HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colorado USA — Hobby rocketry receives the benefit of real rocket science with the introduction of the world's lightest altimeter including the battery, The Parrot Altimeter, a product of Featherweight Altimeters, weighing in at less than 9 grams of total weight.

The Parrot Altimeter and Featherweight Altimeters is the brainchild of Adrian Adamson, a real "rocket science" kind of guy. Adamson is an engineer who worked with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the electrical system for the Mars Rover and more recently finds himself working on NASA's new BDR. Turning his expertise to the hobby, his challenge was to design the smallest device he could to be used in hobby rockets, and The Parrot was the result.

The world's lightest altimeter, The Parrot.

The size of a peanut, The Parrot is all dynamite in a small package.

Slip-fit insite a BT-20 nosecone from a Hi-Flier kit, you can see how the mini-USB cable connects to The Parrot.

"I designed this with the idea in mind of using it for low-powered rocket altitude competitions," Adamson said, "so it friction fits into a BT-20 nosecone, and one of the mounting holes can be used to attach the streamer/parachute cord." Adamson is currently working to get The Parrot certified for use in record attempts.

Weighing just 8.6 grams, including the battery, The Parrot can indeed make the claim of being the world's lightest altimeter. The small 3.7v lithium-ion polymer (li-poly) battery allows the device to be an ultralight on the scales. And, being small enough to fit into a 17mm BT-20 sized tube gives The Parrot the profile of a svelte supermodel.

The electrical connects from the device to a computer by way of a USB cable connection, using the smaller mini-USB-styled connector that is usually found on small electronics, cameras and other consumer electronics. This connection is what allows The Parrot to use a built-in battery, providing the juice necessary to recharge the device, employing a built-in charger that also contains a voltage and current limiter. The mini-USB connection eliminates some of the difficulties that other devices face which are still stuck back in the ancient serial port age.

The Parrot sports a dual-axis accelerometer as well as barometric electronics, providing a range of acceleration measurement of +/- 70 Gs axially and 35 Gs laterally, with the barometric device providing a range up to either 30,000 feet that resolves every 2.5 feet/count, or a 100,000 foot option that resolves every 5 feet/count, both taken from sea level.

The built-in EEPROM memory contains 16MBits of flash memory that holds five flights worth of data separately, and the attached beeper provides audible interaction with the device as well as serves as a locator beacon after flight. Five light emitting diodes (LEDs) serve as the visual interface, and includes three that operate in flight, for use in night flights. A push-button switch serves as the on-off mechanism as well as functions to change modes.

Designed as a recording device more so than for use in dual deployment, The Parrot comes with the ability to deploy a recovery system at apogee, but requires a separate battery and arming switch for the ejection charge. Adamson is currently looking at ways to incorporate dual deployment into the device without sacrificing The Parrot's small footprint.

The two axes of acceleration measurement can be used to record post-burnout drag for Cd calculations, and the dynamics of the launcher interactions, deployment, and landing. The actual thrust curve of the motor can be reconstructed using the velocity-dependent Cd. In some circumstances, the second axis can provide roll rate information.

Features:

• Mass of 8.6 grams, including battery. This makes it the lightest altimeter with battery.
• Barometric altimeter with a range of 30,000+ feet (resolution: ~2.5 feet/count), or 100,000+ feet (resolution: ~5.0 feet/count).
• Two-axis accelerometer. Range: +/- 70 Gs in thrust axis, +/- 35 Gs in lateral axis. ~0.03 G/count resolution.
• Chip temperature. Resolution: ~0.1 F.
• Battery voltage.
• End-to-end temperature compensation for all analog measurements.
• Included Li-poly battery never needs replacing.
• USB interface for data interface and battery charging. No separate $30+ transfer board required.
• Safe Li-poly charger built-in, includes current and voltage limit.
• 16Mbits EEPROM for flight data.
• 5 flights recorded separately. Recorded data rate variable by flight mode.
• Beeper for locating, launch countdown, and mode feedback.
• 3 mounting holes.
• 5 LEDs, including 3 that operate in flight for night flights.
• Pushbutton switch for on/off and changing modes.
• USB drivers and Excel spreadsheet for analysis.
• Bare-bones Apogee deployment (requires separate battery & arm switch).

