by watching the
349 lights on the devices. The red LED will flash each time a packet
350 is tramsitted, while the green LED will light up on TeleDongle when
351 it is waiting to receive a packet from the altimeter.
352 </p></div><div class="section" title="4. Ground Testing"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp2468312"></a>4. Ground Testing </h2></div></div></div><p>
353 An important aspect of preparing a rocket using electronic deployment
354 for flight is ground testing the recovery system. Thanks
355 to the bi-directional radio link central to the Altus Metrum system,
356 this can be accomplished in a TeleMetrum or TeleMini equipped rocket
357 with less work than you may be accustomed to with other systems. It
360 Just prep the rocket for flight, then power up the altimeter
361 in "idle" mode (placing air-frame horizontal for TeleMetrum or
362 selected the Configure Altimeter tab for TeleMini). This will cause
363 the firmware to go into "idle" mode, in which the normal flight
364 state machine is disabled and charges will not fire without
365 manual command. You can now command the altimeter to fire the apogee
366 or main charges from a safe distance using your computer and
367 TeleDongle and the Fire Igniter tab to complete ejection testing.
368 </p></div><div class="section" title="5. Radio Link"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp1692104"></a>5. Radio Link </h2></div></div></div><p>
369 The chip our boards are based on incorporates an RF transceiver, but
370 it's not a full duplex system... each end can only be transmitting or
371 receiving at any given moment. So we had to decide how to manage the
374 By design, the altimeter firmware listens for the radio link when
375 it's in "idle mode", which
376 allows us to use the radio link to configure the rocket, do things like
377 ejection tests, and extract data after a flight without having to
378 crack open the air-frame. However, when the board is in "flight
379 mode", the altimeter only
380 transmits and doesn't listen at all. That's because we want to put
381 ultimate priority on event detection and getting telemetry out of
383 the radio in case the rocket crashes and we aren't able to extract
386 We don't use a 'normal packet radio' mode like APRS because they're
387 just too inefficient. The GFSK modulation we use is FSK with the
388 base-band pulses passed through a
389 Gaussian filter before they go into the modulator to limit the
390 transmitted bandwidth. When combined with the hardware forward error
391 correction support in the cc1111 chip, this allows us to have a very
392 robust 38.4 kilobit data link with only 10 milliwatts of transmit
393 power, a whip antenna in the rocket, and a hand-held Yagi on the
394 ground. We've had flights to above 21k feet AGL with great reception,
395 and calculations suggest we should be good to well over 40k feet AGL
396 with a 5-element yagi on the ground. We hope to fly boards to higher
397 altitudes over time, and would of course appreciate customer feedback
398 on performance in higher altitude flights!
399 </p></div><div class="section" title="6. Configurable Parameters"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp138056"></a>6. Configurable Parameters</h2></div></div></div><p>
400 Configuring an Altus Metrum altimeter for flight is very
401 simple. Even on our baro-only TeleMini board, the use of a Kalman
402 filter means there is no need to set a "mach delay". The few
403 configurable parameters can all be set using AltosUI over USB or
404 or radio link via TeleDongle.
405 </p><div class="section" title="6.1. Radio Frequency"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp138904"></a>6.1. Radio Frequency</h3></div></div></div><p>
406 Altus Metrum boards support radio frequencies in the 70cm
407 band. By default, the configuration interface provides a
408 list of 10 "standard" frequencies in 100kHz channels starting at
409 434.550MHz. However, the firmware supports use of
410 any 50kHz multiple within the 70cm band. At any given
411 launch, we highly recommend coordinating when and by whom each
412 frequency will be used to avoid interference. And of course, both
413 altimeter and TeleDongle must be configured to the same
414 frequency to successfully communicate with each other.
415 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.2. Apogee Delay"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp140048"></a>6.2. Apogee Delay</h3></div></div></div><p>
416 Apogee delay is the number of seconds after the altimeter detects flight
417 apogee that the drogue charge should be fired. In most cases, this
418 should be left at the default of 0. However, if you are flying
419 redundant electronics such as for an L3 certification, you may wish
420 to set one of your altimeters to a positive delay so that both
421 primary and backup pyrotechnic charges do not fire simultaneously.
423 The Altus Metrum apogee detection algorithm fires exactly at
424 apogee. If you are also flying an altimeter like the
425 PerfectFlite MAWD, which only supports selecting 0 or 1
426 seconds of apogee delay, you may wish to set the MAWD to 0
427 seconds delay and set the TeleMetrum to fire your backup 2
428 or 3 seconds later to avoid any chance of both charges
429 firing simultaneously. We've flown several air-frames this
430 way quite happily, including Keith's successful L3 cert.
431 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.3. Main Deployment Altitude"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp141880"></a>6.3. Main Deployment Altitude</h3></div></div></div><p>
432 By default, the altimeter will fire the main deployment charge at an
433 elevation of 250 meters (about 820 feet) above ground. We think this
434 is a good elevation for most air-frames, but feel free to change this
435 to suit. In particular, if you are flying two altimeters, you may
437 deployment elevation for the backup altimeter to be something lower
438 than the primary so that both pyrotechnic charges don't fire
440 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.4. Maximum Flight Log"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp142456"></a>6.4. Maximum Flight Log</h3></div></div></div><p>
441 TeleMetrum version 1.1 and 1.2 have 2MB of on-board flash storage,
442 enough to hold over 40 minutes of data at full data rate
443 (100 samples/second). TeleMetrum 1.0 has 1MB of on-board
444 storage. As data are stored at a reduced rate during descent
445 (10 samples/second), there's plenty of space to store many
446 flights worth of data.
448 The on-board flash is partitioned into separate flight logs,
449 each of a fixed maximum size. Increase the maximum size of
450 each log and you reduce the number of flights that can be
451 stored. Decrease the size and TeleMetrum can store more
454 All of the configuration data is also stored in the flash
455 memory, which consumes 64kB on TeleMetrum v1.1/v1.2 and 256B on
456 TeleMetrum v1.0. This configuration space is not available
457 for storing flight log data.
459 To compute the amount of space needed for a single flight,
460 you can multiply the expected ascent time (in seconds) by
461 800, multiply the expected descent time (in seconds) by 80
462 and add the two together. That will slightly under-estimate
463 the storage (in bytes) needed for the flight. For instance,
464 a flight spending 20 seconds in ascent and 150 seconds in
465 descent will take about (20 * 800) + (150 * 80) = 28000
466 bytes of storage. You could store dozens of these flights in
469 The default size, 192kB, allows for 10 flights of storage on
470 TeleMetrum v1.1/v1.2 and 5 flights on TeleMetrum v1.0. This
471 ensures that you won't need to erase the memory before
472 flying each time while still allowing more than sufficient
473 storage for each flight.
475 As TeleMini does not contain an accelerometer, it stores
476 data at 10 samples per second during ascent and one sample
477 per second during descent. Each sample is a two byte reading
478 from the barometer. These are stored in 5kB of
479 on-chip flash memory which can hold 256 seconds at the
480 ascent rate or 2560 seconds at the descent rate. Because of
481 the limited storage, TeleMini cannot hold data for more than
482 one flight, and so must be erased after each flight or it
483 will not capture data for subsequent flights.
484 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.5. Ignite Mode"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp74024"></a>6.5. Ignite Mode</h3></div></div></div><p>
485 Instead of firing one charge at apogee and another charge at
486 a fixed height above the ground, you can configure the
487 altimeter to fire both at apogee or both during
488 descent. This was added to support an airframe that has two
489 TeleMetrum computers, one in the fin can and one in the
492 Providing the ability to use both igniters for apogee or
493 main allows some level of redundancy without needing two
494 flight computers. In Redundant Apogee or Redundant Main
495 mode, the two charges will be fired two seconds apart.
496 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.6. Pad Orientation"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp75352"></a>6.6. Pad Orientation</h3></div></div></div><p>
497 TeleMetrum measures acceleration along the axis of the
498 board. Which way the board is oriented affects the sign of
499 the acceleration value. Instead of trying to guess which way
500 the board is mounted in the air frame, TeleMetrum must be
501 explicitly configured for either Antenna Up or Antenna
502 Down. The default, Antenna Up, expects the end of the
503 TeleMetrum board connected to the 70cm antenna to be nearest
504 the nose of the rocket, with the end containing the screw
505 terminals nearest the tail.
506 </p></div></div></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 6. AltosUI"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp76608"></a>Chapter 6. AltosUI</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp77696">1. Monitor Flight</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp174680">1.1. Launch Pad</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp183328">1.2. Ascent</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp185496">1.3. Descent</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp188720">1.4. Landed</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp191664">1.5. Site Map</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3912568">2. Save Flight Data</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3915488">3. Replay Flight</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3916736">4. Graph Data</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3919248">5. Export Data</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3920256">5.1. Comma Separated Value Format</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3921832">5.2. Keyhole Markup Language (for Google Earth)</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3922664">6. Configure Altimeter</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3926840">6.1. Main Deploy Altitude</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3927824">6.2. Apogee Delay</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3928864">6.3. Radio Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3929776">6.4. Radio Calibration</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3930840">6.5. Callsign</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3931576">6.6. Maximum Flight Log Size</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3932440">6.7. Ignite Mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3935280">6.8. Pad Orientation</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3937504">7. Configure AltosUI</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3938128">7.1. Voice Settings</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3940400">7.2. Log Directory</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3941624">7.3. Callsign</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3942592">7.4. Imperial Units</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3943496">7.5. Font Size</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3944200">7.6. Serial Debug</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3945112">7.7. Manage Frequencies</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3946096">8. Configure Groundstation</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3950016">8.1. Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3951000">8.2. Radio Calibration</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3951992">9. Flash Image</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3955064">10. Fire Igniter</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3957168">11. Scan Channels</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3958072">12. Load Maps</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3960200">13. Monitor Idle</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
507 The AltosUI program provides a graphical user interface for
508 interacting with the Altus Metrum product family, including
509 TeleMetrum, TeleMini and TeleDongle. AltosUI can monitor telemetry data,
510 configure TeleMetrum, TeleMini and TeleDongle devices and many other
511 tasks. The primary interface window provides a selection of
512 buttons, one for each major activity in the system. This manual
513 is split into chapters, each of which documents one of the tasks
514 provided from the top-level toolbar.
515 </p><div class="section" title="1. Monitor Flight"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp77696"></a>1. Monitor Flight</h2></div><div><h3 class="subtitle">Receive, Record and Display Telemetry Data</h3></div></div></div><p>
516 Selecting this item brings up a dialog box listing all of the
517 connected TeleDongle devices. When you choose one of these,
518 AltosUI will create a window to display telemetry data as
519 received by the selected TeleDongle device.
521 All telemetry data received are automatically recorded in
522 suitable log files. The name of the files includes the current
523 date and rocket serial and flight numbers.
