Featherweight Tracker Update - Build 127

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kjs

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Ok, iOS Build 127…. Just released - existing users should be notified via TestFlight or the public access link is https://testflight.apple.com/join/InpJx5lw

We are not going to obsolete build 103 if you want to still fly with it this weekend, but 103 expires in 6 days so build 127 will be needed for next weekend. If you are going to fly with 127 this weekend, we recommend updating your firmware and testing before you go to the field.

**This build will update the firmware in both the Cypress (Bluetooth) and STM (radio) chips.**

**If you are not at convenient place to update the firmware (rocket is on the pad) then you might want to postpone this update**

To update the units, you should do them individually (all units powered off and power them on sequentially and confirm the update and let the update complete before moving to the next unit).

A build 127 unit will not talk to a build 103 unit because the CRC checking has been updated to remove some bad packets (so all your units should be updated to the same version).

This build includes:
  • Better CRC bad packet rejection
  • Ability to share your blue tooth log for the day (and past days if they are still on your phone) via email /etc as a CSV file
  • Ability after a flight to download the 10hz data that is TRA altitude records compliant (10hz recording up to and past apogee)
  • Ability to share the fight recorded data as a CSV file.
  • Ability to delete old “Found rockets” in your found list.

If you have issues / questions, you can email them to [email protected] or [email protected] . We wil try to reply in a timely fashion.
 
Yes! Data files! Upon app update, I can already see previously stored flight data. I’m pretty excited. (And I haven’t even updated the firmware yet).

Thanks!

Mark
 
I am using an iPhone 5C. I got an incompatible hardware message. I assume that I am "stuck" at build 103, and that I have 6 days left?
 
Very cool. I just exported the data from my last flight.

Thanks!

Terrordactyl-J240.png
 
I am using an iPhone 5C. I got an incompatible hardware message. I assume that I am "stuck" at build 103, and that I have 6 days left?

I'll try to figure out what is going on this evening and get it resolved. I think a 5C should still be supported.
 
I did the update to Build 127 today and have exported the data already stored. The dates, times, and locations are correct, but there is no flight data in any of the files. Lat and Long are constant and there are zeroes for HORZV, VERTV, and BATT, even though all flights were successful. What might be causing this? Thanks very much.
 
I'll try to figure out what is going on this evening and get it resolved. I think a 5C should still be supported.

I hope you figure it out Kevin. I would like to avoid buying a newer (used) iPhone just for for the tracker. I am an Android user and am using my wife's old phone for this purpose only. Of course, this becomes moot when you release the app for the Android ecosystem. ;)
 
I have a 5S and seems to be working on my end. Currently shows about 12 recordings under "share" menu.
 
If anyone can educate me on how to take this exported data and display it on Google Earth in 3 dimensions I'd be grateful. I just can't figure it out.

Here is the export of the flight I'm trying.

Thanks in advance.
 

Attachments

  • 2Stage_LDRS_GPS.csv
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I did the update to Build 127 today and have exported the data already stored. The dates, times, and locations are correct, but there is no flight data in any of the files. Lat and Long are constant and there are zeroes for HORZV, VERTV, and BATT, even though all flights were successful. What might be causing this? Thanks very much.

My plot (post #5, above) was created by plotting the ALT column as a function of time. It looks like there is no launch detect, so the tracker is recording from the minute it is turned on to the time when it is turned off. Consequently, there is a lot of useless data at the beginning and the end of the data set.

I, too, would be interested in knowing what all of the other columns of data indicate.
 

I have an iPhone 5 and found my 5C and they both do the same. I don't think I changed anything in the build to cause it but I intend to resolve it.

If anyone can educate me on how to take this exported data and display it on Google Earth in 3 dimensions I'd be grateful. I just can't figure it out.

Here is the export of the flight I'm trying.

Thanks in advance.

After I get any Build 127 update issues resolved, I'll work on a KML converter. I have done it once with text pad editor macros but should just implement it instead...

My plot (post #5, above) was created by plotting the ALT column as a function of time. It looks like there is no launch detect, so the tracker is recording from the minute it is turned on to the time when it is turned off. Consequently, there is a lot of useless data at the beginning and the end of the data set.

