The Featherweight Blue Jay is a new entry-level altimeter that has most of the Blue Raven's capability at under half the price ($80). 
It's also smaller and easier to install because it uses 2 screw terminals per e-match, and it has a magnetic switch built in. Just connect a battery and your e-matches and you're ready to fly. This makes it perfect for new users and for squeezing in a backup altimeter into a small space
Like the Blue Raven, the Blue Jay connects over Bluetooth to the the Featherweight UI phone app, available for iOS and Android. The app shows you live sensor health and continuity voltages so you know for sure your rocket is ready for launch when you're at the pad, without having to memorize beep sequences. After landing, it immediately downloads a flight summary and then follows up with the rest of the recorded data that you can review with in-app graphs or export via email or any other file sharing. The app also has a ground test feature that records video and on-board data when testing charges, and a sophisticated and realistic flight simulation that lets you test everything out before flight and verify that your deployment settings will work the way you want them to.
The Blue Jay goes beyond other entry-level alternatives by including gyro for tilt calculation and inertial navigation, which it records at 50 samples/second. Accelerometer range is +/- 32 Gs. Flights that exceed 32 Gs during boost will still have accurate apogee detection thanks to the Blue Jay's multi-sensor fault tolerant apogee detection. Baro-based altitude, accel-based speed and position, battery voltage, deployment continuity voltages, temperature, and all flight event logic are all recorded during the flight.
The dimensions are 1.45" long x 0.65" wide.
Comparing the Blue Jay to the Blue Raven altimeter, several features were cut to save size and cost. There are 2 output channels rather than 4. The flash memory space is reduced, and the data is recorded at only 50 samples/second. The Blue Raven has a 400G accelerometer that the Blue Jay does not, so the Blue Jay's maximum accelerometer measurements are +/- 32 Gs. The Blue Jay does not have the Blue Raven's large hold-up supercapacitor which can keep the Blue Raven powered even if the battery is shorted through the outputs for several seconds, as can happen during anomalies or high powered airstarts. Instead, the Blue Jay has about 15 msec of operating time without input power, and will turn off power to the outputs if a brownout is imminent. This makes the Blue Jay suitable for ematches but not igniters. The barometric sensor is smaller and less expensive than the one used on the Blue Raven. In bell jar tests it matches well with the Blue Raven's readings up to about 35,000 feet, and it continues to operate and provide monotonic readings (needed for apogee detection) up to the limit of my current test equipment, which is about 75,000 feet. Its performance above that altitude is not yet known.
It's also smaller and easier to install because it uses 2 screw terminals per e-match, and it has a magnetic switch built in. Just connect a battery and your e-matches and you're ready to fly. This makes it perfect for new users and for squeezing in a backup altimeter into a small space
Like the Blue Raven, the Blue Jay connects over Bluetooth to the the Featherweight UI phone app, available for iOS and Android. The app shows you live sensor health and continuity voltages so you know for sure your rocket is ready for launch when you're at the pad, without having to memorize beep sequences. After landing, it immediately downloads a flight summary and then follows up with the rest of the recorded data that you can review with in-app graphs or export via email or any other file sharing. The app also has a ground test feature that records video and on-board data when testing charges, and a sophisticated and realistic flight simulation that lets you test everything out before flight and verify that your deployment settings will work the way you want them to.
The Blue Jay goes beyond other entry-level alternatives by including gyro for tilt calculation and inertial navigation, which it records at 50 samples/second. Accelerometer range is +/- 32 Gs. Flights that exceed 32 Gs during boost will still have accurate apogee detection thanks to the Blue Jay's multi-sensor fault tolerant apogee detection. Baro-based altitude, accel-based speed and position, battery voltage, deployment continuity voltages, temperature, and all flight event logic are all recorded during the flight.
The dimensions are 1.45" long x 0.65" wide.
Comparing the Blue Jay to the Blue Raven altimeter, several features were cut to save size and cost. There are 2 output channels rather than 4. The flash memory space is reduced, and the data is recorded at only 50 samples/second. The Blue Raven has a 400G accelerometer that the Blue Jay does not, so the Blue Jay's maximum accelerometer measurements are +/- 32 Gs. The Blue Jay does not have the Blue Raven's large hold-up supercapacitor which can keep the Blue Raven powered even if the battery is shorted through the outputs for several seconds, as can happen during anomalies or high powered airstarts. Instead, the Blue Jay has about 15 msec of operating time without input power, and will turn off power to the outputs if a brownout is imminent. This makes the Blue Jay suitable for ematches but not igniters. The barometric sensor is smaller and less expensive than the one used on the Blue Raven. In bell jar tests it matches well with the Blue Raven's readings up to about 35,000 feet, and it continues to operate and provide monotonic readings (needed for apogee detection) up to the limit of my current test equipment, which is about 75,000 feet. Its performance above that altitude is not yet known.
