Jolly logic AltimeterThree User manual
ALTIMETERTHREE
jolly logic
The altitude recorder
controlled by
your smartphone or tablet
Welcome!
Our goal with AltimeterThree was to design an altitude recorder that would
help you study ight performance in scientic detail, push your ying to a
new level, and to let you share what you learn with others. To do that, we
decided to put your smartphones and tablets to good use.
The hardest part will probably be setting up your mobile device to
communicate with AltimeterThree. I know that setting up wireless
connections can sometimes be frustrating, but this guide and our website
should get you up and running quickly, and we’ve tried to make things as
easy and automatic as possible.
As your software is updated over time the website will always serve as the
most up-to-date and accurate guide on to how to use AltimeterThree and
your mobile AltimeterThree app. When you get a chance, wander over to
www.jollylogic.com and check out our support resources.
We’d love to hear from you.
Happy ying!
John Beans
Founder, Jolly Logic
Danville, California
QuickStart
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The Basics
All of these steps are explained in this guide.
First, pair your phone/tablet
Before using AltimeterThree, it needs to be “paired” with your phone/tablet.
This gives permission for the two devices to communicate via Bluetooth.
You only have to do this once, but it’s important!
Install the App
Install the AltimeterThree app from the Apple App StoreSM or Google PlayTM,
then launch it. You should give permission for GPS usage so that your ights
can be stamped with their location.
Connect to AltimeterThree
You must already be paired (from step 1) to connect. You can connect in
the app, but sometimes it’s best to do it on your phone’s Settings>Bluetooth.
Customize your settings
Select a mode for the type of ying you are doing (quadcopter, rocket, plane,
etc.), choose feet or meters for measurement, and enter a phone number
that the altimeter can display in case it is lost and found.
Charge your altimeter battery
Make a ight recording
Press Record to start, and Stop to nish. Your ight will be automatically
uploaded to your phone or tablet. Practice before your rst ight.
View your ight
Share your ight
Keep your app updated!
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AltimeterThree App
Install the free AltimeterThree app from either the Apple App
StoreSM or Google PlayTM.
GPS Permission: Say Yes
When you rst launch the app, it will ask permission to allow AltimeterThree
to use the GPS on your phone.You should allow this so that AltimeterThree
can save the location of your ights.
You can still use AltimeterThree without GPS, but your Map page will be blank.
Bluetooth Is Required
AltimeterThree needs Bluetooth to communicate, so you’ll need to have
Bluetooth turned on whenever you are using AltimeterThree.
Keep Your Mobile App Updated
Jolly Logic will release new enhancements and x any bugs which pop up from
time to time. Please keep your app updated to the latest version by searching
for “altimeterthree “(all one word) in the appropriate app store.
Altimeter Software Updates
Your app will periodically update the rmware on your altimeter. You will see
“Updating Firmware...” when that’s happening. Just be patient and the software
on the altimeter will be automatically updated and re-started.
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Bluetooth Setup
You must "pair" your altimeter with your phone or tablet.
Your mobile device and your altimeter must BOTH give permission
for pairing.
You only need to do this once when you rst get your altimeter.
Turn on AltimeterThree (it should say it is searching)
On your mobile device, go to Settings > Bluetooth
Turn Bluetooth ON
You should see a list of nearby Bluetooth devices (in
Android™, you may need to press Search for Devices)
Apple iOS Google Android
Click on the name of your altimeter in the list of
available Bluetooth devices
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IMPORTANT
Approve the pairing on your altimeter FIRST and
THEN on your mobile device within 20 seconds
Apple iOS Google Android
If pairing is successful, AltimeterThree will show that it is
connected, and your phone/tablet will list it as one of your
paired devices in Bluetooth Settings.
Problems?
If for some reason you get “stuck” on a step, hold down the
altimeter button until you see “Resetting”, ask your phone to
“forget” it in Settings>Bluetooth, and start over.
See www.jollylogic.com/support for more help.
Controlling AltimeterThree
Connect Before Flight
When you rst use your altimeter, the app may say “Not Connected.”
The best way to connect is from the list of devices in the
Settings>Bluetooth area on your mobile device. If your altimeter
never appears on the list, make sure it’s turned on and already paired.
Reconnect After the Flight
During ight, you will lose your Bluetooth connection—that’s normal.
After the ight, go to your mobile device Settings>Bluetooth to
reconnect.
Settings
Available from most parts of the app.
Last Flight
The most recent ight that was recorded.
All Flights
A list of all of your ights, sorted by date.
Start and Stop Recording
You must start recording using your mobile
device.You can stop recording using your
mobile device OR by pressing the button on
the altimeter.
While recording, your mobile device will
display the length of the current recording as
long as you are within Bluetooth range (about
30 feet) of your altimeter.
It is normal for the controls to disappear
when your altimeter travels out of range.
