First draft
Contents
1. 5 00 in Computer Terminal Block Pyro Safety Shunt Pyro Terminal Block 0 125 in 2 PLCS G Wiz HCX 33 Appendix C Specifications 1 Parameter OSOBA S CS Max Acceleration Hd Max Barometric Altitude 70K feet MSL apcime resem Maximum continuous current per Pyro 8 Amps Channel Number of batteries required lor2 Recommended Computer Power Battery 9 VDC transistor battery Duracell MN1604 Max voltage applied to Computer or Pyro 15 VDC Battery input terminals TB1 pins 9 amp 10 or TB2 pins 5 amp 6 100ma typ beeper LED active Pyro Channel test current 3 5mA 9VDC battery Pyro Channel firing time Channels 1 to 3 Configurable Channel 4 on and off separately programmed Pyro Channel functions 1 Stage 1 2 or 3 cluster 2 Apogee parachute deployment 3 Low altitude parachute deployment 4 Event Programmable Low Altitude Pyro Channel activation User Programmable 50 feet ADC Resolution 12 bits Sample Rate Variable from 62 to 500 samples second sensor Status LED and acoustic beeper Barometric Altitude Number of LEDs 1 Status LED Continuity and battery voltage t a Host Computer Interface USB 2 0 TTL CMOS to G Wiz USB Serial Interface Adapter RS 232 TTL CMOS to G Wiz RS 232 Interface Adapter Main Battery Life 4 hours mepraepnonaen Weight gram 86S grams O Flights over 30 000 feet MSL require HCX to be coated wi2. Figure 8 shows the Calibrate Accelerometer dialog It is fairly self explanatory This doesn t need to be done very often but Hold your G Viz MC in each position Then press the button for that position The buttons will be disabled while your G VViz is being sampled Ok Cancel Help Figure 6 should be done at least once G Wiz HCX Sensor Statistics 27 This is a tool that exists just to satisfy your curiosity There are 4 analog inputs on the HCX and this menu item displays a dialog see Figure 9 that lets you choose one and display data from that sensor continuously as a Graph Figure 10 or as a Histogram Figure 11 along with accumulated statistical data Data shown includes Sensor Accelerometer O Barometer n Continuity Battery Figure 7 Statistics of 60 samples Current The value just read Mean That statistical mean of the last 100 samples Std Dev The Standard Deviation of the last 100 samples Std Variance The Standard Variance of the last 100 samples ENOB The Effective Number of Bits Essentially a measure of how clean the data is Current 2022 00 Mean 2022 06 Std Dev 0 4082 Std Variance 0 1666 ENOB 11 51 E ade ae Sb SG StS oe a e 12 Figure 8 G Wiz HCX 28 fF Statistics of 184 samples Current 2022 00 Mean 2021 98 Std Dev 0 4238 Std Variance 0 1796 ENOB 11 49 Figure 9 Firmware U
3. One battery powers the computer and one powers the pryo channels 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 To use a dual battery setup DO NOT use a jumper wire from the computer battery CBatt TB2 in 6 to the pyro battery PBatt TB1 pin 1 terminals Connect two batteries A 9 volt battery for the computer should be wired to the nose end of terminal bar 2 TB2 positive to CBatt Pin 6 and negative to CBait Pin 5 which should have some method to switch the power to the computer on and off A second battery 9 to 15 volts should be wired to the pyro power terminals terminal bar 1 TB1 designated as pyro to PBatt Pin 1 and to PBatt Pin 2 The small twin pin jumper at JP2 should be ON the pins located near the bottom and on the far side from the terminal bar This sets the altimeter for high pyro current which should only be used in the dual battery configuration See photo 5 a Photo 5 This is the only jumper you have to deal with for normal single motor launches with dual deployment parachutes even though you re using dual batteries Once all the correct firing devices are hooked up you can test the circuits Turn on your power switch to the altimeter with the shunt plug plugged in Once you ve tested it by listening to the beep sequence or observing the status LED you can either leave it on or turn it off until the rocket is mounted on the pad The launch sensor is pretty robust and the
4. User Manual G Wiz HCX Table of Contents Limited Wy arctan and Disclaimer ireschen ee aia ee a ST a How t contact r WF ParthefSsnscnsciii e arna E E a i E a S TICE Os sence E T E E E Feat reS esinin neninn eE aKa EE EEE EEE EEE REAO N E ea a EEan E ETRE aE made Flight Comp ter Operation sensisse a saa E rana KEEA E E aiaia Quick Start Hardware Configuration sessesesesseseesesrrereesttserreestesstserestesetettensetstestessessteseeseeseestreseeseee 1 Dual parachute deployment using one 9v battery No clustering or staging 2 Dual parachute deployment with dual batteries No clustering or staging 3 Second Stage plus dual parachute deployment with dual batteries 00 0 0 eee 4 Single parachute deployment at apogee with ONE 9V ce eceesseecceteceeeeseeeeeeseeeeeeeaeeseeeaee 5 Cluster ignition plus single parachute deployment at apogee using dual batteries Quick Start Software Configuration sscszecashacseasnnagsecsonadeaeceaapennsnaneedeeasaoedasnadoecendaneoseatad onto aseuseieeianastaaaniens M unting th ES ri cance estes ceded eisini oasia sessa e e a aS aiei a SOWAT te ode erga Gea E R EA E E E E O A ec Configurations ernaia iina n a a e a a a Bench Testing aca aca aieeaa ea aoa aE Aaa AeA E E EEEE A EEA E aAa EA EERE Calibrator a E E A E RR EEA E E Sensor SCAMS OCS isisi cscbhua ees h aati cecadecadoedoayscecuacindatedediaueeddcaiaeladsbcdpeaceetieededeiocedac
5. the possibility of failure can never totally be removed The owners employees vendors and contractors of G Wiz Partners shall not be liable for any special incidental or consequential damage or expense directly or indirectly arising from the customer or anyone s use misuse or inability to use this device either separately or in combination with other equipment or for personal injury or loss or destruction of other property for experiment failure or for any other cause It is up to the user the experimenter to use good judgment and safe design practices and to properly pre test the device for its intended performance in the intended vehicle It is the user or experimenter s responsibility to assure the vehicle will perform in a safe manner and that all reasonable precautions are exercised to prevent injury or damage to anyone or anything WARNING Do not use this device unless you completely understand and agree with all the above statements and conditions First time use of the G Wiz HCX Flight Computer signifies the user s acceptance of these terms and conditions How to contact G Wiz Partners Please see our website at http www qwiz partners com Our web site has the latest versions of all our user manuals Device Firmware FlightView Software updates and email contact information G Wiz HCX Introduction After reading this manual if you have any questions or problems with either your flight computer or FlightView software pl
