Introducing the Featherweight Blue Jay altimeter

[KAD]

I hear you and I get it. There's just a tension between wanting to make the Blue Jay as capable as it can be and still keeping it distinct from the Blue Raven. I'll see how things go after the Blue Jay is available before making any changes to the plan.



All the features I could think of are in the feature comparison table. Is there one you're wondering about that is missing from there?


4.7 grams

You could cut them off, but I'm not planning to carry a different assembly version for that.

Sorry, but comparison table is missing on your page, this is why I asked.

 

[Adrian A]

Sorry, but comparison table is missing on your page, this is why I asked.

Oh thanks, I had put it in but had forgot to hit publish.

 

[KAD]

Oh thanks, I had put it in but had forgot to hit publish.

Now it’s there, also a lot of other informations.

 

[Adrian A]

My Blue Jay production programming and test fixture is going brrrrrrrr. The app that supports the Blue Jay, however, is mostly working but has a couple of small fixes before it's ready to release. I think this is close enough to allow ordering, so I just updated the website.

 

[Upsrocketman]

Ordered!

 

[kjhambrick]

@Adrian A --

Reading the new Blue Jay Pages before I order.

Does the Blue Jay record acceleration( x,y,z ) and gyro( x,y,z ) ?

Thanks !

-- kjh

 

[SolarYellow]

Sensors and data recording​

• 3-axis acclerometer (+/- 32 Gs) and gyros (+/- 2200 deg/sec) used for on-board inertial navigation (raw measurements not recorded)
• 50 Hz barometric sensor altitude and temperature
• 50 Hz tilt angle, roll angle, and predicted tilt +3 seconds
• 50 Hz vertical velocity, down-range horizontal velocity and cross-range horizontal velocity
• 50 Hz battery voltage and continuity voltage on both outputs
• 50 Hz recording of all flight events used for deployment logic

 

[kjhambrick]

Thanks, @SolarYellow .

The red text is why I asked.

I was hoping I was not reading what I thought I was reading

It looks to me like Blue Jay data storage is about the same as the Blue Raven low_rate file which does not include raw accel or gyro readings,

Is that about right ?

-- kjh

 

[Adrian A]

@Adrian A --

Reading the new Blue Jay Pages before I order.

Does the Blue Jay record acceleration( x,y,z ) and gyro( x,y,z ) ?

Thanks !

-- kjh

No; that's what the Blue Raven is for. The Blue Jay records only the same low data rate file as the Blue Raven. The flash isn't big enough for the high rate data. Originally I was going to omit all recorded data since there are a lot of people who just want a simple altimeter to eject the laundry, but I needed some flash anyway to store settings, and I like to have some recorded data for diagnostic purposes.

 

[manixFan]

In the wild! Shown with a 29mm fiberglass body tube for scale. I love the startup beeps – a nice bit of humor.


Tony

 

[kjhambrick]

Dang !

I feel really dumb ( again ) ...

I see how to buy a Magnet, an Altimeter Battery, -and-or- a Dual Battery Charger on the Featherweight Blue Jay Altimeter page.

But how do I add a Blue Jay to my Cart ?

Thanks !

EDIT: Dooh !!

Never mind: Blue Jay

Sorry about the noise !

-- kjh

 

[Titan II]

https://www.featherweightaltimeters.com/store/p28/Blue_Jay_Altimeter.html

 

[manixFan]

Dang !

I feel really dumb ( again ) ...

I see how to buy a Magnet, an Altimeter Battery, -and-or- a Dual Battery Charger on the Featherweight Blue Jay Altimeter page.

But how do I add a Blue Jay to my Cart ?

Thanks !

EDIT: Dooh !!

Never mind: Blue Jay

Sorry about the noise !

-- kjh

I had the same issue – obviously I figured it out but it was a bit hidden compared to the others.


Tony

 

[WFWalby]

My Blue Jay production programming and test fixture is going brrrrrrrr. The app that supports the Blue Jay, however, is mostly working but has a couple of small fixes before it's ready to release. I think this is close enough to allow ordering, so I just updated the website.

Dang! Already Out Of Stock! When will the next batch be available?

 

[311stylie]

In the wild! Shown with a 29mm fiberglass body tube for scale. I love the startup beeps – a nice bit of humor.


Tony


View attachment 675797

Dammit man! Now I have to go buy something I don't need just to hear the startup beeps.... stupid expensive hobby....

 

[Adrian A]

Dang! Already Out Of Stock! When will the next batch be available?

I still have stock from the first production runs and I'll program and test more today, so I just bumped up the stock in the web store. There's another small production run of 60 that should be here in a few days. Yesterday I placed an order for 500 units that should be back from the assembler around Christmas.

