AerobTec Altis v4
Contents
1. Aeroblec Altis v4 Recording Competition Altimeter with Telemetry Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual Aerohvec Table of Contents AW ODS CING AM OM raei E EE E nanos E ETE EST 3 Z MAU OG UG HOI We a E E E E tarsus 3 SRON WOK e eee ee ee E eee 4 A Hardware CESCHIDUON wisnasncnnsaiaticsanciitinadelmesnodsnss aubslveeasanttassnideewsimantanaenansbdiiehalietindctd dameunenin 4 Connectors OF YOUR ANIS Wy acter sence te gesece case e TE E REE aA 4 Moumtng IW Ne a ra ee E sememoncdeeeautenteneoncesuue 5 Connection for data logging ONIY c cece ecccceececeeeeceeeeceeeeseeeeeeeeeseeeeseeeseeseeaeees 5 Competition connection with internal BEC cccccccseecseeeeeeeseeteeteeeeeeeeeaeeeeees 5 Connection with external BEC cccccccccssecseeeeeeceeeteeeeeeeeeeeeteueteneeegeeseeeeeeeness 6 Connection for teleMetry cccccseccceseeceeceseseeceeecseeeseeseueseeeeeeseeeaueseeeaeeseeeaees 6 FSI CO CU ON aia co cc a eaatesieint aerennaan E E A 7 S VA STEI e ee i AEPA ENEE ClO CI Were EE E E EEE E E EE T BONES ei a A E E A E E A AA E E E T E E 8 IR COO STOO Ea E A E E E ee eee rene 8 BS WEIN SS Cl CI en a a E Gamat eceneacenaenceasceene 8 User defined SCLC CN ix scncunsdsaarsadsannnvanaatancaund i nAn ENSA LENNE ENSE AT SASA saioei 9 Do not disconnect SCIEN ccccecceeccececeeecneceneceeeceeceueceeeceesessuecaeeteeeseeseueseeseesseeeaees 9 WSIS moda SGC eaea A E EA E AE 9 6 Work with2. Altis v4 Recording amp Competition Altimeter www oerobtec com e Recording amp Competition Altimeter www gerobtec com Recording amp Competition Altimeter www oerobtec com f Recording amp Competition www_oerobtec com Recording amp Competition www oerobtec com 8 Recording amp Competition Altimeter www oerobtec com c ierobTec Altis v4 Recording amp Competition Altimeter www aerobtec com h Fig 7 Various screens a Initialization screen b F5J screen c QR code screen d Settings screen e User defined screen with 6 lines e User defined screen with 3 lines f Do not disconnect screen g USB mode screen AerobTec Altis v4 User Manual 8 cAerobTec User defined screen This screen allows you to choose which information you would like to display on the screen There is a version with 6 and 3 lines respectively Do not disconnect screen When logging data there are times when it is dangerous for the device to be disconnected If the Altis v4 is disconnected at these times there is a danger of losing all your data in the device This is indicated by the Do not disconnect screen Do not disconnect the device when you see this screen It is not recommended to disconnect the device during the initialization screen too USB mode screen When you connect your Altis v4 to a computer the device stops its competition and logging functionality and provides its
3. Altis v4 in the Altis Flight MAnagel cccccseccceeeceeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeseeeaeeeseeees 9 AS VAAN OW oiana E AE E E 9 DOVONI A e E veces 10 SNO e E E E E E E E R 10 FEWN UO CAS aa E O A 13 FIG AIRS YPO S eere EE E E EEE 14 Backup TP WAN cag cneqcoannorinennnenrsannigannesrtnwnnnsinvaariandneninoin ATE EENETI Nis 14 LNNVOrKINO WINANS VA IK CVI Aissis E 14 OVN I e E E EE E E EEE E E 15 9 Frequently asked questions and trouDI SNOOtingG ccccecceecseeeeeeceeceeceeceeeeeeeeeeeees 16 10 Correct disposal OF this DOGUGE iassiavesascarvdnwansane dancssnvsvrdsuvenvadriandcanntaveaveniievendedamaxeweas 16 TMi FOCI I CIS UO eeren nenn E EEA EREA ei 16 UZ NOG aaa E A O E ER 17 13 ROVISION FUSION sessen eSEE E E S EEEE EEEE 17 AerobTec Altis v4 User Manual 2 cdAerobTec 1 Specifications e Memory 3 9MB more than 15 hour record with 0 1s sample rate logging altitude voltage temperature throttle in e Sample time 0 1 25 5s user selectable in 0 1s steps e Dimensions 20 x 33 x 6 5mm Cable length approx 10cm e Weight 8g with JR cable e Powersupply range 4 12 6V e Logging O altitude o voltage o temperature o throttle input and output e Conforms to all existing competition rules FAI F5J ALES etc e Records multiple motor runs per flight e OLED display configurable screen e Telemetry support for Jeti Duplex EX and Multiplex M Link e Upgradeable firmware e AerobTec Altis Fli
4. and the area bellow it It is recommended to hold Altis v4 on sides Do not mount the Altis v4 device on aircraft components which might be hot in operation ESC batteries AerobTec Altis v4 User Manual 15 cdAerobTec Do not touch the Altis v4 device to a metal surface as this might lead to shorting of the power supply and RC system may fail Do not put the Altis v4 in water fuel or other liquids Before flying with the Altis v4 always perform a range check Do not disconnect the Altis v4 when the Do not disconnect screen See Error Reference source not found is shown on the display It is not recommended to write any of your own files or directories to the Altis v4 when it shows as a removable drive in your computer This might lead to corruption or loss of any data on the device 9 Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting 1 Iwas updating my Altis v4 and it does not function anymore It was OK before Probably the process of firmware upgrade was not done in the right way Connect your Altis v4 to the computer and wait In 30 150 seconds it should appear on the PC as a disk drive If the display does not show anything probably a backup firmware is active and you should run the firmware update again A new firmware should show its version on the display during its initialization If there is the new version active the update has been finished Otherwise run the update again Please follow the instru
