Joe Zawodny <[email protected]> writes:

Joe, I just found this mis-filed in my inbox... and I don't see that
anyone has replied, so my apologies and here are some notes I hope will
help! 

> I just got the starter set, downloaded the AltOS for my iMac, and was able
> to (eventually) configure both the teledongle and a telemini. My mobile
> computer runs windows, so I downloaded and installed the AltOS and driver
> for windows, rebooted, and am able to read the live data just fine. My
> problem is that I cannot configure the TeleMini anymore on *either* the Mac
> or the Windows machines. When I am able to get past the TeleDongle "already
> in use" messages (see below), I get a popup indicating that the software is
> waiting to connect to the TeleDongle. That step never completes. 

AltosUI needs to be configured to use the same callsign as the altimeter
or they won't connect.  This is a "safety feature" to help ensure nobody
accidentally configures someone else's antenna at a crowded launch.  Use
the "Configure AltosUI" tab to set the same callsign you configured in
the TeleMini.

The other thing about TeleMini is that since it doesn't have an
accelerometer, we can't use the "orientation at power on" trick we use
on TeleMetrum to know which mode to start up in.  So you should initiate
the attempt to configure the altimeter from AltosUI *first*, then power
on the TeleMini.  This should cause the TeleMini to hear a connection
request packet during power-up which tells it to go into interactive
(idle) mode so you can configure it.

> I thought
> that the first time I got this to work the select a device dialog box
> actually showed the TeleMini not the TeleDongle when I clicked the
> "Configure Altimeter" button. Now I just see a TeleDongle in the
> list. 

The TeleDongle is the thing attached to the computer, so that's what
will show up in the list.

> Then
> I tried a different TeleMini (fresh and never configured) and get exactly
> the same results. Interesting thing is when I configure the TeleDongle I
> get one quick green flash out of the device. When it is "waiting to
> connect" (as just described) I get a continuous series of green and red
> flashes from the TeleDongle.

The flashing sounds right.

> Am I doing something wrong?

The other thing that could be happening is that you could have the
TeleMini and TeleDongle too close to each other.  You'd think that if
you can copy telemetry from the TeleMini that it's all ok, but try
changing the spacing in case the radio performance is asymmetric.  The
issue is that too much signal is just as hard to receive as too little.
A few feet of separation should suffice, though.

> On a related topic, I seem to frequently get into a situation where the
> software reports that the device I am trying to configure is "already in
> use". The only way around this seems to be to unplug the dongle, make sure
> any altimeters are off, and then plug it back in. Then I can configure the
> dongle. For altimeters I need to hit the "Configure Altimeter" button
> before the SW says "pad". I read about an idle mode, but that seems to not
> apply to the TeleMini. I would think that pressing either configure button
> should stop whatever is causing them to be in use.  This could be a bit of
> a pain if the rocket is out on the pad and I forgot to erase the flight log
> memory.

This is an error that occurs when the operating system thinks the
TeleDongle is already "captured" by some other application.  Keith may
have better suggestions, but I fear this may be a "heck if we know what
Windows thinks it's doing" kind of problem...

Bdale

Attachment: pgpTmWFysj6qw.pgp
Description: PGP signature

_______________________________________________
altusmetrum mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.gag.com/mailman/listinfo/altusmetrum

Reply via email to