PSAS Avionics Team

The Avionics team is currently working on 'AV3' class hardware and firmware for the Launch Vehicle No. 2c airframe. The AV3 hardware includes a PowerPC flight computer, a USB-based avionics bus, and a half-dozen USB-based avionics nodes including a GPS, IMU, power system, recovery node, and amateur TV broadcast.

If you're new to the avionics team, or you want some information on a previous sytem, please see our Introduction to PSAS Avionics Page!
For more in depth reading about the avionics nodes, see the capstone Project Design Summary (?CapstonePDS) and their final report (CapstoneLV2bProjectReport).

Latest News, Status and "Todo's"

The 2006 Capstone student team has finished their 2006 Capstone Project.
Page for the software for the sensor nodes
Avionics to-do list
Avionics to-get list
Getting up and running with Olimex LPC2148, openocd, eclipse etc
Yet another getting started tool chain and development environment setup
IMU Calibration
LPC USB Isochronous Mode

Avionics System 3 (AV3) Hardware

Here are the current block diagrams of:
- the onboard avionics system.
- the network and ground systems.
PowerPC Flight Computer
USB Nodes
- Generic USB node front end: 2006 Capstone Project
- OLD: Amateur TV System: Broadcasts NTSC video with overlay at 1.25 GHz.
- OLD: Avionics Power System: power switches, battery and bus monitoring
- GPL-GPS
- Inertial Measurement Unit: inertial sensors (also pressure and temperature sensors)
- Magnetometer: 3D sensing of the Earth's magnetic field
- OLD: Recovery Node: Battery backed up 2m radio receiver and pyrotechnic actuators
Pressure Sensors
Firmware is at: http://svcs.cs.pdx.edu/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?p=psas/freertos.git;a=summary

Launch Tower
Launch Tower:
Launch Tower Computer (LTC): A Linux-based x86 PC104 stack with Lucent Orinoco 802.11b card and CAN.
24dBi 2.4GHz 802.11b parabolic dish antenna ("BBQ" grill antenna).
Launch Tower Relay (LTR) board: PIC18F458-based CAN node with four relays and some analog sampling.
RocketReady Relay (RRR) board: PIC18F458-based board which provides rocketready relay interlock in firing chain.
Launch Igniter Circuit: igniter circuit for launch igniter.
Umbilical cord: Connects LV2 to the electronics box. Provides shore power, includes rocketready relay interlock.
Launch Tower Power System:Solar array, charge controller, and battery

Avionics Hardware/Software Tools

Electrical Nomenclature: Project naming conventions for schematics, etc.
GerberTools
AvionicsSVNAccess: getting access to the Avionics software itself
EagleCad: Cadsoft's EAGLE schematic capture/PCB CAD program
LPKF 91 router information

Other Advanced Amateur Avionics Systems

MARS Society: http://www.ukrocketman.com/rocketry/gimbal.shtml
Robert DeHate: http://www.geocities.com/rdh82000/L3/
MIT's Autonomous Helicopter: http://web.mit.edu/%7Eferon/Public/www/DASC.pdf

[Off Topic]

From Spencer Webb of AntennaSys:

Webb's Law of Project Complexity: "All good projects go from simple to insanely complex, then back to simple after a required epiphany."
Corollary to WLPC: "If the project never gets to the insanely complex stage, it is probably not worth doing."
Second Corollary to WLPC: "If the epiphany never comes, the project will likely be an insanely complex failure."

Avionics Team Meeting Minutes

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