6. HCX See photo 14 below Connect USB Cable to interface board and computer Connect power to the HCX The install process places the drivers for your machine in a directory under your install directory Under Windows a dialog will appear asking how to install the drivers Do not search the internet or the computer Instead elect to tell it where the drivers are If you installed at the default location this will be C Program Files GWizViewer usbDrivers This process is shown in detail for Windows XP in Appendix E Macintosh users should follow the procedure in described in Appendix D 3 Optional Connect G Wiz RS 232 serial interface a b c Connect interface board to Flight Computer by inserting the 8 pin connector JP6 to the matching socket on the HCX See photo 14 below Connect power to HCX Connect a Straight Through serial cable between interface and computer Note that this is different then the original HCX Photo 14 4 Run FlightView a Select G Wiz Connect from the menus A dialog will appear asking which port the G Wiz is connected to Note that the USB interface will install as a serial port On a PC it will generally be a COM port larger then 4 Choose the correct port and click OK It should say connected to G Wiz HCX in the bottom left of the screen G Wiz HCX 17 Select G Wiz Configure The following Dialog Box will appear allowing you to change the pyro p
7. Status LED l CPU Accelerometer Terminal Block TB1 Terminal Block TB2 And the bottom Mini SD Card Socket MOSFETs Malor components CPU The microprocessor that controls everything The Brain of the Flight Computer Mini SD Card Socket Insert an Mini SD card to store flight data MOSFET The are 1 of these for every pyro port plus a few more They are capable of switching up to 8 amps of current if the pyro battery used can supply it G Wiz HCX 20 Accelerometer The sensor used to measure acceleration Pressure Sensor Used to measure barometric pressure Barometric pressure is used to calculate the pressure altitude of the rocket based on the NASA Standard Atmosphere Model Terminal Blocks Used connect wires to the Flight Computer Electric matches etc Batteries in the 9 12v range should be used for both pyro and CPU power The break wire and external shunt connections are basically switch inputs Connecting a wire between the two terminals of the external shunt is the same as inserting the shunt into the red connectors This connection must be broken for the pyro ports to be functional The break wire input is similar Connect a wire between these two terminals and power the computer on If configured when the wire is broken switch opened launch will be detected If not configured an event will be generated instead JP1 amp JP3 Safety shunt If the safety pin is ins
8. heard here after a half second pause LED OFF Half second pause A single quick chirp or double chirp for each Pyro ports one means good continuity 1 second pause Repeat from 1 ONOORWN gt Where in step 2 a single beep indicates that pyro 1 will be used for Clustering i e triggered on launch detect and 2 beeps indicates staging The chirps in step 6 indicate continuity of the pyro ports Starting with port 1 one chirp is Good continuity 2 chirps is Bad continuity Other possibilities Power on self test failure POST Failure Long warble Half second delay 1 7 high pitch beeps giving a failure code if 5 or more beeps are heard there will be another half second delay then 1 11 low pitch beeps with a secondary code 5 1 second pause 6 repeat If this is heard DO NOT FLY Record the number of beeps fail codes and contact G Wiz support support qwiz partners com Failure codes are given in Appendix A RODZ SD Card un plugged 1 Long High pitch beep 2 Long low pitch beep 3 3 4 second delay 4 Normal Power On sequence When there is no SD card the computer will not be able to record data but will fire all events Configured for Break Wire launch but break wire not connected at power on 1 Short warble 2 1 second delay 3 repeat 4 Warning While in this mode you will not be able to connect with FlightView Connect break wire to continue G Wiz HCX 6 Landin
9. hole If this is not possible you may mount an external shunt in or near the airframe and wire it to the Terminal Block In normal use the shunt should be inserted before the unit is powered on and should be removed after all other prep work on the pad Removing this shunt arms the pyro outputs enabling them to fire when signaled Using a Break Wire HCX has a fairly stiff requirement for launch detect require about 2 5g for half a second or so Higher accelerations will result in shorter detect times but even a 50g launch will need about a tenth of a second If your launch will be faster some zinc sulfur rockets have very high G thrusts for very short periods or slower low thrust to weight then this you can use a break wire for launch detect The wire should be connected between terminal bock 2 s pins 3 amp 4 aux input and be placed across the nozzle of the motor or other location where launch will cause the wire to break HCX needs to be configured for this type of launch See figure 3 below and JP5 should be IN If not configured as a launch detect this input can be used as an analog input for another sensor that outputs in 0 5v range JP5 should be OUT for this Linking to a PC Connect to an available RS232 serial COM port on your computer using a 9 pin male to female subminiature D connector cable wired straight through also known as a serial printer cable These cables are readily available at m