The Parrot Altimeters are currently on sale for $110, and are available along with the latest specifications, user manual, an altimeter comparison and sample flight data from the company website.

Website: http://www.featherweightaltimeters.com/

12-02-2007 06:11 AM  #1
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1732	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Darrell, (That was fast.) This is a very nice unit indeed and the quality of data is outstanding. The included Lithium battery/recharge via the USB is simply brilliant. Of course, one would almost expect as much from a Rover guy--the solar cell/Lithium battery combo used there has been unimaginably successful.

12-02-2007 02:34 PM  #2
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: (That was fast.) Should I slow down? The news waits for no man...

12-03-2007 03:09 AM  #3
agrippo Certified Level Three   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 71	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter It appears to be a fine unit but until it is dual deployment capable I think the folks that fly high power are not going to need it and at that price how many of the whoosh poppers are going to want it... It's like having a super model girlfriend that doesn't offer a night life. Comments? Andrew Grippo

12-03-2007 03:17 AM  #4
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1732	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Agreed thats a shortcoming. The press attachment says he's working on it. Bear in mind tho, that this has two axis accelerometry, and a baro which can be extended to 100k. I see it primarily as instrumentation in conjunction with something like a MAWD at this point, or for low impulse record/contest use. There really is no competing unit except the picoalt which is is also a niche product. But hey i have daytime appointments for any supermodels in need of attention.

12-03-2007 08:35 AM  #5
UncleVanya   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 1465	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Here are a couple of ideas: 1) Small LiPo cell + arming switch add-on to allow for deployment. (Or coin cells) 2) Ability to set this for altitude (baro) based deployment ONLY to act as the main recovery deployment device in a rocket that uses motor ejection to deploy the drogue or separate the body in a drogue-less configuration.

12-03-2007 12:10 PM  #6
Adrian A Featherweight Altimeters   Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 86	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Thanks for your kind words, Denverdoc. Quote: It appears to be a fine unit but until it is dual deployment capable I think the folks that fly high power are not going to need it For a high-power, dual-deploy rocket that can fit larger altimeters, the Parrot would be useful as an apogee backup that doesn't take up much room in the electronics bay, and provide the 200Hz accel data missing from most other altimeters. A Parrot plus an RRC2 gives more data than an RDAS, while providing dis-similar redundancy, all at a lower price. I've also been in some discussions with folks who are interested in taking advantage of its ability to read pressure down to 0 psi (100,000 ft+). The apogee deployment has an automatic accel-based mach inhibit, by the way. Quote: and at that price how many of the whoosh poppers are going to want it Not everyone who flies small rockets is doing it because they can't fly bigger rockets. Club records and such are a lot of fun. If you want to measure what the Cd of your C6-7 minimum diameter rocket really was, the Parrot is the only altimeter that makes that possible. It's great for education, too. Quote: Here are a couple of ideas: 1) Small LiPo cell + arming switch add-on to allow for deployment. (Or coin cells) Yep, this is what I do for my mid-power record attempts, because sometimes an 8 second delay just isn't long enough. I fly a Parrot with the BeeLine transmitter, and use the BeeLine's battery to power the deployment. I have some tiny screw switches of my own design for the arming switch. In November I flew a Parrot, arming switch and Beeline to 8422 feet on an F10, with the Parrot doing deployment duty. Unfortunately, the shock cord broke, but I found the nosecone in the weeds using the Beeline's radio signal and the Parrot's audible one. Quote: 2) Ability to set this for altitude (baro) based deployment ONLY to act as the main recovery deployment device in a rocket that uses motor ejection to deploy the drogue or separate the body in a drogue-less configuration. This is one of my next projects. The microcontroller's code space is completely full with the apogee deployment, so I'll have to delete or streamline some of the other firmware to make the Parrot operate this way. When I get it done I'll post more details, and I'll be happy to reprogram someone's Parrot if they want the new version. The Parrot actually has 2 high-current outputs. One goes to the mounting holes for the apogee deployment, and the other goes to the beeper. In theory, with the right firmware, someone could solder in deployment leads in place of the beeper to make it a dual-deploy altimeter. This is another project that's a little farther down the road.

