[00:12] icez (n=icez@ip68-3-56-121.ph.ph.cox.net) joined #highaltitude. [02:32] macfreak4 (n=macfreak@24-107-201-22.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com) joined #highaltitude. [05:51] icez (n=icez@ip68-3-56-121.ph.ph.cox.net) left irc: Remote closed the connection [08:22] jcoxon (n=jcoxon@jac208.caths.cam.ac.uk) joined #highaltitude. [08:43] macfreak4 (n=macfreak@24-107-201-22.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com) got netsplit. [08:43] borism (n=boris@tor/session/external/x-813942e243fa8306) got netsplit. [08:45] macfreak4 (n=macfreak@24-107-201-22.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com) returned to #highaltitude. [08:50] borism (n=boris@tor/session/external/x-286e0d8747e18e51) joined #highaltitude. [08:51] macfreak4 (n=macfreak@24-107-201-22.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com) left irc: Read error: 104 (Connection reset by peer) [13:55] macfreak4 (n=macfreak@24-107-201-22.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com) joined #highaltitude. [13:56] hello/ [14:00] mark_fiirestone (n=FirestoM@57.66.70.213) joined #highaltitude. [14:04] icez (n=icez@ip68-3-56-121.ph.ph.cox.net) joined #highaltitude. [14:13] mark_fiirestone (n=FirestoM@57.66.70.213) left #highaltitude. [15:16] mark_fiirestone (n=FirestoM@57.66.70.213) joined #highaltitude. [15:29] icez (n=icez@ip68-3-56-121.ph.ph.cox.net) left irc: Remote closed the connection [17:17] mark_fiirestone (n=FirestoM@57.66.70.213) left irc: "Leaving." [17:59] hey macfreak4 [21:59] defy (n=defy@60-234-234-98.bitstream.orcon.net.nz) joined #highaltitude. [21:59] hey guys [22:01] gpsstix should be arriving this arvo :D [22:40] hey [22:41] hows it going [22:41] good [22:41] just wired up a voltage regulator in my payload [22:41] cool [22:41] i *accidentally* shorted my lithium batteries tho! [22:42] only for a breif moment (<1sec) but [22:42] the voltage went down a bit... [22:42] ick [22:42] what are you powering exactly? [22:43] a dell latitude motherboard (400mhz pentium 2) [22:43] :D [22:43] sweet [22:43] it'll tx gps positions, sensor data, and SSTV images (Slow Scan TV) [22:43] so... [22:43] is that a laptop mb? [22:44] yea [22:44] the laptop was around 2 or 3 kilos when it was fully assembled and just the motherboard is quite light [22:44] thats cool, I thought about using one of my slimline laptops for a while [22:45] yea, although im not certain exactly what its avg current consumption is -- im going to be running a little test in a moment tho ;) [22:45] it sure would make imaging a lot easier..what are you using for communication? [22:46] a 1 watt VHF handheld transceiver [22:46] on the HAM 2-meter band [22:46] oh nice, I wanted to use that setup too but I'm yet to find a tnc I can get working [22:46] im not using packet ;) [22:46] rtty [22:47] much easier, especially with the free MMTTY engine for VisualBasic [22:47] (MMTTY is a freeware RTTY program for Win9x/NT) [22:47] hrm interesting, i didn't know that was possible [22:47] yeah its pretty cool, all it needs hardware-wise is an audio card [22:47] its not just software packet? [22:48] it sends text as tones (5-bit baudot) [22:48] nope [22:48] its the protocol that old radio teletypes used back in the 30's and 40's [22:48] its slow, around 50-100 baud, but it works for simple things like gps sentences [22:49] i have an old XR-1 i wanted to use, i've tried soundmodem, which didn't work all that well..and a couple of tnc's [22:49] hmm... well i'd suggest trying out RTTY [22:49] google MMTTY and download it [22:50] (if you're running windows) [22:50] yea it sounds interesting, do you know if its supported in linux? [22:50] I'll be running windows for my ground station most likely [22:50] ooh [22:50] that makes it easier [22:50] because transmitting RTTY is MUCH easier than receiving it... [22:50] you could make your own program in linux to transmit and use MMTTY to receive [22:51] cool [22:51] here i'll get ya a link... [22:51] to basically just make it transmit cords and sensor data continuously? [22:52] yea [22:52] yea google seems to think that rtty is very supported in linux, so ill definitely give it a shot [22:52] sweet [22:52] heres some background info on RTTY: http://www.southgatearc.org/data/rtty/ [22:53] cool thanks [22:53] np [22:55] i was going to use linux, but my webcam isnt supported [22:55] and i've never programmed in linux, so i didnt think it would be a good idea this time... [22:56] well thats cool, the new gumstix gps card which _should_ be arriving today also has sound on it [22:57] so that might work out quite nicely [22:57] oh thats good [22:57] are ham radio's an option where you live/ [22:58] jcoxon says they're not in the uk [23:01] yea the bands are all open here [23:01] just need a ham license [23:01] o me too lol [23:01] where are you located? [23:01] new zealand [23:01] oh sweet [23:01] i was just there ;) [23:01] hah awesome...just visiting? [23:01] speaking pf the gpsstix, it just arrived :D [23:02] yeah about 9 months ago, drove all around the southern island for 2 weeks [23:02] cool [23:02] seems like everyone's using gumstixes [23:03] i should look into them some more [23:03] they're nice little units...as soon as