10. shunt plug will not allow the charges to fire When you turn on the power to the altimeter the beeper and status LED will Emit a two quick tones signaling the battery is OK and that the cluster stage jumper is set to stage If not check the beep pattern in the Operation section above Page 5 Then emit two chirps signaling the cluster and staging channel has nothing connected to it Then emit a single chirp signaling the apogee channel firing device a Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit a single chirp signaling the main chute channel Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit two chirps signaling the user channel has nothing connected to it Then it will pause and cycle the beep pattern again In photo 6 the altimeter is connected to separate batteries to power the computer and the pryo channels Charges are wired to deploy both apogee and low altitude parachutes main set at the default of 800 feet Be sure to remove the red shunt plug JP1 3 only when the rocket is mounted on the pad and ready to launch G Wiz HCX 11 Photo 6 Note If your application does not allow use of the shunt plug the unit must be tested by power on then shut off until on the pad 3 Second Stage plus dual parachute deployment with dual batteries One battery powers the computer and one powers the pryo channels 3 1 To use a dual battery
11. units will have data scaled as appropriate i e 112g unit will have data in the range 0 to 8191 with Og at about 4096 Column 2 is barometric pressure data also in the range 0 to 4095 12 bits This represents pressure data from approximately 0 to 14 5 lbs per square inch or 0 to 100 kPa The data sheet gives pressure in kilo Pascals where 1kPa 145psi The sensor used here is the MPX2102A by Motorola connected to a now noise op amp Pressure readings start high and go down as altitude goes up This is a milli volt output sensor and is amplified by 201x before reading Core information Specification MPX2102A Full scale range OkPa 100kPa Full scale span 20mV Offset 0 Sensitivity Sensor 2 mV kPa Sensitivity Amplified 40 28 mV kPa Column 3 is the Event column It contains a word describing the event if any that has occurred as of that reading These events are for the most part self describing The one exception is event 1 which is an internal event issued when launch may have occurred but before it has been validated We are also experimenting with exporting data in XML format This file has all relevant data We may change some tags in the future but let us know if this is useful for you POST Failure codes First set High Pitch 1 beep Failure reading configuration from EEPROM 2 beeps Sensors reading out of range 3 beeps Accelerometer self test failur
12. Photo 2 1 2 Pull the small twin pin jumper connector OFF of the JP2 twin pins located near the bottom and located on the far side from the terminal bar This sets it for low pyro current which is best when using a single battery Use Davyfire 28b s to fire your charges in the low current mode as any other electric match device will most likely not work unless using two batteries and the High current mode with the twin pin JP2 jumper ON See JP2 being removed in photo 3 below Photo 3 1 3 This is the only jumper you have to deal with for dual deployment with a single battery all other jumpers should be ON the twin pin connectors 1 4 Connect the power source a 9 volt battery preferably with some type of switch in the circuit to the nose end of the terminal bar either TB1 Pins 1 amp 2 or TB2 Pins 5 amp 6 G Wiz HCX 9 1 5 With the shunt plug in place or power disconnected wire the Drogue chute firing device to the Apogee and terminals TB1 pins 5 and 6 Davyfire 28b firing devices are not polarity sensitive If testing test lights may not have the proper resistance to signal the LED and beeper 6 Wire the Main chute firing device to the Low Alt and terminals TB1 pins 7 and 8 7 Once all the correct firing devices are hooked up you can test the circuits Turn on your power switch to the altimeter with the shunt plug plugged in Once you ve tested it by listening to the beep sequence or o
13. anded Analog input lt gt or a set value 0000000 0 G Wiz HCX 25 After uploading the new configuration the Flight Computer must be turned off and on again before the new configuration will be used Bench Testing The Bench Test item will scan the sensors and ports of HCX then display this dialog in Figure 6 C Bench Test v z G Miz Modet Fareware Version CPU Battery Voltage Pyro Battery Voltage Barometer Reading Acceleration Reading calc Accelerometer Senest Status Breakwire User input Jumper JP7 Stage Chester Cluster Stage Outpant Apogee Output Main Output User Pyro 3 Output Figure 4 This window shows the current values of all sensors and the continuity state of the pyro outputs In addition there is an indicator light to tell you the relative quality of that value Green is good Red bad and Yellow questionable Note that open pyro ports will generate yellow indicators as there is probably legitimately nothing in them Continuity reads as Good if the igniter value is between 0 and 30 ohms You may also selectively arm and fire the pyro channels to test battery power or igniters Pressing the Update button will cause all values to be re read For the sensor self tests the barometer should read somewhere in the area of 100kPa 20kPa Acceleration 1 to 1 g depending on computer orientation and accelerometer self test status should be at 12g 2gs In addi
14. bserving the status LED you can either leave it on or turn it off until the rocket is mounted on the pad The launch sensor is pretty robust and the shunt plug will not allow the charges to fire When you turn on the power to the altimeter the beeper and status LED will Emit a two quick tones signaling the battery is OK and that the cluster stage jumper is set to stage If not check the beep pattern in the Operation section above Page 5 Then emit two chirps signaling the cluster and staging channel has nothing connected to it Then emit a single chirp signaling the apogee channel firing device a Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit a single chirp signaling the main chute channel Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit two chirps signaling the user channel has nothing connected to it Then it will pause and cycle the beep pattern again 1 8 Photo 4 below shows the altimeter connected to a single battery and set to deploy a drogue at apogee and a main at 800 feet the default Be sure to remove the red shunt plug JP1 3 only when the rocket is mounted on the pad and ready to launch lt e Photo 4 Note If your application does not allow use of the shunt plug the unit must be tested by power on then shut off until on the pad G Wiz HCX 10 2 Dual parachute deployment with dual batteries No clustering or staging