12-03-2007 12:46 PM  #7
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1732	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Adrian, Some concern about LiPo batteries was raised on the composite forum where I wanted to spread the word about the proposed LDRS fastest 38mm rocket braggin rights being talked about. Lot of those guys live to go fast. I opened another thread here: http://www.rocketryplanet....ums/showthread.php?t=842 and would love to get your POV when time permits.

12-03-2007 12:48 PM  #8
Clark Tripoli L2   Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 15	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Possible design flaw? In the past I have been told by a NASA in-space propulsion engineer, as well as several others that the airholes for barametric based altimeters need to be as far away as possible from the nosecone, launch lugs/railbuttons, etc... or you will get an incorrect reading. Last year I saw a TARC team with their alt mounted in the nose and they kept getting a reading of 40 feet. So I loaned them a PF read only that I had. Got the same reading, swapped out for another PF read only, same result. Has anyone tested this alt in a nose mounted configuration as shown in the picture? What was the result? If it works well in the nose it could give TARC teams a little more room to work with in the designing of their rockets.

12-03-2007 12:59 PM  #9
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1732	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Hi Clark. What I do in these cases is probably more complicated than whats needed for a TARC project: I subdivide the forward most AF segment with a bulkhead into two segments. Shockline is attached to the bottom of the BH. The lower segment functions as a chute/streamer compartment and wires are passed thru the bulkhead from above for an EC and sealed into place. The upper section, usually 4 calipers or so in length functions in 3 ways: 1) The baro vents are placed as far from the NC as possible at the aft end of the upper payload compartment, thus avoiding pressure anomalies 2) The NC can be removed but does not separate in flight. Hence the seam here can be filled with wax or whatever prior to launch to reduce drag. 3) The remainder of the compartment can be used to stow larger batteries, etc--all of which helps in moving the CG forward.

12-03-2007 01:10 PM  #10
UncleVanya   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 1465	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Does anyone know if the LiPo on this unit is replaceable?

12-03-2007 01:21 PM  #11
Adrian A Featherweight Altimeters   Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 86	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: Has anyone tested this alt in a nose mounted configuration as shown in the picture? What was the result? If it works well in the nose it could give TARC teams a little more room to work with in the designing of their rockets. I have tested the Parrot this way quite a bit, and there are artifacts in the pressure data, especially near Mach speeds. Since I always have the accel data at the same time, I usually just ignore the pressure measurements in the early part of the flight until the speed comes down and the pressure altitude converges with the accel altitude. I have also flown the Parrot quite a bit in 18mm models just as shown in the picture, without any vent holes or pressure isolation of the altimeter other than the wadding and parachutes. Without vent holes, the pressure measurements can lag somewhat behind the true altitude, which becomes obvious when you look at the plot and see a jump in altitude right after deployment. For TARC, I would recommend using the more conventional setup, with a sealed bay that's vented to the outside as far from the nose and fins as possible, so you get the best consistency with your data.

12-03-2007 01:27 PM  #12
Adrian A Featherweight Altimeters   Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 86	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: Does anyone know if the LiPo on this unit is replaceable? It's not replaceable without some work. It's glued onto the board with 5 minute epoxy, which I find holds the battery on even for lawn darts, but still allows it to be gently pried off, if necessary. The battery leads are soldered onto the board. The cell should have 70-80% capacity after 500 cycles, so replacement shouldn't be an issue except in cases of damage. A friend of mine was sanding down the edges of his Parrot to make it even narrower, and sanded into the battery, breaching the pouch seal. Nobody noticed at the time, and we only discovered it later when the battery capacity went way down. Other than that, I haven't had to replace any batteries, though I haven't been flying them all that long.

