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That is very confusing, as to me a descent of less than 40 m/s means the drogue has successfully been deployed. I understand you have a minus sign in front of the "40m/s" but that might only add to the confusion.From page 46 of the manual...
This second rule controls the ejection of the Main parachute. It will be checked continuously throughout the rocket's descent, as evidenced by its "during Descent" triggering mode.The rule has 2 conditions. The first checks if the altitude is below a threshold of 200m, and the second checks if the rocket falls at a vertical speed of less than -40m/s (which would mean, in this case, that the Drogue parachute has failed).
That is very confusing, as to me a descent of less than 40 m/s means the drogue has successfully been deployed. I understand you have a minus sign in front of the "40m/s" but that might only add to the confusion.
Thank you for your quick response. I received my unit yesterday and hope to fly it next weekend.Yeah I understand completely, but this variable is the vertical speed, not the descent rate.
In other words, it's positive when the rocket's going up, and negative when it's going down.
I've already thought about this problem and the only two other feasible solutions I have found are: adding a "descent rate" variable which is just the opposite of vertical speed, or make vertical speed an absolute value (so its always positive).
Unfortunately, each of these solutions poses other user experience issues, so I preferred to leave it to the simplest physical sense :
"vertical speed" is the rocket's vertical speed, relative to the launch point.
I can go into more detail in the documentation (to clear up any confusion) and I'm open to suggestions if you have any.
Thank you for your quick response. I received my unit yesterday and hope to fly it next weekend.
Is there a way to simulate a flight so that I can be sure everything is working? I'd like to see the telemetry and voice in action before actually flying it.
Ulyu
Few things to consider.
1. Is there a way to store settings for the FCC so when opening you don't have to re-select the channel.
2. Is there any error or warning generated if a user does not load actions into the Fluctus to deploy charges?
3. Is there plans to be able to use imperial and metric settings?
4. Will there be a way to download maps for areas that have poor internet coverage?
Pretty cool device so far. I'm probably going to put it into my Wildman Jr 2 stage and use it to light the upper stage motor and perform dual deploy.
Can't wait.There's indeed a flight simulator, but it's an experimental and undocumented feature, so it's not very usable by the end user as for now...
Something closer to what Featherweight offers might be upcoming though.
That's doable for sure.It would be good if it could playback flights that were recorded with the voice narrating too.
Automatic arming only happens when it detects that it's battery-powered, so if you're currently powering it via USB, it's perfectly normal for it not to arm.So, I selected and saved "directly go to flight mode" as enabled. Powered back up in the selected position (Antenna up) and the unit does not arm. Any thoughts?
I did have it connected to the battery but I didn't have it mounted. Thought I was holding it steady, but the tolerances are low for movement to allow auto-arming. Tested again and it worked. Is there a way to disarm without rebooting?That's doable for sure.
Automatic arming only happens when it detects that it's battery-powered, so if you're currently powering it via USB, it's perfectly normal for it not to arm.
If it's already battery-powered, note that it needs to be really stable so that it understands that it's in a rocket and arms automatically.
Try again, but hold it against a support so that it doesn't move or turn during the 10 seconds following battery connection. Then it should work just fine.
I did have it connected to the battery but I didn't have it mounted. Thought I was holding it steady, but the tolerances are low for movement to allow auto-arming. Tested again and it worked. Is there a way to disarm without rebooting?
Thanks again for your super quick responses, they are amazing!
Edit to add another question....
With only 26 different channels I could see that becoming a problem pretty quickly with even moderately sized launches. Any ideas on that?
2nd edit for another question...
There are 3 power levels for the radio. Can you suggest what altitudes can be safely flown with the different output levels?
Thank you.
Allowing it to automatically switch if something else is on the channel would be good, as long as the Steady automatically switched to the same channel, since I would imagine for most people the screen on the flight computer will be mounted against the sled and be unable to be seen without removing the flight computer from the sled.Great.
No, the only way to disarm the flight computer is by rebooting (thankfully you can do that remotely, there is a button in the Settings tab)
Concerning radio channels, I think that 26 individual channels should be sufficient ?
Honestly I have never really been to any big rocket launch meeting, so I'm not sure what and how hard issues can be faced.
What I do know is that there are ways to improve the system, for example by allowing the flight computer to automatically switch channels if it detects that the one it's configured for is already occupied by something else.
Also, in theory, by occupying the whole band from 902 to 928mhz, I should be able to implement a maximum of 104 channels.
So these things are likely to be updated once again... I added it to my wayyy too longggg to-do list
If anyone here have any other suggestions concerning radio, I'm open.
Allowing it to automatically switch if something else is on the channel would be good, as long as the Steady automatically switched to the same channel, since I would imagine for most people the screen on the flight computer will be mounted against the sled and be unable to be seen without removing the flight computer from the sled.
Any thoughts on radio range with the different output levels. Would like some guidance on what altitudes can be flown at low, medium and high powers.
Thank you. Is the Android app available yet?Yes you're right, it requires a little more thought to get a proper solution. But that's the idea.
It's a bit complicated to estimate the altitude you can expect because it really depends on the environment and how the rocket is built.
The radio power parameter is more useful if you really need to save energy, comply with certain radio emission regulations or if the radio waves are likely to interfere with something else.
LOW corresponds to 25mW, MEDIUM to 100mW, and HIGH to 160mW.
Frankly, for normal use, I would recommend just leaving the setting at HIGH.
That way no worries, and it doesn't even consume that much power.
To give you an idea, at HIGH you can be sure of keeping communication at least:
- 1000m to 5km away on the ground (it really depends on the surronding environment)
- 10km to 100km away in the air (it really depends on how the rocket is built)
Changing to a Yagi antenna on the ground station can double or even triple these estimates.
A first draft of the app should arrive over the coming weekend.Thank you. Is the Android app available yet?
Ahah Sometimes I try !Also, do you ever sleep?
Awesome, I'm an iOS guy, but I have my first Android tablet being delivered in a few hours.A first draft of the app should arrive over the coming weekend.
A first draft of the app should arrive over the coming weekend.
Maybe look for a used cell phone. Those are good it the bright sun and fit in your pocket. I just saw a S22 on Amazon for 80 dollarsThis is fantastic news. So now, I have to ask. Does anyone have good recommendations for daylight readable Android tablets? I’m an iOS guy, so don’t really have any experience in the Android side. I bought a Tablet last week to try out, but when outside in the sun it’s useless.
Could you add an option to be able to set one of the AUX inputs as an ARM input? If the input is closed, the pyro channels are armed and if open, there disarmed.
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