RAF Research AL-016 User manual

Rocket Data Logger
AL-016
±200 g 3-D Primary
Accelerometer
±16 g 3-D Secondary
Accelerometer
±2000 dps 3-D
Gyroscope
45 second flight
recording time
16 Mb intermediate
flight data buffer
MicroSD Media Card
Rechargeable
150 mAh battery
www.rafresearch.com/products
Quick Start
Guide
The standard retail packaging
for the logger contains:
Rocket Data Logger (with
150 mAh battery and MicroSD
Media Card)
Quick Start Guide
(this document)
Drilling Guide (LASER cut)
MicroSD-card to SD-card socket
adapter
Five #4-40 x 5/16” screws for
mounting the Logger onto a
1/8” panel
Five #4-40 x 7/16” screws for
mounting the Logger onto a
1/4" panel
The MicroSD-card contents are:
The Logger’s calibration report.
All Loggers are calibrated and
tested before they are sold.
Rocket Data Logger User’s Guide
(pdf).
ReadMe.TXT file containing the
latest product release notes.
An installer file for the Post-
processing Software.
(ADL_installer.jar)
The Logger may be “hard
mounted” (attached to a
platform in your rocket using
screws) or “soft mounted”
(wrapped in bubble wrap and
placed in a nosecone or payload
compartment). Hard mounting
obtains the most accurate
measurements.
Regardless of whether the
Logger is hard or soft mounted,
for its launch detection
mechanism to work, the Logger
must be mounted so that the
rocket’s launch thrust aligns
with one of the Logger’s axes.
(+X, -X, +Y, -Y, +Z, or –Z)
To facilitate hard mounting, a
Logger Drilling Guide is
provided. Place it the where you
intend to mount the Logger and
mark the locations of the 5
mounting holes. Drill 1/8” holes
at these locations and use the
provided screws to mount the
Logger.
To record a flight (the short
version):
1. Verify that the MicroSD-
card is inserted in its socket
and the battery is plugged
in.
2. Turn on the Logger by
inserting a small
screwdriver into the slot on
the power switch and
rotating it 3/4 turn
clockwise. The Red LED
will illuminate and the
Green LED will start
blinking slowly. If for some
reason the Green LED is not
blinking, turn power off and
then back on.
3. Wait 20 seconds for the
Logger to blink out a launch
readiness code.
Red-Red - <digit 1 in
Green> - Red - <digit 2> -
Red - <digit 3> - repeats
once more.
4. If the 1st digit of the health
code is “1”, fly it.
If it is not a “1”, then see the
User’s manual for the
meaning of the code.
5. When you get the Logger
back to camp, turn it off.
6. Use a spreadsheet program
to directly examine the
.CSV file on the MicroSD-
card or use the post-
processing software to
generate web ready files.
(Open the resulting
index.xml file with a
browser.)
To record a flight (the long
version that explains the
blinking LEDs):
1. Make sure that the
MicroSD-card is inserted in
its socket and the battery is
plugged in.
2. Turn on the Logger by
inserting a small
screwdriver into the slot on

the power switch and
rotating it 3/4 turn
clockwise. The Red LED
will illuminate and the
Green LED will start
blinking slowly. If for some
reason the Green LED is not
blinking, turn power off and
then back on.
3. The Green LED will blink
slowly for 20 seconds. (This
is the period when a serial
terminal can be used to start
a conversation with the
Logger.)
4. After 20 seconds, the
Logger enters automatic
launch detect mode. It will
perform a launch readiness
test and blink out the
3-digit results code.
Red –Red {Two red blinks
indicated the start of the
3-digit code.}
<digit 1 blinked out in Green>
{Count the number of
green blinks}
Red {The Red LED blinks once
between digits}
<digit 2 blinked out in Green>
{Count the number of green
blinks}
Red {The Red LED blinks once
between digits}
<digit 3 blinked out in Green>
{Count the number of green
blinks}
Red –Red - etc. {The 3-digit
code is repeated
a second time.}
The expected health code is
1-x-y; where 1 means the
Logger is ready to launch
and x.y is the battery
voltage. Most likely the
code displayed will be
something like 1-4-1.
Meaning "ready to launch"
and battery voltage = 4.1V.
For a description of LED
codes see User’s Guide.
5. The Logger then will go to
sleep.
(Red LED off; Green LED
blinks briefly every 8
seconds).
6. A sudden movement of the
Logger will wake it from
sleep mode. It will blink its
Green LED at a moderate
rate (launch detecting) for
30 seconds, perform its
health check, blink out the
result, and return to sleep.
(So, giving the Logger a
nudge is a way to have it tell
you its battery level.)
7. [You probably won't see
this part.] When the Logger
detects "launch" it blinks its
Green LED rapidly for
about 45 seconds as it is
recording the flight into the
intermediate flight buffer
(Flash memory) chip. Then
it immediately copies the
contents of the flash
memory to the MicroSD-
card. In its default
configuration, the copy
operation should take
about10 minutes.
The Blue LED blinks while
the MicroSD-card is
accessed.
After a successful copy, the
flash memory is erased.
Then the Logger resets itself
and if ready for another
flight.
8. By the time the rocket is
recovered, it will probably
be done recording, copying,
reset for another flight, and
sleeping. Picking up the
rocket may wake it from
sleep mode.
9. When you bring the Logger
back to camp, check its
LEDs.
If the Blue LED is off or on
solid, turn the Logger off.
If the Blue LED is blinking,
then the Logger is not done
copying. Wait a few
minutes for it to finish.
Attention: The Logger
contains ESD
sensitive
devices. Observe
precautions for
handling.
Caution: Do not use,
charge or
transport if the
Lithium Polymer
Battery is
damaged.