AM Easy Mini help

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AP aroma

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Hi,

I'm trying to configure my Easy Mini altimeter. When I plug it into the USB port on my laptop and select configure altimeter, a blank box comes up that says select device. There is no devices shown in this box. This has worked in the past. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks In advance,

Jim
 
Same USB cable you used before?
Guessing Window OS. Do you get a connect sound when you plug it in?
 
Yes, same cable. No connect sound. Does the order that I do things matter? Open the app, then plug it in or visa versa?
 
The USB cable has been lightly used, but I'm sure that's the possible problem. The cable has the connector that plugs into the side of my laptop on one end and a micro connector on the other end. In this rural area I live in this will be a little bit of a challenge to find. I will proceed with that though.

Jim
 
The problem with ever-smaller connectors is that they are not as mechanically robust. I've experienced these issues more than once, even though I handle them carefully and try never to force a connection. It can be especially problematic when the connectors are housed in 3D printed cases. The tolerances are not as rigid as with metal, and things are just not as mechanically "solid." Let us know if that resolves the issue.
 
Lowga, I like your comment "ever smaller connectors". I understand why a producer of altimeters would want them to fit in the smallest of enclosures, but they are getting hard for my old, tired eyes to work on.
 
Many of the new rocketry-related companies producing avionics are owned by younger folks. Less of an issue for them. They also tend to embrace 3D printing as opposed to other methods. It makes sense for tiny (niche) manufacturing. But mechanically, it's not robust, and connectors tend to shift inside the enclosures, making it difficult to mate cables with their connectors.

I work in film and video production, and we have similar issues there. As media continues to shrink in size, we've already reached the point where it's so tiny that it is easily lost in the hustle of a production. SD cards were about the minimum practical size. Micro SD is pretty much a guarantee that media will be lost or misplaced. Imagine having a crew of 25 or more on a shoot that is costing tens of thousands per day to shoot--only to be trusting your life to drone footage that is recorded on a Micro SD card.

Engineers need to start giving more consideration to the fact that smaller isn't always better. There are other considerations beyond weight, power consumption, etc.
 
I agree with that Les. We shall see if there will be a push back towards stronger and reliable.

I've been around plenty long enough to remember vinyl record albums with the fantastic cover art that came with each album. The music industry went from there to CDs which were smaller but less interesting and now music is stored on thumb drives. No room for art there.

Jim
 
Back to the original topic. I barrowed another cord with the same plugs on the ends. I still got the same indication that no device was found on the Altusmetrum operating system. Now I'm not sure where to go with this. I have tried the altimeter in a vacuum chamber as a test. The altimeter fires both the apogee and main charges, so at least I know it works. I wanted to configure the altimeter to have a one second apogee delay and a lower main event than the default. Anyone have any ideas why I can't get this Easy Mini recognized?

Jim
 
Engineers need to start giving more consideration to the fact that smaller isn't always better. There are other considerations beyond weight, power consumption, etc.
It's not fair to always blame the engineer. The mandate for smaller more likely came from marketing and management. Where I once worked we were constantly being beat up over size, power consumption (think heat and battery life) and parts count.
 
Back to the original topic. I barrowed another cord with the same plugs on the ends. I still got the same indication that no device was found on the Altusmetrum operating system. Now I'm not sure where to go with this. I have tried the altimeter in a vacuum chamber as a test. The altimeter fires both the apogee and main charges, so at least I know it works. I wanted to configure the altimeter to have a one second apogee delay and a lower main event than the default. Anyone have any ideas why I can't get this Easy Mini recognized?

Jim
Do you have access to a microscope so you can look at the connector closely? Sometime you can get a pretty good image with a cell phone and then zoom in. Make sure the connector is still soldered to the board and that there are no obvious breaks in the foil or solder pads.
 
Do you have access to a microscope so you can look at the connector closely? Sometime you can get a pretty good image with a cell phone and then zoom in. Make sure the connector is still soldered to the board and that there are no obvious breaks in the foil or solder pads.
That is a very good next step. Those microUSB pins are very small and I have seen them pop off and need to be re-soldered.
 
Hi,

I'm trying to configure my Easy Mini altimeter. When I plug it into the USB port on my laptop and select configure altimeter, a blank box comes up that says select device. There is no devices shown in this box. This has worked in the past. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks In advance,

Jim
I had a problem with my EZ mini too. The problem was that the mini-USB cable has to be the kind that transmits data in addition to powering the device. SOME mini-USB cables can only be used to charge a device.

They way to tell the difference is to look at the plug that goes into the altimeter. If it has 3 parallel raised bars it will transmit data. If it has 2 raised bars it can only be used for power transfer.

Ed Marintsch
 
Mine wouldn't work when the cable was plugged in to one of the front USB ports on my desktop. Changed it to a different port and it worked.
The unit worked perfectly in the rocket.
Here's data from the first launch;
Airstrike flight data 1.jpg
 
Try plugging in to a different computer. We had same issue on site with launch - couldn't see the USB/COM port on his laptop. When we plugged it in to PC at home was in without issue.
 
Hi,

I'm trying to configure my Easy Mini altimeter. When I plug it into the USB port on my laptop and select configure altimeter, a blank box comes up that says select device. There is no devices shown in this box. This has worked in the past. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks In advance,

Jim
You need to connect the USB before powering up to get into the ‘idle’ mode for configuration. Read the Powering Up instructions in Section 3.6 of the manual.
 
Thanks everyone. I have the Easy Mini loaded in a rocket right now (I did check it in a vacuum chamber to make sure it would fire the deployment charges). I will follow the suggestions made of trying a different port, a different computer, using a magnifying glass to the check the solder connections and rereading the manual about powering it up, after I take it apart.

Thanks Again,

Jim
 
Graph from my easy mini after powering up the unit on the launch rail.
It blew both main and apogee charges about 15 seconds after power up - while I was inserting the igniter in the motor.
A real attention getter that was.
Plugged in another e-match and it did the same thing in the garage.
Buyer beware.

1652397272791.png
 
In the end my problem seems to have been from not plugging the easy mini into a port before powering up. Thank you Voyager 1

Jim
 
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