Ye Olde Rocket Forum

Go Back   Ye Olde Rocket Forum > BARCLONE > Announcements
User Name
Password
Auctions Register FAQ Members List Calendar Today's Posts Search Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 11-28-2019, 11:24 PM
tbzep's Avatar
tbzep tbzep is offline
Dazed and Confused
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: TN
Posts: 11,610
Default FlightSketch Mini Altimeter back in stock

The Flightsketch Mini altimeter is back in stock. $20 +$3 shipping. It's about the size of a postage stamp and works with your Android or IOS phone via Bluetooth.

As of this moment, there are 156 available. Make that 149 after refreshing. IIRC, the last batch he made sold out very fast, and it was just for IOS at that time.
https://flightsketch.com/store/cata...tsketch-mini_1/
__________________
I love sanding.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 11-29-2019, 12:07 AM
BEC's Avatar
BEC BEC is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Auburn, Washington
Posts: 3,643
Default

I've been beta testing these for some time and have found them quite interesting to use. They are as accurate as any other altimeter I've flown, based on flying them alongside tried and proven devices. The production version is very small - about as long as, but narrower than a PerfectFlite FireFly.

The interface application has a few rough edges yet but it's quite usable. At the moment the iOS and Android versions are essentially identical in operation and even in how they look.

The FS Mini differs from AltimeterThree in that the main storage location for your historical data is the flight logs section of the FlightSketch web site rather than your phone or tablet. The interface for this is also a little rough around the edges - or it will be once there are two hundred more of these things out in the wild. But all of this can, and I expect will, be dealt with.

On Android, even though you can store files locally on your device they are buried rather deeply in the file structure. On iOS they show up in the Files app in their own folder. There they are .csv files, just like what you upload to the web log. As such they can be pulled into a spreadsheet program for further analysis or graphing, not unlike the .xlsx files that AltimeterThree exports.

Because they are bare boards, not in a case, more care is needed when flying them in other than a dedicated payload section, but it can be done.

Anyway, at that price they are simply amazing. In fact they would be pretty amazing at twice the price or more.
__________________
Bernard Cawley
NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member
SAM 0061
AMA 42160
KG7AIE

Last edited by BEC : 11-29-2019 at 12:34 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 11-29-2019, 10:10 AM
astronwolf's Avatar
astronwolf astronwolf is offline
Lost his Drifter
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 1,277
Default

Thank-you for the review. There are only 13 left now.
__________________
-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 11-29-2019, 12:38 PM
BEC's Avatar
BEC BEC is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Auburn, Washington
Posts: 3,643
Default

Gone now. Russ will have another batch built I'm sure. But I expect it will be a couple of weeks at least.
__________________
Bernard Cawley
NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member
SAM 0061
AMA 42160
KG7AIE
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 11-29-2019, 03:09 PM
tbzep's Avatar
tbzep tbzep is offline
Dazed and Confused
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: TN
Posts: 11,610
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BEC
Gone now. Russ will have another batch built I'm sure. But I expect it will be a couple of weeks at least.

I ordered mine the second the email came that they were back in stock. I happened to be at the computer so I placed the order and started this thread. Each time I refreshed, the number in stock dropped considerably, even though very few were online on the forums. It was only me on YORF and just a handful on TRF that were logged in.

It looks like a nice little product with a pretty good following already. Russ seems like the type that will continue to tweak things to make it better as time passes.
__________________
I love sanding.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 11-29-2019, 07:55 PM
LeeR's Avatar
LeeR LeeR is offline
Retired with Way Too Many Kits
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Colorado
Posts: 3,222
Default

They did go fast! I was notified this morning, fiddled around too long, and when I looked they were sold out.

But, since it is so cold here, and snow and ice everywhere, I suspect I’ll not be needing one for awhile ... maybe March or April!

I did score pretty well on the Estes Black Friday sale. Some incredible deals to be had. A couple of these kits I have, but the prices are just too good not to consider them for scratch-building parts, like the ram ducts on the Conquest. I bought two Honest Johns. This is one of my favorite kits. I’ve built one, and already had a spare. Now I have three.

Since shipping was free at $50, I stopped once I passed that amount. It would have been easy to just keep going and going and ...
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:  547BF7D9-5DED-40DC-9A1D-70EB60664529.jpeg
Views: 47
Size:  163.0 KB  
__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 11-30-2019, 12:17 AM
BEC's Avatar
BEC BEC is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Auburn, Washington
Posts: 3,643
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
It looks like a nice little product with a pretty good following already. Russ seems like the type that will continue to tweak things to make it better as time passes.


I've had several iterations of the hardware during beta (beginning in late March). The last two have really made it nicer (and more rugged and smaller/lighter). The firmware has been improved a number of times over that period as well. I have also seen the interface/control app improve greatly, especially with the move to the "universal" code base (iOS/Android).

I suspect after Russ gets out from under the backlog of shipping 200 of these out he will be further improving the firmware, the interface app and the flight log on the web site, as well as working on some interesting follow-on products. And, of course, he'll be shipping out the next batch as well when they come.

One FS Mini has also been sent to the NAR contest board chairman for his testing, so at least the process of getting it approved for NAR competition (and record-setting) use is underway.

added: speaking of follow-on products, he just made public the other three things he's been working on: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...or-2020.156285/
__________________
Bernard Cawley
NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member
SAM 0061
AMA 42160
KG7AIE
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:16 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.0.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe © 1998-2024