15. cord at a very high data rate the computer will pre allocate a large size configurable file on the SD card It also requires that this file has no fragments I E that it be continuous on disk Because of these requirements it is recommended that a freshly formatted card be used for each series of flights The flight computer will sound an error code if it cannot allocate a file meeting these requirements G Wiz HCX 22 Software FlightView HCX Features Starting with version 2 8 FlightView supports HCX configuration and data viewing in addition to its base feature set Before you try to connect Select Preferences from the File menu and you will see a dialog like that in figure 1 P Pralarances Unis Use Todays date by default in Might daia Overlay Graph she enc ape ETa J Barometric Aatude Bg Engi Acceleration Y Crop Acceleration Data a Apogee J Metric _ Airspeed ir Smooth Barometric Data Eag Meinic __ Integrated Aiie Default Launch Site Blackeock Giz Connection Port Default ID Patere FLTEO Use at for a minber A on ita for a better Graph Background Speed kel Graph Scales ME integrated Atude Acceleration B Barometric Attitude Figure 1 Setect the COM port you will be using with the combo box provided Decide on any other preferences you wish to set as well Then select Connect from the G Wiz menu and you should see a message at the bottom of the window with the mod
16. e 4 beeps Accelerometer status failure 5 beeps SD Card initialization error Secondary code block 1 6 beeps SD File creation error Secondary code block 2 7 beeps SD File error Not enough space found on card try a newly formatted card G Wiz HCX 31 Secondary set Low Pitch block 1 1 beep Failure to reset card Probable bad card 2 beeps Failure to init card Probable bad card 3 beeps Wrong file system on card Must be formatted as FAT16 or FAT32 4 beeps SD Card Read error Possible bad card 5 beeps SD card not FAT formatted 6 beeps SD Card partition table bad 7 beeps SD Card partition not right type DOS FAT format 8 beeps SD Card Read error Possible bad card 9 beeps SD Card not properly formatted 10 beeps SD Card bad sector size Must be formatted with 512 byte sectors 11 beeps SD Card formatted as FAT12 which is unsupported Secondary set Low pitch block 2 1 beep File creation error 1 2 beeps SD card full Try a newly formatted card 3 beeps SD Card write error Try a different card 4 beeps SD Card directory error Try a different card Unless the failure is due to a SD card problem that can be remedied by changing cards most POST failures should be reported to G Wiz support support gwiz partners com and you should not fly the computer G Wiz HCX 32 Appendix B Mechanical Drawing 1 10 in l 0 53 in 2 141n 3 02 in
17. ease visit us on the web at http www gwiz partners com or write us at support gwiz partners com or at G Wiz Partners PO Box 320103 Los Gatos CA 95032 0101 A FAQ is maintained on the web site and new versions of FlightView are posted there free for download as are new versions of HCX Firmware The G Wiz HCX flight computers are precision state of the art recording altimeters that utilize dual sensors both a barometer and accelerometer to integrate operate and record flight data for model and high power rockets These are multi functional units with some versions operational within the extraordinary range of 200 G s of acceleration the basic HCX is capable of 50 G s The unique shunt plug in the HCX s allow the battery power and circuit continuity to be monitored and displayed while still plugged in yet the charges are made safe HCX can control flight events for up to three separate flight operations apogee deployment low altitude deployment and cluster or staging In addition HCX has a 4 output port that is fully programmable HCX s keep track of multiple flights by recording the accelerometer sensor data and the barometric sensor data on a mini SD card in a normal file system These files are readable directly by FlightView HCX s sophisticated firmware algorithms take full advantage of having a dual sensor system the on board accelerometer and barometric pressure sensor The processor at the heart of these 2nd generatio
18. el of flight computer connected to and your computer should stop beeping When Connected The G Wiz Menu will have several additional items The additional menu items allow you to a E honeei ant lbp Configure the computer E Conmect vie Temer Calibrate the accelerometer ia ti SHar Bench Test the computer E fied Memory Get Statistical Data on the Sensors Upgrade the Firmware Caine U Scale data recorded on the optional analog channel Hench Ter Sensa Histo an po HCH Pimia User Daia Scaing G Wiz HCX 23 Configuration The configuration item will read the configuration memory of HCX and display it in the dialog shown in Figures 2 amp 3 E Gwi HEX Contig Dialog Aam dpat Miscelanious 2 Ereakwire Launch Detect Mletnic altitute readout setting Analog input C Max Airsperd and Altinda al Lan Generate an Evert when van m Sample Rate per Seconde 500 Record User Inpart Data File File Timestanys partar2007 Filesize max 4194304 Byes F Filename Prefix 4 charactersir ft Figure 2 The Main tab of the configuration dialog if for making global settings divided into 3 groups Aux Input Data File and Miscellaneous The Aux Input section determines if a break wire should be used for launch detect or if the input should be used to record user determined sensor data If recording an additional analog channel data from that channel may also be used to trigg