I, too, would be interested in knowing what all of the other columns of data indicate.

These are actually just the phone recording all the bluetooth packets it receives so yes it includes data that is not flight related. When you fly a new flight and download the 10hz data, it will be just the data for that flight. I don't export all the packets - only those tied to trackers.

Thanks!
 
So cool. How did you do it?

I’ll try to describe it here but I’m on the phone and don’t have access to screenshots of the files. This is what works for the Featherweight data that I have on my phone from previous flights. I’m not sure if it’ll change going forward with the new way flights are recorded.

1. Open the .csv file in excel from the day of your flight that you have “shared” to yourself.

2. If you have multiple flights, cut and paste them into separate .csv files (or sheets). They are all listed on the same sheet so you just have to scroll down through the columns. It’s helpful to look at the Vertical Velocity and Alt columns to identify those rows.

3. I delete every row above the start of the flight and the ones below the landing. Basically take one above where the velocity increases and one below where decent stops.

4. I delete every column except for Time, Lat, Lon and Alt.

5. Add “(ft)” after Alt in the column label (otherwise it’ll be in meters after the converting step).

6. Filter down through the data and find all the erroneous Lat/Lon/Alt data points and delete that row. If you miss any, you see them on the google earth plot and you’ll just have to go back and fix it in this file.

7. Save the file as a .csv. If you have all of your flights on the same workbook but in separate sheets, you’ll be told you can’t save it that way and it’ll default to saving each individual sheet that you’re on.

8. Go to here:

https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=googleearth

9. Choose your file on the right.

10. Make sure the options are set as the photo below.

11. Hit “create kml”.

12. Once finished, you can just click on the link and it’ll open it in Google Earth (assuming you’ve downloaded Google Earth Pro).

13. In there you can change the color of the path, label them, etc. I actually uploaded over 15 flights and they are all labeled and organized.

Note: It appears you can save all of the individual flights in separate sheets on the same workbook and then save that as an .xlsx. From there you can use that at the link provided and it’ll just open all the flights from the workbook, as opposed to converting each flight separately.

If you have any questions let me know. I’ll be back at my desktop on Monday and can probably explain that better with screenshots of the actual data. Hope that helps.

IMG_4414.jpg
 
Kevin, I can get that to you on Monday when I return to my computer.

Thanks - my goal is to get it so that exporting the flight log for the day generates a combined/cleaned KML file and multiple CSV files for the day so this is easy for everyone.

OK...

Next to clarify the difference between a bluetooth log and an actual flight log... For a while now (over a year) the phone will record any BLE packets from the GS and TRK to a log file. They are at 1Hz frequency and have *just the date in the filename*. There might be different info in the log, but on export, it just exports the data from the trackers. If you power up just the GS on a day and try to export that file, then the length may be zero because there was no TRK data. Right now it exports all data for the trackers for the day (if you had tracker data that day) so you will see everywhere it was as well as any bad packets. (this last update has a fix for the CRC check so it should reduce/eliminate bad packets).

When you fly again now with the new app/firmware, after the flight, and after you reconnect via blue tooth to the tracker itself, click on it in 'Devices' and you should see a 'Download' option. Click on it and it should download the 10hz data from the tracker itself and save it also to your share area. You can recognize these flight files because they will be of the format of date_(rocket)_time as the filename (as opposed to just the date for the BLE log). If you 'share' those, they will be the CSV data for just that flight.

Here is a sample of 3 days of BLE logs and 2 flights - rocket FthrWt55000 and Kevin. (the flights were simulations in this case).


file.jpeg
 
The firmware update for the ground station and tracker worked flawlessly last night. I’m planning to fly the system today.
 
Ok, I am new to this.
Will someone please explain the procedure for this update?

It’s pretty simple. Update the App via Test Flight first. Once that’s done, open the App on the phone and then turn on ONE device, like your GS only. It’ll automatically prompt you to update the GS over BLE. Agree and it’ll do its thing and update that unit. I then turned that unit off and turned the next tracker unit on. Same thing. It’ll ask to update. Repeat for each unit. If one gets hung up then power off the unit and close the App. Reopen the App and power that unit back on and it’ll start it over.
 
Ok, I am new to this.
Will someone please explain the procedure for this update?

