FlightSketch Mini Now Available - $18 Bluetooth Altimeter

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gtg738w

FlightSketch - flightsketch.com
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The FlightSketch Mini is now available for purchase! The Mini is the first release in the FlightSketch family and is a small & lightweight (4.2g) recording altimeter. Data transfers wirelessly to your iOS device and can be saved locally or optionally uploaded to the online flight log service at flightsketch.com. A free account lets you easily view and share flight data along with photos and notes.


The FlightSketch Mini is available now for $18 including shipping at https://flightsketch.com/store/catalog/flightsketch-mini_1/


We have also added 120 products to the store now so take advantage of free shipping and pick up a new kit as well. We have just added the Estes Mercury Redstone and Little Joe II to go with the Saturn V models. Also available are many other Estes, LOC Precision and Semroc models.


Aerotech motors & hardware are expected to be in stock on Friday. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to pre-order with your Mini.


Big thanks to our Beta team, we have made a lot of progress in the last two months!

Thanks,
 
When or are you going to offer an Android compatible app? Thats all thats holding some of us back from buying at least one, I personally detest Apple and Apples' products, but really like the look and capabilities of your device and the cost of course.
 
It is just iOS - for now. @Chad has offered to look into porting the app to a cross platform framework that would support Android as well. No guarantee on timeline but it is in consideration. There also the option of just adding a native Android version as well.

I realize this is an issue for many, it is certainly a long term goal to support both platforms. It is only an issue of balancing this, future hardware work and web improvements. One way or another we will get there though. Thanks for your support.

Russ
 
I can’t find a user manual or any specs anywhere other than the few listed on the website. Maybe you can answer a few questions:

* Do you have a link to the manual?

* What is the max altitude it can record?

* Is a vent required?

Sounds like a great little device.


Tony
 
It is just iOS - for now. @Chad has offered to look into porting the app to a cross platform framework that would support Android as well. No guarantee on timeline but it is in consideration. There also the option of just adding a native Android version as well.

I realize this is an issue for many, it is certainly a long term goal to support both platforms. It is only an issue of balancing this, future hardware work and web improvements. One way or another we will get there though. Thanks for your support.

Russ
Our club has a upcoming 4 day launch and having 3 of these for club contest use (not NAR official contests) would be great if they were Android. Thanks for at least considering it as a long term goal.
 
I can’t find a user manual or any specs anywhere other than the few listed on the website. Or maybe you can answer a few questions:

* Do you have a link to the manual?

* What is the max altitude it can record?

* Is a vent required?

Sounds like a great little device.


Tony

The units today will ship with an abbreviated quick start guide. The full user manual is in work. You can see an overview of the device use from the beta videos here:

https://flightsketch.com/demo/

These will be updated as well in the next day or so.

For the other questions, it is a barometric sensor so static ports are required for the best data. It is possible to just mount the unit in a closed airframe and have it eject with the recovery system. This is not ideal though. The sensor is the Bosch BMP388. Bosch rates the accuracy to 300hPa or ~30k ft. Beyond this it is really best to use GPS based altitude.
 
Thanks for those links, very useful. I’ve got one ordered. I have a few 29mm rockets that don’t have altimeters so it will be great to have such an inexpensive device to be able to use with them.

Tony

Ps: the drop down list to select a user is going to break pretty quickly, you definitely need a better option for that function.
 
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One more thought for Android users - Please let us know what kind of device you're using. Every bit of data helps, it wouldn't get done if there wasn't demand for it. I appreciate the feedback, same goes for any other features/specs. It's all negotiable, we really want to release what's best for the hobby.
 
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Personally Google Pixel is my daily driver.

Ideally, you should be aiming to support any supported Android version from Nougat (v7.0) upwards.
And... nice bit of kit.
 
I ordered one. Looking forward to trying it out.

Hope you are submitting it to the NAR for approval for contest use. A lot of contest fliers would go for an altimeter this light and inexpensive and if it is reliable (The Micropeak is garbage, sensitive to sunlight and sometimes fails to sense liftoff).
 
I'm also needing a droid version, currently using an S8 on Android ver 9.
 
Wow, unbelievable response so far. The first lot of Minis has sold out. You can continue to sign up for stock alerts from the product page. We are going to need to rethink production plans...

International orders will be open when we can establish shipping costs and compliance info for each region. USPS and the FCC are hard enough to deal with as it is but we will support international sales when we are able.

There was some discussion on NAR certification in the development thread in the electronics forum. I am certainly open to it but there may be some slight tweaks required like onboard indication of armed status. There was also a possibility of a smaller and lighter competition version if there is enough interest - let me know.

