Arduino altimeter - dual recovery for less than 20 dollar

I have tested the altimeter with a bluetooth module and it works without any problems
you just need to replace the cable

with the wireless module

and lastly add a bluetooth dongle to your laptop


Those are standard stuff that cost less than $10 on ebay and allow you to download flight data without openning the rocket payload....

The good thing is I did not have to modify the software.
I am still learning how to code on Android to write a mobile application in order to be able to configure or read data from the altimeter while on the field

You can also use a 3.5mm stereo jack in the AV bay, attached to the GND-TX-RX terminals. Connect a 3.5mm stereo plug to your serial cable and you're in business, and it's cheaper and easier than messing with Bluetooth.

of course you can but then you cannot use your phone to display the flight or configure the altimeter
When I get the Android software done I am sure that we could adapt it to your Eggtimer as well

I have an iPhone (yes, I've gone over to the Dark Side), so it doesn't matter anyway. Too bad Apple didn't see fit to include a serial class driver in iOS...

cerving said:

I have an iPhone (yes, I've gone over to the Dark Side), so it doesn't matter anyway. Too bad Apple didn't see fit to include a serial class driver in iOS...

Click to expand...

There is this but it's kinda pricey compared to the altimeters themselves:

https://redpark.com/serial-cable-115-2-kbps-c2-db9v/

that is expensive ... it is a lot more than my altimeter
in our days I would get a USB cable which is around a dollar on eBay
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/USB-pr-Appl...Etuis_housses_coques&var=&hash=item20d77db708

Anyway the problem is not use use a cble or go wireless. I will not do any porting of my software to the Iphone because I have to pay a fee to Apple for something I want to give away for free
Apple phone are good but expensive...
If anyone one wants to do it that is fine

Don't know how it is over in the EU, but here in California (the home of Apple), EVERYBODY seems to have an iPhone. If you see somebody with an Android phone, it's almost an anomoly. Ditto for iPads vs Android tablets. I think the most universal altimeter-to-device interface would be a web server with a WiFi interface, but that's going to take more hardware and processing horsepower than what a low-cost altimeter is going to have.

I've seen the Redpark cable, you'll notice that the driver is basically unsupported by Apple and therefore can't be used with any software available on the Apple Store. This creates a problem: If you develop software to work it with it, how do you distribute it? I think there's a simple answer: "You don't." Apple's closed platforms have always been both their strongest asset (very stable because they control the software AND the hardware) and their weakest link (no flexibility and limited expandability). If Microsoft tried to do the same thing, they'd get fried; kind of ironic, since Apple is a bigger company now.

As far as I understand it, iOS does support serial communication via Bluetooth (SPP, RFCOMM). But, and this ist the catch, the API is not free for everybody to use. It requires participation in the MFi programm, which seems to be targeted at bigger companies. Disclaimer: I have currently no experience with iOS or MFi, so take this with a grain of salt.

Reinhard

Boris,

as hybrid maniac I would be VERY interested if you could consider developing any kind of vibration/noise recording? I could bet my shirt when my contrail motors burn the noise/vibrations level inside the rocket MUST be diabolic...

Second I would be also very interested to see measurement of temperature inside the rocket at different places?

Any chances to built this around the arduino technology platform? Of course I have no clue but you ... )

thx Denis

Denis
I using a buzzer as a sensor I could record some vibrations but I am not to sure how to use the recording ; I guess we could do some compareason with a classic AP flight but that will have to be a similar impulse.
To reduce the vibrations in your elec baye perhaps you should mount your altimeter on some sort of rubber washers.
Recording temperature agaisnt time is quite easy because the BMP085 sensor does that. I can do a modification to the program to do that.
Boris

Boris,

I was meaning noise in fact. Another kind of vibrations

A high-G accelerometer would be the best way to do this, you can use one of the ADXL78 series (such as THIS) and run the output through one of the ATMega328's analog inputs. Depending on the voltage that you run on and how you have ADC's configured on the MCU, you may need a resistor network to match the input voltage to your accelerometer. I've played around with this, I had entertained ideas of adding it to an Eggtimer version but decided that it was too expensive for what I would have gotten out of it. If you're running a hybrid, it's best to use baro for deployment events, since it's not subject to vibration.

I am not sure how to use an accelerometer yet. I have had a look at that one and it cost $16 including shipping
I will have a look at it at some point but for the moment I am quite busy playing with the SMD version of the mini Alti Duo

Thx to you Boris I can now start working on integrating one of your lovely ARDUINO altimeters on my brand new BADAZZ 54mm Avbay, as a redundant system to the altimax mini already on board.