12-03-2007 01:57 PM  #13
UncleVanya   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 1465	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: It's not replaceable without some work. It's glued onto the board with 5 minute epoxy, which I find holds the battery on even for lawn darts, but still allows it to be gently pried off, if necessary. The battery leads are soldered onto the board. The cell should have 70-80% capacity after 500 cycles, so replacement shouldn't be an issue except in cases of damage. My main concern is the damage one. Can you subject the battery to some simulated hard landings and report back on how it holds up?

12-03-2007 02:03 PM  #14
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1732	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Adrian, Is Chris in one of those highrise dorms at CU? Maybe he could drop a few out the window, that is if they let aerospace majors there have windows which open. Never know with the pressure when one will go an impulsive flight out one. I could do look out.

12-03-2007 02:18 PM  #15
Adrian A Featherweight Altimeters   Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 86	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: My main concern is the damage one. Can you subject the battery to some simulated hard landings and report back on how it holds up? Done. See my post in the battery discussion Denverdoc started.

12-03-2007 11:06 PM  #16
rdh8 Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 28	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter There was a typo in the article. It's not the worlds smallest. http://www.picoalt.com/P2.htm

12-03-2007 11:41 PM  #17
mrtidy New Member   Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 1	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Aye - probably a typo, but I couldn't find a smaller recording altimeter when I looked. The pico alt didn't appear to record which is what I was looking for. I bought a Parrot - impressive units.

12-03-2007 11:50 PM  #18
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: There was a typo in the article. It's not the worlds smallest. http://www.picoalt.com/P2.htm Nope, no typo. Thus sayeth the article: "Turning his expertise to the hobby, his challenge was to design the smallest device he could to be used in hobby rockets, and The Parrot was the result." That's the only place the word "smallest" is used in the article, and it doesn't say it was the smallest altimeter in the world — the sentence said "his challenge was to design the smallest device he could." Now if you want to look for the word "world" with a descriptor, look for "world's lightest."

12-03-2007 11:56 PM  #19
rdh8 Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 28	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: Aye - probably a typo, but I couldn't find a smaller recording altimeter when I looked. The pico alt didn't appear to record which is what I was looking for. I bought a Parrot - impressive units. Good. It looks like a fine device. You will be happy with it.

12-03-2007 11:59 PM  #20
rdh8 Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 28	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: Nope, no typo. Thus sayeth the article: "Turning his expertise to the hobby, his challenge was to design the smallest device he could to be used in hobby rockets, and The Parrot was the result." That's the only place the word "smallest" is used in the article, and it doesn't say it was the smallest altimeter in the world — the sentence said "his challenge was to design the smallest device he could." Now if you want to look for the word "world" with a descriptor, look for "world's lightest." Ahh ha, I stand corrected. It's not the 'lightest' altimeter in the world.

12-04-2007 09:01 AM  #21
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: Ahh ha, I stand corrected. It's not the 'lightest' altimeter in the world. Including battery.

12-04-2007 10:18 AM  #22
rdh8 Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 28	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: Including battery. Yep, the P2 has a battery mounted on the back of the board. http://www.picoalt.com/images/PICO_P2back.jpg And still under 3grams.

12-04-2007 01:03 PM  #23
UncleVanya   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 1465	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: Yep, the P2 has a battery mounted on the back of the board. http://www.picoalt.com/images/PICO_P2back.jpg And still under 3grams. How about ... worlds smallest and lightest (including battery) recording and deployment altimeter... is that accurate?

12-04-2007 01:39 PM  #24
UncleVanya   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 1465	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: There was a typo in the article. It's not the worlds smallest. http://www.picoalt.com/P2.htm How did you find it? When I go to their site (www.picoalt.com) there is no obvious link to the P2.