525 The radio frequency being monitored by the TeleDongle device is
526 displayed at the top of the window. You can configure the
527 frequency by clicking on the frequency box and selecting the desired
528 frequency. AltosUI remembers the last frequency selected for each
529 TeleDongle and selects that automatically the next time you use
532 Below the TeleDongle frequency selector, the window contains a few
533 significant pieces of information about the altimeter providing
534 the telemetry data stream:
535 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>The configured call-sign</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>The device serial number</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>The flight number. Each altimeter remembers how many
537 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
538 The rocket flight state. Each flight passes through several
539 states including Pad, Boost, Fast, Coast, Drogue, Main and
541 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
542 The Received Signal Strength Indicator value. This lets
543 you know how strong a signal TeleDongle is receiving. The
544 radio inside TeleDongle operates down to about -99dBm;
545 weaker signals may not be receivable. The packet link uses
546 error detection and correction techniques which prevent
547 incorrect data from being reported.
548 </p></li></ul></div><p>
549 Finally, the largest portion of the window contains a set of
550 tabs, each of which contain some information about the rocket.
551 They're arranged in 'flight order' so that as the flight
552 progresses, the selected tab automatically switches to display
553 data relevant to the current state of the flight. You can select
554 other tabs at any time. The final 'table' tab displays all of
555 the raw telemetry values in one place in a spreadsheet-like format.
556 </p><div class="section" title="1.1. Launch Pad"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp174680"></a>1.1. Launch Pad</h3></div></div></div><p>
557 The 'Launch Pad' tab shows information used to decide when the
558 rocket is ready for flight. The first elements include red/green
559 indicators, if any of these is red, you'll want to evaluate
560 whether the rocket is ready to launch:
561 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
562 Battery Voltage. This indicates whether the Li-Po battery
563 powering the TeleMetrum has sufficient charge to last for
564 the duration of the flight. A value of more than
565 3.7V is required for a 'GO' status.
566 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
567 Apogee Igniter Voltage. This indicates whether the apogee
568 igniter has continuity. If the igniter has a low
569 resistance, then the voltage measured here will be close
570 to the Li-Po battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is
571 required for a 'GO' status.
572 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
573 Main Igniter Voltage. This indicates whether the main
574 igniter has continuity. If the igniter has a low
575 resistance, then the voltage measured here will be close
576 to the Li-Po battery voltage. A value greater than 3.2V is
577 required for a 'GO' status.
578 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
579 On-board Data Logging. This indicates whether there is
580 space remaining on-board to store flight data for the
581 upcoming flight. If you've downloaded data, but failed
582 to erase flights, there may not be any space
583 left. TeleMetrum can store multiple flights, depending
584 on the configured maximum flight log size. TeleMini
585 stores only a single flight, so it will need to be
586 downloaded and erased after each flight to capture
587 data. This only affects on-board flight logging; the
588 altimeter will still transmit telemetry and fire
589 ejection charges at the proper times.
590 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
591 GPS Locked. For a TeleMetrum device, this indicates whether the GPS receiver is
592 currently able to compute position information. GPS requires
593 at least 4 satellites to compute an accurate position.
594 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
595 GPS Ready. For a TeleMetrum device, this indicates whether GPS has reported at least
596 10 consecutive positions without losing lock. This ensures
597 that the GPS receiver has reliable reception from the
599 </p></li></ul></div><p>
601 The Launchpad tab also shows the computed launch pad position
602 and altitude, averaging many reported positions to improve the
605 </p></div><div class="section" title="1.2. Ascent"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp183328"></a>1.2. Ascent</h3></div></div></div><p>
606 This tab is shown during Boost, Fast and Coast
607 phases. The information displayed here helps monitor the
608 rocket as it heads towards apogee.
610 The height, speed and acceleration are shown along with the
611 maximum values for each of them. This allows you to quickly
612 answer the most commonly asked questions you'll hear during
615 The current latitude and longitude reported by the TeleMetrum GPS are
616 also shown. Note that under high acceleration, these values
617 may not get updated as the GPS receiver loses position
618 fix. Once the rocket starts coasting, the receiver should
619 start reporting position again.
621 Finally, the current igniter voltages are reported as in the
622 Launch Pad tab. This can help diagnose deployment failures
623 caused by wiring which comes loose under high acceleration.
624 </p></div><div class="section" title="1.3. Descent"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp185496"></a>1.3. Descent</h3></div></div></div><p>
625 Once the rocket has reached apogee and (we hope) activated the
626 apogee charge, attention switches to tracking the rocket on
627 the way back to the ground, and for dual-deploy flights,
628 waiting for the main charge to fire.
630 To monitor whether the apogee charge operated correctly, the
631 current descent rate is reported along with the current
632 height. Good descent rates vary based on the choice of recovery
633 components, but generally range from 15-30m/s on drogue and should
634 be below 10m/s when under the main parachute in a dual-deploy flight.
636 For TeleMetrum altimeters, you can locate the rocket in the sky
637 using the elevation and
638 bearing information to figure out where to look. Elevation is
639 in degrees above the horizon. Bearing is reported in degrees
640 relative to true north. Range can help figure out how big the
641 rocket will appear. Note that all of these values are relative
642 to the pad location. If the elevation is near 90°, the rocket
643 is over the pad, not over you.
645 Finally, the igniter voltages are reported in this tab as
646 well, both to monitor the main charge as well as to see what
647 the status of the apogee charge is. Note that some commercial
648 e-matches are designed to retain continuity even after being
649 fired, and will continue to show as green or return from red to
651 </p></div><div class="section" title="1.4. Landed"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp188720"></a>1.4. Landed</h3></div></div></div><p>
652 Once the rocket is on the ground, attention switches to
653 recovery. While the radio signal is often lost once the
654 rocket is on the ground, the last reported GPS position is
655 generally within a short distance of the actual landing location.
657 The last reported GPS position is reported both by
658 latitude and longitude as well as a bearing and distance from
659 the launch pad. The distance should give you a good idea of
660 whether to walk or hitch a ride. Take the reported
661 latitude and longitude and enter them into your hand-held GPS
662 unit and have that compute a track to the landing location.
664 Both TeleMini and TeleMetrum will continue to transmit RDF
665 tones after landing, allowing you to locate the rocket by
666 following the radio signal if necessary. You may need to get
667 away from the clutter of the flight line, or even get up on
668 a hill (or your neighbor's RV roof) to receive the RDF signal.
670 The maximum height, speed and acceleration reported
671 during the flight are displayed for your admiring observers.
672 The accuracy of these immediate values depends on the quality
673 of your radio link and how many packets were received.
674 Recovering the on-board data after flight will likely yield
675 more precise results.
677 To get more detailed information about the flight, you can
678 click on the 'Graph Flight' button which will bring up a
679 graph window for the current flight.
680 </p></div><div class="section" title="1.5. Site Map"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp191664"></a>1.5. Site Map</h3></div></div></div><p>
681 When the TeleMetrum has a GPS fix, the Site Map tab will map
682 the rocket's position to make it easier for you to locate the
683 rocket, both while it is in the air, and when it has landed. The
684 rocket's state is indicated by color: white for pad, red for
685 boost, pink for fast, yellow for coast, light blue for drogue,
686 dark blue for main, and black for landed.
688 The map's scale is approximately 3m (10ft) per pixel. The map
689 can be dragged using the left mouse button. The map will attempt
690 to keep the rocket roughly centered while data is being received.
692 Images are fetched automatically via the Google Maps Static API,
693 and cached on disk for reuse. If map images cannot be downloaded,
694 the rocket's path will be traced on a dark gray background
697 You can pre-load images for your favorite launch sites
698 before you leave home; check out the 'Preload Maps' section below.
699 </p></div></div><div class="section" title="2. Save Flight Data"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3912568"></a>2. Save Flight Data</h2></div></div></div><p>
700 The altimeter records flight data to its internal flash memory.
701 TeleMetrum data is recorded at a much higher rate than the telemetry
702 system can handle, and is not subject to radio drop-outs. As
703 such, it provides a more complete and precise record of the
704 flight. The 'Save Flight Data' button allows you to read the
705 flash memory and write it to disk. As TeleMini has only a barometer, it
706 records data at the same rate as the telemetry signal, but there will be
707 no data lost due to telemetry drop-outs.
709 Clicking on the 'Save Flight Data' button brings up a list of
710 connected TeleMetrum and TeleDongle devices. If you select a
711 TeleMetrum device, the flight data will be downloaded from that
712 device directly. If you select a TeleDongle device, flight data
713 will be downloaded from an altimeter over radio link via the
714 specified TeleDongle. See the chapter on Controlling An Altimeter
715 Over The Radio Link for more information.
717 After the device has been selected, a dialog showing the
718 flight data saved in the device will be shown allowing you to
719 select which flights to download and which to delete. With
720 version 0.9 or newer firmware, you must erase flights in order
721 for the space they consume to be reused by another
722 flight. This prevents accidentally losing flight data
723 if you neglect to download data before flying again. Note that
724 if there is no more space available in the device, then no
725 data will be recorded during the next flight.
727 The file name for each flight log is computed automatically
728 from the recorded flight date, altimeter serial number and
729 flight number information.
730 </p></div><div class="section" title="3. Replay Flight"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3915488"></a>3. Replay Flight</h2></div></div></div><p>
731 Select this button and you are prompted to select a flight
732 record file, either a .telem file recording telemetry data or a
733 .eeprom file containing flight data saved from the altimeter
736 Once a flight record is selected, the flight monitor interface
737 is displayed and the flight is re-enacted in real time. Check
738 the Monitor Flight chapter above to learn how this window operates.
739 </p></div><div class="section" title="4. Graph Data"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3916736"></a>4. Graph Data</h2></div></div></div><p>
740 Select this button and you are prompted to select a flight
741 record file, either a .telem file recording telemetry data or a
742 .eeprom file containing flight data saved from
745 Once a flight record is selected, a window with two tabs is
746 opened. The first tab contains a graph with acceleration
747 (blue), velocity (green) and altitude (red) of the flight,
748 measured in metric units. The
749 apogee(yellow) and main(magenta) igniter voltages are also
750 displayed; high voltages indicate continuity, low voltages
751 indicate open circuits. The second tab contains some basic
754 The graph can be zoomed into a particular area by clicking and
755 dragging down and to the right. Once zoomed, the graph can be
756 reset by clicking and dragging up and to the left. Holding down
757 control and clicking and dragging allows the graph to be panned.
758 The right mouse button causes a pop-up menu to be displayed, giving
759 you the option save or print the plot.
761 Note that telemetry files will generally produce poor graphs
762 due to the lower sampling rate and missed telemetry packets.
763 Use saved flight data in .eeprom files for graphing where possible.
764 </p></div><div class="section" title="5. Export Data"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3919248"></a>5. Export Data</h2></div></div></div><p>
765 This tool takes the raw data files and makes them available for
766 external analysis. When you select this button, you are prompted to
768 data file (either .eeprom or .telem will do, remember that
769 .eeprom files contain higher resolution and more continuous
770 data). Next, a second dialog appears which is used to select
771 where to write the resulting file. It has a selector to choose
772 between CSV and KML file formats.
