T' Skyward Electronics Altimeter available from Space Modelin' Solutions, shiver me timbers, (480) 497-1960, is a full featured, extremely well designed unit at a very attractive price. Arrr! Blimey! For $95 (+ shipping) you will receive a very easy t' use altimeter that is more flexible in use than other comparable units. Aye aye! Blimey! I am fortunate t' have t' distributor o' these altimeters present at my launches so gettin' one was almost too easy. T' first thin' you notice when you view t' construction is how durable it is. Begad! Surface mount technology eliminates all soldered on resistors and capacitors that could move under pressure or worse, matey, break. Every thin' on this thin' is solid state and very small, makin' for an altimeter that is compact and light weight (Fig. 1). Well, blow me down! Measurin' in at 4" X 1-1/8" and only weighin' 2.7oz with battery. Blimey! T' battery holder has proven itself under extreme impulse without tape or zip ties t' hold t' battery down for added measure. T' screw terminals are very high quality. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Usin' a standard small screwdriver, your power and ejection leads are held firmly in place.

Programmin' t' altimeter for flight is simple and straight forward. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Using the two supplied 220 ohm resistors, you can program either main only, shiver me timbers, main and drogue at apogee, shiver me timbers, or dual deploy. Well, blow me down! Begad! With no resistors, you can program for recorded altitude only. Well, blow me down! Mach delay o' 4, 8, ya bilge rat, matey, 12, or 16 seconds is achieved by switchin' dip switches 23. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Main deploy altitudes o' 500, arrr, 800, 1100, or 1400' is achieved by switchin' dip switches 45.T' altimeter communicates t' you what it's doin' t' you via a series o' different tones (high and low) during programmin' and pre-flight continuity checks. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Preppin' for flight is easy with the quick reference chart stuck t' t' altimeter itself (Fig. Well, blow me down! 2) enablin' you to double check your pre-programmed mode, arrr, ya bilge rat, mach lockout, arrr, matey, and main deploy altitude. 

At t' pad, once armed, t' unit will do a continuity check o' t' ejection charges. Avast! Blimey! If everythin' passes you will hear 3 ascendin' tones. Blimey! Then it will confirm what mode you have programmed it for usin' 2 tones. Well, blow me down! It will then be lookin' for launch detect. While waiting, you will hear a short high tone every three seconds lettin' you know it's ready t' go. Avast! If t' main or drogue circuit doesn't pass t' test, ya bilge rat, you will hear a very offendin' low tone beepin' out that somethin' is nay right. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 1 low tone, me hearties, your main is open, me hearties, ya bilge rat, 2 low tones, your drogue is open. Avast! Error tones are very distinguishable as I found out myself when I didn't get one o' t' ejection charge screw terminals tightened all t' way down. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' use o' different tones makes communicatin' with t' unit a snap as they are very distinguishable and hard t' misinterpret. Begad! Blimey!

For testing, I built a 2.56" dia rocket o' basic design with a traditional dual deploy design. Begad! Usin' t' supplied 1/4" X 1/2" stand-offs I was unable t' mount t' unit on a tray inside o' t' payload compartment. Well, blow me down! Instead I fastened t' unit directly t' t' payload compartment side usin' 1/4" plywood pieces, sanded t' contour t' fit t' payload bay (Fig. 4) Boltin' t' unit down from t' outside with counter-sunk 4-40 screws. This positioned t' weight o' t' unit directly down t' centerline o' the rocket nay makin' one side heavier then t' other. Begad! For ventin' I used (2) 1/4" holes. Begad!

Three flights have been made with perfect results from t' altimeter each time. Begad! T' first flight was launched on an H-238, deployin' t' main at apogee and poppin' off t' nose cone at 500' with it's own small chute, recordin' an altitude o' 1852'. Arrr! Now that I be comfortable that it was all working, I swapped t' chutes and launched with an H-180. T' drogue ejected right at apogee and t' main deployed right on time at 500' albeit a little tangled (operator error) recordin' an altitude o' 2618', no harm done. T' third flight with an H220 wasn't so perfect with operator error once again. Well, blow me down! T' drogue didn't eject at apogee, matey, arrr, gettin' a "uh-oh" from t' crowd as it arched over and started t' come straight down, arrr, but t' back up motor ejection saved the day. Begad! T' jolt caused t' main t' yank out, arrr, me bucko, arrr, savin' t' rocket and it's payload. Well, blow me down! Arrivin' at t' rocket it was beepin' out an altitude o' 1991'. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Upon investigation it was concluded that me drogue ejection charge fell apart on take-off as t' flash bulb had gone off but thar were no powder burns anywhere. T' main ejection charge had gone off just fine though as be evident by t' powder burns.

For review purposes I wanted t' exploit t' fit o' this unit in other size applications. Avast! Blimey! Fig. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! 4 shows t' fit in 2.56" coupling. With a 3" couplin' (not shown) you can mount t' altimeter on a board for easier in/out. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' best part o' this unit is it's fit in smaller applications making for "no brainer" installs. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Fig. Blimey! Blimey! 3 shows t' altimeter in a 38mm motor mount 'coupling'. Removin' t' stand-offs provides t' perfect fit. Blimey! Blimey! Nay too tight, nay too loose, while keepin' itself perfectly centered. Avast! Blimey! Some foam paddin' on each end is all that's required here. Avast! Blimey! And for those that are comfortable with soldering, me hearties, by cuttin' through t' double sided tape that holds the battery holder and solderin' on 9V power leads for remote battery location, you will achieve again a perfect, me bucko, ya bilge rat, slide right in fit with 29mm motor mount tube (Fig. Blimey! Blimey! 5) T' Skywards Electronics Altimeter has proven itself worthy with myself and t' few others in me club that are usin' it. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Ease o' use and it's given size for convenient installation make this one a winner. At t' time of this writin' version 1.5 has just been released. Resultin' in fewer parts, shiver me timbers, this altimeter is now 1" shorter than tested and even more reliable. Distribution and customer service is handled through Space Modelin' Solutions. Quality and reliability make t' $95 price tag almost a steal. Well, blow me down! WildRocket.com Editors Note: T' FCS also happens t' be t' altimeter o' choice here at WildRocketry. It has flown in numerous projects and continues t' work as promised.