12-04-2007 02:05 PM  #25
rdh8 Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 28	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: How about ... worlds smallest and lightest (including battery) recording and deployment altimeter... is that accurate? Ahh... A moving target. IC So worlds smallest and lightest including battery recording dual deployment altimeter. So how about .6 x 1.5 inch at 7.5grams. http://www.picoalt.com/AA3.htm

12-04-2007 03:43 PM  #26
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter I've got the world's smallest and lightest 6 event recording flight computer (including battery) at .5" by 1", but I'm not going to tell you how to find it. I have a website, but there are no links. If you want to buy it, you have to figure out how much it costs and send me a check. If you got everything right, I'll send it to you. For what it's worth, when I search "world's lightest altimeter" into Google, I can't find picoalt.com in the first 10 pages of results. I gave up after that. I did see picoalt.com as the first response on "world's smallest altimeter". Good work, but I guess you need to do some SEO for world's lightest.

12-04-2007 04:08 PM  #27
jsdemar NAR/TRA L3   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 291	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter "Mines even smaller. So small that I don't remember where I put it. It's so light that it must have blown away." Robert's AA3 does exist. I've seen it. Don't be too critical about availability. Rocketry 'companies' don't make many of any product. Few make anything ahead of time. And nobody makes any real money.

12-04-2007 04:09 PM  #28
rdh8 Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 28	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: I've got the world's smallest and lightest 6 event recording flight computer (including battery) at .5" by 1", but I'm not going to tell you how to find it. I have a website, but there are no links. If you want to buy it, you have to figure out how much it costs and send me a check. If you got everything right, I'll send it to you. For what it's worth, when I search "world's lightest altimeter" into Google, I can't find picoalt.com in the first 10 pages of results. I gave up after that. I did see picoalt.com as the first response on "world's smallest altimeter". Good work, but I guess you need to do some SEO for world's lightest. Not everything is available on the net. Especially special projects. Do a search for talking altimeter and I am sure you won't find that either. Robert

12-04-2007 06:02 PM  #29
Adrian A Featherweight Altimeters   Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 86	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Robert, The AA3 looks on the surface to be pretty comparable with the Parrot, and a gram lighter. Clearly, though, you were smarter about its pricing ($200 ) than I was! I'm almost ready to change my site to say "one of the world's lightest altimeters" or something like that, but I'm kind of stumped as to why there is no link to the P2 or the AA3 from your home page, nor any user's manual on-line. Could you give an explanation? I'm curious to see how the two altimeters compare at a more detailed level, but doing that here could into a long and pretty boring comparison. Robert and ddmobley, what do you think about an independent head-to-head comparison review?

12-04-2007 06:22 PM  #30
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: I'm almost ready to change my site to say "one of the world's lightest altimeters" or something like that, but I'm kind of stumped as to why there is no link to the P2 or the AA3 from your home page, nor any user's manual on-line. Could you give an explanation? Perhaps you should say the world's lightest altimeter that's available for sale on the Internet to the general public? Quote: I'm curious to see how the two altimeters compare at a more detailed level, but doing that here could into a long and pretty boring comparison. Robert and ddmobley, what do you think about an independent head-to-head comparison review? I don't know, before it concludes you might get invited to put on some brass knucks and see who can knock each other out? John's right, many rocketry companies don't produce much, but when I see one that has products available, even has an order button on the site to make purchases, I didn't expect to write an article about it and then have it nitpicked by a competitor who wants to challenge each statement. Especially you, Robert, since it appears you develop your products more as a labor of love and not as a fully commercial venture. At least that's my impression, since I feel that if you were serious about selling altimeters, you'd put all of your products on your site with information on how to purchase them for the world to see. Your products are great from what I have heard, but having the best products on the market doesn't do much good if their availability is difficult at best to ascertain. Art Upton is right, there is a time and a place for everything, but some of the rocketry crowd appears to have misplaced their manners. The open sniping that occurs each time a vendor comes along and I then publish information about their newly available product wouldn't encourage me to throw my hat in the ring, that's for sure. In fact, it makes me question why I allow comments to be posted on the news releases and hobby information articles at all, just like I am right now. I am ashamed of the initial impression Adrian gets of Rocketry Planet and of our members because of this. Completely embarrassed. Adrian, if you and Robert want to conduct a comparison, by all means please do. If I publish the results, I will be sure to disable the commenting, which is a loss for the entire community. Open, well-mannered discourse is a good thing, but I don't think anyone likes pick, pick, pick.