773 </p><div class="section" title="5.1. Comma Separated Value Format"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3920256"></a>5.1. Comma Separated Value Format</h3></div></div></div><p>
774 This is a text file containing the data in a form suitable for
775 import into a spreadsheet or other external data analysis
776 tool. The first few lines of the file contain the version and
777 configuration information from the altimeter, then
778 there is a single header line which labels all of the
779 fields. All of these lines start with a '#' character which
780 many tools can be configured to skip over.
782 The remaining lines of the file contain the data, with each
783 field separated by a comma and at least one space. All of
784 the sensor values are converted to standard units, with the
785 barometric data reported in both pressure, altitude and
786 height above pad units.
787 </p></div><div class="section" title="5.2. Keyhole Markup Language (for Google Earth)"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3921832"></a>5.2. Keyhole Markup Language (for Google Earth)</h3></div></div></div><p>
788 This is the format used by Google Earth to provide an overlay
789 within that application. With this, you can use Google Earth to
790 see the whole flight path in 3D.
791 </p></div></div><div class="section" title="6. Configure Altimeter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3922664"></a>6. Configure Altimeter</h2></div></div></div><p>
792 Select this button and then select either a TeleMetrum or
793 TeleDongle Device from the list provided. Selecting a TeleDongle
794 device will use the radio link to configure a remote altimeter.
796 The first few lines of the dialog provide information about the
797 connected device, including the product name,
798 software version and hardware serial number. Below that are the
799 individual configuration entries.
801 At the bottom of the dialog, there are four buttons:
802 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
803 Save. This writes any changes to the
804 configuration parameter block in flash memory. If you don't
805 press this button, any changes you make will be lost.
806 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
807 Reset. This resets the dialog to the most recently saved values,
808 erasing any changes you have made.
809 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
810 Reboot. This reboots the device. Use this to
811 switch from idle to pad mode by rebooting once the rocket is
812 oriented for flight, or to confirm changes you think you saved
814 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
815 Close. This closes the dialog. Any unsaved changes will be
817 </p></li></ul></div><p>
818 The rest of the dialog contains the parameters to be configured.
819 </p><div class="section" title="6.1. Main Deploy Altitude"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3926840"></a>6.1. Main Deploy Altitude</h3></div></div></div><p>
820 This sets the altitude (above the recorded pad altitude) at
821 which the 'main' igniter will fire. The drop-down menu shows
822 some common values, but you can edit the text directly and
823 choose whatever you like. If the apogee charge fires below
824 this altitude, then the main charge will fire two seconds
825 after the apogee charge fires.
826 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.2. Apogee Delay"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3927824"></a>6.2. Apogee Delay</h3></div></div></div><p>
827 When flying redundant electronics, it's often important to
828 ensure that multiple apogee charges don't fire at precisely
829 the same time, as that can over pressurize the apogee deployment
830 bay and cause a structural failure of the air-frame. The Apogee
831 Delay parameter tells the flight computer to fire the apogee
832 charge a certain number of seconds after apogee has been
834 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.3. Radio Frequency"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3928864"></a>6.3. Radio Frequency</h3></div></div></div><p>
835 This configures which of the configured frequencies to use for both
836 telemetry and packet command mode. Note that if you set this
837 value via packet command mode, you will have to reconfigure
838 the TeleDongle frequency before you will be able to use packet
840 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.4. Radio Calibration"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3929776"></a>6.4. Radio Calibration</h3></div></div></div><p>
841 The radios in every Altus Metrum device are calibrated at the
842 factory to ensure that they transmit and receive on the
843 specified frequency. If you need to you can adjust the calibration
844 by changing this value. Do not do this without understanding what
845 the value means, read the appendix on calibration and/or the source
846 code for more information. To change a TeleDongle's calibration,
847 you must reprogram the unit completely.
848 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.5. Callsign"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3930840"></a>6.5. Callsign</h3></div></div></div><p>
849 This sets the call sign included in each telemetry packet. Set this
850 as needed to conform to your local radio regulations.
851 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.6. Maximum Flight Log Size"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3931576"></a>6.6. Maximum Flight Log Size</h3></div></div></div><p>
852 This sets the space (in kilobytes) allocated for each flight
853 log. The available space will be divided into chunks of this
854 size. A smaller value will allow more flights to be stored,
855 a larger value will record data from longer flights.
856 </p></div><div class="section" title="6.7. Ignite Mode"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3932440"></a>6.7. Ignite Mode</h3></div></div></div><p>
857 TeleMetrum and TeleMini provide two igniter channels as they
858 were originally designed as dual-deploy flight
859 computers. This configuration parameter allows the two
860 channels to be used in different configurations.
861 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
862 Dual Deploy. This is the usual mode of operation; the
863 'apogee' channel is fired at apogee and the 'main'
864 channel at the height above ground specified by the
865 'Main Deploy Altitude' during descent.
866 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
867 Redundant Apogee. This fires both channels at
868 apogee, the 'apogee' channel first followed after a two second
869 delay by the 'main' channel.
870 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
871 Redundant Main. This fires both channels at the
872 height above ground specified by the Main Deploy
873 Altitude setting during descent. The 'apogee'
874 channel is fired first, followed after a two second
875 delay by the 'main' channel.
876 </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section" title="6.8. Pad Orientation"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3935280"></a>6.8. Pad Orientation</h3></div></div></div><p>
877 Because it includes an accelerometer, TeleMetrum is
878 sensitive to the orientation of the board. By default, it
879 expects the antenna end to point forward. This parameter
880 allows that default to be changed, permitting the board to
881 be mounted with the antenna pointing aft instead.
882 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
883 Antenna Up. In this mode, the antenna end of the
884 TeleMetrum board must point forward, in line with the
885 expected flight path.
886 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
887 Antenna Down. In this mode, the antenna end of the
888 TeleMetrum board must point aft, in line with the
889 expected flight path.
890 </p></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="section" title="7. Configure AltosUI"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3937504"></a>7. Configure AltosUI</h2></div></div></div><p>
891 This button presents a dialog so that you can configure the AltosUI global settings.
892 </p><div class="section" title="7.1. Voice Settings"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3938128"></a>7.1. Voice Settings</h3></div></div></div><p>
893 AltosUI provides voice announcements during flight so that you
894 can keep your eyes on the sky and still get information about
895 the current flight status. However, sometimes you don't want
897 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>Enable—turns all voice announcements on and off</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
898 Test Voice—Plays a short message allowing you to verify
899 that the audio system is working and the volume settings
901 </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section" title="7.2. Log Directory"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3940400"></a>7.2. Log Directory</h3></div></div></div><p>
902 AltosUI logs all telemetry data and saves all TeleMetrum flash
903 data to this directory. This directory is also used as the
904 staring point when selecting data files for display or export.
906 Click on the directory name to bring up a directory choosing
907 dialog, select a new directory and click 'Select Directory' to
908 change where AltosUI reads and writes data files.
909 </p></div><div class="section" title="7.3. Callsign"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3941624"></a>7.3. Callsign</h3></div></div></div><p>
910 This value is transmitted in each command packet sent from
911 TeleDongle and received from an altimeter. It is not used in
912 telemetry mode, as the callsign configured in the altimeter board
913 is included in all telemetry packets. Configure this
914 with the AltosUI operators call sign as needed to comply with
915 your local radio regulations.
916 </p></div><div class="section" title="7.4. Imperial Units"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3942592"></a>7.4. Imperial Units</h3></div></div></div><p>
917 This switches between metric units (meters) and imperial
918 units (feet and miles). This affects the display of values
919 use during flight monitoring, data graphing and all of the
920 voice announcements. It does not change the units used when
921 exporting to CSV files, those are always produced in metric units.
922 </p></div><div class="section" title="7.5. Font Size"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3943496"></a>7.5. Font Size</h3></div></div></div><p>
923 Selects the set of fonts used in the flight monitor
924 window. Choose between the small, medium and large sets.
925 </p></div><div class="section" title="7.6. Serial Debug"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3944200"></a>7.6. Serial Debug</h3></div></div></div><p>
926 This causes all communication with a connected device to be
927 dumped to the console from which AltosUI was started. If
928 you've started it from an icon or menu entry, the output
929 will simply be discarded. This mode can be useful to debug
930 various serial communication issues.
931 </p></div><div class="section" title="7.7. Manage Frequencies"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3945112"></a>7.7. Manage Frequencies</h3></div></div></div><p>
932 This brings up a dialog where you can configure the set of
933 frequencies shown in the various frequency menus. You can
934 add as many as you like, or even reconfigure the default
935 set. Changing this list does not affect the frequency
936 settings of any devices, it only changes the set of
937 frequencies shown in the menus.
938 </p></div></div><div class="section" title="8. Configure Groundstation"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3946096"></a>8. Configure Groundstation</h2></div></div></div><p>
939 Select this button and then select a TeleDongle Device from the list provided.
941 The first few lines of the dialog provide information about the
942 connected device, including the product name,
943 software version and hardware serial number. Below that are the
944 individual configuration entries.
946 Note that the TeleDongle itself doesn't save any configuration
947 data, the settings here are recorded on the local machine in
948 the Java preferences database. Moving the TeleDongle to
949 another machine, or using a different user account on the same
950 machine will cause settings made here to have no effect.
952 At the bottom of the dialog, there are three buttons:
953 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
954 Save. This writes any changes to the
955 local Java preferences file. If you don't
956 press this button, any changes you make will be lost.
957 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
958 Reset. This resets the dialog to the most recently saved values,
959 erasing any changes you have made.
960 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
961 Close. This closes the dialog. Any unsaved changes will be
963 </p></li></ul></div><p>
964 The rest of the dialog contains the parameters to be configured.
965 </p><div class="section" title="8.1. Frequency"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3950016"></a>8.1. Frequency</h3></div></div></div><p>
966 This configures the frequency to use for both telemetry and
967 packet command mode. Set this before starting any operation
968 involving packet command mode so that it will use the right
969 frequency. Telemetry monitoring mode also provides a menu to
970 change the frequency, and that menu also sets the same Java
971 preference value used here.
972 </p></div><div class="section" title="8.2. Radio Calibration"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="idp3951000"></a>8.2. Radio Calibration</h3></div></div></div><p>
973 The radios in every Altus Metrum device are calibrated at the
974 factory to ensure that they transmit and receive on the
975 specified frequency. To change a TeleDongle's calibration,
976 you must reprogram the unit completely, so this entry simply
977 shows the current value and doesn't allow any changes.
978 </p></div></div><div class="section" title="9. Flash Image"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3951992"></a>9. Flash Image</h2></div></div></div><p>
979 This reprograms any Altus Metrum device by using a TeleMetrum
980 or TeleDongle as a programming dongle. Please read the
981 directions for flashing devices in the Updating Device
982 Firmware chapter below.
984 Once you have the programmer and target devices connected,
985 push the 'Flash Image' button. That will present a dialog box
986 listing all of the connected devices. Carefully select the
987 programmer device, not the device to be programmed.
