Flight Data Recorder

Background:

One day I was in Paul's Arts and Crafts Store with my girlfriend bored out of my mind; then I saw the Rockets Section! It was probably an indirect result of SpaceShipOne and the X-Prize (Burt Rutan had just won a few days before,) but I bought the biggest one they had there - a "D" powered Estes StormCaster. I hadn't shot off any Rockets in about 20 years. More StormCaster...

Goal:

At first I thought it would be stupid to put a Microcontroller in a Rocket, but now I want to. I decided to throw some computing power and some Sensors at it and see what I come up with. So, my goal is to build something that will...

On Power up - perform a Self Test of all Sensors and Subsystems.
Sense the Igniter Voltage as a Start Recording trigger (with a back up of Sensing > 2Gs as a trigger.)
Every tenth of a second record Absolute Air Pressure, Acceleration, and Temperature.
Every second trigger a Digital Camera to take a picture.
After five minutes sound off a very loud Piezo Alarm to help locate the Rocket (if it isn't lost it will probably be retrieved in less than five minutes.)
Upload all collected data to a Laptop and display on a graph.

Hardware Description:

The Flight Data Recorder uses a NetMedia BasicX-24 for the main CPU. Its inputs include a LM34DZ Temperature Sensor, an ADLX150 Acceleration Sensor, and a MPXA4115 Absolute Pressure Sensor. For outputs it triggers a Cheap Digital Camera I picked up at a yard sale for $2, blasts a 105db Piezo Siren (to help locate it if it's lost,) and Uploads all collected data to a Laptop More Hardware...

Software Description:

The software is broken up in to modules. Each piece of Hardware has a corresponding software module. More Software...

Payload Bay:

At first I had the bright idea of using a light weight plastic baseball bat for a Payload Bay and Rocket Body (bad idea.) More Payload Bay...

Booster Stage and Recovery System:

Once the payload is completed, I can start designing the rocket to take it aloft.

Data Analysis:

A program that reads the uploaded data and displays it on a graph. More Data Analysis...

Flights:

No Flight Data yet.

2005/01/13 - Had a Major Setback!:

The BasicX-24 Module stopped accepting downloads

Turns out the EEPROM on the BasicX Module went bad (see EEPROM for a more thorough explanation.)

I called NetMedia Customer Support and explained the problems I was having, the signals I saw on my scope, and how a test program failed on my BasicX, but passed on someone elses. They agreed that the EEPROM was probably bad, but they refused to replace it.

Poo Poo on NetMedia!

That is NOT the way to build a loyal customer base! It will be a L_O_N_G time before NetMedia gets another dollar out of me (and I can't recommend you buy anything from them either.)

I have since come across a MUCH better processor that is hardware and software compatible with the BaiscX-24. If you're even considering getting a BasicX-24, I strongly recommend that you check out ZBasic-24 first. I will probably use this new processor for all future projects.

Note: I really do want to finish this project someday, but right now it is on hold until I finish a more interesting project.

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