Keith and I both hope to be able to attend "Thunda Down Under"[1] in
2015, and I've sent the organizers email requesting information on what
it takes to be treated as an on-site vendor.
Of course, it's always more fun to be at a launch when you have something
interesting to fly! Thus, while Keith and I might each show up with a
modest "travel rocket" of some sort... I've started pondering possible
larger "Altus Metrum" group projects. Since transporting a large
airframe to Australia would be a hassle, I wonder if a group project to
build an airframe in-country makes more sense? To that end, I'd be
pleased to know if any of our friends and customers in Australia want to
sign up to help with such a project?
My thoughts would be to engage in some group-think about project scope
and goals, then hope friends in-country would take on the sourcing and
preparation of suitable airframe materials. Depending on who wants to
participate and how tasks get taken up, we might plan to arrive a bit
early to help with any final assembly or other preparations,
installation of suitably fresh Altus Metrum electronics, etc.
So, to all our Aussie friends... does this sound like fun? If so,
please chime in with a reply. I don't expect the email associated with
such a project to be too heavy a load for this list to carry, but we can
always spawn a dedicated lists.gag.com list if I'm wrong.
Regards,
Bdale
[1] http://thunda.com.au/
First off, I hope everyone is having a great holiday season this year!
Keith and I are both enjoying brief breaks from our $dayjob
responsibilities to spend quality time with our respective families.
I've received enough emails asking about product availability that I
thought a quick email with a status update to the altusmetrum list might
be in order.
We are currently out of stock on EasyMini, TeleGPS, TeleMega, and
TeleMini boards. We have plenty of TeleMetrum and both ground stations,
good stock on most accessories, and modest inventory of the MicroPeak
family. I have no way of knowing what our distributors have in their
stock, but if you need something quickly that we're out of, please check
with them... a list with URLs is on the altusmetrum.org web site.
We expect our SMT assembler to complete more of both TeleGPS and
TeleMega this week, after which my son and I will tackle final assembly,
test, calibration, and packaging. With any luck, both of those products
will be back in stock sometime in the next week. An EasyMini production
run is also underway, and we hope to have those back in stock before the
end of January.
TeleMini is something we build by hand in small quantities. If you want
one desperately, let us know. Otherwise, I hope we'll find time to make up
another small batch of those to put in stock sometime in the next month
or two.
Let me know if you have any other questions... and have a Happy New Year!
Bdale
I was let down by the battery last weekend. While it is probably my fault, it meant I had to swap out the TeleMetrum for a non-trackable flight computer. This led to an hour of whacking bushes so to speak in farmers fields. This is what I got the TeleMetrum to prevent. So I have some questions about the best way to care for and handle the battery. (I’m using the 900 MaH LiPO)
When I last used the device, I’d returned from the field exhausted. I just set the rocket aside with the battery still connected to the TeleMetrum. I knew this would drain the battery, but I thought it would be no worse than that. When I did take it out to charge, I found that I’d actually left it on, so it had been transmitting until it died. Oops. So I put it on to charge overnight before bringing it to the field.
I’d never actually checked it until I got to the field. The battery hadn’t charged at all. It was dead. I put it on a car charger for a little while, but I was getting nothing. So I had to swap it out for another, less capable, computer. When I removed the battery from the foam I had wrapped it in, I also noticed that it had swollen, and was no longer the flat battery I had put in.
So my questions are:
1. Is it normal for a battery to fail after being fully and completely discharged, or do I have a bad battery?
2. Is the swelling of the battery normal? If not, what would cause this?
3. What are some good ‘Best Practices’ for the care and handling of the battery?
David Carter
NAR 98850 Level 2
KC3FEW
It works fine on my old Samsung S3. Carrier shouldn't matter. It even works when there is no service available. It took me right to my rocket when it landed a mile and a half away in the sage brush.
Terry
