Afternoon Bdale,

Just to provide an update, I was able to get my hands on another
TeleDongle. Sadly it's running the same firmware and is even older from a
serial number perspective (#363 iirc). I'm still having the issues with
getting a stable and repeated telemetry link with my TeleGPS with this
TeleDongle as well. But on the plus side I've got APRS output working on my
TeleGPS so I've got a workaround/fallback method for finding the rocket if
required. I'll update the other thread with a bit more info on that one.

Given I've now got two at issue TeleDongles would it be possible for me to
return one to you to get a firmware update accomplished? I definitely don't
have easy access to the right bits and pieces to get this sorted myself.

Regards,

Andrew Hamilton

On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 9:46 AM, Plugger Lockett <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Hi Bdale,
>
> One other thing. I just installed AltOS on my Kali laptop via the Kali
> repositories as I much prefer to have apt handle upgrading and dependencies
> when compared to installing applications manually (like the v1.8.6 shell
> script on the AltOS page). My installation went fine and I'm able to run
> AltOS on Linux now. That said the repository installed version is still
> v1.8.5. Any idea how long it'll take v1.8.6 to hit the repos?
>
> Regards,
>
> Andrew H.
>
> On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 9:14 AM, Plugger Lockett <[email protected]
> > wrote:
>
>> Hi Bdale,
>>
>> Thanks for the quick response. To continue.
>>
>> > Either Keith or I can take care of this for you if you don't have easy
>> > access to the right bits and pieces any more.
>>
>> I think I'll take you up on that offer but it would be October at the
>> earliest as we're still in flying season and crop is now getting to optimum
>> rocket hiding levels. I will then need the unit back by March as April is
>> THUNDA over in Queensland and I will require it then. I'm planning on
>> ordering another TeleGPS (v2.0 this time) as well as a new TeleDongle
>> Starter Pack with the v3.0 TeleDongle so it might make sense to order the
>> new kit after returning my old TeleDongle to consolidate shipping costs. I
>> might also request a pair programming cable to be included for future use
>> as I also own a TeleMetrum v1.2 and to update that requires that cable. I
>> did have one but IIRC I loaned it to a guy at Balls in 2013 and never saw
>> it again.
>>
>> >  I'm hoping Keith will chime in here about why v1.0.2 TeleDongle
>> firmware
>> > might work ok with v1.7 but not v1.8.5.  I just skimmed through the
>> > release notes and don't have an immediate answer.
>>
>> > Do you happen to have access to some other TeleDongle or TeleBT, perhaps
>> > with newer firmware?
>>
>> I'd be curious to hear from Keith regarding this as well. Sadly I don't
>> have access to any other ground station hardware at the moment but I might
>> know one or two around the traps that I could get my hands on. I suspect
>> they'll all be similar to mine in terms of versioning though as they would
>> have been purchased from Blake at Australian Rocketry when he brought a
>> whole slew of TeleMetrum v1.0 and v1.2 Starter kits.
>>
>> >  Have you actually tried it?  I'm curious whether this is something
>> > unique to the workstation software build or if the AltosDroid is also
>> > affected.  They both share the same library of functionality including
>> > packet decoding, so I'm guessing AltosDroid is affected too.
>>
>> Yes, I have tried it. I get no comms link when I plug in my TeleDongle to
>> my phone via an OTG cable. As mentioned with earlier variants (I'm assuming
>> v1.7 or before) everything just automatically worked just like on on my
>> laptops as my TeleDongle starts up on the channel I've configured the
>> TeleGPS to communicate over. With v1.8.5 I get nothing though. Given the
>> ability of the AltosDroid App to be able to know where you are as the phone
>> has its own GPS chipset it does provide a better experience imo for rocket
>> recovery when compared to using a laptop without GPS. Not to mention
>> carrying a phone through crop is much easier than lugging a laptop,
>> especially when I've got a yagi in the other hand! Given this and the fact
>> that I don't expect to program my EasyMega with AltosDroid I'd ideally like
>> to revert back to v1.7 of AltosDroid on my Pixel, turn off automatic
>> application updating for that app, and leave it be. If you could point me
>> to where I could find that apk I'd greatly appreciate it.
>>
>> FYI I upgraded one of my windows laptops to AltOS v1.8.6 last night and
>> promptly upgraded the firmware on my TeleGPS. That worked flawlessly and I
>> was able to confirm I'm now running the v1.8.6 firmware on my TeleGPS with
>> the "Configure Altimeter" menu. I then went to upgrade my EasyMega v1.0 to
>> v1.8.6 firmware. That didn't work. I should have taken a screenshot for you
