Altus Metrum announces AltOS 1.9.5
Announcing AltOS 1.9.5
Firmware Changes:
* Add Booster mode for all dual-deploy altimeters. Select
"Separation & Apogee" mode in AltosUI to fire the 'main' channel
at first motor burnout and the 'apogee' channel at apogee.
* Improve reliability of stm32l firmware under heavy load. This was
found using Monitor Idle on TeleMega with all flash slots full of
data which would occasionally lock up.
* Fix orientation label in AltosUI for devices with radios. This
makes the orientation say 'Antenna up' and 'Antenna Down' for
TeleMetrum and TeleMega again.
* Fix log data for pyro channels which were inhibited (often because
of a tilt limit). They used to report 'fired' as soon as they were
inhibited, which was misleading. Now they never report as having
been fired.
* Allow Igniter Test to fire each igniter more than once.
AltosUI Changes:
* Improve performance of Monitor Idle mode by sending less data for
each update.
* Improve Mac OS X install scripts so that they work on
Catalina. This involves sending the user to get Java from the
AdoptOpenJDK project which provides a version that works with Java
applications.
* Make larger dialogs scrollable for use on smaller screens.
* Fix troubles re-flashing EasyMega boards running older firmware.
* Add TeleMetrum v3.0 firmware to the Windows AltosUI packages.
Read more about AltOS here:
https://altusmetrum.org/AltOS/
I was attempting to upgrade a TeleDongle 3.0 from 1.9 to 1.9.2 and I
managed to get it in a bad state. When I tried to flash the image under
Linux, I got an error (can't remember the message) and it then it
wouldn't show up as a USB device. Every time I try to flash the
TeleMetrum firmware, I get the same error message the first time, then
it usually works the next time I try it.
On the TeleDongle, I bridged pin 32 to ground and got the flash loader
to be recognized but I can't get it to flash an image. In Linux, it
just says "Opening Device" and in Windows, it does nothing after I
select the .ihx file - the dialog closes and goes back to the main UI.
I tried 1.9.1 and 1.9.4 on Windows and on Linux, 1.9.2 and 1.9.3.
Any ideas?
The reason I was trying to upgrade the TeleDongle firmware is that I've
had issues with losing the telemetry link after a while. The symptom is
that after a while, 5-30 min maybe, the TeleDongle will appear to stop
receiving data and the Age indicator will start counting up. The only
way to restore operation is to power cycle the TeleMetrum. Is this
known issue? I've had two TeleMetrum units and the same problem
occurred on both. Both devices are in the same room with plenty of
signal strength.
Thanks,
-Bob
I too had a flight last year that the telemetry (TeleMega) went dark at
apogee (37500'). Is is possible to have the firmware save the state of
the flight so it can get back to where it needs to be after a brownout?
I would think that having a quick read of the baro sensor will tell you
it is in flight and needs to be dealt with differently than when on the
ground. There are likely many other methods that could be used. It
might be useful to write the current state at time intervals to EEPROM
or FLASH, and perhaps also before triggering pyro event.
FYI my problem was caused by what I think was a bouncing snap-action
switch when the apogee event fired. I always have a separate battery
for the pyro so that is not the cause. Having state recovery
implemented might result in more recovery of rockets and less loss of
expensive (?$1200) hardware. If I eventually get the rocket back I can
confirm what the cause was. That was over 17 months ago now, and still
no sign of it. I am recommending to my university team that I am
mentoring that they implement this feature in their firmware.
Stewart Campbell
On 15-Sep.-20 23:23, altusmetrum-request(a)lists.gag.com wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. Re: Loss of tracking directions after reset (Bdale Garbee)
> 2. Re: Loss of tracking directions after reset (Casey Barker)
> 3. Re: Loss of tracking directions after reset (Alex Zoghlin)
> 4. Re: Loss of tracking directions after reset (Bdale Garbee)
> 5. Re: Loss of tracking directions after reset (Bdale Garbee)
> 6. Re: Loss of tracking directions after reset (Jesse Frey)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2020 18:49:13 -0600
> From: Bdale Garbee <bdale(a)gag.com>
> To: Alex Zoghlin <alex(a)zoghlin.com>, Altus Metrum
> <altusmetrum(a)lists.gag.com>
> Subject: Re: [altusmetrum] Loss of tracking directions after reset
> Message-ID: <87363j6f06.fsf(a)gag.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Alex Zoghlin <alex(a)zoghlin.com> writes:
>
>> Would be interesting if people reported the e-matches and batteries they
>> used to see if we could understand what different combinations
>> might cause the brownouts in the circuit.
> I don't believe these are "brownouts" in the sense you mean. It's much
> more likely they're intermittent connections in wiring.
>
> Bdale
>
At the Alamosa launch last weekend, I had my TeleMetrum reset after
the apogee charge was fired. I suspect this could be related to my AV
bay coming apart. The main ended up coming out at apogee so it came
down safely if a bit slowly and the winds were low so it didn't go too
far.
What was troubling was that AltosDroid did not seem to give me a range
to the rocket or directions on the "Recover" screen. Due to low winds
and a very flat launch site, I was able to see it all the way down and
recover the rocket.
My question is why did tracking not work and could I have done
anything to find it had I not been able to see it all the way down?
Included is the data from the altimeter and the telemitry file from the phone.
Thanks,
Jesse
Robert Watzlavick <rocket(a)watzlavick.com> writes:
> Keith - I'm very certain the TeleMetrum is not still beeping when the
> problem occurs now that I think about it. A power cycle fixes it. Are
> there any timeouts that make it shut down after a while on the ground?
Nope. It should keep running as long as there is power.
--
-keith