12-04-2007 09:25 PM  #31
rdh8 Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 28	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Quote: I didn't expect to write an article about it and then have it nitpicked by a competitor who wants to challenge each statement. Especially you, Robert, since it appears you develop your products more as a labor of love and not as a fully commercial venture. Sorry Darrel, Adrian, everyone. I didn't intend to pick pick pick at the product. It looks like a good offering. We are too small a community for that. I set out to build the smallest altimeter back in 2002 and have continually refined it month after month as new technology comes out. So as you said it's more a labor of love. And as Adrian pointed out I price some thing so people wont buy them. I will and do sell them. But would rather not. With well over 30 different models I have built I simply don't have time to update the web page. I just wanted to defend my place in the smallest little nitch with the smallest little altimeter. Robert

12-04-2007 11:12 PM  #32
Adrian A Featherweight Altimeters   Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 86	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Robert, your apology to me is gracious but unnecessary. You've been the one on the receiving end of all the pot shots in this thread, and your posts have been completely professional. I respect your work and acknowledge you have the smallest and lightest altimeters out there. When I suggested the comparison I thought it might be fun and interesting, but I see now that maybe it was a little too competitive. This is all for fun, and I don't think anyone's livelihood depends on this, but a comparison review would probably raise the stakes to the point where it would be less fun for everyone, so I'd like to withdraw that proposal. ddmobley, you don't need to be embarrassed on my account. This article has been nothing but positive for me, so I have nothing to complain about. Here is a graph of my web site traffic over the past few days: (Deleted due to asking for login id) As one of the few who were so foolish as to make a substantial batch ahead of time, I'm very grateful for the exposure.

12-04-2007 11:41 PM  #33
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1732	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter For whats it worth, both Robert and Adrian are the kind of guys I love to see in this hobby, and totally appreciate their efforts so a scmuck like myself can come along and fly small rockets to high altitudes, and not worry about optical closure and whether the tempura paint powder should be black or pink that day or whether Joe's prescription lenses need updating. These are marvelous products, we are lucky to have one of a type, much more so, two. So much can be learned.

12-04-2007 11:49 PM  #34
SparkyVT New Member   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 1	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter After reading the posts here, I felt compelled to say that I support Adrian and what he's done, so much so that I went and purchased one. Admittedly I'm a NEWB and this is my first post, but this little altimeter is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I have 2 MAWD's and they work GREAT, but the recorded data they output isn't the greatest. I've spent a few months toying with a couple noise reduction techniques in an attempt to glean velocity and acceleration data, but the precision necessary for that just isn't there. Local least-squares models and moving averages work fine for velocity, but acceleration is a totally different animal. I thought about waiting for the G-WIZ HCX to come out, but why pay $235 for some features that I already have in the MAWD and others that I'll never use? The Parrot is half that price and I can fit it into my existing altimeter bays with nearly zero modification, getting the data I want with the reliability I need using the MAWD for deployment. Comments? -Sparky

12-05-2007 12:49 AM  #35
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Re: Polly wants a tiny accelerometer-based recording altimeter Who knows, maybe it was hauling my mom to the doctor that wore me out before I posted that, but I do want to have people look at the articles, read them and think we are a bunch of nice professionals around here and not Hatfields and McCoys. Adrian, your graphic won't show up since it's behind your authenticated admin panel. You'll have to screen capture the thing and attach it to your post. It keeps asking me for your password.

12-05-2007 02:24 AM  #36
Steve_Shannon Will fly beer for rockets   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 1657