19. eluctedualeeeeaiatd Firmware Updat ic cnctrsutaestehrtcernssiiadusaty tavRumiatesdtaodcewsuuendoss a a a a eas E EE Examining flight Data sresnneeniesn r e e EE EE REE EEA E EER ERRES Appendix Ava Technical Datassist dinti ia naei aaa aaa i ar esaia Eata Appendix B Mechanical Drawing osorioi E E EAEE E Appendix C SpecificationSsssrsesiisrisreiisesii aaisen isekai nsii nasi aE E ASEE a ESEE EESE E EEE Appendix D Installing USB Drivers on Macintosh esseeseesesssesreesesersrssresressersresreeseestesereseesseseresresss Appendix E Installing USB Drivers on Windows XP seeeseeesesessesrresesrresressrseresrensrseresresseeeresressesse NOTE This unit has not been tested with Hybrids at this time We will post hybrid testing info and a firmware update if needed when we have this data seiteni 4 an 8 sesat 10 E 13 G Wiz HCX 2 Limited Warranty and Disclaimer G Wiz Partners warrants the G Wiz HCX Flight Computers to be free from defects in materials and workmanship and remain in working order for a period of 180 days If the unit fails to operate as specified the unit will be repaired or replaced at the discretion of G Wiz Partners providing the unit has not been damaged modified or serviced by anyone except for the manufacturer G Wiz HCX Flight computers are sold as an experimental accessory only Due to the nature of experimental electronic devices especially when used in experimental carriers such as rockets
20. er events The Data File section is used to set the time stamp used when files are saved on SD card by the computer the maximum size used and the root file name to use The max file size is entered because the HCX pre allocates the file before flight It does this so that unexpected events that disrupt the flight will not disrupt the file writing at least as much as possible The file size can be set in bytes or by number of seconds to record The Miscellaneous section allows the sample rate to be selected as well as the desire for maximum speed readout and the measurement system to use English vs SI G Wiz HCX G Wiz HEX Contig Dialog Main Outputs Pyro 1 Cluster Stage if JP IH Fine First Stage Fire after delayof 1 0 Pyro Apogee inertial Apogee Recommended J ar ore tit Apopee For Tumbling Foosters Locka when inariial airspead gt mach After 0 0 Seconis Figure 3 24 Pyro 3 Main Fire Below 800 Feet Meters Fire at Inertial Apogee After 0 0 Socom Pyro 4 Flexihie Cn Event Disabled Aar Seconds Data Of Event Disabled Fas Afer Saconds Hata Upload Esi Cancel Help The Output tab of the Configuration Dialog allows you to determine when each output should fire It is divided by port as each port has a specific function Pyro 1 is used for igniting a Cluster at liftoff JP7 OUT or Staging JP7 IN You can add a delay of 0 25 seconds fraction
21. erted into these connectors the pyro ports will be unable to fire They can still detect continuity however JP2 High Current jumper With this jumper OUT the computer will be in low power mode which limits the current to each pyro port to 1 amp This is sufficient for low current electric matches such as the DaveyFire 28B In low current mode one battery can safely be used and a wire jumper connected between pyro and CPU battery terminals We recommend using the Bench Test feature described later to test electric matches before flight JP7 Cluster Stage jumper When IN pyro 0 will fire at burnout or the 2 or 3 burnout depending on config When OUT pyro 0 will fire when launch is detected approximately half a second into the flight JP6 Communications interface socket Connects to either the G Wiz USB interface or G Wiz RS 232 interface JP5 Break wire bypass Jumper should be IN when using a break wire for launch detect and out when using the aux input as a third analog channel for recording Beeper Used to indicate status audibly Status LED Used to give a visual status indication Using the Safety Shunt The HCX has 2 Safety shunt inputs The JP 1 3 pair and terminals 1 amp 2 of Terminal block 2 These are parallel inputs and are identical The built in shunt JP 1 3 should be used if the unit is mounted near enough to the airframe that the shunt can be inserted through a
22. file exit the editor exit Terminal and Restart the Macintosh You should now be able to connect to HCX using USB G Wiz HCX 35 Appendix E Installing USB Drivers on Windows XP Windows XP seems to be harder for people to install our drivers on so here is something of a guided tour When our USB board is first connected Windows XP will display a dialog like this Found New Hardware Wizard Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard Windows will search for current and updated software by looking on your computer on the hardware installation CD or on the Windows Update Web site with your permission Read our privacy policy Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for software Yes this time only Yes now and every time connect a device Click Next to continue Select No not at this time as shown and press Next gt Windows XP will now display this dialog G Wiz HCX 36 Found New Hardware Wizard This wizard helps you install software for G Wiz Telemetry Transceiver or floppy disk insert it now Q If your hardware came with an installation CD What do you want the wizard to do Install the software automatically Recommended il from a list or specific location Advanced Click Next to continue Again select Install from a list or specific location Advanced as shown and click Next gt Windows will now display this dialog Fo
23. g After landing the HCX computer will begin the readout phase by beeps from the piezo beeper The numbers are beeped out in quick sequences with very brief pauses between each number sequence ZERO is represented as a long beeeep 1 is a quick chirp 2 is 2 chirps and so on After the number sequences the unit will pause for ONE FULL SECOND and then repeat the number sequences For example 5081 feet of altitude would be represented in beeps by chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp 5 beeeep 0 chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp 8 chirp 1 pause then repeat the sequence in other words 5 chirps quick pause 1 long beep for zero quick pause 8 quick chirps quick pause 1 chirp then a full one second pause noting the end of the sequence then repeat the number sequences If the example is 12 112 feet it would equal chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp pause repeat sequence In the Configuration dialog you can optionally elect to get maximum speed as well If this option is selected altitude and speed readouts will alternate The status LED will be on for the entire airspeed readout and off for the entire altitude readout The computer must be turned off then on before launching again Data will not be lost G Wiz HCX Quick Start Hardware Configuration There are two jumpers on this computer one used to switch pyro 1 from cluster to stage use the other
