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Coming in May 2011: The AltimeterTwo

New for May 2011, the AltimeterTwo packs even more power into a package the same size as the AltimeterOne. With the addition of a triple axis accelerometer and a processor that is four times faster, the AltimeterTwo can now measure speed, acceleration, and the timing of events throughout a rocket’s flight.

The AltimeterTwo in its new retail packaging

The AltimeterTwo provides a fairly extensive flight analysis, including:

ŒŽ‘’“”•1 ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“”ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“”•ŒŽ‘’“» Altitude at apogee (FT or M)
2 » Maximum speed (MPH or KPH)
3 »  Engine burn time (sec)
4 »  Maximum burn acceleration (Gs)
5 »  Average burn acceleration (Gs)
6 »  Coast time to apogee (sec)
7 »  Time from apogee to ejection (sec)
8 »  Altitude at ejection (FT or M)
9 »  Average descent speed (MPH or KPH)
10»  Duration of flight (sec)

A couple of points are worth noting:
»  You don’t need a computer to use the AltimeterTwo
»  All of its features can be used outdoors, in bright sunlight
»  Because of its specialized flight logic, it’s for rockets only
»  Like the AltimeterOne, it does NOT download data (it just displays it)

In keeping with the overall design theme of the product line, the AltimeterTwo is analogous to a high-end “point and shoot” camera. It gives you the data you need to maximize your flying enjoyment, without all of the care and feeding of a computer-based recording altimeter. It’s designed for and by rocket enthusiasts to stand up to rough treatment and real-world flying conditions.

Expected retail prices:
AltimeterOne: $49
AltimeterTwo: $69

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AltimeterOne Enhancements

We’re always looking for ways to improve. Thanks to our customers and dedicated beta testers, we’ve designed some neat improvements to the AltimeterOne that we’ll be phasing into production soon. Upcoming enhancements to the AltimeterOne include:

»  A second generation case design to increase ruggedness
»  An enhanced screen to indicate battery charge
»  Optional display of metric units for international users
»  New, high-quality retail packaging

The AltimeterOne in its new retail packaging

The new case will hopefully eliminate those situations where a sudden impact could crack the glue seam of the case. In most cases, this was occurring either during rough landings (a fall from 1,000 feet without a parachute, for instance) or in high power rockets where the ejection charge would slap the altimeter violently against the bottom of the nose cone. The new case is designed with some pretty rough conditions in mind, gives the altimeter a little more of a “rugged” appearance, eliminates the entire gluing process, and actually lowers the weight of the altimeter slightly.
Expect to see these changes appearing soon, as well as an expansion of the product line!
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Supply Chain Challenges

Our printed circuit boards and packaging are manufactured in California. Our source of custom Lithium batteries is based in Hong Kong. Injection molded parts and LCD displays are created in China, while the heart of our test equipment originated in Hungary. There were great reasons for choosing each—they are all “best of breed”—but what do you get when you add all of this together? A lot of shipping!

And even more than that, time. Along with the complexity of coordinating so many companies to bring together even a product as tiny as the AltimeterOne. Every one of these partners was very carefully chosen but even so, there are inevitable hiccups. A slow down from one partner can result in a plea to another to try to make the time up somehow.

We’re very fortunate that our production partners have been so responsive–and willing to work hard to resolve issues quickly. While we’ll always look for ways to bring costs down and reduce the time it takes to manufacture, it’s worth noting that globalization has its challenges, too.

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Best Practices in Lithium Battery Management

Lithium batteries have some great properties, and some *not so great* properties.

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For ultra small devices―like the AltimeterOne―that include sensors, displays, and other sophisticated components yet need to be as small and light as possible, there really isn’t a better alternative to Lithium chemistry batteries. While there are some rather small Alkaline, NiCd, and NiMH batteries available (some as coin cells), they are typically limited in voltage (1.2-1.5V), current (a couple of milliamps), and capacity (<10mAh). And so we need to overcome the challenges of Lithium cells.

The best way to do this is to design for Lithium from the onset, and compensate wherever possible for the drawbacks. For instance, the AltimeterOne has three independent circuits to ensure safe operation. One is mounted directly to the power cell to strictly limit both charge and discharge current, and to shut the cell down if its temperature rises too far. The second circuit oversees the charging of the cell, and limits the maximum current that can be applied―starting very slowly at first, and stopping the charging process entirely once it detects that the charging is complete. The final circuit monitors the voltage of the battery and lets the microprocessor know that it’s time to remind the user to recharge.

As for cost, the batteries and their support components have been dropping in price as the technology has matured, and as more alternative suppliers have come on line. There is now plenty of competition among battery and support chip vendors—and that has brought prices down nicely.

Notice that the cost to provide recharging capability for the Altimeter One is reduced by the clever incorporation of a charging plug into the device itself, eliminating the cost and complexity of an extra cable or adapter!

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We Live in a Time of Amazing Tools

Though my children already take this sort of thing for granted, it still is striking to me how easy it has become—just within the last few years—to make things. Here’s a few capabilities that I really appreciate, all of which of course rely heavily on personal computers, the Internet, and increasingly integrated electronic components:

  • Software that makes it easy to design circuit boards, enclosures, and embedded software
  • Online forums of people who share design advice (and common mistakes)
  • Factories and component distributors around the world which take orders over the web
  • Desktop prototyping tools such as computer-controlled milling equipment and miniature circuit board soldering ovens
  • Inexpensive and tiny chips that handle processing, sensing, and networking
  • Practically ubiquitous wireless networking (WiFi and cellular)

Guys who were born circa 1950-1955 (Gates, Joy, etc) did okay for themselves as part of the vanguard who brought to market the base technologies in this list. But some really neat times are still to come, as new products begin to be created by an exponentially larger group of people around the world, and our standards for “what makes a good product” continue to be refined.