FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

- Do i need a TeleBT v4 ground station receiver?

The TeleBT v4 introduced an upgraded Bluetooth radio supporting the Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) protocol which is what allows our apple devices to talk to the TeleBT.  If you have an earlier TeleBT you don't have the Bluetooth LE support which then doesn't work with our devices.

 

- How do i tell if i have a TeleBT v4?

There are two choices.  One is to plug into it over USB and see what the software says it is (or run a terminal program, connect to the device, and use the 'v' command to see the product and firmware version info). The second is that if you know the serial number, the first TeleBT v4 unit was s/n 3686.  Any TeleBT with lower serial numbers won't work with iOS.

 

- Why am I not hearing new my new Flight Computer (no battery voltage is showing in AltosUI)

The flight computers can power up in Flight/Pad mode or in Idle mode.  If it is powered up in Idle mode you won't get any packets from it over the radio. (it will only support IDLE mode communications.)  However, if you power it off then orient the device as if it were in the rocket ready for launch then power it on it will enter flight/pad mode and will be transmitting packets. Once it is running in this mode it can be carefully laid down again and it will stay in this mode.

 

NOTE: Please pay attention to "Appendix B. Handling Precautions" in the "Owner's Manual for Altus Metrum Rocketry Electronics" when handling your flight computers.

 

- How do i copy my .telem files to my PC?

AltosUI exposes the files it creates to iTunes via file sharing.  Connect your iPhone, iPad to your PC/Mac, start Apple iTunes Application and select your device. Then (1) locate the "File Sharing" section and then scroll to and select the AltosIUI application by tapping on it's icon, (3) Look for the "Telemetry" folder icon in the "AltosUI Documents" panel. Click on the folder icon to select it., (4) click on the [Save] button to write this folder and its' contents info a folder on your PC.

- How are you testing the software to ensure it works as well as AltosDroid?

No we are not flying every type of Altus Metrum flight computer with AltosUI to test it. (Well, not the way you think ;-)  We are in-fact playing back recorded flights from each model of flight computer - that is playing the .telem files in real time from actual flights and videoing both application's behavior as the telemetry is received. We then create a single video from the two recordings after we synchronize the two (android, iOS) recordings.  Then we play back the video carefully watching the tracked flight data looking for any differences in display or timing. After noting the differences, we then fix the code so they behave as identically as we can get them to.  Why are we going to this trouble you ask? Well it's because the iOS code is a separate code base from the altos* products. It's a complete re-creation in a different programming language.  We rebuilt the entire application starting from a telemetry packet specification from the folks at Altus Metrum, with their source code and with their help answering questions about how to interpret behaviors we saw. It's all come together in less than 5 months from start to first App Store release.  Lastly, watch our releases page for notes about when we finally certify the "sameness of behavior" for each flight computer.

 

- Have you ever seen a version of AltosUI appear to crash the TeleBT?

Sadly, yes we have. If you have AltosUI v1.5.x installed and attempt to connect to a TeleBT never seen before you may see the TeleBT not return any packets and show a steady RED LED inside the case.  If this happens please upgrade to AltosUI v1.6.2 and the problem will be fixed by new version!  If version 1.6.2 is not yet available in the App Store then please send email to altosui@ironsheep.biz requesting TestFlight access to version 1.6.2. Please include the email address you use as the apple id.