989 Next, select the image to flash to the device. These are named
990 with the product name and firmware version. The file selector
991 will start in the directory containing the firmware included
992 with the AltosUI package. Navigate to the directory containing
993 the desired firmware if it isn't there.
995 Next, a small dialog containing the device serial number and
996 RF calibration values should appear. If these values are
997 incorrect (possibly due to a corrupted image in the device),
998 enter the correct values here.
1000 Finally, a dialog containing a progress bar will follow the
1001 programming process.
1003 When programming is complete, the target device will
1004 reboot. Note that if the target device is connected via USB, you
1005 will have to unplug it and then plug it back in for the USB
1006 connection to reset so that you can communicate with the device
1008 </p></div><div class="section" title="10. Fire Igniter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3955064"></a>10. Fire Igniter</h2></div></div></div><p>
1009 This activates the igniter circuits in TeleMetrum to help test
1010 recovery systems deployment. Because this command can operate
1011 over the Packet Command Link, you can prepare the rocket as
1012 for flight and then test the recovery system without needing
1013 to snake wires inside the air-frame.
1015 Selecting the 'Fire Igniter' button brings up the usual device
1016 selection dialog. Pick the desired TeleDongle or TeleMetrum
1017 device. This brings up another window which shows the current
1018 continuity test status for both apogee and main charges.
1020 Next, select the desired igniter to fire. This will enable the
1023 Select the 'Arm' button. This enables the 'Fire' button. The
1024 word 'Arm' is replaced by a countdown timer indicating that
1025 you have 10 seconds to press the 'Fire' button or the system
1026 will deactivate, at which point you start over again at
1027 selecting the desired igniter.
1028 </p></div><div class="section" title="11. Scan Channels"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3957168"></a>11. Scan Channels</h2></div></div></div><p>
1029 This listens for telemetry packets on all of the configured
1030 frequencies, displaying information about each device it
1031 receives a packet from. You can select which of the three
1032 telemetry formats should be tried; by default, it only listens
1033 for the standard telemetry packets used in v1.0 and later
1035 </p></div><div class="section" title="12. Load Maps"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3958072"></a>12. Load Maps</h2></div></div></div><p>
1036 Before heading out to a new launch site, you can use this to
1037 load satellite images in case you don't have internet
1038 connectivity at the site. This loads a fairly large area
1039 around the launch site, which should cover any flight you're likely to make.
1041 There's a drop-down menu of launch sites we know about; if
1042 your favorites aren't there, please let us know the lat/lon
1043 and name of the site. The contents of this list are actually
1044 downloaded at run-time, so as new sites are sent in, they'll
1045 get automatically added to this list.
1047 If the launch site isn't in the list, you can manually enter the lat/lon values
1049 Clicking the 'Load Map' button will fetch images from Google
1050 Maps; note that Google limits how many images you can fetch at
1051 once, so if you load more than one launch site, you may get
1052 some gray areas in the map which indicate that Google is tired
1053 of sending data to you. Try again later.
1054 </p></div><div class="section" title="13. Monitor Idle"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3960200"></a>13. Monitor Idle</h2></div></div></div><p>
1055 This brings up a dialog similar to the Monitor Flight UI,
1056 except it works with the altimeter in "idle" mode by sending
1057 query commands to discover the current state rather than
1058 listening for telemetry packets.
1059 </p></div></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 7. Using Altus Metrum Products"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp3961072"></a>Chapter 7. Using Altus Metrum Products</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3961392">1. Being Legal</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3962352">2. In the Rocket</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3964464">3. On the Ground</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3971176">4. Data Analysis</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3973696">5. Future Plans</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="section" title="1. Being Legal"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3961392"></a>1. Being Legal</h2></div></div></div><p>
1060 First off, in the US, you need an <a class="ulink" href="http://www.altusmetrum.org/Radio/" target="_top">amateur radio license</a> or
1061 other authorization to legally operate the radio transmitters that are part
1063 </p></div><div class="section" title="2. In the Rocket"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3962352"></a>2. In the Rocket</h2></div></div></div><p>
1064 In the rocket itself, you just need a <a class="ulink" href="http://www.altusmetrum.org/TeleMetrum/" target="_top">TeleMetrum</a> or
1065 <a class="ulink" href="http://www.altusmetrum.org/TeleMini/" target="_top">TeleMini</a> board and
1066 a single-cell, 3.7 volt nominal Li-Po rechargeable battery. An
1067 850mAh battery weighs less than a 9V alkaline battery, and will
1068 run a TeleMetrum for hours.
1069 A 110mAh battery weighs less than a triple A battery and will run a TeleMetrum for
1070 a few hours, or a TeleMini for much (much) longer.
1072 By default, we ship the altimeters with a simple wire antenna. If your
1073 electronics bay or the air-frame it resides within is made of carbon fiber,
1074 which is opaque to RF signals, you may choose to have an SMA connector
1075 installed so that you can run a coaxial cable to an antenna mounted
1076 elsewhere in the rocket.
1077 </p></div><div class="section" title="3. On the Ground"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3964464"></a>3. On the Ground</h2></div></div></div><p>
1078 To receive the data stream from the rocket, you need an antenna and short
1079 feed-line connected to one of our <a class="ulink" href="http://www.altusmetrum.org/TeleDongle/" target="_top">TeleDongle</a> units. The
1080 TeleDongle in turn plugs directly into the USB port on a notebook
1081 computer. Because TeleDongle looks like a simple serial port, your computer
1082 does not require special device drivers... just plug it in.
1084 The GUI tool, AltosUI, is written in Java and runs across
1085 Linux, Mac OS and Windows. There's also a suite of C tools
1086 for Linux which can perform most of the same tasks.
1088 After the flight, you can use the radio link to extract the more detailed data
1089 logged in either TeleMetrum or TeleMini devices, or you can use a mini USB cable to plug into the
1090 TeleMetrum board directly. Pulling out the data without having to open up
1091 the rocket is pretty cool! A USB cable is also how you charge the Li-Po
1092 battery, so you'll want one of those anyway... the same cable used by lots
1093 of digital cameras and other modern electronic stuff will work fine.
1095 If your TeleMetrum-equipped rocket lands out of sight, you may enjoy having a hand-held GPS
1096 receiver, so that you can put in a way-point for the last reported rocket
1097 position before touch-down. This makes looking for your rocket a lot like
1098 Geo-Caching... just go to the way-point and look around starting from there.
1100 You may also enjoy having a ham radio "HT" that covers the 70cm band... you
1101 can use that with your antenna to direction-find the rocket on the ground
1102 the same way you can use a Walston or Beeline tracker. This can be handy
1103 if the rocket is hiding in sage brush or a tree, or if the last GPS position
1104 doesn't get you close enough because the rocket dropped into a canyon, or
1105 the wind is blowing it across a dry lake bed, or something like that... Keith
1106 and Bdale both currently own and use the Yaesu VX-7R at launches.
1108 So, to recap, on the ground the hardware you'll need includes:
1109 </p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem">
1110 an antenna and feed-line
1111 </li><li class="listitem">
1113 </li><li class="listitem">
1115 </li><li class="listitem">
1116 optionally, a hand-held GPS receiver
1117 </li><li class="listitem">
1118 optionally, an HT or receiver covering 435 MHz
1121 The best hand-held commercial directional antennas we've found for radio
1122 direction finding rockets are from
1123 <a class="ulink" href="http://www.arrowantennas.com/" target="_top">
1126 The 440-3 and 440-5 are both good choices for finding a
1127 TeleMetrum- or TeleMini- equipped rocket when used with a suitable 70cm HT.
1128 </p></div><div class="section" title="4. Data Analysis"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3971176"></a>4. Data Analysis</h2></div></div></div><p>
1129 Our software makes it easy to log the data from each flight, both the
1130 telemetry received during the flight itself, and the more
1131 complete data log recorded in the flash memory on the altimeter
1132 board. Once this data is on your computer, our post-flight tools make it
1133 easy to quickly get to the numbers everyone wants, like apogee altitude,
1134 max acceleration, and max velocity. You can also generate and view a
1135 standard set of plots showing the altitude, acceleration, and
1136 velocity of the rocket during flight. And you can even export a TeleMetrum data file
1137 usable with Google Maps and Google Earth for visualizing the flight path
1138 in two or three dimensions!
1140 Our ultimate goal is to emit a set of files for each flight that can be
1141 published as a web page per flight, or just viewed on your local disk with
1143 </p></div><div class="section" title="5. Future Plans"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3973696"></a>5. Future Plans</h2></div></div></div><p>
1144 In the future, we intend to offer "companion boards" for the rocket that will
1145 plug in to TeleMetrum to collect additional data, provide more pyro channels,
1148 We are also working on the design of a hand-held ground terminal that will
1149 allow monitoring the rocket's status, collecting data during flight, and
1150 logging data after flight without the need for a notebook computer on the
1151 flight line. Particularly since it is so difficult to read most notebook
1152 screens in direct sunlight, we think this will be a great thing to have.
1154 Because all of our work is open, both the hardware designs and the software,
1155 if you have some great idea for an addition to the current Altus Metrum family,
1156 feel free to dive in and help! Or let us know what you'd like to see that
1157 we aren't already working on, and maybe we'll get excited about it too...
1158 </p></div></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 8. Altimeter Installation Recommendations"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp3975736"></a>Chapter 8. Altimeter Installation Recommendations</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3976720">1. Mounting the Altimeter</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3979056">2. Dealing with the Antenna</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3983040">3. Preserving GPS Reception</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3985424">4. Radio Frequency Interference</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3989152">5. The Barometric Sensor</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3990992">6. Ground Testing</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
1159 Building high-power rockets that fly safely is hard enough. Mix
1160 in some sophisticated electronics and a bunch of radio energy
1161 and oftentimes you find few perfect solutions. This chapter
1162 contains some suggestions about how to install Altus Metrum
1163 products into the rocket air-frame, including how to safely and
1164 reliably mix a variety of electronics into the same air-frame.
1165 </p><div class="section" title="1. Mounting the Altimeter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3976720"></a>1. Mounting the Altimeter</h2></div></div></div><p>
1166 The first consideration is to ensure that the altimeter is
1167 securely fastened to the air-frame. For TeleMetrum, we use
1168 nylon standoffs and nylon screws; they're good to at least 50G
1169 and cannot cause any electrical issues on the board. For
1170 TeleMini, we usually cut small pieces of 1/16" balsa to fit
1171 under the screw holes, and then take 2x56 nylon screws and
1172 screw them through the TeleMini mounting holes, through the
1173 balsa and into the underlying material.
1174 </p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem">
1175 Make sure TeleMetrum is aligned precisely along the axis of
1176 acceleration so that the accelerometer can accurately
1177 capture data during the flight.
1178 </li><li class="listitem">
1179 Watch for any metal touching components on the
1180 board. Shorting out connections on the bottom of the board
1181 can cause the altimeter to fail during flight.
