Payload To Enable Recording Of Data And Communication Telemetry Y(While) Lofted (PTERODACTYL), with Stratospheric Ballooning Applications
Andrew Van Gerpen, James A. Flaten · 2022
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:107%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} We have developed a modular, low-cost (~$200) package for data logging and telemetry in stratospheric ballooning. The device, which goes by the acronym PTERODACTYL (spelled out in the title), is built around a Teensy 3.5 microcontroller (a 3.3V device which has a built-in microSD card slot) and a custom printed circuit board. It has a ?blox M8N stratospheric-capable gps, a 9 degree-of-freedom IMU, an altimeter (pressure sensor and temperature sensor), two thermistors (temperature sensors), two servo control outputs, four indicator LEDs, an OLED screen (for on-ground monitoring), multiple switches (for user input), an XBee radio module (for short-range, intra-stack communication), and terminal blocks to access the microcontroller’s other I/O pins for adding additional sensors to the I^2C bus, multiple serial ports, and 3.3V analog inputs. One can also use a PTERODACTYL to send sensor data and XBee messages through a more-powerful radio, such as an RFD900, capable of relaying sensor data and XBee messages (down-link) and commands (up-link) between the payload (at stratospheric altitudes) and a ground station.