24. n flight computers has an integrated 12 bit A to D converter along with a CPU core executing instructions at a rate of over 8 million instructions per second They come standard with high current open drain power MOSFET channels initiating the pyrotechnic events The G Wiz Flight Computers use proprietary firmware algorithms to determine the key events in a rockets trajectory The key events monitored are Launch Booster burn out Sustainer ignition when applicable Sustainer burn out when applicable Apogee both inertial and barometric Altitude both rising and falling Landing When used with proper batteries and pyrotechnic devices these flight computers can air start clusters or perform flawless staging deploy a drogue at apogee and a main chute at programmable altitudes You can also deploy a single chute at apogee The peak altitude determined by barometric pressure is beeped out after the rocket has landed Flight data analysis is accomplished with our FlightView software which runs on PC and Power Mac s and possibly others upon request FlightView is a Java application FlightView will display the measured flight acceleration inertial velocity and barometric altitude in relation to the time in which the various flight events occurred G Wiz HCX Features Beeper to indicate altitude and status with blue status LED Continuous CPU and Pyro Battery monitoring prior to launch Continuous continuity monitoring prior to la
25. n the JP7 twin pin jumper The JP7 jumper is located just forward of the status LED opposite the terminal bar side of the board See photo 8 below Photo 8 3 4 Once all the correct firing devices are hooked up you can test the circuits Turn on your power switch to the altimeter with the shunt plug plugged in Once you ve tested it by listening to the beep sequence or observing the status LED you can either leave it on or turn it off until the rocket is mounted on the pad The launch sensor is pretty robust and the shunt plug will not allow the charges to fire When you turn on the power to the altimeter the beeper and status LED will Emit two quick tones signaling the battery is OK and that the cluster stage jumper is set to stage If not check the beep pattern in the Operation section above Page 5 Then emit a single chirp signaling the cluster and staging channel firing device a Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit a single chirp signaling the apogee channel firing device a Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit a single chirp signaling the main chute channel Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit two chirps signaling the user channel has nothing connected to it Then it will pause and cycle the beep pattern again 2 1 In photo 9 the altimeter is connected to separate ba
26. ort configuration See the FlightView Configuration later in this manual for details Press Upload amp Exit when done The new configuration will not be loaded until the Flight Computer has been turned off then on again g More detail is given in the Software section o a0 G Wiz HCX 18 Mounting the Flight Computer The flight computer must be mounted in the correct orientation to operate It will NOT operate otherwise The nose end is indicated on the board but to confirm the orientation the terminal block should to be at the rear or aft end the nose end is also indicated in photo 1 The computer should be mounted lengthwise with the axis of the rocket It s designed to be mounted with 4 40 hardware The computer must also be protected from the ejection gasses Ejection gasses are corrosive and will damage the flight computer voiding your warranty If you are mounting to carbon fiber airframes be certain the shunt plug doesn t ground to the carbon fiber airframe as carbon conducts electricity See the following pictures to confirm the orientation for mounting h Nose end up G Wiz HCX 19 Hardware The Flight Computer From the top Cluster Stage JP2 Low JP5 Breakwire Bvpass ENT Jumper JP7 Communications Current Jumper p N Connector JP6 9 kd Of Of Op oR O ob 9 gis m o s g i tee EAD A gt pebzeaeesz 220009 Safety Shunt Pressure Sensor
27. ost computer stores G Wiz HCX 21 Linking to an iMac or Power Mac If you are using a MAC you ll want to use the G Wiz USB interface The driver for this should have been installed when FlightView 2 x was installed If not look in the FlightView CD under the Drivers OS X or Drivers OS9 directory Connect a 9 volt battery to the altimeter Power up the G Wiz flight computer You ll hear a series of beeps it will quit once you ve linked to the software If using a single 9 volt battery connect it to the PBatt TB1 pin 10 and PBatt TB1 pin 9 terminals taking care to be sure the polarity is correct Connect a jumper wire from the PBatt TB1 pin 10 on the terminal block to the CBatt TB2 pin 6 terminal just as you would for any single battery use see photo 10 If using dual batteries connect one 9 volt battery to the PBatt TB1 pin 10 and TB1 pin 9 terminals taking care to be sure the polarity is correct Then connect another to the CBatt TB2 pin 6 and TB2 Pin 5 terminals in this situation do not use a jumper wire In other words connect the batteries just as you would for any dual battery use Again take care to be sure the polarity is correct to each battery See photo 13 Using the Mini SD card To read recorded during a flight remove the mini SD card and insert it into your computer running FlightView Use the File Open menu item to open the data file Because the computer can re
28. ounted on the pad The launch sensor is pretty robust and the shunt plug will not allow the charges to fire When you turn on the power to the altimeter the beeper and status LED will Emit two quick tones signaling the battery is OK and that the cluster stage jumper is set to stage If not check the beep pattern in the Operation section above Page 5 Then emit two chirps signaling the cluster and staging channel has nothing connected to it Then emit a single chirp signaling the apogee channel firing device a Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit a single chirp signaling the main chute channel Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit two chirps signaling the user channel has nothing connected to it Then it will pause and cycle the beep pattern again Photo 10 below shows the altimeter set to be powered by a single battery and wired up and set to deploy a single parachute at apogee Be sure to remove the red shunt plug JP1 3 only when the rocket is mounted on the pad and ready to launch Photo 10 Note If your application does not allow use of the shunt plug the unit must be tested by power on then shut off until on the pad G Wiz HCX 14 5 Cluster ignition plus single parachute deployment at apogee using dual batteries One battery powers the computer and one powers the pryo channels To use a dual battery setup DO NOT u
