Common telemetry questions:
This change aims to answer those questions and provide a path forward.
Short answer -- it's documented here, we can extend it, and we all get to decide how.
Major overhaul! Major improvements!
The v1 version of an Arduino-compatible library for Telemetry has been made available.
This entry is based on a converted groups.io post, put here for any documentation value.
Update, new graph available showing daily counts.
eg total spots per day:
It is found under the Detailed Graphs section, so not visible by default without a click on first page load.
You can look at the count for a number of metrics:
You can also see in local or UTC time:
I found it interesting in general, but also due to my father's flight (link) which repeatedly has been so far North that it's getting 24 hours of sun. Looking at the spot counts, multiple days have received the maximum number of spots possible (144). Nice!
As usual, this, and all other changes, work for old flights, too, so feel free to look at old flights which might be interesting!
Thanks.
Doug
This entry is based on a converted groups.io post, put here for any documentation value.
Small update -- the column headers of the data table on the dashboard are now colored and grouped more intelligently for easier reading.
Map and DateTime columns remain in the same order and color, but the times are partitioned off from the Map column.
The Regular message is now Green, and partitioned.
The Encoded message is now LightPink and partitioned along with some (not all) of the decoded values from the Encoded message.
In short, you can ignore everything in LightPink unless you have a reason to look at it. Everything in the LightPink will be reflected in other columns in some actually-useful way or another, so there's unlikely to be anything here you want to look at on a regular basis.
Grid and Voltage are colored and partitioned away from the other metrics because they aren't metric/imperial values, they are a single unit we all understand.
The altitude, temperature, tracker-reported speed, gps speed, and distance traveled are now colored and partitioned, each now grouped within that set of data where the units are metric or imperial.
The same approach is done for the channel-less mode, which has far fewer columns.
Thanks.
Doug
This entry is based on a converted groups.io post, put here for any documentation value.
Update - initial support for receiving station data.
Wondering which stations received your transmission? The map now indicates (purple dots).
By default, the latest spot rx stations will be visible.
You can mouse over any spot, though, and its receiving stations will become visible.
If you click on a spot, the spot popup appears, and freezes the rx stations on the map until you close the popup.
If you want to see behind the popup, you can actually just scroll the map to the left or right, and when the world wraps around, all the spots and rx stations are visible, but no popup. (this is kind of a hack).
If you don't want to see rx stations, there is a new "R" button in the upper-right corner. Click it to disable all rx spots. Click again to re-enable.
For the moment, the R-button affects all search pages together, and is remembered after you close and re-open the page. So it's basically a site-wide on/off switch. Let me know if that matches your desire or not (and what you'd rather see for functionality).
There are two new columns added, counting the number of rx stations which heard your regular and encoded transmission.
Note -- the number of rx stations heard can/will differ from the number of points on the map. The columns show how many of each were heard. For a telemetry spot, though, the fingerprinting must match up the regular and encoded. The number of stations where fingerprinting was effective is what is shown on the map.
At the moment this functionality isn't yet implemented for channel-less search.
Thanks.
Doug
This entry is based on a converted groups.io post, put here for any documentation value.
Update, you can now select fewer columns to show in the data table (since it's so wide now).
Before:
After:
This is controlled by a new (initially hidden) Data Table Control, found directly above the Data Table. Click the title to reveal the control panel.
Raw Columns - Hide: hide all the columns which aren't directly useful, since they are just the inputs for computing the actually-useful columns.
The Raw Columns are:
The Units selector lets you decide between the metrics being displayed in Metric, Imperial, or Both.
Both of the selections apply to any balloon you track, and are remembered when you close and reopen any search page.
Downloads from the Data Table still have the full contents, this is just a display feature, the data is all still there.
Thanks.
Doug
This entry is based on a converted groups.io post, put here for any documentation value.
Update,
KML Export
The dashboard now supports KML export of the flight path. Useful to import into Google Earth.
I thought to do this because my father's flight (link) has gone off the map toward the North Pole and has become difficult to conceptualize on a 2D map. This feature addresses that, and is also just kind of neat.
2D Map struggling to show updates, map doesn't appear to show above +/- 85 degrees latitude.
Here is that same flight, plotted on google earth:
The KML file automatically defines both the North and South Pole, so if you're close, you can easily see it.
How to Use
Just above the table of data, there are two new options, KML with altitude, and KML without.
Click the link, and you get a file download popup.
Pros / Cons
The KML with altitude has pros/cons, as does the no-altitude version.
With Altitude Pros:
With Altitude Cons:
No-Altitude Pros/Cons: - Doesn't suffer downsides, but not as neat
More KML Features
I may enhance this further to add more information into the KML, but it's kind of just a prototype for now. Feel free to make suggestions.
Unfortunately I don't see a way to get a live updating google earth feed with the technology in use at the moment.
I also don't see a way to link directly to Google Earth from the dashboard, so the intermediate step of a file download is necessary (sucks).
Stuff about Google Earth
I only tried this on the web version of Google Earth. Hopefully it works in any application (let me know if not).
Google Earth Web: https://earth.google.com/ (chrome only)
You import the downloaded file like this:
You'll then get a track which has all the spots broken out. You can fly to any given spot using the menu (3 dots) next to it.
I find it helpful to turn off layers like clouds
Google Earth also lets you measure distance in case you want to see distance from a thing. In this case, I'm measuring distance to the North Pole.
Thanks and enjoy!
Doug
This entry is based on a converted groups.io post, put here for any documentation value.
Update,
Dashboard simplifies the "Updated" and "Spot age" indicators with easier to understand values.
(new view)
The "Updated":
The "Spot age":
The "Since last seen":
Basically the change is meant to
Thanks.
Doug
This entry is based on a converted groups.io post, put here for any documentation value.
Update,
The map can now highlight your latest spot for you.
For those with long flights, who leave the map open and occasionally check for their latest updates, finding the latest location of your balloon can be challenging amongst all the spots.
The headline banner talking about your latest spot has now been upgraded. Hover your mouse over it, and a red circle will appear on the map over your latest spot.
Which is the latest?
Now there is a solution.
Hover over this text:
Circle appears:
A refresh of the page will activate this feature.
Thanks.
Doug