Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike on June 9, 2012 at 10:38am

$39 for high altitude (above 60,000) GPS with 16 hour internal data logging from AdaFruit

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Permalink Reply by Mike on June 10, 2012 at 5:23am

Caveat regarding the Adafruit GPS for high altitude (above 60,000 feet), seems there are a few rumblings questioning the validity of the GPS's operating height. Please read the following Adafruit statement: "We trust that the factory has removed the limit but we have not done independent verification yet. If this feature is critical, please do not purchase until we've personally verified it!"

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Permalink Reply by Mike on June 10, 2012 at 5:10am

Hi Monroe . . . no team, just me with a strong interest in citizen science via balloons, e.g., mapping & ionizing radiation, etc - enjoy the relative minimalism. Nice to make a connection. CHEERS! Mike

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Permalink Reply by Earl on June 15, 2012 at 9:16pm

Well the 3rd balloon flight went very well.

Launch @ 10:19 am MDT at Walmart Parking Lot Altitude 6598 Ft.

Burst @ 97411 ft. altitude

Landed @ 1:21 PM MDT 37 miles north of launch point, elevation 6939 ft.

Coldest the container got was almost -50 degrees F

Warmest was almost 100 degrees F at launch in parking lot.

You may see the flight record at APRS.Fi and search for kd5vsh-1 ay 10 am 6/15/12 for 4 hours.

you can see the flight altitudes and temps and battery voltage.

Recovery was less than 20 mins after touchdown 30 yards from interstate 25 !

I think we can claim the record for having an APM2 at 100,000 ft 3 times !

Earl   will have picts later.

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Permalink Reply by AS on June 18, 2012 at 12:19pm

Hi Earl! What 433MHz amplifier did you use with you 433 3DR radio?

Best of lucks! :)

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Permalink Reply by Earl on June 20, 2012 at 5:35pm

minikits.com.au/kits7.html

RA07H4047M KIT2

Complete Kit Including RA07H4047M Module www.minikits.com.au   Earl

$47.70 AUD

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Permalink Reply by AS on June 21, 2012 at 1:44am

Thanks Earl!

One more Question, did you used it only to TX or TX/RX? I need one for TX/RX.

Best of lucks! :)

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Permalink Reply by Earl on June 29, 2012 at 8:09pm

Tx only. Not bi-directional.

We are launching another balloon 7/2/12 at 16:00 UTC in Edgewood NM Walmart parking lot.

Folloow on APRS.fi looking for callsign  KE5VSH-1

Earl

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Permalink Reply by Larry Grater on July 1, 2012 at 9:10am

Modified Stinger 64 EDF. Dataflash Issues.

Thought I would post a pic of the low altitude version of my project.  This has propulsion as opposed to the high altitude variant which will have the space reserved for electronics/camera...  Basically I'm trying to tune a 100 mph airframe.  :-) 

Problem is that I'm having the same dataflash issues that others are seeing. 

Card loose

Flash not found

Looks nominal (including correct bitmask), but data not recorded.

  - note that bitmask will be zero on CLI exit if the card is not seated properly

Recorded data not accessible unless -1 option is used

Data using -1 option appears to include odd, and old data, some flash read errors

Configuration: APM2/firmware 2.40/planner 1.94/jumper removed, 5.05v BEC in/out sides

I've tried: reformatting, using a dataflash that fits better, multiple erases, uploading new firmware, initializing w/o card/power-off/format, tape trick for better contact, multiple power configurations.

Hopefully we'll get fairly quick resolution so that we can record mission data using the dataflash. Alternate methods exist, but I'd like to keep focused on a fix here.  For this airframe, data is necessary to see airspeed calibration, CTUN/NTUN data. 

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Permalink Reply by Mike on July 30, 2012 at 1:16pm

On high altitude balloon projects to avoid Arduino flight computer failures due to outside systems, for example,  cutdown, communications, or sensor controllers from getting stuck in a subroutine, watchdog timer within Task Scheduler for Arduino will reset the flight computer. Source: Hack a Day

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Permalink Reply by Lincoln on September 19, 2012 at 6:47pm

Earl - 

Did the plane end up going where you told it?  How did you solve activating the servo's at the right time?

I am trying to get everything together for a launch, using APM2.5.  No APRS, just a modified cell phone for recovery(sends SMS of location).

Thanks. Lincoln

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Permalink Reply by Nicolas K on September 21, 2012 at 1:47pm

Hi folks,

I want to introduce my balloon based high altitude UAV. The construction is compact, lightweight and low budget but includes full 9 DoF IMU, GPS, pitot tube, barometer, VGA-camera, 20dbm transceiver and so on. For landing it is equipped with a parachute. Some more details you can find on the project blog. Current step is to realize the parachute ejection.

Pleace let me now your suggestions!

Nicolas

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