29. p pattern again 5 4 In photo 13 the altimeter is connected to separate batteries to power the computer and the pryo channels charges are wired for apogee and low altitude deployment in this case the default 800 feet and a stage sequence JP7 OFF which fires when the altimeter senses the booster motor burnout Be sure to remove the red shunt plug JP1 3 only when the rocket is mounted on the pad and ready to launch Photo 13 Note If your application does not allow use of the shunt plug the unit must be tested by power on then shut off until on the pad G Wiz HCX 16 Quick Start Software Configuration By default the HCX computer comes configured to behave like other G Wiz flight computers Staging is for first stage low altitude in 800 ft English units are used no delays are used If this is what you want no more need be done To change something 1 Make Sure that FlightView is installed on your computer and that you have an available serial port and G Wiz serial interface or an available USB port and G Wiz USB interface a b Insert CD Rom and open Install html or go to http Awww qwiz partners com Downloads install install html using your computer s browser Follow the instructions to install FlightView for your computer 2 Optional Connect G Wiz USB interface a b c d Connect interface board to Flight Computer by inserting the 8 pin connector JP6 to the matching socket on the
30. pdate This is the item we hope you will need least From time to time we may discover bugs in the HCX or even want to add features HCX is capable of having its firmware upgraded by the customer When we have an upgrade it will be available on our Web site http www qwiz partners com as a free download It will very likely be archived in a ZIP file and therefore need to be un archived before loading This menu item will display a ie common file dialog see Figure 12 allowin Look in C viewer 7 ical ft a on iD a you to load a firmware update file It is very important that during the update process nothing disturb either computer If something should happen or the update fail don t panic Power cycle the HCX and try again Multiple failures should they occur should be reported It is possible if the update was interrupted that after a power viewerhelp cycle the HCX doesn t beep its usual pattern but just sits there with the LED flashing Filename Open That s OK it should still connect though the only thing you will be able to do is update Files of type G Wiz Firmware Update update 7 Cancel Figure 10 G Wiz HCX 29 Examining flight Data After the flight computer s mini SD card has been transferred to a PC or Mac FlightView can open the recorded files by selecting the File Open menu item The file data is displayed in a dialog like that in Figu
31. re 13 below This dialog contains a lot of information including general flight data that can be edited and saved Flight date motors used etc Figure 13 The data can be Zoom ed in on by highlighting mouse drag the time range to zoom in on The magnifying glass icon in the lower left corner can be used to return to the original time range Below the graph data is a legend of symbols used to to mark the events recorded during flight G Wiz HCX 30 Appendix A Technical Data The Save As function in FlightView 2 8 or later can create a text files with raw sensor data For HCX from 62 to 500 rows of data are issued in one second In general these are raw sensor readings in decimal and need more information to interpret See How Flight Computers Work for details of how to interpret this data It is on our website at http Awww gwiz partners com Tech Flight_Computers pdf Column 1 is acceleration data in the range 0 to 4095 12 bits representing accelerations from 56g to 56g ona HCX 50 with Og generally around 2048 The sensor used is the Motorola 2202D on the HCX 50 with others used for higher G units You should locate the data sheets for these sensors but the core information is Specification MMA2202 MMA2204 Full Scale Range 56g 112g Full Scale Span 4 48v 4 48v Sensitivity 40mV g 20mV g Offset 0g 2 5v Nominal 2 35v 2 65v 2 5v Nominal 2 35v 2 65v Higher G
32. s permitted between the event and the firing of the port You can also set which stage to fire when JP7 is IN 1st 2nd or 3rd corresponding to how many burnout events to look fore before firing Pyro 2 is used for Apogee deployment You can specify a delay as above and you can specify whether to use Inertial Apogee RECOMMENDED or Barometric Apogee Using Barometric Apogee is useful in strap on boosters and other situations where tumbling may occur Tumbling confuses the inertial apogee algorithm Pyro 3 is used for Main deployment You have two choices you can set an altitude to deploy at from 100 to 25500 feet or meters based on selection of Meters check box below in increments of 100 and you can add a delay as well Or you can deploy the main a given time after inertial apogee This is a special feature included for the ARLISS flights but may also be useful to provide 2 stage deployment in conditions where the computer cannot be exposed to atmospheric pressure Pyro 4 is totally open You can select an event causing it to turn on and a different event or the same plus a delay to turn it off Delays are possible for both on and off events Some events may require additional information which can also be supplied Available events are o Launch Confirmed Burnout N Nth Burnout Stage N Nth acceleration Inertial Apogee Barometric Apogee Ascending above lt Altitude gt Descending below lt Altitude gt L