If you have the phone app installed already, you should have gotten a notification of the new build. If not, you can use the public link: https://testflight.apple.com/join/InpJx5lw . You are looking for Build 127.

If you already have your units paired with the phone, then start with them all powered off (and fully charged), start FIP running on the phone and power one unit on. it will tell you it needs a firmware update. Click OK and it should go through updating both the CYP chip (BlueTooth) and the STM (Radio). Upon completion it will tell you that the firmware is up to date. You can leave that device turned on if you want (or turn it off) and then go on to the next unit and power it up. I did have one report from a user that said FIP (the phone app) crashed after the firmware update. Restarting FIP showed the unit as blue and they asked how to tell that the firmware update completed. The answer is "because FIP didn't tell you again that it needed an update". You can also verify the dates after the update by opening the device as if you were going to change the channel. Below the Cancel button are the build dates

CYP: Nov 7 2019 05:24:57
STM: Nov 6 2019 21;49:19

If you bought new units and are pairing them for the first time, you will start FIP and follow the prompts. When you select a device in the scan window, it will tell you it needs a firmware update and then update the firmware. When the update completes, you may need to click on it again in the Scan window (I forget now).

While typing this, I see BryRocket gave a simpler version of above ... Thanks Bry!
 
One note now since I'm sure it will come up after someone this weekend downloads their 10hz flight data. Currently when downloading the data over bluetooth, it does it 10 'packets' at a time. If it doesn't get all 10 for a given request, the phone asks for that 10 again. In the current phone app, it appends the data (doesn't reset the file pointer) so you get some data duplicated. I will work to remove that duplication in the phone itself, but for now, if you plot the data, you will see a discontinuity in time. In excel, you can select the entire table and select Data> Remove Duplicates and it will clean up the data.

Before cleaning it up, you may get a graph like this (note the two discontinuities). [this was from just running a sim - hence the otherwise 'pristine' curve'...]

upload_2019-11-9_7-17-14.png
 
I’ll try to describe it here but I’m on the phone and don’t have access to screenshots of the files. This is what works for the Featherweight data that I have on my phone from previous flights. I’m not sure if it’ll change going forward with the new way flights are recorded.
Pretty painless. Thanks for sharing that!
upload_2019-11-9_11-7-54.jpeg
 
I did the update to FIP version 127 last week and flew it this past weekend. When I download the data file, the data is only sampled at 1Hz. Why am I not seeing the 10 Hz data?

Below is a cut and paste from the TIME column in my data file.

42:42.3
42:43.3
42:44.3
42:45.3
42:46.3
42:47.3
42:48.3
42:49.3
42:50.3
42:51.3
42:52.3
42:53.3
 
I did the update to FIP version 127 last week and flew it this past weekend. When I download the data file, the data is only sampled at 1Hz. Why am I not seeing the 10 Hz data?

Turn on your tracker and click on it in My Devices. you should see a Download Button at the bottom of the screen. Download the data and then go to the Share tab afterwards and you should see a special file for that flight with a name like: YYYY_MM_DD_(rocketName)_HH_mm_ss

Let me know if you have any issues.

Thanks!
 
Turn on your tracker and click on it in My Devices. you should see a Download Button at the bottom of the screen. Download the data and then go to the Share tab afterwards and you should see a special file for that flight with a name like: YYYY_MM_DD_(rocketName)_HH_mm_ss

Let me know if you have any issues.

Thanks!


That worked perfect, thank you. I did 2 flights that day and there was only 10Hz data for a single flight. Does it only keep data from the last flight? Just so I know to download it each time in the future.

Is there something somewhere that explains what the different columns of data represent?

For the BATT data I am seeing 6.112 from a new 9V. Is this an internal voltage and not the voltage being supplied to the unit?

Thanks!
 
Turn on your tracker and click on it in My Devices. you should see a Download Button at the bottom of the screen. Download the data and then go to the Share tab afterwards and you should see a special file for that flight with a name like: YYYY_MM_DD_(rocketName)_HH_mm_ss

Let me know if you have any issues.

Thanks!

I do not see the download button, but also don't have any flights post Build 127 update. Does it need to be flights made after the update? Thank you.
 
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