telemetry is turned off by default
Oh, so send telemetry while in idle mode in between listening for command mode packets? I'm slightly hesitant to do that by default as I'm not sure I like having it transmit even in 'idle' mode?
the TM won't talk to the computer unless you connect it before powering it up
TeleMetrum and TeleMega should both talk over USB any time they're in idle mode. EasyMini switches between idle mode and pad mode depending on whether USB is plugged in or not, but devices with an accelerometer pick the startup mode based only on orientation. I'd love to know if this is actually broken for you and see if we can't figure it out.
you need a minimal dongle antenna for bench testing
We found some cheap dual band antennas and sold those for a while. Then we stuck one on an antenna analyzer and discovered just how bad they were for 70cm. We'll keep looking for something credible to use, but I'm afraid we haven't had luck yet. We've made a couple with a bare SMA connector and a piece of wire, and while those work, they really don't seem robust enough to offer as a 'real' product.
[*]the TM won't transmit if not vertical
Right, pad mode vs idle mode.
I also suggest, to make the product easier to bench test, that some of the restrictions be removed. In particular, it took me a while to figure out that the unit doesn't transmit if it's not in "flight ready" orientation. This is inconvenient (and un-obvious) for bench-testing.
Yeah, I can definitely see how this might make things easier for testing. As I mention above, I'm hesitant to have it transmit even while not ready for flight though. Definitely worth considering.
- change the TM so that it talks to the computer when plugged in (regardless of power switch state or presence of battery)
- change the default setting of telemetry to enabled
- include an absolutely minimal antenna for the dongle in the starter pack (a short piece of wire?)
- make the TM transmit regardless of position, maybe with a warning that it's not in flight orientation
- change the TM so that it will connect to the computer when plugged in after boot-up
- make channel selection work properly in monitor idle (or make the tuning parameters more obvious)
We turn off the USB link when in flight mode to save power. Just making USB possible does consume a bit of current, and when your rocket goes missing and you need to find it, having the transmitter last another hour or so because of this can be nice. However, what I've done in another project is to measure the USB voltage and turn the USB connector back on when there's something plugged in. That makes it not take extra power running the USB hardware until you plug it in. We'll definitely look at this as a hardware upgrade.
I should fix the monitor idle startup dialog so you can set the frequency and call sign right from there. That would help a lot when setting things up the first time. Maybe even offer a way to scan the channels for the flight computer?
As for connecting after power up, it should already do that. I haven't had any troubles with that on my machines; I wonder what's different with your setup.
Thanks much for your suggestions; I'll see how many we can manage to get into new hardware and software versions.