GoProRookie said:
Brand new (Today) to the forum and waiting on my Phantom 2 to be delivered tomorrow. Does anyone use an altimeter attached to their Phantom 2? I have seen the Altimeter one and two that appear to be very small and light weight. I was just wanting something that would give me the highest altitude of the Phantom once it returned. If there is something that would give me the altitude during flight then that would be even better.
There are many small altimeters on the market. I'm familiar with several of the ones designed for use in rockets. Most are intended to support the recovery of the rocket through "events" such as deploying a drogue parachute at apogee (the highest altitude) and a main parachute at a set altitude. That's probably not a useful feature for use with the Phantom.
Some altimeters have interfaces for transmitting the data in real-time through a radio interface. Some support plug-in radio modules. Others interface with separate radio transmitters. In most cases, a technical amateur radio license is required to use the transmitters.
Many altimeters will record data periodically such as the current acceleration and altitude. I'm not sure if the ones designed for rockets will record for the length of time that a 'copter flies.
Most of the altimeters designed for rockets don't have a digital display. Instead the peak altitude is announced after the flight using a series of audible beeps.
The Jolly Logic AltimeterOne which you mention is a good, inexpensive choice. It doesn't support any events or record data throughout the flight, but it does determine and display the peak altitude on an LCD screen. I've read of several people using them successfully on helicopters. Estes sells a similar device which is less expensive, but I haven't heard any reports of how well the Estes Altimeter works on 'copters.
The Jolly Logic AltimeterTwo costs more and is designed specifically for use in rockets. Jolly Logic doesn't recommend it for use in anything except helicopters.
-- Roger
