Strattologger avbay and COOL new gadget.

[stickershock23]

So I am building a new 4" rocket, and I needed to build a new Avbay.

I already had an extra Hialt45 From Perfectflite so that was ONE set I opted for the Strattologger for my second set.

First off, I have had NOTHING but perfect flights from my Perfect Flite altimeters.. thats why I chose the new strattologger.

This thing seems AWESOME so far. it showed up in a couple days the price was right and I can connect it to my laptop with the cables I had for my MAWDS..

SO I got it all mounted up and there is a NEW output on the Stratto that was not on my other perfect flites. its and Audio output.

SO I contacted Peter at PF and asked him what I could do with that.

He told me the 3 wires are like so.
Red battery voltage when on.
black Ground
White Signal wire for audio.

I'm thinking COOL my old deaf ears a loudspeaker would be nice..
He tells me he has a NEW ITEM that has not been released yet and wondered if I would be interested... it's an external speaker (Piazzo) that plugs right in.. and its supposed to be really loud. so I had him hook me up with one.

I get it a couple days later and I am impressed. pretty small simple and LOUD. after reading the instructions again. I notice it says those 3 wires can ALSO be used for LED's.... so my electrician mind gets rolling and I figure.. LEDS would be nice too... especially with TWO electronics in one tube. I hate making sure they are both armed..you cant tell which is which.

SO I create a little junction in may AVbay... and I hook up BOTH the external Speaker AND leds..

I opted to create a permanent connection to the stratto, so I soldered 3 leads to the connection.. PLEASE CHECK WITH PF BEFORE YOU DO THIS IT MAY HAVE VOIDED MY WARRANTY. but I am not worried about it I have NEVER had an issue with ANY PF electronics I have used.

I soldered because finding the correct connection and plug where I live would have been impossible. PLUS i dont have to worry about it coming undone.

Now when I fire up the HiAlt it will give me the standard BEEPS and tell me its armed, then I can arm the Stratto and it will beep and FLASH the LEDS that are mounted on the OUTSIDE of my AVbay. I used SUPERBRIGHT LED's so I can see them from several feet away. no more need to stick my ear and face right next to my rocket to try and hear my TWO electronics and tell if they are armed properly!!!
One note,The LED that is for POWER UP needs to have a small 1/4watt resistor soldered inline with it (i used 330 ohms) because straight 9volts is way to much for a typical LED.

Pete tells me there may very soon be a plug in LED setup like I just created.

THEN the best part.

I opted to mount my External Speaker on the Lower bulkhead, this way once the chutes have deployed the Speaker will be on the outside of the rocket... the Stratto logger, once it has fired both charges. first beeps out altitude. then it fires a SIREN to help in locating.. WIth this external speaker... you can hear this thing for a LONG way away.. VERY NICE especially if you land in the weeds or cornfields.. AWESOME PRODUCT PF. I love it

[YOUTUBE]wgX1wc772X4[/YOUTUBE]



Watching this video remember this is a Crappy cell phone video. this thing is WAY loud and WAY bright..

Thanks Perfect flite for an AWESOME new product!!

 

[Jiffycoil]

Wow looks great. Lights and sound!

 

[GRIFFIN]

Awesome Mark,

The Stratologger has quickly become my new standard Alt. I have sold off most others. I now use Ravens and Strattos. I flew a flight the other weekend and the Raven and the PF were only 3 feet off from eachother and less than 5 FPS off on velocity. The Stratto gets a 2 thumbs up in my book!! I love the mounting hardware that comes with it also.

 

[stickershock23]

Thanks guys..

I am really liking this alt. It's going to take a little getting used to, to program it in field, but that should be no issue.

I did like the simplicity of the Hialt45 AND the MAWD.. but I am sure after a few times plating with it.. it will be the same with this one.

 

[dlb]

Looks great, but I wonder if the charges going off will damage the speaker.

 

[stickershock23]

Looks great, but I wonder if the charges going off will damage the speaker.

I wondered that myself. BUT the instructions state

"Instead of mounting the beeper facing outward through the airframe, it can be placed on the OUTSIDE FACE of the AV bay's Drogue Bulkhead, with the wires leading through a 3/8" hole in the bulkhead an in to the Altimeter. ......

A large dab of adhesive should be placed on the backside of the AEB (amplified external beeper) and around the wires near the AEB, so that when the AEP is pressed into place on the bulkhead the adhesive both retains the AEB and seals the wire hole. Do not mount the beeper inside the av bay with a "SOUND PORT" hole through the bulkhead towards the chute and charge. if you do this, the beeper will be damaged by the pressure differential when the charge fires and gas will enter the av bay"


Remember a Piazzo element does NOT have a diaphragm or membrane, it has two METAL layers on top of each other... I think it would be pretty tought to burst a metal disk with a simple ejection charge. I think Glueing the BACKSIDE of the AEB is basically laying the speaker element FLAT on the Bulkhead and making it immune to the pressure. but that is just my guess.