5. power source for your receiver or a battery eliminator circuit BEC you should make sure to separate your power supply from your ESC and the Altis v4 This is done by disconnecting the red wire from the ESC connector This is not usually necessary for Opto ESCs The disconnected red wire must be insulated to ensure that it does not cause any short circuit or other problems See Fig 4 Disconnect and insulate RECEIVER Fig 4 Connection of Altis v4 with BEC Connection for telemetry Some radio systems provide telemetry functions These functions allow wireless transmission of certain data from the aircraft during the flight and display it on your Tx or monitor screen The Altis v4 has COMA and COM B connectors reserved for this purpose Use a Molex JR telemetry cable sold separately to connect your Altis v4 to the telemetry input of your receiver See Fig 5 Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual RECEIVER Telemetry Fig 5 Telemetry connection USB connection When you wish to download your logged data to a computer or change the settings of your Altis v4 connect the Altis v4 using a standard micro USB cable sold separately to a computer with Windows XP or newer operating system See Fig 6 When you connect your Altis v4 for the first time the computer should install the drivers automatically You need to have the Altis Flight Manager program installed in your computer to display any stored data and make changes to
6. 4 to the AFM again Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 13 Firmware Source From List Firmware from WEB AltisV4_ Finnware 1_4 fir Upgrade Progress Fig 13 Firmware update window Firmware types Note there are two firmware types One of them is marked F5J This firmware complies exactly with FAI F5J competition rules and no other options are allowed The Firmware marked Standard allows more setting changes including settings for F5J competitions It is recommended to use this firmware type during training and ordinary flights However this firmware type is not allowed for use in certain competitions It should be specified by the organizer of the competition which firmware is allowed Backup firmware If the firmware updates fails or if the process is interrupted the device tries to update the firmware again until it is successful Once finished your Altis v4 appears in the computer as a USB removable device again If this does not happen or if the first start of the new firmware is not performed from USB a safety function is activated and backup firmware is written to your Altis v4 Note there is no indication of this state on the screen and the screen is blank In this case follow the firmware update instructions to update a new valid firmware 7 Working with Altis v4 KeyPad Altis v4 KeyPad shown on Fig 14 is an external keyboard for Altis v4 It is used to configure main competition setting
7. atmospheric pressure for its measurement it has to have open access to the outside atmosphere It must not be completely sealed inside the fuselage or other box As most standard R C aircraft are not fully sealed it is usually not necessary to do any special modifications for installation The Altis v4 can simply be put in a free space inside the fuselage If the unit is mounted outside the aircraft the location must be carefully considered The unit must be mounted away from the airflow caused by the propeller Avoid mounting your Altis v4 on parts of the plane that might become hot during operation Connection for data logging only If the Altis v4 device is used purely as a logging device connect the device to any free receiver channel as shown in Fig 2 The signal polarity must be observed as shown in Table 1 RECEIVER Fig 2 Connection scheme for data logging only FREE free receiver channel Competition connection with internal BEC For competition use like F5J FAI ALES etc the JR input cable has to be connected to the R C receiver and the JR ESC cable has to be connected to the output connector on the main measuring unit board See Fig 3 The signal polarity must be observed as shown in Table 1 Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 5 RECEIVER Fig 3 Connection scheme for competition use ESC electronic speed controller THRO throttle receiver channel Connection with external BEC If you use a separate