I will post progress..
Denis

here some pics:

cool let me know if you need help to wire them
I have not modified yet the program to record the temperature agaisnt time but I have done it I will send you a modified firmware (however you will have to wait few months because I prefer testing the firmware on a rocket first).
The latest version of the altimeter console allow firmware upload without the Arduino environement

Hi all
This week I am testing my CMS version.

This is a CMS version of my mini AltiDuo
My reflow oven works really well however it takes quite a lot of time to assemble it

Wow, that is getting tiny! Switching to leads & inline plugs (like the jst) and SMD buzzer (like this, maybe) would make that thing shrink away!

Kevin

bdureau said:

Hi all
This week I am testing my CMS version.
View attachment 159407View attachment 159408
This is a CMS version of my mini AltiDuo
My reflow oven works really well however it takes quite a lot of time to assemble it

Click to expand...

Kevin
It is smaller than the adept 22
I thought about the SMD buzzer but it is really more expensive, the idea is to have a cheap altimeter so that people can afford to have an altimeter in all their rocket if they do not know how to build a kit.
This is a 3.3V version of the altimeter and it should be powered with a battery from 4.5 to 9Volts so a 2 cell battery should be ok
I am also preparing an SMD version of the altiUno which is going to be smaller
Boris

Those Badazz Rocketry sleds look really awesome!!! I just got one and can not wait to get it all set up and installed in my Darkstar.

RocketGeekInFL said:

Those Badazz Rocketry sleds look really awesome!!! I just got one and can not wait to get it all set up and installed in my Darkstar.

Click to expand...

Paul. Let us know how it goes and should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.

For those who do not know how to solder a kit the SMT versions are being tested, so far they work really well in the pressure chamber. Final test should be begining of february. They are using a bmp180 which is the newest Bosh sensor so I want to make sure that it behaves like the bmp085.
Price should be around 30 euros for the SMT version fully assembled and if all goes as planed altimeters available mid february.

I have been cooking some altimeter SMT prototype over the week end
https://rocket.payload.free.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26&Itemid=15&lang=fr
I will be monting them in my rocket fleet in the next few days so that they can be tested

Boris,

Just wanted to say Thanks!

I found this site and your web site a month or so ago. I have put together a couple of units on a bread board.
An Arduino Nano and a MicroPro. Both seem to work great. I need to assemble these on PCB board so I can fly them.

Thanks for posting you project, code and progress!

Mike

I2C display ??

I have one, cant get it to display the correct characters. as if the character maps are wrong.

Mike Cook said:

Boris,

Just wanted to say Thanks!

I found this site and your web site a month or so ago. I have put together a couple of units on a bread board.
An Arduino Nano and a MicroPro. Both seem to work great. I need to assemble these on PCB board so I can fly them.

Thanks for posting you project, code and progress!

Mike

Click to expand...

Mike
I am glad it is helping others. What I can tell you is that opening up the source code has been good because I have recieved contributions and help from other rocketers.
Perhaps you should try a smaller 4 digit ic2 compatible module such as this one
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/IIC-I2C-0-3...557?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1d74f0f5
Then ypu should be able to use it in small rocket

XrayLizard said:

I2C display ??

I have one, cant get it to display the correct characters. as if the character maps are wrong.

Click to expand...

Sorry I am not familiar with those
I would advice that you go to an Arduino forum or google your problem

The LCD is for Bench use/debugging only. I'll be recording flight data to an EEPROM like your logger does for later analysis.

Mike Cook said:

The LCD is for Bench use/debugging only. I'll be recording flight data to an EEPROM like your logger does for later analysis.

Click to expand...

To debug your code you should use the Arduino serial monitor
You can even send command to your board, this is how I originally started the data logger

Yes that's handy too!

XrayLizard said:

I2C display ??

I have one, cant get it to display the correct characters. as if the character maps are wrong.

Click to expand...

The one I have is a serial display. It was discontinued at Radio Shack a few months ago. Info on it can be found here:
https://www.parallax.com/product/27977

Check all of your local Radio Shack stores, I picked one of these up a few months ago for $5... pennies on the dollar.

Mike Cook said:

The one I have is a serial display. It was discontinued at Radio Shack a few months ago. Info on it can be found here:
https://www.parallax.com/product/27977

Click to expand...