1182 </li></ol></div></div><div class="section" title="2. Dealing with the Antenna"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3979056"></a>2. Dealing with the Antenna</h2></div></div></div><p>
1183 The antenna supplied is just a piece of solid, insulated,
1184 wire. If it gets damaged or broken, it can be easily
1185 replaced. It should be kept straight and not cut; bending or
1186 cutting it will change the resonant frequency and/or
1187 impedance, making it a less efficient radiator and thus
1188 reducing the range of the telemetry signal.
1190 Keeping metal away from the antenna will provide better range
1191 and a more even radiation pattern. In most rockets, it's not
1192 entirely possible to isolate the antenna from metal
1193 components; there are often bolts, all-thread and wires from other
1194 electronics to contend with. Just be aware that the more stuff
1195 like this around the antenna, the lower the range.
1197 Make sure the antenna is not inside a tube made or covered
1198 with conducting material. Carbon fiber is the most common
1199 culprit here -- CF is a good conductor and will effectively
1200 shield the antenna, dramatically reducing signal strength and
1201 range. Metallic flake paint is another effective shielding
1202 material which is to be avoided around any antennas.
1204 If the ebay is large enough, it can be convenient to simply
1205 mount the altimeter at one end and stretch the antenna out
1206 inside. Taping the antenna to the sled can keep it straight
1207 under acceleration. If there are metal rods, keep the
1208 antenna as far away as possible.
1210 For a shorter ebay, it's quite practical to have the antenna
1211 run through a bulkhead and into an adjacent bay. Drill a small
1212 hole in the bulkhead, pass the antenna wire through it and
1213 then seal it up with glue or clay. We've also used acrylic
1214 tubing to create a cavity for the antenna wire. This works a
1215 bit better in that the antenna is known to stay straight and
1216 not get folded by recovery components in the bay. Angle the
1217 tubing towards the side wall of the rocket and it ends up
1218 consuming very little space.
1220 If you need to place the antenna at a distance from the
1221 altimeter, you can replace the antenna with an edge-mounted
1222 SMA connector, and then run 50Ω coax from the board to the
1223 antenna. Building a remote antenna is beyond the scope of this
1225 </p></div><div class="section" title="3. Preserving GPS Reception"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3983040"></a>3. Preserving GPS Reception</h2></div></div></div><p>
1226 The GPS antenna and receiver in TeleMetrum are highly
1227 sensitive and normally have no trouble tracking enough
1228 satellites to provide accurate position information for
1229 recovering the rocket. However, there are many ways to
1230 attenuate the GPS signal.
1231 </p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem">
1232 Conductive tubing or coatings. Carbon fiber and metal
1233 tubing, or metallic paint will all dramatically attenuate the
1234 GPS signal. We've never heard of anyone successfully
1235 receiving GPS from inside these materials.
1236 </li><li class="listitem">
1237 Metal components near the GPS patch antenna. These will
1238 de-tune the patch antenna, changing the resonant frequency
1239 away from the L1 carrier and reduce the effectiveness of the
1240 antenna. You can place as much stuff as you like beneath the
1241 antenna as that's covered with a ground plane. But, keep
1242 wires and metal out from above the patch antenna.
1244 </p></div><div class="section" title="4. Radio Frequency Interference"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3985424"></a>4. Radio Frequency Interference</h2></div></div></div><p>
1245 Any altimeter will generate RFI; the digital circuits use
1246 high-frequency clocks that spray radio interference across a
1247 wide band. Altus Metrum altimeters generate intentional radio
1248 signals as well, increasing the amount of RF energy around the board.
1250 Rocketry altimeters also use precise sensors measuring air
1251 pressure and acceleration. Tiny changes in voltage can cause
1252 these sensor readings to vary by a huge amount. When the
1253 sensors start mis-reporting data, the altimeter can either
1254 fire the igniters at the wrong time, or not fire them at all.
1256 Voltages are induced when radio frequency energy is
1257 transmitted from one circuit to another. Here are things that
1258 influence the induced voltage and current:
1259 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
1260 Keep wires from different circuits apart. Moving circuits
1261 further apart will reduce RFI.
1262 </li><li class="listitem">
1263 Avoid parallel wires from different circuits. The longer two
1264 wires run parallel to one another, the larger the amount of
1265 transferred energy. Cross wires at right angles to reduce
1267 </li><li class="listitem">
1268 Twist wires from the same circuits. Two wires the same
1269 distance from the transmitter will get the same amount of
1270 induced energy which will then cancel out. Any time you have
1271 a wire pair running together, twist the pair together to
1272 even out distances and reduce RFI. For altimeters, this
1273 includes battery leads, switch hookups and igniter
1275 </li><li class="listitem">
1276 Avoid resonant lengths. Know what frequencies are present
1277 in the environment and avoid having wire lengths near a
1278 natural resonant length. Altusmetrum products transmit on the
1279 70cm amateur band, so you should avoid lengths that are a
1280 simple ratio of that length; essentially any multiple of 1/4
1281 of the wavelength (17.5cm).
1282 </li></ul></div></div><div class="section" title="5. The Barometric Sensor"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3989152"></a>5. The Barometric Sensor</h2></div></div></div><p>
1283 Altusmetrum altimeters measure altitude with a barometric
1284 sensor, essentially measuring the amount of air above the
1285 rocket to figure out how high it is. A large number of
1286 measurements are taken as the altimeter initializes itself to
1287 figure out the pad altitude. Subsequent measurements are then
1288 used to compute the height above the pad.
1290 To accurately measure atmospheric pressure, the ebay
1291 containing the altimeter must be vented outside the
1292 air-frame. The vent must be placed in a region of linear
1293 airflow, have smooth edges, and away from areas of increasing or
1294 decreasing pressure.
1296 The barometric sensor in the altimeter is quite sensitive to
1297 chemical damage from the products of APCP or BP combustion, so
1298 make sure the ebay is carefully sealed from any compartment
1299 which contains ejection charges or motors.
1300 </p></div><div class="section" title="6. Ground Testing"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3990992"></a>6. Ground Testing</h2></div></div></div><p>
1301 The most important aspect of any installation is careful
1302 ground testing. Bringing an air-frame up to the LCO table which
1303 hasn't been ground tested can lead to delays or ejection
1304 charges firing on the pad, or, even worse, a recovery system
1307 Do a 'full systems' test that includes wiring up all igniters
1308 without any BP and turning on all of the electronics in flight
1309 mode. This will catch any mistakes in wiring and any residual
1310 RFI issues that might accidentally fire igniters at the wrong
1311 time. Let the air-frame sit for several minutes, checking for
1312 adequate telemetry signal strength and GPS lock. If any igniters
1313 fire unexpectedly, find and resolve the issue before loading any
1316 Ground test the ejection charges. Prepare the rocket for
1317 flight, loading ejection charges and igniters. Completely
1318 assemble the air-frame and then use the 'Fire Igniters'
1319 interface through a TeleDongle to command each charge to
1320 fire. Make sure the charge is sufficient to robustly separate
1321 the air-frame and deploy the recovery system.
1322 </p></div></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 9. Updating Device Firmware"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp3993128"></a>Chapter 9. Updating Device Firmware</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp3995168">1. Updating TeleMetrum Firmware</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4000512">2. Updating TeleMini Firmware</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4005928">3. Updating TeleDongle Firmware</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
1323 The big concept to understand is that you have to use a
1324 TeleDongle as a programmer to update a TeleMetrum or TeleMini,
1325 and a TeleMetrum or other TeleDongle to program the TeleDongle
1326 Due to limited memory resources in the cc1111, we don't support
1327 programming directly over USB.
1329 You may wish to begin by ensuring you have current firmware images.
1330 These are distributed as part of the AltOS software bundle that
1331 also includes the AltosUI ground station program. Newer ground
1332 station versions typically work fine with older firmware versions,
1333 so you don't need to update your devices just to try out new
1334 software features. You can always download the most recent
1335 version from <a class="ulink" href="http://www.altusmetrum.org/AltOS/" target="_top">http://www.altusmetrum.org/AltOS/</a>.
1337 We recommend updating the altimeter first, before updating TeleDongle.
1338 </p><div class="section" title="1. Updating TeleMetrum Firmware"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp3995168"></a>1. Updating TeleMetrum Firmware</h2></div></div></div><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem">
1339 Find the 'programming cable' that you got as part of the starter
1340 kit, that has a red 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end and a
1341 red 4-pin MicroMaTch connector on the other end.
1342 </li><li class="listitem">
1343 Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle case to get access
1344 to the circuit board.
1345 </li><li class="listitem">
1346 Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable to the
1347 matching connector on the TeleDongle, and the 4-pin end to the
1348 matching connector on the TeleMetrum.
1349 Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an alignment pin that
1350 goes through a hole in the PC board when you have the cable
1352 </li><li class="listitem">
1353 Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum board.
1354 </li><li class="listitem">
1355 Plug the TeleDongle into your computer's USB port, and power
1357 </li><li class="listitem">
1358 Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File menu.
1359 </li><li class="listitem">
1360 Pick the TeleDongle device from the list, identifying it as the
1362 </li><li class="listitem">
1363 Select the image you want put on the TeleMetrum, which should have a
1364 name in the form telemetrum-v1.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible
1365 in the default directory, if not you may have to poke around
1366 your system to find it.
1367 </li><li class="listitem">
1368 Make sure the configuration parameters are reasonable
1369 looking. If the serial number and/or RF configuration
1370 values aren't right, you'll need to change them.
1371 </li><li class="listitem">
1372 Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed to flash
1373 the TeleMetrum with new firmware, showing a progress bar.
1374 </li><li class="listitem">
1375 Confirm that the TeleMetrum board seems to have updated OK, which you
1376 can do by plugging in to it over USB and using a terminal program
1377 to connect to the board and issue the 'v' command to check
1379 </li><li class="listitem">
1380 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
1381 </li></ol></div></div><div class="section" title="2. Updating TeleMini Firmware"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp4000512"></a>2. Updating TeleMini Firmware</h2></div></div></div><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem">
1382 You'll need a special 'programming cable' to reprogram the
1383 TeleMini. It's available on the Altus Metrum web store, or
1384 you can make your own using an 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on
1385 one end and a set of four pins on the other.
1386 </li><li class="listitem">
1387 Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle case to get access
1388 to the circuit board.
1389 </li><li class="listitem">
1390 Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable to the matching
1391 connector on the TeleDongle, and the 4-pins into the holes
1392 in the TeleMini circuit board. Note that the MicroMaTch
1393 connector has an alignment pin that goes through a hole in
1394 the PC board when you have the cable oriented correctly, and
1395 that pin 1 on the TeleMini board is marked with a square pad
1396 while the other pins have round pads.
1397 </li><li class="listitem">
1398 Attach a battery to the TeleMini board.
1399 </li><li class="listitem">
1400 Plug the TeleDongle into your computer's USB port, and power
1402 </li><li class="listitem">
1403 Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File menu.
1404 </li><li class="listitem">
1405 Pick the TeleDongle device from the list, identifying it as the
1407 </li><li class="listitem">
1408 Select the image you want put on the TeleMini, which should have a
1409 name in the form telemini-v1.0-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible
1410 in the default directory, if not you may have to poke around
1411 your system to find it.