>> (and can do tonight) but once I selected the relevant EasyMega v1.0 1.8.6
>> firmware in C:\Program Files\Altusmetrum\ the application would provide no
>> further output. I was expecting the small window that confirms serial and
>> radio configurations and then the firmware installation progress window but
>> neither appeared. I then attempted to run the "Configure Altimeter" and
>> whilst the unit still appears as available the identifier for selection had
>> changed from something along the lines of "EasyMega serial xxxx" to
>> "Altusmetrum 1" which strikes me as maybe a bootloader ID string. Luckily a
>> power cycle of the FC allowed it to reboot successfully which was confirmed
>> by rerunning the "Configure Altimeter" command.  I could see all my
>> relevant configs, serial, and current firmware (v1.8.5). Just an FYI as it
>> does appear the EasyMega v1.0 firmware upgrade isn't working in Altos
>> v1.8.6.
>>
>> Safe to say I've developed a bit of an appetite for this testing. Today
>> I'm going to install AltOS on my work Kali laptop (which is Debian based)
>> and do more testing tonight. Is there anywhere on Linux or Windows where I
>> can get more granular console output or logging info regarding what's
>> happening inside AltOS? I don't mind digging through console output if it
>> will assist in resolving my comms issues. Plus it'll be interesting to see
>> if and how the comms differ between the different platforms.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Andrew H.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 11:04 PM, Bdale Garbee <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Plugger Lockett <[email protected]> writes:
>>>
>>> > I believe I've identified an issue with the AltOS and TeleGPS
>>> applications
>>> > when using an original TeleDongle for telemetry. The old TeleDongle
>>> > assumption is just that but I'm assuming if this was a bug for all
>>> > TeleDongles it would have been found before now. I "discovered" this
>>> issue
>>> > when I attempted to use AltosDroid v1.8.5 in the field with my TeleGPS
>>> 1.0
>>> > and I couldn't get telemetry to work at all. So I attempted some bench
>>> > testing over the weekend and I believe I've identified a bug in the
>>> newer
>>> > software stacks.
>>> >
>>> > First off, here's my TeleDongle details.
>>>
>>> Your TeleDongle v0.2 is running truly ancient firmware, v1.0.2.  I'm not
>>> sure offhand why that would cause the issues you're seeing (Keith may
>>> have more insight here), but the first thing I'd do if the hardware were
>>> in my hands is update that to current firmware.  Because it's an early
>>> product based on the CC1111 RF system on chip, it needs to be pair
>>> programmed (cannot be re-flashed over USB).
>>>
>>> See appendix C.2 in the system manual for more details:
>>>     http://altusmetrum.org/AltOS/doc/altusmetrum.html#_pair_programming
>>>
>>> Either Keith or I can take care of this for you if you don't have easy
>>> access to the right bits and pieces any more.
>>>
>>> By the way, it's always cool to see folks still using some of our
>>> earliest products!
>>>
>>> > 1) Assuming v1.8.6 is affected by this bug as well (I'll test that in
>>> the
>>> > next few days) then can you investigate this issue?
>>>
>>> I'm hoping Keith will chime in here about why v1.0.2 TeleDongle firmware
>>> might work ok with v1.7 but not v1.8.5.  I just skimmed through the
>>> release notes and don't have an immediate answer.
>>>
>>> Do you happen to have access to some other TeleDongle or TeleBT, perhaps
>>> with newer firmware?
>>>
>>> > 2) I've got an EasyMega as mentioned earlier and am planning to use it
>>> in a
>>> > 2 stage stack in April. I will be upgrading the firmware to v1.8.6 as
>>> > recommended.
>>>
>>> Good.
>>>
>>> >      - Do I need to be running the latest software to properly
>>> configure
>>> > staging and get correct CSV output post flight? Or will AltOS v1.7 do
>>> this
>>> > correctly with a EasyMega v1.8.6 FC?
>>>
>>> I don't think I've ever intentionally tried using older ground station
>>> software to configure newer flight computer firmware.  I'd personally
>>> want to use v1.8.6 for everything in this case.
>>>
>>> > 3) AltosDroid - Ideally I'd like to use my phone (Pixel XL) as my
>>> ground
>>> > station in conjunction with my TeleDongle. I've had this work in the
>>> past
>>> > but my AltosDroid software automatically updates and is currently
>>> running
>>> > v1.8.5 as well. Is there somewhere I can download the AltosDroid v1.7
>>> apk
>>> > in the interim until this bug is resolved?
>>>
>>> Have you actually tried it?  I'm curious whether this is something
>>> unique to the workstation software build or if the AltosDroid is also
>>> affected.  They both share the same library of functionality including
>>> packet decoding, so I'm guessing AltosDroid is affected too.
>>>
>>> Bdale
>>>
>>
>>
>
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