 

[GDJ]

Remember a Piazzo element does NOT have a diaphragm or membrane, it has two METAL layers on top of each other... I think it would be pretty tought to burst a metal disk with a simple ejection charge. I think Glueing the BACKSIDE of the AEB is basically laying the speaker element FLAT on the Bulkhead and making it immune to the pressure. but that is just my guess.

True, but you would lose decibels because the airspace behind the diaphragm would be less than the ideal volume for the diaphragm (altho' it's damn little volume needed).

I've been messing around with a twin-diaphragm sonic locator and so far the best sound level by far is to mount the diaphragm in a hole in your AV mount that's about 1/8" smaller than the diaphragm itself, then use RTV silicone to mount it. Basically you will be making a small flat baffle with a driver, and the silicone will act like a surround from a midrange or woofer. Sound from the back of the diaphragm will have a harder time cancelling out the sound from the front, therefore gaining you a few decibels.

Also the pressure pulse from the ejection charge will most likely hit both sides of the diaphragm, cancelling any effects of pressure on it.

 

[Jiffycoil]

The diaphragm consists of a metal plate made up of brass or stainless steel and a piezoceramic disc of smaller radius connected to it with a conductive adhesive. *The metal plate is used because the resonance frequency of the piezo ceramic material is too high to produce audible sound. So there is no air gap. It's housed in a cylindrical plastic housing with a hole on the top face to help sound to propagate. My only concern would be heat from the hot gases causing problems with the housing. I don't believe it would harm the piezoceramic disc, it's ceramic . I would think the heat doesn't stay in the deployment area long enough to cause a problem. There are other plastic parts in the AV bay that don't seem to be harmed too much by the BP charge. I guess time will tell.

 

[Jiffycoil]

Sorry GDJ
I didn't see your Post. Brilliant ideas.

 

[GDJ]

Sorry GDJ
I didn't see your Post. Brilliant ideas.

No biggie.

I took some post secondary classes in Recording Arts and Music Production, and I studied a great deal with Acoustics, Speaker and transducer theory.

In short, I can build you a kick-ass pair of speakers. LOL

 

[stickershock23]

No biggie.

I took some post secondary classes in Recording Arts and Music Production, and I studied a great deal with Acoustics, Speaker and transducer theory.

In short, I can build you a kick-ass pair of speakers. LOL

Yes But would you want to?? LOL

I guess we will see how the piazzo goes. I am sure it will be ok.

Gonna have to wait till march to find out.

 

[stickershock23]

Well I finally got to put my rocket up in the air!! Made the two mile club!! woo hoo (by two feet LOL)

The stratto logger worked AWESOME. the LED's made it REALLY easy to arm up TWO sets of electronics.. NO confusion as to which was which and what beeps were what..

the external speaker worked REALLY well. the rocket recovered about a mile from the pad. as I walked over the last little hill maybe 20 yards from the rocket. I could hear the siren going off, then I could hear it report out flight data!! I knew my altitude before I got to the rocket!!

So having the "speaker" glued to the bulkhead, PERFECT. no damage to the speaker from the ejection charge. and I am TOUGH on that end.. I used 3 grams in a 4" rocket!

Bottom line. this is a GREAT new product and I would HIGHLY recommend it!! thanks Perfect Flite!

 

[cavecentral]

I have several Strattologgers and would LOVE to use a speaker setup to eliminate the need for a separate recovery beeper.

Where can I get speakers that work well (or when can we order one from PF)? I'm not the most electricly gifted person to just start trying things at random.

Thanks!

 

[bytesiz]

They are available direct from Perfectflite.

I suspect you could pick one up from most Perfectflite dealers as well.

 

[GregGleason]

Cool gadget!

I don't know how I missed this thread before but I did.

Thanks for the writeup Mark and for the nice product PerfectFlite!

Greg

 

[dixontj93060]

Just installed one of these piezos this morning on my Rocketry Warehouse Formula 98.

 

[stickershock23]

Yep the speaker is available directly from Perfect Flite, and I imagine dealers have them or will have them soon.

the plug right in so if you are not electrically inclined its an EASY install. I spliced in my own super bright LEDS. (I had to add a small resistor to get the correct voltage)

when I get a chance I'll download the flight info and post it up just for fun..

 

[cavecentral]

Awesome. These were not out yet when I bought my strattologgers.

 

[stickershock23]

I dont see them on the website as of yet. but I KNOW you can contact him and get on... WELL worth the time!!

 

[dixontj93060]

I dont see them on the website as of yet. but I KNOW you can contact him and get on... WELL worth the time!!

I ordered from the website. IIRC, it is under accessories.

 

[SS/EA 6BBL 71 Cuda]

Awesome Mark,

The Stratologger has quickly become my new standard Alt. I have sold off most others.

Great post Mark! I agree with Jason here......"The Strat" for me has also become my favorite altimeter. I run it with my Marsa54's when I need more detailed information on my flights. I've flown them to Mach 2.5 flights and also dropped them from "way up" and, haven't damaged one yet.

Bang for the buck.....the best altimeter(s) I've ever purchased!