1412 </li><li class="listitem">
1413 Make sure the configuration parameters are reasonable
1414 looking. If the serial number and/or RF configuration
1415 values aren't right, you'll need to change them.
1416 </li><li class="listitem">
1417 Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed to flash
1418 the TeleMini with new firmware, showing a progress bar.
1419 </li><li class="listitem">
1420 Confirm that the TeleMini board seems to have updated OK, which you
1421 can do by configuring it over the radio link through the TeleDongle, or
1422 letting it come up in "flight" mode and listening for telemetry.
1423 </li><li class="listitem">
1424 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
1425 </li></ol></div></div><div class="section" title="3. Updating TeleDongle Firmware"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp4005928"></a>3. Updating TeleDongle Firmware</h2></div></div></div><p>
1426 Updating TeleDongle's firmware is just like updating TeleMetrum or TeleMini
1427 firmware, but you use either a TeleMetrum or another TeleDongle as the programmer.
1428 </p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem">
1429 Find the 'programming cable' that you got as part of the starter
1430 kit, that has a red 8-pin MicroMaTch connector on one end and a
1431 red 4-pin MicroMaTch connector on the other end.
1432 </li><li class="listitem">
1433 Find the USB cable that you got as part of the starter kit, and
1434 plug the "mini" end in to the mating connector on TeleMetrum or TeleDongle.
1435 </li><li class="listitem">
1436 Take the 2 screws out of the TeleDongle case to get access
1437 to the circuit board.
1438 </li><li class="listitem">
1439 Plug the 8-pin end of the programming cable to the
1440 matching connector on the programmer, and the 4-pin end to the
1441 matching connector on the TeleDongle.
1442 Note that each MicroMaTch connector has an alignment pin that
1443 goes through a hole in the PC board when you have the cable
1445 </li><li class="listitem">
1446 Attach a battery to the TeleMetrum board if you're using one.
1447 </li><li class="listitem">
1448 Plug both the programmer and the TeleDongle into your computer's USB
1449 ports, and power up the programmer.
1450 </li><li class="listitem">
1451 Run AltosUI, and select 'Flash Image' from the File menu.
1452 </li><li class="listitem">
1453 Pick the programmer device from the list, identifying it as the
1455 </li><li class="listitem">
1456 Select the image you want put on the TeleDongle, which should have a
1457 name in the form teledongle-v0.2-1.0.0.ihx. It should be visible
1458 in the default directory, if not you may have to poke around
1459 your system to find it.
1460 </li><li class="listitem">
1461 Make sure the configuration parameters are reasonable
1462 looking. If the serial number and/or RF configuration
1463 values aren't right, you'll need to change them. The TeleDongle
1464 serial number is on the "bottom" of the circuit board, and can
1465 usually be read through the translucent blue plastic case without
1466 needing to remove the board from the case.
1467 </li><li class="listitem">
1468 Hit the 'OK' button and the software should proceed to flash
1469 the TeleDongle with new firmware, showing a progress bar.
1470 </li><li class="listitem">
1471 Confirm that the TeleDongle board seems to have updated OK, which you
1472 can do by plugging in to it over USB and using a terminal program
1473 to connect to the board and issue the 'v' command to check
1474 the version, etc. Once you're happy, remove the programming cable
1475 and put the cover back on the TeleDongle.
1476 </li><li class="listitem">
1477 If something goes wrong, give it another try.
1479 Be careful removing the programming cable from the locking 8-pin
1480 connector on TeleMetrum. You'll need a fingernail or perhaps a thin
1481 screwdriver or knife blade to gently pry the locking ears out
1482 slightly to extract the connector. We used a locking connector on
1483 TeleMetrum to help ensure that the cabling to companion boards
1484 used in a rocket don't ever come loose accidentally in flight.
1485 </p></div></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 10. Hardware Specifications"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp4013376"></a>Chapter 10. Hardware Specifications</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4013696">1. TeleMetrum Specifications</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4019424">2. TeleMini Specifications</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="section" title="1. TeleMetrum Specifications"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp4013696"></a>1. TeleMetrum Specifications</h2></div></div></div><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
1486 Recording altimeter for model rocketry.
1487 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1488 Supports dual deployment (can fire 2 ejection charges).
1489 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1490 70cm ham-band transceiver for telemetry down-link.
1491 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1492 Barometric pressure sensor good to 45k feet MSL.
1493 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1494 1-axis high-g accelerometer for motor characterization, capable of
1495 +/- 50g using default part.
1496 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1497 On-board, integrated GPS receiver with 5Hz update rate capability.
1498 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1499 On-board 1 megabyte non-volatile memory for flight data storage.
1500 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1501 USB interface for battery charging, configuration, and data recovery.
1502 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1503 Fully integrated support for Li-Po rechargeable batteries.
1504 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1505 Uses Li-Po to fire e-matches, can be modified to support
1506 optional separate pyro battery if needed.
1507 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1508 2.75 x 1 inch board designed to fit inside 29mm air-frame coupler tube.
1509 </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section" title="2. TeleMini Specifications"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp4019424"></a>2. TeleMini Specifications</h2></div></div></div><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
1510 Recording altimeter for model rocketry.
1511 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1512 Supports dual deployment (can fire 2 ejection charges).
1513 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1514 70cm ham-band transceiver for telemetry down-link.
1515 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1516 Barometric pressure sensor good to 45k feet MSL.
1517 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1518 On-board 5 kilobyte non-volatile memory for flight data storage.
1519 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1520 RF interface for battery charging, configuration, and data recovery.
1521 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1522 Support for Li-Po rechargeable batteries, using an external charger.
1523 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1524 Uses Li-Po to fire e-matches, can be modified to support
1525 optional separate pyro battery if needed.
1526 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
1527 1.5 x .5 inch board designed to fit inside 18mm air-frame coupler tube.
1528 </p></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 11. FAQ"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp4024248"></a>Chapter 11. FAQ</h2></div></div></div><p>
1529 TeleMetrum seems to shut off when disconnected from the
1530 computer. Make sure the battery is adequately charged. Remember the
1531 unit will pull more power than the USB port can deliver before the
1532 GPS enters "locked" mode. The battery charges best when TeleMetrum
1535 It's impossible to stop the TeleDongle when it's in "p" mode, I have
1536 to unplug the USB cable? Make sure you have tried to "escape out" of
1537 this mode. If this doesn't work the reboot procedure for the
1538 TeleDongle *is* to simply unplug it. 'cu' however will retain it's
1539 outgoing buffer IF your "escape out" ('~~') does not work.
1540 At this point using either 'ao-view' (or possibly
1541 'cutemon') instead of 'cu' will 'clear' the issue and allow renewed
1544 The amber LED (on the TeleMetrum) lights up when both
1545 battery and USB are connected. Does this mean it's charging?
1546 Yes, the yellow LED indicates the charging at the 'regular' rate.
1547 If the led is out but the unit is still plugged into a USB port,
1548 then the battery is being charged at a 'trickle' rate.
1550 There are no "dit-dah-dah-dit" sound or lights like the manual mentions?
1551 That's the "pad" mode. Weak batteries might be the problem.
1552 It is also possible that the TeleMetrum is horizontal and the output
1553 is instead a "dit-dit" meaning 'idle'. For TeleMini, it's possible that
1554 it received a command packet which would have left it in "pad" mode.
1556 How do I save flight data?
1557 Live telemetry is written to file(s) whenever AltosUI is connected
1558 to the TeleDongle. The file area defaults to ~/TeleMetrum
1559 but is easily changed using the menus in AltosUI. The files that
1560 are written end in '.telem'. The after-flight
1561 data-dumped files will end in .eeprom and represent continuous data
1562 unlike the .telem files that are subject to losses
1563 along the RF data path.
1564 See the above instructions on what and how to save the eeprom stored
1565 data after physically retrieving your altimeter. Make sure to save
1566 the on-board data after each flight; while the TeleMetrum can store
1567 multiple flights, you never know when you'll lose the altimeter...
1568 </p></div><div class="appendix" title="Appendix A. Notes for Older Software"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp4028528"></a>Appendix A. Notes for Older Software</h2></div></div></div><p>
1569 <span class="emphasis"><em>
1570 Before AltosUI was written, using Altus Metrum devices required
1571 some finesse with the Linux command line. There was a limited
1572 GUI tool, ao-view, which provided functionality similar to the
1573 Monitor Flight window in AltosUI, but everything else was a
1574 fairly 80's experience. This appendix includes documentation for
1575 using that software.
1578 Both TeleMetrum and TeleDongle can be directly communicated
1579 with using USB ports. The first thing you should try after getting
1580 both units plugged into to your computer's USB port(s) is to run
1581 'ao-list' from a terminal-window to see what port-device-name each
1582 device has been assigned by the operating system.
1583 You will need this information to access the devices via their
1584 respective on-board firmware and data using other command line
1585 programs in the AltOS software suite.
1587 TeleMini can be communicated with through a TeleDongle device
1588 over the radio link. When first booted, TeleMini listens for a
1589 TeleDongle device and if it receives a packet, it goes into
1590 'idle' mode. Otherwise, it goes into 'pad' mode and waits to be
1591 launched. The easiest way to get it talking is to start the
1592 communication link on the TeleDongle and the power up the
1595 To access the device's firmware for configuration you need a terminal
1596 program such as you would use to talk to a modem. The software
1597 authors prefer using the program 'cu' which comes from the UUCP package
1598 on most Unix-like systems such as Linux. An example command line for
1599 cu might be 'cu -l /dev/ttyACM0', substituting the correct number
1600 indicated from running the
1601 ao-list program. Another reasonable terminal program for Linux is
1602 'cutecom'. The default 'escape'
1603 character used by CU (i.e. the character you use to
1604 issue commands to cu itself instead of sending the command as input
1605 to the connected device) is a '~'. You will need this for use in
1606 only two different ways during normal operations. First is to exit
1607 the program by sending a '~.' which is called a 'escape-disconnect'
1608 and allows you to close-out from 'cu'. The
1609 second use will be outlined later.
1611 All of the Altus Metrum devices share the concept of a two level
1612 command set in their firmware.
1613 The first layer has several single letter commands. Once
1614 you are using 'cu' (or 'cutecom') sending (typing) a '?'
1615 returns a full list of these
1616 commands. The second level are configuration sub-commands accessed
1617 using the 'c' command, for
1618 instance typing 'c?' will give you this second level of commands
1619 (all of which require the
1620 letter 'c' to access). Please note that most configuration options
1621 are stored only in Flash memory; TeleDongle doesn't provide any storage
1622 for these options and so they'll all be lost when you unplug it.
1624 Try setting these configuration ('c' or second level menu) values. A good
1625 place to start is by setting your call sign. By default, the boards
1626 use 'N0CALL' which is cute, but not exactly legal!
1627 Spend a few minutes getting comfortable with the units, their
1628 firmware, and 'cu' (or possibly 'cutecom').