Don’t worry—it’s still recording!
NOTE: Some phones and tablets do not
reconnect well after your altimeter travels
out of range. Try turning off Bluetooth right
after you begin the recording. Turn it back on
right before you need to stop recording. This
will save power as well.
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Settings
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Mode
Each mode has
appropriate recording
settings for each activity.
Higher sample rates use
more memory and take
longer to download and
display.
Acceleration is not
useful for types of
ying that include a
lot of vibration and
shaking, so it’s disabled
in those modes to save
memory and speed
up downloads. Use
Experimental mode if
you’d like to examine
acceleration.
Acceleration is sampled
at the rates shown, then
compressed for display
and storage at the same
frequency as altitude.
Units
Feet or meters.
If found...
This will be shown on
the altimeter when it
is turned on to help
someone contact you
if you lose it. About 15
characters will t on the
altimeter display.
Repair Database
If you have problems
opening a corrupted
ight, try this utility
feature.
Email Flight Log
Send you or a teammate
your entire list of
ights and stats in a
spreadsheet.
Flight Review
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Info Page
You can rename each ight, as well as add notes.
You’ll also see some automatically-calculated ight statistics,
which depend on the recording mode when the ight was
made. We add new statistics from time to time.
You can also mark a ight as a favorite to make it easier to
nd in the ight list later.
Chart Page
You can see a graph of the altitude and (depending on the
mode) acceleration.
Map Page
If the GPS on your phone or tablet was turned on when you
started recording, the location of the start of your ight will
be shown on a map.
Share Page
You can share your ight via email or social media networks.
You can email a Microsoft ExcelTM spreadsheet that contains
all of the ight data in a handy format for further analysis.
You’ll need to have email set up on your mobile device, and
you’ll need the appropriate social media accounts.
Apple iOS Version
When you select a ight, the rst page you’ll
see is Info, but there are other pages you
can view as well.
Google Android Version
Chart Page Chart Features
Drag, Pinch and Zoom
The chart is interactive; you can drag with your nger to
move it around, and pinch to zoom in and out to examine
your ight in close-up detail.
Refresh
Returns your chart to its original appearance.
Chart Settings
You can:
1. Change the display units (feet or meters)
2. Change various graph display options
3. Show or hide acceleration data and climb/sink rates
(depending on recording mode)
Hidden Data
If you recorded a ight in Rocket mode, you may see a
notice below the graph that some ground data is hidden.
In Rocket mode, the app attempts to hide the parts of
the graph that are just the rocket sitting on the pad or on
the ground after ight. To show all of this data, tap the link
shown here, or in Chart Settings.
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Marking Your Chart Acceleration Data
Special Chart Markers
A quick tap near any chart point will select the chart point. You will then
see a ag icon in the toolbar that you can press to mark the point.
A longer hold will bring up an point inspector that displays the data
behind each point. Drag your nger to examine different points. Tap
quickly anywhere on the chart to dismiss the inspector.
There are several important marks that control how the ight is analyzed
and shared:
Flight Start and Flight End
These round markers indicate when then ight began and when it ended.
The ight duration is calculated from these points, and the chart page
will be sized to show the entire ight properly. The app tries to set these
points automatically, but sometimes you have to set them yourself.
Data Start and Data End
Sometimes you may not want to include all of the data in your
spreadsheet. These two lines mark the start and the end of the data that
you want to include in spreadsheets.
Not every mode records acceleration data. See the
Settings page for more information.
Acceleration and Direction
Acceleration data is collected using a highly sensitive,
3-axis accelerometer. This means that you can sense
the direction that acceleration occurs, and view the
acceleration that occurs in the X, Y, and Z directions. The
positive directions for each axis are shown in the diagram
below.
Total Acceleration
Total acceleration is the non-directional combined
magnitude of acceleration, calculated using this formula:
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Data End
Data Start Selected Point
Flight EndFlight Start Point Inspector
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Sharing
Share important ights with your friends and colleagues, using email
or popular social media networks.
Flights that you share will be
marked in your ight list with a
character for each service.
Email
Using email you can share ight statistics, the ight graph, and a
spreadsheet of ight data. This feature uses your existing email account
and email client software on your mobile device.
Social Networks
You can share ight graphs and ight statistics with friends in your social networks.
You’ll need to already have your own account with these services to use them.
In some cases, AltimeterThree may launch the social network’s own app to share
your ight. Usually this is because the native app for that network has special
features (like photo ltering) that you can use to enhance the post.
These services evolve over time, so as new networks are added or as networks
add new features this list may change.
The rst time that you share via each network, you’ll be required to enter your
user credentials. AltimeterThree does not keep a copy of your credentials (they
are authenticated using Auth0 so that our app never sees them), and only you (not
Jolly Logic) can post to your accounts. Please see the privacy policy on our site if
you want more details.