8. ction on the screen during update 2 I see the height on the graph increasing to several meters during a test on the ground Is Altis v4 broken No The barometric pressure depends on the weather Sometimes it can change variations of several meters in the measured height Other cause can be a heated Altis v4 Do not put Altis v4 near hot objects in your fuselage 3 My Altis v4 measures F5J height even if do not start the motor After power on the F5J height is discarded This might be caused by too high Zero throttle level In such case Altis v4 considers the signal to correspond to switched on motor Please check the zero throttle level in your radio system It must be set bellow 1200us 4 When fly with Altis v4 and stop the motor it is not stopped and propeller continues spinning slowly When fly without Altis v4 the motor break runs correctly Try to set fixed endpoints on your ESC 10 Correct disposal of this product This product should not be disposed with other household wastes at the end of its working life To prevent possible harm to the environment or human health from uncontrolled waste disposal please separate this from other types of wastes and recycle it responsibly to promote the sustainable reuse of material resources Household Users should contact either the retailer where they purchased this product or their local government of fice for details of where and how they can take this item for environmental
9. data to the computer This data is indicated by the USB mode screen 6 Work with Altis v4 in the Altis Flight Manager The AerobTec Flight Manager AFM is a PC application for Windows which allows you to communicate with Altis v4 and other devices made by AerobTec and to display and process the flight data recorded by them Altis Flight Manager can be downloaded from http www aerobtec com support download Note There is a separate manual for AFM However the following pages describe how to set up your Altis v4 according to your needs In order to connect to the device click Tools gt Device or Device icon on the toolbar A window will appear See Fig 8 Choose Altis v4 AFM then automatically connects to your Altis v4 If there is more than one Altis v4 connected to your computer you will be asked to choose which one you wish to connect When connected Altis v4 screen window will be displayed Fig 8 Device choosing window Altis v4 window There are two parts of the window The upper part shows general information about the device its firmware version serial number and used memory The bottom part of the window is used for settings Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 9 cAerobTec Downloading data In order to access the logged data from your Altis v4 use the Download data button Once the data is downloaded you can close the Device window and work with the data Settings There are many possible configura
10. ght manager software for Windows 2 Introduction The AerobTec Altis v4 is a barometric altimeter designed especially to record the altitude of R C aircraft during flight with additional competition features with telemetry support The unit has very small dimensions and a low weight The v4 senses barometric pressure variations caused by altitude changes of the aircraft The altitude is then calculated from pressure data and stored in the internal memory of the device The included system allows you to connect to a personal computer with a Windows XP or higher operating system via USB The supplied program will not only read the information from the device and save it to the computer in various formats but it can also display the information in an advanced graph and process the flight information in many other ways This altimeter has functions based on FAI F5J and Altitude limiting competitions ALES rules so it can be used for these competitions The device and the software also provide some other complementary functions such as temperature throttle or voltage measurement and recording Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 3 3 How it works The Altis v4 uses a modern fast digital pressure sensor which allows it to sense very low pressure differences This gives the unit an altitude resolution smaller than 0 5m with sample rates as low as 0 1s Since atmospheric pressure changes over time these changes will affect your measu
11. here are telemetry options These ports are reserved for other future uses Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 12 General Device Information Seral number 1900548 FW Version 1 0 Update Firmware Memory Usage Download Data Erase Data Download Progress Logging Competition Screen COM amp Telemetry Finish COMB Fig 12 COM A COM B and Telemetry settings Firmware update When your computer is connected to the Internet and AFM is connected to an Altis v4 AFM compares the firmware version of your Altis v4 with the newest currently available firmware and offers to update the latest firmware for your Altis v4 if necessary To update the firmware click the OK button when AFM offers you this option or you click Update Firmware button See Fig 9 on the main Altis v4 window The Update Firmware window Fig 13 lets you choose the firmware you wish to upgrade If you want to choose a firmware version which is not in the list you can choose one from a file Once you choose the firmware click the Update button The new firmware is then prepared for update in Altis v4 Remove your Altis v4 from USB and connect it again when instructed Then the update process Starts It should take up to 2 minutes Once the new firmware is updated the Altis v4 should appear as a logical drive in your computer for example as F DO NOT DISCONNECT Altis v4 from the computer before this When the update is complete you can connect your Altis v