1629 For instance, try to send
1630 (type) a 'c r 2' and verify the channel change by sending a 'c s'.
1631 Verify you can connect and disconnect from the units while in your
1632 terminal program by sending the escape-disconnect mentioned above.
1634 To set the radio frequency, use the 'c R' command to specify the
1635 radio transceiver configuration parameter. This parameter is computed
1636 using the desired frequency, 'F', the radio calibration parameter, 'C' (showed by the 'c s' command) and
1637 the standard calibration reference frequency, 'S', (normally 434.550MHz):
1638 </p><pre class="programlisting">
1641 Round the result to the nearest integer value.
1642 As with all 'c' sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
1643 change to the parameter block in the on-board flash on
1644 your altimeter board if you want the change to stay in place across reboots.
1646 To set the apogee delay, use the 'c d' command.
1647 As with all 'c' sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
1648 change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
1650 To set the main deployment altitude, use the 'c m' command.
1651 As with all 'c' sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
1652 change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
1654 To calibrate the radio frequency, connect the UHF antenna port to a
1655 frequency counter, set the board to 434.550MHz, and use the 'C'
1656 command to generate a CW carrier. Wait for the transmitter temperature
1657 to stabilize and the frequency to settle down.
1658 Then, divide 434.550 MHz by the
1659 measured frequency and multiply by the current radio cal value show
1660 in the 'c s' command. For an unprogrammed board, the default value
1661 is 1186611. Take the resulting integer and program it using the 'c f'
1662 command. Testing with the 'C' command again should show a carrier
1663 within a few tens of Hertz of the intended frequency.
1664 As with all 'c' sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
1665 change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
1667 Note that the 'reboot' command, which is very useful on the altimeters,
1668 will likely just cause problems with the dongle. The *correct* way
1669 to reset the dongle is just to unplug and re-plug it.
1671 A fun thing to do at the launch site and something you can do while
1672 learning how to use these units is to play with the radio link access
1673 between an altimeter and the TeleDongle. Be aware that you *must* create
1674 some physical separation between the devices, otherwise the link will
1675 not function due to signal overload in the receivers in each device.
1677 Now might be a good time to take a break and read the rest of this
1678 manual, particularly about the two "modes" that the altimeters
1679 can be placed in. TeleMetrum uses the position of the device when booting
1680 up will determine whether the unit is in "pad" or "idle" mode. TeleMini
1681 enters "idle" mode when it receives a command packet within the first 5 seconds
1682 of being powered up, otherwise it enters "pad" mode.
1684 You can access an altimeter in idle mode from the TeleDongle's USB
1685 connection using the radio link
1686 by issuing a 'p' command to the TeleDongle. Practice connecting and
1687 disconnecting ('~~' while using 'cu') from the altimeter. If
1688 you cannot escape out of the "p" command, (by using a '~~' when in
1689 CU) then it is likely that your kernel has issues. Try a newer version.
1691 Using this radio link allows you to configure the altimeter, test
1692 fire e-matches and igniters from the flight line, check pyro-match
1693 continuity and so forth. You can leave the unit turned on while it
1694 is in 'idle mode' and then place the
1695 rocket vertically on the launch pad, walk away and then issue a
1696 reboot command. The altimeter will reboot and start sending data
1697 having changed to the "pad" mode. If the TeleDongle is not receiving
1698 this data, you can disconnect 'cu' from the TeleDongle using the
1699 procedures mentioned above and THEN connect to the TeleDongle from
1700 inside 'ao-view'. If this doesn't work, disconnect from the
1701 TeleDongle, unplug it, and try again after plugging it back in.
1703 In order to reduce the chance of accidental firing of pyrotechnic
1704 charges, the command to fire a charge is intentionally somewhat
1705 difficult to type, and the built-in help is slightly cryptic to
1706 prevent accidental echoing of characters from the help text back at
1707 the board from firing a charge. The command to fire the apogee
1708 drogue charge is 'i DoIt drogue' and the command to fire the main
1709 charge is 'i DoIt main'.
1711 On TeleMetrum, the GPS will eventually find enough satellites, lock in on them,
1712 and 'ao-view' will both auditorily announce and visually indicate
1714 Now you can launch knowing that you have a good data path and
1715 good satellite lock for flight data and recovery. Remember
1716 you MUST tell ao-view to connect to the TeleDongle explicitly in
1717 order for ao-view to be able to receive data.
1719 The altimeters provide RDF (radio direction finding) tones on
1720 the pad, during descent and after landing. These can be used to
1721 locate the rocket using a directional antenna; the signal
1722 strength providing an indication of the direction from receiver to rocket.
1724 TeleMetrum also provides GPS tracking data, which can further simplify
1725 locating the rocket once it has landed. (The last good GPS data
1726 received before touch-down will be on the data screen of 'ao-view'.)
1728 Once you have recovered the rocket you can download the eeprom
1729 contents using either 'ao-dumplog' (or possibly 'ao-eeprom'), over
1730 either a USB cable or over the radio link using TeleDongle.
1731 And by following the man page for 'ao-postflight' you can create
1732 various data output reports, graphs, and even KML data to see the
1733 flight trajectory in Google-earth. (Moving the viewing angle making
1734 sure to connect the yellow lines while in Google-earth is the proper
1737 As for ao-view.... some things are in the menu but don't do anything
1738 very useful. The developers have stopped working on ao-view to focus
1739 on a new, cross-platform ground station program. So ao-view may or
1740 may not be updated in the future. Mostly you just use
1741 the Log and Device menus. It has a wonderful display of the incoming
1742 flight data and I am sure you will enjoy what it has to say to you
1743 once you enable the voice output!
1744 </p></div><div class="appendix" title="Appendix B. Calibration"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp4045288"></a>Appendix B. Calibration</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4046264">1. Radio Frequency</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#idp4049584">2. TeleMetrum Accelerometer</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
1745 There are only two calibrations required for a TeleMetrum board, and
1746 only one for TeleDongle and TeleMini. All boards are shipped from
1747 the factory pre-calibrated, but the procedures are documented here
1748 in case they are ever needed. Re-calibration is not supported by
1749 AltosUI, you must connect to the board with a serial terminal program
1750 and interact directly with the on-board command interpreter to effect
1752 </p><div class="section" title="1. Radio Frequency"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp4046264"></a>1. Radio Frequency</h2></div></div></div><p>
1753 The radio frequency is synthesized from a clock based on the 48 MHz
1754 crystal on the board. The actual frequency of this oscillator
1755 must be measured to generate a calibration constant. While our
1757 bandwidth is wide enough to allow boards to communicate even when
1758 their oscillators are not on exactly the same frequency, performance
1759 is best when they are closely matched.
1760 Radio frequency calibration requires a calibrated frequency counter.
1761 Fortunately, once set, the variation in frequency due to aging and
1762 temperature changes is small enough that re-calibration by customers
1763 should generally not be required.
1765 To calibrate the radio frequency, connect the UHF antenna port to a
1766 frequency counter, set the board to 434.550MHz, and use the 'C'
1767 command in the on-board command interpreter to generate a CW
1768 carrier. For TeleMetrum, this is best done over USB. For TeleMini,
1769 note that the only way to escape the 'C' command is via power cycle
1770 since the board will no longer be listening for commands once it
1771 starts generating a CW carrier.
1773 Wait for the transmitter temperature to stabilize and the frequency
1774 to settle down. Then, divide 434.550 MHz by the
1775 measured frequency and multiply by the current radio cal value show
1776 in the 'c s' command. For an unprogrammed board, the default value
1777 is 1186611. Take the resulting integer and program it using the 'c f'
1778 command. Testing with the 'C' command again should show a carrier
1779 within a few tens of Hertz of the intended frequency.
1780 As with all 'c' sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
1781 change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
1783 Note that any time you re-do the radio frequency calibration, the
1784 radio frequency is reset to the default 434.550 Mhz. If you want
1785 to use another frequency, you will have to set that again after
1786 calibration is completed.
1787 </p></div><div class="section" title="2. TeleMetrum Accelerometer"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="idp4049584"></a>2. TeleMetrum Accelerometer</h2></div></div></div><p>
1788 The TeleMetrum accelerometer we use has its own 5 volt power
1790 the output must be passed through a resistive voltage divider to match
1791 the input of our 3.3 volt ADC. This means that unlike the barometric
1792 sensor, the output of the acceleration sensor is not ratio-metric to
1793 the ADC converter, and calibration is required. Explicitly
1794 calibrating the accelerometers also allows us to load any device
1795 from a Freescale family that includes at least +/- 40g, 50g, 100g,
1796 and 200g parts. Using gravity,
1797 a simple 2-point calibration yields acceptable results capturing both
1798 the different sensitivities and ranges of the different accelerometer
1799 parts and any variation in power supply voltages or resistor values
1800 in the divider network.
1802 To calibrate the acceleration sensor, use the 'c a 0' command. You
1803 will be prompted to orient the board vertically with the UHF antenna
1804 up and press a key, then to orient the board vertically with the
1805 UHF antenna down and press a key. Note that the accuracy of this
1806 calibration depends primarily on how perfectly vertical and still
1807 the board is held during the cal process. As with all 'c'
1808 sub-commands, follow this with a 'c w' to write the
1809 change to the parameter block in the on-board DataFlash chip.
1811 The +1g and -1g calibration points are included in each telemetry
1812 frame and are part of the header stored in onboard flash to be
1813 downloaded after flight. We always store and return raw ADC
1814 samples for each sensor... so nothing is permanently "lost" or
1815 "damaged" if the calibration is poor.
1817 In the unlikely event an accel cal goes badly, it is possible
1818 that TeleMetrum may always come up in 'pad mode' and as such not be
1819 listening to either the USB or radio link. If that happens,
1820 there is a special hook in the firmware to force the board back
1821 in to 'idle mode' so you can re-do the cal. To use this hook, you
1822 just need to ground the SPI clock pin at power-on. This pin is
1823 available as pin 2 on the 8-pin companion connector, and pin 1 is
1824 ground. So either carefully install a fine-gauge wire jumper
1825 between the two pins closest to the index hole end of the 8-pin
1826 connector, or plug in the programming cable to the 8-pin connector
1827 and use a small screwdriver or similar to short the two pins closest
1828 to the index post on the 4-pin end of the programming cable, and
1829 power up the board. It should come up in 'idle mode' (two beeps),
1831 </p></div></div><div class="appendix" title="Appendix C. Release Notes"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="idp4054448"></a>Appendix C. Release Notes</h2></div></div></div><p>
1832 Version 1.1 is a minor release. It provides a few new features in AltosUI
1833 and the AltOS firmware and fixes bugs.
1835 AltOS Firmware Changes
1836 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
1837 Add apogee-lockout value. Overrides the apogee detection logic to
1838 prevent incorrect apogee charge firing.
1839 </li><li class="listitem">
1840 Fix a bug where the data reported in telemetry packets was
1842 </li><li class="listitem">
1843 Force the radio frequency to 434.550MHz when the debug clock
1844 pin is connected to ground at boot time. This provides a way
1845 to talk to a TeleMini which is configured to some unknown frequency.
