Estes Altimeter

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pepe

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Does anyone have experience with the Estes altimeter? I was planning on getting the Jolly Logic II but the low price of the Estes has me reconsidering this. Also has anyone done business with Belleville Hobby? I've just found their website and they seem to have great prices.Thanks
 
I have the Estes altimeter, and it works fine. The Jolly Logic has more features that you may find that you need.

As for Belleville, I've been doing business with them since sometimes in the '80's. They're good people, and usually have everything in stock.
 
I should be receiving my (first) Estes Altimeter today. I also have the JL Altimeter Two (new version). I had the original version of the JL A2 but it was destroyed in a CATO. I have found the new A2 to finicky with respect to false launch detection. I used it 4 times at Airfest 20 and it reported correct data only once. I have since sent it back to JL for the firmware update (metric bug). Maybe the re-flash will help.
 
I have a JL Altimeter One, but more often than not, I forget to charge the darn thing! I have the Estes Altimeter and it uses a regular battery!

The best price around is from acsupplyco.com. $23.99 Everything Estes is always 40% off. Free shipping at $100 (excluding motor haz mat fee)

https://www.acsupplyco.com/estes/2246_altimeter.html


Jerome :)
 
I had one and lost it when my rocket incinerated. :( It worked well while I had it.
 
+1 for the Estes. Simple, basic altimeter that's not too expensive and I've never had any reason to believe it's results have been drastically off..
 
The Estes altimeter is fine if all you want is altitude. I prefer the Jolly Logic altimeter because it provides so many more data points.
 
If all you want to know is how high did it go, then the Estes altimeter is probably fine. The main thing I like about the Jolly Logic Altimeter Two is that it you can use the data to figure out if your ejections are timed correctly.
 
I use the Jolly Logic Altimeter One on just about everything I fly; does anyone know when the Three is coming out? Saw a demo of it at NARCON but have heard nothing else, very nice features including Bluetooth.


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I've got the JL Altimeter 2, and love it! It really is not difficult to use, you just need to know the meanings of the codes which takes very little to learn. I've had no problems with mine. I have launched it in rockets as small as my Estes Amazon, and as large as my LOC Norad Pro Maxx. I really like seeing how fast the rocket went as well as the height. And as ThirstyBarbarian said, it is great for seeing if your ejections are correct. It shows you the coast time, time to apogee, and time to ejection.
 
I use the Jolly Logic Altimeter One on just about everything I fly; does anyone know when the Three is coming out? Saw a demo of it at NARCON but have heard nothing else, very nice features including Bluetooth.

John my chime in...but AltimeterThree is in beta test right now...still some work to do on the software - mainly the interface applications (I'm helping test the iOS app) - but it's getting better with each beta update. I expect it will come out when John is satisfied it's good enough (and he has high standards, as users of AltimeterOne/Two already know).

To return to the OP's question: The Estes altimeter works just fine as long as the static ports in the model are big enough (and not blocked at liftoff with the parachute or such in a model that doesn't have a separate payload section). The main failure mode is a failure to detect a launch, resulting in a zero reading. If the ports are clear at launch, it works quite reasonably well. In multi-altimeter test flights I've done I've seen results that agreed well with much more expensive devices.
 
I have an Estes altimeter and gave up on it after 4 flights without recording any data. I ground tested mine and it worked sometimes. Another guy in my club has one and he had similar issues. The Jolly Logic 2 is more expensive, but it works a lot better for me.
 
I have used the Estes altimeter on two flights so far. Registered an altitude of 141' in my cardstock Saturn V Skylab on a D12-3 motor.
 
I'm going against the tide here-diehard Jolly Logic fan. One and Two and when Three comes along-that also. Just my humble opinion but the Estes was a cheep ripoff.
 
I have an Estes altimeter and gave up on it after 4 flights without recording any data. I ground tested mine and it worked sometimes. Another guy in my club has one and he had similar issues.

I had similar issues with my first Estes altimeter and had it replaced by Estes. I am still having issues. I am trying to figure out the "magic" sequence of operations to make it work properly. By that I mean turning the unit on / clearing the memory / setting it to "ready" mode. etc.

I too, am waiting for the JL Altimeter Three.
 
The only trick is, as I noted above, making sure your static ports are at least as large as recommended in the instructions and to make sure they are not obstructed at launch. The Estes altimeter is fussier than most others about launch detection - it seems to need a fairly rapid pressure drop to notice it's been launched. Unfortunately exactly what it needs is lost in the code at the Chinese vendor.

AltimeterThree is coming along - the interface software is getting better and more reliable (real "fun" with the Bluetooth link) - but is still a work in progress.
 
The only trick is, as I noted above, making sure your static ports are at least as large as recommended in the instructions and to make sure they are not obstructed at launch....

My findings as well...
 
Another issue we've seen at some recent launches in Maine and Massachusetts since the cold weather has come to visit is a lack of data on these and some other altimeters.
While most parts of a circuit act better in the cold, batteries don't.
 
When it's really cold I can see that happening. Keeping the devices warm as long as possible, and either fresh batteries (for those that have replaceable ones) or full charges help, as cold slows down/weakens any cell/battery type I know of.
 
The only trick is, as I noted above, making sure your static ports are at least as large as recommended in the instructions and to make sure they are not obstructed at launch. The Estes altimeter is fussier than most others about launch detection - it seems to need a fairly rapid pressure drop to notice it's been launched. Unfortunately exactly what it needs is lost in the code at the Chinese vendor.

AltimeterThree is coming along - the interface software is getting better and more reliable (real "fun" with the Bluetooth link) - but is still a work in progress.


So will the bluetooth link allow viewing of real time data ?
 
Just my humble opinion but the Estes was a cheep ripoff.

I did a little checking into this when the Estes device first appeared. The story is more complicated than that. What we know as the Estes altimeter was a work in progress when Mike Dorffler passed away and some time passed before the folks at Estes could get to having the project finished. In the meantime, the AltimeterOne, and Two that we know and love came along. It's more a "great minds think alike" situation, with different design and production decisions being made by the different parties involved.
 
I'm going against the tide here-diehard Jolly Logic fan. One and Two and when Three comes along-that also. Just my humble opinion but the Estes was a cheep ripoff.

I only bought the Estes one so I could use it when I felt there was a chance of losing my Jolly Logic II. I used my JL II over the weekend and it worked fine as always. I checked the Estes one and it has a dead battery that won't be replaced.
 
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