12. ly safe recycling Business users should contact their supplier and check the terms and conditions of the purchase contract AerobTec Altis v4 User Manual 16 cAerobTec This product should not be mixed with other commercial wastes for disposal 11 Product Registration If you did not purchase the product directly from AerobTec please mail following information to sales aerobtec com By registering your products you will be informed about updates and notifications Name Address Country Phone Email Product Serial number of product Date Purchased Where did you purchased your product this information is not obligatory An alternative option is to register at http www aerobtec com support products registration e This manual is based on firmware version 1 5 and Altis Flight manager version 3 0 5 Note Altis v4 was partially developed using Atollic TrueST UDIO 13 Revision History Rev 1 0 April 2013 e Initial release Rev 1 1 July 2013 e Update because of new screens e Added frequently asked questions e Added correct waste disposal e Minor changes Rev 1 2 December 2014 e Added Altis v4 KeyPad AerobTec Altis v4 User Manual 17
13. nnel controlled by a switch on your R C transmitter You will activate the logging manually by turning this channel on Note that this option is not available for some of the competition settings e Altitude trigger The device starts logging when the plane reaches a certain altitude It is possible Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 10 cdAerobTec to set your desired altitude Competition settings Fig 10 There are several pre programmed standard competitions You can simply choose the one you want from the Competition Type list This choice sets the proper values of all necessary parameters Of course you can customize the parameters according to your needs For example you can set a motor switch at certain altitude or at certain time At the bottom of the Competition Settings tab there are Safety and Training settings Allow Emergency Motor On has the following function In some competitions it is not allowed to switch the motor on again during the flight However you may want to have the ability to switch the motor on again in an emergency situation The user can choose to enable this or not If enabled when the motor is switched on for an emergency the Altis v4 restarts the recorded F5J height and it is recorded so it can be shown on the flight graph Sometimes during training it is not practical to reset your Altis v4 to start a new flight each time you land and launch again In this case there is the option Allow Compe
14. rements For this reason long term measurements may not be precise enough However the altitude for short term flights which are common in R C aircraft can be recorded very precisely The measured altitude is stored in the high capacity internal memory which allows approx 15 hours of recording with the fastest sampling rate 0 1s After the Altis v4 is connected to a power supply it will initialize in the first 3s During initialization the reference altitude and a zero throttle level are measured Note It is necessary to keep the throttle on your R C transmitter turned off during this phase It is recommended to set the initial altitude before each flight by disconnecting and re connecting the power supply 4 Hardware description Connectors of your Altis v4 Your Altis v4 has 5 connectors They are shown in Fig 1 IN input signal from the R C receiver Power to Altis v4 is provided from the receiver via this connector OUT output signal to ESC Electronic Speed Control USB micro Connects the Altis v4 to a computer via USB COM A COM B Molex connectors for connection with telemetry equipped receivers as well as future additional features Com B Com A Fig 1 Connectors of your Altis v4 AerobTec Altis v4 User Manual 4 Wire color Signal Ground Positive power supply R C signal Table 1 Colors of the connector wires Mounting in the aircraft Since Altis v4 uses