1846 </li><li class="listitem">
1847 Provide RSSI values for Monitor Idle mode. This makes it easy to check radio
1848 range without needing to go to flight mode.
1849 </li><li class="listitem">
1850 Fix a bug which caused the old received telemetry packets to
1851 be retransmitted over the USB link when the radio was turned
1856 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
1857 Fix a bug that caused GPS ready to happen too quickly. The
1858 software was using every telemetry packet to signal new GPS
1859 data, which caused GPS ready to be signalled after 10 packets
1860 instead of 10 GPS updates.
1861 </li><li class="listitem">
1862 Fix Google Earth data export to work with recent versions. The
1863 google earth file loading code got a lot pickier, requiring
1864 some minor white space changes in the export code.
1865 </li><li class="listitem">
1866 Make the look-n-feel configurable, providing a choice from
1867 the available options.
1868 </li><li class="listitem">
1869 Add an 'Age' element to mark how long since a telemetry packet
1870 has been received. Useful to quickly gauge whether
1871 communications with the rocket are still active.
1872 </li><li class="listitem">
1873 Add 'Configure Ground Station' dialog to set the radio
1874 frequency used by a particular TeleDongle without having to go
1875 through the flight monitor UI.
1876 </li><li class="listitem">
1877 Add configuration for the new apogee-lockout value. A menu provides a list of
1878 reasonable values, or the value can be set by hand.
1879 </li><li class="listitem">
1880 Changed how flight data are downloaded. Now there's an initial
1881 dialog asking which flights to download, and after that
1882 finishes, a second dialog comes up asking which flights to delete.
1883 </li><li class="listitem">
1884 Re-compute time spent in each state for the flight graph; this
1885 figures out the actual boost and landing times instead of
1886 using the conservative values provide by the flight
1887 electronics. This improves the accuracy of the boost
1888 acceleration and main descent rate computations.
1889 </li><li class="listitem">
1890 Make AltosUI run on Mac OS Lion. The default Java heap space
1891 was dramatically reduced for this release causing much of the
1892 UI to fail randomly. This most often affected the satellite
1893 mapping download and displays.
1894 </li><li class="listitem">
1895 Change how data are displayed in the 'table' tab of the flight
1896 monitoring window. This eliminates entries duplicated from the
1897 header and adds both current altitude and pad altitude, which
1898 are useful in 'Monitor Idle' mode.
1899 </li><li class="listitem">
1900 Add Imperial units mode to present data in feet instead of
1904 Version 1.0.1 is a major release, adding support for the TeleMini
1905 device and lots of new AltosUI features
1907 AltOS Firmware Changes
1908 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
1909 Add TeleMini v1.0 support. Firmware images for TeleMini are
1910 included in AltOS releases.
1911 </li><li class="listitem">
1912 Change telemetry to be encoded in multiple 32-byte packets. This
1913 enables support for TeleMini and other devices without requiring
1914 further updates to the TeleDongle firmware.
1915 </li><li class="listitem">
1916 Support operation of TeleMetrum with the antenna pointing
1917 aft. Previous firmware versions required the antenna to be
1918 pointing upwards, now there is a configuration option allowing
1919 the antenna to point aft, to aid installation in some airframes.
1920 </li><li class="listitem">
1921 Ability to disable telemetry. For airframes where an antenna
1922 just isn't possible, or where radio transmissions might cause
1923 trouble with other electronics, there's a configuration option
1924 to disable all telemetry. Note that the board will still
1925 enable the radio link in idle mode.
1926 </li><li class="listitem">
1927 Arbitrary frequency selection. The radios in Altus Metrum
1928 devices can be programmed to a wide range of frequencies, so
1929 instead of limiting devices to 10 pre-selected 'channels', the
1930 new firmware allows the user to choose any frequency in the
1931 70cm band. Note that the RF matching circuit on the boards is
1932 tuned for around 435MHz, so frequencies far from that may
1933 reduce the available range.
1934 </li><li class="listitem">
1935 Kalman-filter based flight-tracking. The model based sensor
1936 fusion approach of a Kalman filter means that AltOS now
1937 computes apogee much more accurately than before, generally
1938 within a fraction of a second. In addition, this approach
1939 allows the baro-only TeleMini device to correctly identify
1940 Mach transitions, avoiding the error-prone selection of a Mach
1945 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
1946 Wait for altimeter when using packet mode. Instead of quicly
1947 timing out when trying to initialize a packet mode
1948 configuration connection, AltosUI now waits indefinitely for
1949 the remote device to appear, providing a cancel button should
1950 the user get bored. This is necessary as the TeleMini can only
1951 be placed in "Idle" mode if AltosUI is polling it.
1952 </li><li class="listitem">
1953 Add main/apogee voltage graphs to the data plot. This provides
1954 a visual indication if the igniters fail before being fired.
1955 </li><li class="listitem">
1956 Scan for altimeter devices by watching the defined telemetry
1957 frequencies. This avoids the problem of remembering what
1958 frequency a device was configured to use, which is especially
1959 important with TeleMini which does not include a USB connection.
1960 </li><li class="listitem">
1961 Monitor altimeter state in "Idle" mode. This provides much of
1962 the information presented in the "Pad" dialog from the Monitor
1963 Flight command, monitoring the igniters, battery and GPS
1964 status withing requiring the flight computer to be armed and
1966 </li><li class="listitem">
1967 Pre-load map images from home. For those launch sites which
1968 don't provide free Wi-Fi, this allows you to download the
1969 necessary satellite images given the location of the launch
1970 site. A list of known launch sites is maintained at
1971 altusmetrum.org which AltosUI downloads to populate a menu; if
1972 you've got a launch site not on that list, please send the
1973 name of it, latitude and longitude along with a link to the
1974 web site of the controlling club to the altusmetrum mailing list.
1975 </li><li class="listitem">
1976 Flight statistics are now displayed in the Graph data
1977 window. These include max height/speed/accel, average descent
1978 rates and a few other bits of information. The Graph Data
1979 window can now be reached from the 'Landed' tab in the Monitor
1980 Flight window so you can immediately see the results of a
1984 Version 0.9.2 is an AltosUI bug-fix release, with no firmware changes.
1985 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
1986 Fix plotting problems due to missing file in the Mac OS install image.
1987 </li><li class="listitem">
1988 Always read whole eeprom blocks, mark empty records invalid, display parsing errors to user.
1989 </li><li class="listitem">
1990 Add software version to Configure AltosUI dialog
1992 Version 0.9 adds a few new firmware features and accompanying
1993 AltosUI changes, along with new hardware support.
1994 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
1995 Support for TeleMetrum v1.1 hardware. Sources for the flash
1996 memory part used in v1.0 dried up, so v1.1 uses a different part
1997 which required a new driver and support for explicit flight log
1999 </li><li class="listitem">
2000 Multiple flight log support. This stores more than one flight
2001 log in the on-board flash memory. It also requires the user to
2002 explicitly erase flights so that you won't lose flight logs just
2003 because you fly the same board twice in one day.
2004 </li><li class="listitem">
2005 Telemetry support for devices with serial number >=
2006 256. Previous versions used a telemetry packet format that
2007 provided only 8 bits for the device serial number. This change
2008 requires that both ends of the telemetry link be running the 0.9
2009 firmware or they will not communicate.
2011 Version 0.8 offers a major upgrade in the AltosUI
2012 interface. Significant new features include:
2013 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
2014 Post-flight graphing tool. This lets you explore the behaviour
2015 of your rocket after flight with a scroll-able and zoom-able
2016 chart showing the altitude, speed and acceleration of the
2017 airframe along with events recorded by the flight computer. You
2018 can export graphs to PNG files, or print them directly.
2019 </li><li class="listitem">
2020 Real-time moving map which overlays the in-progress flight on
2021 satellite imagery fetched from Google Maps. This lets you see in
2022 pictures where your rocket has landed, allowing you to plan
2023 recovery activities more accurately.
2024 </li><li class="listitem">
2025 Wireless recovery system testing. Prep your rocket for flight
2026 and test fire the deployment charges to make sure things work as
2027 expected. All without threading wires through holes in your
2029 </li><li class="listitem">
2030 Optimized flight status displays. Each flight state now has it's
2031 own custom 'tab' in the flight monitoring window so you can
2032 focus on the most important details. Pre-flight, the system
2033 shows a set of red/green status indicators for battery voltage,
2034 apogee/main igniter continutity and GPS reception. Wait until
2035 they're all green and your rocket is ready for flight. There are
2036 also tabs for ascent, descent and landing along with the
2037 original tabular view of the data.
2038 </li><li class="listitem">
2039 Monitor multiple flights simultaneously. If you have more than
2040 one TeleDongle, you can monitor a flight with each one on the
2042 </li><li class="listitem">
2043 Automatic flight monitoring at startup. Plug TeleDongle into the
2044 machine before starting AltosUI and it will automatically
2045 connect to it and prepare to monitor a flight.
2046 </li><li class="listitem">
2047 Exports Google Earth flight tracks. Using the Keyhole Markup
2048 Language (.kml) file format, this provides a 3D view of your
2049 rocket flight through the Google Earth program.
2051 Version 0.7.1 is the first release containing our new cross-platform Java-based user interface. AltosUI can:
2052 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem">
2053 Receive and log telemetry from a connected TeleDongle
2054 device. All data received is saved to log files named with the
2055 current date and the connected rocket serial and flight
2056 numbers. There is no mode in which telemetry data will not be
2058 </li><li class="listitem">
2059 Download logged data from TeleMetrum devices, either through a
2060 direct USB connection or over the air through a TeleDongle
2062 </li><li class="listitem">
2063 Configure a TeleMetrum device, setting the radio channel,
2064 callsign, apogee delay and main deploy height. This can be done
2065 through either a USB connection or over a radio link via a
2067 </li><li class="listitem">
2068 Replay a flight in real-time. This takes a saved telemetry log
2069 or eeprom download and replays it through the user interface so
2070 you can relive your favorite rocket flights.
2071 </li><li class="listitem">
2072 Reprogram Altus Metrum devices. Using an Altus Metrum device
2073 connected via USB, another Altus Metrum device can be
2074 reprogrammed using the supplied programming cable between the
2076 </li><li class="listitem">
2077 Export Flight data to a comma-separated-values file. This takes
2078 either telemetry or on-board flight data and generates data
2079 suitable for use in external applications. All data is exported
2080 using standard units so that no device-specific knowledge is
2081 needed to handle the data.
2082 </li><li class="listitem">
2083 Speak to you during the flight. Instead of spending the flight
2084 hunched over your laptop looking at the screen, enjoy the view
2085 while the computer tells you what’s going on up there. During
2086 ascent, you hear the current flight state and altitude
2087 information. During descent, you get azimuth, elevation and
2088 range information to try and help you find your rocket in the
2089 air. Once on the ground, the direction and distance are
2091 </li></ul></div></div></div></body></html>
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