they have a usb host on them they'll be pretty much perfect [23:04] ya i looked around for some cheap equivalents when i was still planning but eventually i decided to use what i already have [23:04] and i REALLY liked the idea of getting images back live too [23:04] yea I'd like live images or video back, not too sure how to go about that [23:04] at first i was just thinking of using the packet, and only getting an image back every 20 minutes or so [23:04] but i think that could be more trouble than its worth [23:05] well SSTV takes ~30 secs to send a full-quality 320x240 image [23:06] now i have to google SSTV :P I'm really quite new to radio [23:06] and since the same guy who wrote MMTTY wrote an SSTV program for Windows that comes with a handy engine for VB6 [23:06] i couldnt resist [23:06] sweet [23:06] yea i have never touched a ham radio in my life nor seen one in person so [23:06] im pretty much new too [23:06] sweet [23:07] i've played around with RTTY and SSTV just by using audio cables and two computers [23:10] icez (n=icez@ip68-3-56-121.ph.ph.cox.net) joined #highaltitude. [23:10] heya [23:12] howdy [23:16] 770mA idling voltage -- that's without any energy saving options turned on [23:16] thats for my payload's laptop [23:17] which gives ~3.625 hrs runtime [23:17] :/ [23:17] what devices do you have hanging off of the board? [23:17] nothing but the motherboard and cf card [23:18] that's awful high for such a laptop... [23:18] i mean, my ibook g4 consumes that much with an lcd and hard drive spinning [23:18] and this is only a pentium 2 [23:19] aren't newer boards much more efficient with power though [23:19] probably [23:19] i was hoping for at least less than 500mA [23:19] im surprised... [23:20] my 3 gumstix boards together with a gyro use about 650ma [23:20] at 5v though [23:23] hey all [23:24] hey [23:24] just been to the cinema [23:24] saw Shooting Dogs [23:24] wow [23:24] lol [23:25] im turning on the smart cpu power saving feature now -- it regulates the cpu clock speed according to how much it's gotta do [23:25] that should save a lot on power but we'll see... [23:28] yay! [23:28] much better? [23:28] almost cut the power consumption in half [23:28] :-D [23:28] hey jcoxon :) [23:28] from 770mA to 380mA idling [23:28] it was around 440mA at load [23:28] hey defy [23:34] do you guys know if there's a max altitude for Garmin's GPS 18? [23:34] most gps say they max out at 18km [23:35] however i've gone higher and they seem to work fine [23:35] huh [23:35] well i guess thats a good thing [23:35] my physics teacher donated a GPS 18 for the cause [23:35] they thing is that if you plot altitude vs time on a graph [23:35] so i was curious [23:35] your height gain should remain the same [23:36] so if it goes weird its probably stopped working [23:36] ok [23:36] another question... [23:36] go for it [23:36] the lithium AA's that I have are rated for 2900mAh [23:36] yup [23:37] and I've just turned on my laptop's mobo for testing, which as i've said was pulling about 700-800mA [23:37] and the batteries went from 1.8v per cell (!!) to 1.5v per cell in under a minute [23:37] hmmm electronics isn't my best field [23:40] @!@!$ [23:40] haha [23:40] just let it run and see how long it takes to die :P [23:40] ok sorry my volt meter just read 18v when under load, which is impossible because the laptop was running and the regulator outputs 20v [23:40] if anything gets near 21.5v or less, the regulator will shut off so obviously my voltmeter is screwed [23:41] hey macfreak4 does rtty use push to talk? [23:42] or does it rely on the transmitter to always be transmitting [23:43] well mmtty does, but i have no clue how ppt works [23:43] maybe you could fill me in? [23:43] ;) [23:43] well as far as i know its just an electrical way of pushing the transmit button [23:45] but how [23:45] but a simple sound card wont do that, something would have to be rigged to trigger it...unless one end is always sending, and the other is always receiving [23:45] i mean, you could open up the radio and solder a transistor across the PPT button, sure, but there seems to be a standard [23:45] well the transceiver will have to support it [23:45] o ok [23:45] you mean for an always on option? [23:45] well MMTTY has an option to use an available serial port for PPT so i guess that's how it works... [23:46] yea, most of the ptt hacks i've seen just used the serial port [23:46] one used something soldered off of the sound card, but that seems like much too much effort [23:46] o [23:47] well i was going to use an available pin on the parallel port and rig a transistor up to the button as i said earlier... [23:47] but theres gotta be a better way [23:47] cool..whatever works, i just wasn't sure if rtty used it...i guess it would have to if it wanted to be bidirectional [23:49] yea [23:52] hmmmm how do i use a/d on my audiostix2? [23:57] I'm still working out how to get the sound working :P [23:57] nah i don't need that! [23:58] well macfreak4 has gotten me excited about rtty and sstv so i want to play around with it a bit [23:58] the latest link i can find to drivers on the gs wiki is from 2004 though, heh [23:59] i guess its just a kernel option [00:00] --- Fri Apr 28 2006