Black Sky AltAcc2A - NIB Never used in original package

I was going through my electronics tool box this evening and among other things found a never used, still in original packaging Black Sky (Scott Bartel) AltAcc 2A.
with User Manual, decal and two flight analyzer diskettes
I bought this in 2000 when I was working on a Vaughn Brothers - Extreme 38 to record and graph fight data.
Went on to other projects instead.


Back in the day this was the Barometric Altimeter/Integrating Accelerometer to have.
User Manual states:
- Dual Acceleration range +/- 25G or +/- 50G
- Four minutes of flight data recording
- Reliable Mach immune recovery
- no programming required
- No wiring harness required - fits inside1.5 " airframe
- Optional Arming Panel provides full remote power, arming, LED and serial port connection - NAR Level 3 compliant
- Improved Flight Analyzer Windows and 3Com Palm software for recovery and display of flight data.

The diskettes are the old 3.5 " disks - so obviously there will be an issue uploading the Flight Analyzer program.
If I can't use this or it has no value to anyone I was wondering what the equivalent flight recording unit out there today that matches or exceeds what this unit does for around the same price ($160).

Let me check- I might have the software. Be back to you later tonight or tomorrow.

Www.rocketryfiles.com for the software. Username and password are guest.

I have a 2C I still fly and am mildly interested in this one. Putting it very bluntly, I wouldn't pay more than $50 for it if it became available and I decided I wanted it.

Anything else you can get today is more capable. The Raven is $155 and has four channels, better gee rating, and is much smaller. Most comparable would be the Pico AA2 as it has the same amount of channels and operates essentially the same.

patelldp said:

Www.rocketryfiles.com for the software. Username and password are guest.

I have a 2C I still fly and am mildly interested in this one. Putting it very bluntly, I wouldn't pay more than $50 for it if it became available and I decided I wanted it.

Anything else you can get today is more capable. The Raven is $155 and has four channels, better gee rating, and is much smaller. Most comparable would be the Pico AA2 as it has the same amount of channels and operates essentially the same.

Click to expand...

There you go- I was beat to pointing to my own website. I had to look to make sure I had the Altacc software.

The Mission Control Altimeter might be comparable but I don't know if it's that old. I have an unflown v2.
https://www.missioncontrol.co.uk/
Kurt

patelldp said:

Www.rocketryfiles.com for the software. Username and password are guest.

I have a 2C I still fly and am mildly interested in this one. Putting it very bluntly, I wouldn't pay more than $50 for it if it became available and I decided I wanted it.

Anything else you can get today is more capable. The Raven is $155 and has four channels, better gee rating, and is much smaller. Most comparable would be the Pico AA2 as it has the same amount of channels and operates essentially the same.

Click to expand...

Thanks for being blunt Dan...it is what it is.

And thanks for the link - If I can load the software from an online source or somehow from those old 3.5" disks - I may yet use this thing.

markkoelsch said:

There you go- I was beat to pointing to my own website. I had to look to make sure I had the Altacc software.

Click to expand...

Mark - thanks for looking. So, I suspect the software there online at Avionics Software Manuals/BlackSky/ and AltAcc 2 "Software.zip" that has Disk 1 and Disk 2 listed in there is the same thing as these old diskettes...?

Those file names sound suspiciously like what I used when I made that software available a while back. If so, they are indeed copies of the files on the two diskettes. If that doesn't work for you I recently stumbled on a more recent version that had the software on a mini CDROM.

I collect software and manuals to publish to rocketry files. I figure if I do it then folks might have a better chance especially with older stuff.

ksaves2 said:

The Mission Control Altimeter might be comparable but I don't know if it's that old. I have an unflown v2.
https://www.missioncontrol.co.uk/
Kurt

Click to expand...

Have one too. Going to fly it in the spring I think. I think it was far ahead of its time. After reading the manual it is not too far off a Raven in terms of what it can do. It certainly was far ahead of anything else at the time. I am not afraid of setting Mach lockouts, which needs to be done for the Mission Control.

Yeah, the manual is a real thick book. Isn't it? I bet the R-DAS is pretty detailed too. Kurt Savegnago

ksaves2 said:

Yeah, the manual is a real thick book. Isn't it? I bet the R-DAS is pretty detailed too. Kurt Savegnago

Click to expand...

The manual is about 40 pages as memory serves. It really seems like a serious unit.

I had many successful flights with my 2A before I purchased a 2C approx. 2004. Loved the 'no wiring harness or sled' design. I know the A model was a big improvement over the original AltAcc especially with the chuff suppression routine in the launch detect algorithm, but can't for the life of me remember what was changed/improved in the C model.

k3td said:

I know the A model was a big improvement over the original AltAcc especially with the chuff suppression routine in the launch detect algorithm,

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This is the first I have heard of chuff suppression.

It isn't mentioned in the manual. Both the AltAcc and AltAcc2C manuals show the same >1G for 0.25 seconds threshold for launch detect.

UhClem said:

This is the first I have heard of chuff suppression.

Click to expand...

If I recall correctly this is also mentioned in the old G-Wiz manuals in reference to dealing with the flight profiles of early hybrid motors.

UhClem said:

This is the first I have heard of chuff suppression.

It isn't mentioned in the manual. Both the AltAcc and AltAcc2C manuals show the same >1G for 0.25 seconds threshold for launch detect.

Click to expand...

Scott Bartel told me about the chuff suppression improvement when I called to order an AltAcc, and suggested I wait a few weeks until the A version was available. You are correct about the launch detect spec David - in fact the 2C has the same >1G for 0.25 seconds spec.