For the people who have been waiting for the Stratologger CF to get back into stock and then snapped them up, what are your favorite features/qualities about this altimeter?
I think the SLCF feature set for the price is very compelling. Some things that come to mind (as a long time fan of both SLCFs and Ravens) are -
1. The baro vs time graph is just enough supplemental information for things like apogee timing, chute decent rates, rough velocity, but still extremely simple and approachable (especially for new flyers).
2. Single push button programming is a nice optional feature if you don’t want to fuss with hooking it up to an external device in the field.
3. Terminal pairs for battery, switch, main, apogee. When bay volume isn’t at a super premium it’s nice to be able to have all the ground points built into the board so there isn’t jamming multiple wires into a single terminal or an external junction point. The simple circuit and power perch seem popular for this reason.
4. Fleet friendly pricing - probably one of the biggest draws to the SLCF is the $59 price point. You can equip a full redundant dual deploy rocket for $118 vs $350 for a dual Raven setup. This makes it easier to be able to keep one or two SLCFs in each rocket (which drives sales volume). Transferring altimeters between rockets isn’t a huge deal but anything to cut down on field prep time is a huge win in my book. It might simply be more convenient to have a larger number of basic altimeters if the advanced features of something like a Raven isn’t needed.
From what I’ve seen at local club launches, the SLCF with a 100k baro sensor covers the needs of probably 90-95%+ of the HPR sport launches on any given weekend and has a reliable reputation. The Raven is certainly a class leader in capability but I generally keep them for large/complex projects. If I’m just doing a dual deployment flight and won’t be dissecting the data afterwards it’s hard to beat the SLCF. This is especially true if there’s a chance of electronics loss due to recovery issues (trees, upper level winds) or hazards (areas of standing water) in the vicinity of the flying field. In these cases I’d definitely fly a cheaper altimeter if it can get the job done.
I think a baro only Raven “Lite” with DD capabilities would fly off the shelves if it had similar features and price point to the SLCF. One thing I would improve with the SLCF is putting the USB port right on the board (a very nice Raven feature) so you don’t have to keep track of a proprietary data transfer cord.