Sorry for the delay on the Featherweight UI App release that will support the Blue Jay. It's close, but we're still making sure that the next release doesn't introduce any new problems for other products.

 

[manixFan]

I have some old Ellis Mountain 29mm fiberglass tubing that I am going to use to make some MD motor eaters for a bunch of his SU H50s and H101s that I have. The coupler is heavy wall cardboard tube with an ID of only 25mm. Here's a sled I rigged up as a test – no switches makes it so much easier.


Tony

It required careful placement of the altimeter so the terminal block will fit:


snug as a bug in a rug! (25mm ID tubing)

 

[Adrian A]

I pushed the Featherweight UI Build 380 for iOS into review by Apple. This build supports the Blue Jay and Blue Jay Plus. I'm working on the regression testing for Android, which will hopefully be successfully completed tomorrow.

The Blue Jay user's manual is mostly done. I'm hoping to post it tomorrow or Monday.

 

[manixFan]

Following on to my post #107 above, I made a thread about a 29mm AV bay using the Blue Jay altimeter:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...covery-unit-with-a-blue-jay-altimeter.189415/

It worked out very well and I like how nice it is not having to worry about a power switch.


Tony

 

[sr205347d]

Blue Jay would be perfect for apogee deployment by cutting a hatch in the body tube between centering rings for your av bay.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/e-bay-beside-the-mmt.187825/

Should be an easy retrofit.

 

[WFWalby]

I still have stock from the first production runs and I'll program and test more today, so I just bumped up the stock in the web store. There's another small production run of 60 that should be here in a few days. Yesterday I placed an order for 500 units that should be back from the assembler around Christmas.

Sorry for the delay on the Featherweight UI App release that will support the Blue Jay. It's close, but we're still making sure that the next release doesn't introduce any new problems for other products.

Ordered! Should be here Tuesday Thanks Adrian

 

[kjhambrick]

It's so beautiful !


Time to get to work on a test rocket !

Thank you @Adrian A !

-- kjh

 

[Adrian A]

The iOS version 380 of the Featherweight UI app is available now. This is the first rev to support the Blue Jay. The Android version 380 passed its regression tests but there was a little technical issue in the release process, but it should be released tonight or tomorrow.

Build 380 does have an issue with starting a simulated flight from the phone, which I'm working on right now.

 

[WillMarchant]

The iOS version 380 of the Featherweight UI app is available now.

Thanks for supporting iOS! Since the concept of “too many altimeters” is irrational, I’ve ordered one and the power package. Looking forward to playing with it!

 

[Adrian A]

I found and fixed the problem that affects the Blue Jay simulation. A new phone build with the new firmware is coming up.

 

[2-0turbo]

Adrian, I may have missed a manual for this new product. I went an looked over the Blue Raven manual and of course, it will do anything you desire. Since this one is "simplified," not sure if it will do what I want or not.

Can the new Blue Jay Plus be used for airstarts (launch + fixed time) with a tilt inhibit? Seems like a definite maybe depending on the feature set. I know the Blue Raven will do this. I was looking at an Altus simple timer to perform this task, but I'm trying to consolidate and minimize the number of different electronics I have to learn, store,etc.

I do like the size of this package. Thank you.

 

[Dave S.]

Adrian: Will the Bluejay also support the ground test mode that the Blue Raven has?

That’s a really cool feature

 

[manixFan]

Adrian, I may have missed a manual for this new product. I went an looked over the Blue Raven manual and of course, it will do anything you desire. Since this one is "simplified," not sure if it will do what I want or not.

Can the new Blue Jay Plus be used for airstarts (launch + fixed time) with a tilt inhibit? Seems like a definite maybe depending on the feature set. I know the Blue Raven will do this. I was looking at an Altus simple timer to perform this task, but I'm trying to consolidate and minimize the number of different electronics I have to learn, store,etc.

I do like the size of this package. Thank you.

Adrian: Will the Bluejay also support the ground test mode that the Blue Raven has?

That’s a really cool feature

I'm not Adrian, but the answers are in this very thread listed on this chart:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...blue-jay-altimeter.188728/page-3#post-2650055

According to that chart, it will do both of the above. And from the Blue Jay page of the website:

"The ground test capability remotely tests your charge sizing while automatically recording slow-motion video"
and
"$100 Blue Jay: The version of the Blue Jay that can program the outputs to fire e-matches before apogee, for multi-stage flights"


Tony

https://www.featherweightaltimeters.com/blue-jay-altimeter.html

 

[Dave S.]

Tony - thanks very much for the reply.

I should’ve paid more attention to that table so I could just find the answer myself.

 

[SamW]

received my blue jay + today and I'm absolutely blown away by how tiny it really is in person. Can't wait to get it mounted and the kit ready for it. Thank you so much for a great product at a great price. Sam Wells