15. s of Altis v4 on the airport without a computer Altis Flight Manager version 3 0 5 or newer and firmware version 1 5 or higher are required F5J firmware 5 x does not support the KeyPad In order to use Altis v4 KeyPad do the following e Connect it to COM A port according to AAA e Configure COM A port to KeyPad mode according to AAA e Turn on Altis v4 it works in a normal way until there is no KeyPad connected Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 14 cdAerobTec e When the KeyPad is connected Altis v4 detects it automatically and switches to the competition menu mode e Navigate the menu items by the side navigation buttons e Change the values by the middle and buttons e Push and simultaneously on the corresponding menu item if you wish to disable some function for example altitude switch e After you disconnect the KeyPad the settings are automatically stored in Altis v4 e Restart your Altis v4 to use the new settings Altis v4 KeyPad 8o79 QGAaerohiTec rp a Fig 14 Altis v4 Keypad GAerohTec Altis v4 www aerobtec com Altis v4 KeyPad A0 0 0V cderobTec Fig 15 Connection of Altis v4 KeyPad 8 Warning It is not recommended to supply your whole aircraft via the Altis v4 device however it is possible The best choice is to use an external BEC circuit or separate power supply When manipulating the device and plugging or unplugging the device do not push the display
16. tions for the Altis v4 You can set your Altis v4 according to your needs This is done by using the settings tabs in the bottom part of the window There are several tabs Logging Settings Fig 9 Here you can set how you wish to store the flight parameters to your device memory The basic parameter Sample time determines how frequently the parameters will be logged Serial Number 4 FW Version 1 4 Memory usage eas Download data Trigger Type Sample time e Trigger Altitude Logged Data t Altitude Throttle Out Temperature Throttle In Onboard Voltage Fig 9 Logging settings You can set which parameters you wish to log You can log altitude temperature of the device note the device is usually several degrees warmer than its environment input throttle PWM signal from the R C system output throttle signal to ESC and the voltage on board the voltage Altis v4 is powered from Note that the more parameters you log or the lower the sample time is the more memory it consumes However there is memory enough to log about 15 hours of data when logging almost all available parameters with a Sample time of 0 1s With different settings you can log up to several days of data You can choose also a trigger type this determines when your device starts logging There are the following options e Always on Data logging begins once the device is initialized e RC trigger When Altis v4 is connected to a receiver cha
17. tition Restart It makes the device behave as if it has just been initialized only for the competition settings when your plane s altitude drops below 8m General Device Information Seral number 15900548 FW Version 1 0 Update Firmware Memory Usage Download Data Erase Data Download Progress Competition Type F5 C Altitude switch Altitude Switch 0 Time switch Time Switch 30 F5J FAI Safety Training Emergency Motor ON _ Competition restart Fig 10 Competition Settings Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 11 General device information Seral Number 44433417 Firmware Memory usage E Erase data Download progress Logging Competition Screen COM amp Telemetry Finish F5J Screen Meas Screen Settings Screen Duration Back Fig 11 Screen settings Note there are several types of firmware Some firmware types will not allow certain setting changes Refer to the Firmware types chapter for more information Screen Fig 11 Your Altis v4 has an OLED display There are several screens that can be shown on the display They are described in the Altis v4 screens chapter See page 7 The Screens tab allows you to choose the between the F5J screen or User defined screen In the User defined screen there are 3 or 6 possible lines of text which can be displayed You can select the displayed parameters for each line Com A B ports Fig 12 You can assign a function for the selected port Currently t
18. your settings Recording amp Competition Altimeter www cerobtec com Fig 6 USB cable connection 5 Altis v4 screens The Altis v4 is equipped with an OLED display with great visibility in sunlight There are several screens displayed when you use the device These screens are shown in Fig 7 Initialization screen When you connect the device to your aircraft the Altis v4 informs you about the 3s initialization phase by Aerob ec Altis v4 User Manual 7 ar displaying the initialization screen This screen also shows the firmware version and the serial number of your device It is not recommended to disconnect the device when you see this screen F5J screen This screen shows the firmware version and the F5J height as specified by FAI F5J rules The F5J height is indicates by 3 1 digit number If there is no F5J detected or the motor was restarted is shown on the screen instead OR code screen This screen displays F5J height in a form of a QR code This is intended to be read by a third party application to automatically collect the results to the competition IT system Note that this is a feature planed for firmware 1 5 settings screen This screens shows the basic competition settings right after initialization such as time and altitude switch if the motor or competition restart is enabled and if F5J height is measured Recording amp Competition Altimeter www_oaerobtec com AerohTec
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