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Mounting Your AltimeterThree
Using the Tether Point
The slot at the nose of the altimeter can be used with string, plastic ties,
leather straps, rubber bands, or Velcro® fasteners to hold the altimeter in
place during ight.
Here are some things you should keep in mind as you mount
AltimeterThree:
1. Protect the altimeter from moisture (it is NOT water-resistant). Put it
in a plastic bag if it might rain or encounter water.
2. Shelter it from strong direct airow. You will notice more “bumpiness”
in your altitude graphs when pressure waves caused by turbulence
disturb the altimeter. Consider wrapping it with a bit of fabric to
buffer it somewhat from airow. Do not worry that fabric will “block”
the pressure sensor—it won’t.
3. Make sure it’s secure. Don’t tie it to something that might also fall off.
Give it its own secure attachment.
It may take a little trial-and-error to achieve the optimal mounting method
for your AltimeterThree. Look for best practices on online bulletin boards
and social media sites; people often share setups which have worked well
for them.
Using Optional Mounts
Jolly Logic and selected resellers also offer optional mounts (like the Jolly
Logic Snap Mount) for AltimeterThree. These mounts provide convenient
ways to quickly snap or attach AltimeterThree to whatever you are ying.
Check the Jolly Logic website for more tips.
Recharging
Plug the AltimeterThree cable into any USB port to recharge, or (if you
have one) you can use your own Micro-B USB charger. If you don’t see a
light when you plug it in, the USB port must not have power. Try another
one.
Red Light
Your altimeter is charging correctly. Recharging
should be complete in less than 2 hours.
Green Light
Your altimeter is 100% charged.
Red + Green Light
Problem! Either this USB port is not providing
enough power, or your battery has a problem.
1. Try another USB port.
2. Open your altimeter and make sure the
battery connector is snapped in. See our
website for instructions on how to do this.
3. Contact [email protected].
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Repairing Your Altimeter
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Parts of your altimeter are replaceable.
• Plastic case
• Battery
• LCD display
Repair Instructions
You’ll need to open the plastic case to replace parts. One
handy tool for doing this is a thin wooden coffee stirrer,
because they are soft enough not to scratch the case and
usually narrow enough to press in the plastic tabs on the side
of the altimeter case.
See www.jollylogic.com/support for a visual repair guide.
For More Support
More info is available at www.jollylogic.com, including helpful repair
instructions, tutorials, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides.
Have questions or suggestions? Contact us at [email protected].
We’d love to hear from you, including your experiences with AltimeterThree.
Legal Notices
Copyright © 2017 Jolly Logic, LLC.
iPad and iPhone, are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
“Made for iPhone,” and “Made for iPad” mean that an electronic accessory has been designed to
connect specifically to iPhone, or iPad, respectively, and has been certified by the developer to
meet Apple performance standards. Apple is not responsible for the operation of this device or its
compliance with safety and regulatory standards. Please note that the use of this accessory with iPod,
iPhone, or iPad may affect wireless performance.
Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used
according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.
Microsoft and Excel are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries.
Velcro is a registered trademark of Velcro Industries B.V.
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Support and Troubleshooting
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ALTIMETERTHREe
Jolly Logic, LLC
A PARTIRE DAI 14 ANNI
14 ANS ET PLUS
AB 14 JAHREN
FOR AGES 14 UP
A PARTIR DE 14 AÑOS
14+
ATTENZIONE!
AVERTISSEMENT!
WARNUNG!
WARNING!
ADVERTENCIA!
Rischio di soocamento! Contiene piccole parti.
Non adatto a bambini di eta’ inferiore a 3 anni.
Risque de suocation! Petite piéces. Ne
convient pas à un enfant de moins de 3 ans.
Erstickungsgefahr! Vershluckbare Kleinteile. Nicht
geeignet für Kinder unter 3 Jahren.
Choking Hazard! Small parts. Not for children under
3 years.
Peligro de asfixia! Contiene partes pequeñas.
Inadecuado para niños menores de 3 años.
jolly logic
ALTIMETERTHREE
• Graph ight altitude to 29,500 feet (9000 meters)
• Record acceleration in three axes up to 24 Gs
• Examine data in a Microsoft ExcelTM spreadsheet
• Share ight reports via email and social networks
• Modes for quadcopters, rockets, planes,
helicopters, gliders, kites, and falconry.
• Recharge from any common USB port
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For Google Android™ 4.0.3 or higher
Requires an Apple or
Android compatible
smartphone or tablet
with Bluetooth®
Made for iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7s Plus, iPhone 7s, iPhone
6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPad Air 2, iPad mini
3, iPad with Retina display, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad (4th generation),
iPad mini, iPad (3rd generation), iPad 2
iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S.
and other countries.
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