I am planning on being at the CATO launch in Durham CT this weekend. Stop by if you’re in the area. Joe, I replied to your PM about the kits.

Please post or send us any feedback so far. We’re learning our way through the logistics of this, thanks for your patience. You can also contact us at [email protected] with any questions or comments.

Thanks!
 
I am not surprised the first production batch is sold out.

I've been flying a beta for awhile. I will want one or two more when they are available again.

I have flown it in a model without static ports but hanging from the shock cord attachment. See https://flightsketch.com/flights/246/ for what that does to the data. It's really much better to have some static ports in whatever compartment is containing ANY barometric altimeter. It doesn't need to be much (just to get reasonable apogee reading) but there really should be something.

I agree with George (and have suggested to Russ) that it be looked at for NAR contest use. For those of you who didn't see this in the beta test thread, here's a comparison shot of the FS Mini, PerfectFlite FireFly and Altus Metrum MicroPeak (in that order from top to bottom).
 

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Hello again Russ,

Are there any plans to support PCs (Windows or Linux)? I ask because I always bring my laptop to launches just in case I need to review/edit an OpenRocket file for one of my rockets.
 
Hi Russ,

Do you have an app for Andriod or just iOS for now ?

Cheers.
I would be all over this for my MPR and LPR, heck even as a ride along on some HPR. However I am not a fan of the iPhone. Put me down as someone that will purchase, likely multiple units, once you have it ported over to Android.
 
Hello again Russ,

Are there any plans to support PCs (Windows or Linux)? I ask because I always bring my laptop to launches just in case I need to review/edit an OpenRocket file for one of my rockets.

PCs would land pretty far down the priority list. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, It seems like it would be a pretty rare need. The use of cellular data for getting weather info and uploading logs makes phones really desirable as well.

I should clarify there is nothing iOS specific in the hardware. The units we are shipping now will work with Android or PCs or whatever as long as they are BLE compatible. You just need the software to do it. Our protocols are also open source. The packet structure is pretty simple and there is certainly the option of community developed apps too. The hardware is so simple and generic the possibilities are almost endless.

Thanks!
 
PCs would land pretty far down the priority list. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, It seems like it would be a pretty rare need. The use of cellular data for getting weather info and uploading logs makes phones really desirable as well.

I should clarify there is nothing iOS specific in the hardware. The units we are shipping now will work with Android or PCs or whatever as long as they are BLE compatible. You just need the software to do it. Our protocols are also open source. The packet structure is pretty simple and there is certainly the option of community developed apps too. The hardware is so simple and generic the possibilities are almost endless.

Thanks!
Ah, okay. Too bad I cannot code to save my life...
 
While, when going to contests or doing a bunch of altimeter testing, I take a cheap Lenovo laptop to the field (so I can read Adrel altimeters) and I've been known to look at Open Rocket at the field as well, I always have my iPhone with me and just about everyone else I fly with has a smartphone of either the iOS or Android variety has one with them. So....I can see supporting any computer OS (Windoze, MacOS, Linux) would be pretty low priority.....
 
I would use the altimeter on a Samsung Galaxy S9 once you get an Android port. Other than not owning an Apple device, this looks great! The form size and price are perfect.
 
I've been so totally swamped with work I haven't had time to do anything rocket related. Once i get my head above water l'll get an Android port on its feet.
 
Success!! I just got my Mini and had a successful test less than 5 minutes from opening the package! (I stuck it in an empty water bottle and sucked the air out of it - got to 2700'.) Only glitch was the app crashed when I tried to upload the file without logging in to my account first. Once I logged in, it was fine.

It's crazy how small it is. Not sure how soon I'll be able to fly it but will be great to get data from a lot more of my flights. I know there are other small altimeters out there but the price of the Mini made it a no brainer.

Thanks for brining it to market,

Tony
 
Got mine today, very nice!

I simply did a benchtop test of pulling some vacuum to get a basic idea of how it works.

The app color choice though, I expect the data to be very hard to read in sunlight. Light green background with white text, or green text against medium blue background. Really hope you change that to something with WAY more contrast so it'll be easier to read in bright sun. Also, larger text for the data (text for connecting, arming, and download is big enough, it's the data I refer to). Using an iPhone 6, btw
 
When or are you going to offer an Android compatible app? Thats all thats holding some of us back from buying at least one, I personally detest Apple and Apples' products, but really like the look and capabilities of your device and the cost of course.
Fruit computers just don't cut the mustard...
 
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