33. se a jumper wire from the computer battery CBatt TB2 pin 6 to the pyro battery PBatt TB1 pin 1 terminals Connect two batteries A 9 volt battery for the computer should be wired to the nose end of terminal block 2 TB2 positive to CBatt Pin 6 and negative to CBatt Pin 5 which should have some method to switch the power to the computer on and off A second battery 9 to 15 volts should be wired to the pyro power terminals terminal block 1 TB1 designated as pyro to PBatt Pin 1 and to PBatt Pin 2 In the Staging mode the unit fires an ignition device for the staging motor or motors when it detects motor burnout of the booster motor or motors In the Cluster mode the unit fires the cluster motor or motors as soon as it detects and confirms launch which occurs at approximately 0 5 seconds from the first movement of the rocket Consider that there is also a delay factor from the time the igniter fires until the time the motor or motors actually ignite 5 1 The small jumper connector should be ON the JP2 twin pins located about the way up the board from the bottom and located on the far side from the terminal bar This sets it for High pyro current which is required when setting the altimeter for any type of staging or clustering See photo 11 below Photo 11 5 2 Set the system to Cluster When Cluster firing JP7 OFF motor s the igniters will fire at 0 5 seconds after the rocke
34. setup DO NOT use a jumper wire from the computer battery CBatt TB2 in 6 to the pyro battery PBatt TB1 pin 1 terminals Connect two batteries A 9 volt battery for the CPU should be wired to the nose end of terminal block 2 TB2 positive to CBatt Pin 6 and negative to CBatt Pin 5 which should have some method to switch the power to the computer on and off A second battery 9 to 15 volts should be wired to the pyro power terminals terminal bar 1 TB1 designated as pyro to PBatt Pin 1 and to PBatt Pin 2 In the Staging mode the unit fires an ignition device for the staging motor or motors when it detects motor burnout of the booster motor or motors In the Cluster mode the unit fires the cluster motor or motors as soon as it detects and confirms launch which occurs at approximately 0 5 seconds from the first movement of the rocket Consider that there is also a delay factor from the time the igniter fires until the time the motor or motors actually ignite 3 2 The small jumper connector should be ON the JP2 twin pins located near the bottom and located on the far side from the terminal bar This sets it for High pyro current which is required when setting the altimeter for any type of staging or clustering See photo 7 below Photo 7 G Wiz HCX 12 3 3 Set the system to stage Staging JP7 ON fires a motor or motors when the booster burns out Set it to stage by plugging i
35. t begins moving the ignition of motors usually lags behind this Set the altimeter for clusters by removing the jumper from JP7 twin pins The JP7 jumper is located just forward of the status LED opposite the terminal bar side of the board See photo 12 below Photo 12 5 3 Once all the correct firing devices are hooked up you can test the circuits Turn on your power switch to the altimeter with the shunt plug plugged in Once you ve tested it by listening to the beep sequence or G Wiz HCX 15 observing the status LED you can either leave it on or turn it off until the rocket is mounted on the pad The launch sensor is pretty robust and the shunt plug will not allow the charges to fire When you turn on the power to the altimeter the beeper and status LED will Emit one long tone signaling the battery is OK and that the cluster stage jumper is set to cluster If not check the beep pattern in the Operation section above Page 5 Then emit a single chirp signaling the cluster and staging channel firing device a Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit a single chirp signaling the apogee channel firing device a Davyfire N28B has continuity Two quick tones means there is No continuity Then emit two chirps signaling the main chute channel has nothing connected to it Then emit two chirps signaling the user channel has nothing connected to it Then it will pause and cycle the bee
36. th a special epoxy coating The coating protects the circuit board and components from condensing moisture This also insures proper electrical operation of HCX Please contact G Wiz Partners for special order options G Wiz HCX 34 Appendix D Installing USB Drivers on Macintosh Unfortunately installing the USB drivers on the Mac is a bit complex First make sure you have FlightView 2 21 or later If not it can be downloaded from our web site www gwiz partners com These instructions may not be applicable to newer Macs Open the folder where Flight View was installed usually Applications GWiz Viewer You should see a package icon with the name FTDIUSBSerialDriver Double click to install Next is a bit harder First you need to know your administrator password Go to your utilities folder and open a terminal window At the prompt type cd Library StartupItems FTDIReEnumerate and hit return Now type sudo pico FTDIReEnumerate and hit return pP The Mac will ask for your administrator password and then display a file in an editor window within the Terminal There will be a line that looks like this Library StartupItems FTDIReEnumerate ReEnumerat v0403 p6001 You should replace it with these two lines Library StartupItems FTDIReEnumerate ReEnumerat v0403 pEE18 Library StartupItems FTDIReEnumerate ReEnumerat v0403 pDA38 SS Then save the
37. tion the Test Flight button may be pressed bringing up a dialog allowing a simple fake inertial test flight to be flown See Figure 7 G Wiz HCX Ez Test Flight x Clicking Start below will initiate a test flight sequence in the Flight Computer All events currently configured that are affected by acceleration will be triggered The sequence of events from Launch to Landing can be tracked on these LEDs Flight Sequence 6 Launch gt Apogee amp Booster Burnout he Main ES 2nd Stage Burnout G Landed Start Dore Heip Figure 5 26 This window can be used to initiate a simple 2 stage inertial only test flight and follow its progress When Start is pressed the Flight Computer will start beeping again as if it were on the pad It will stop when it recognizes launch This will test all the inertial related systems in the computer except the accelerometer itself it is being fed fake acceleration values but otherwise behaves as if they are real You may connect electric matches or lights to the pyro ports to watch them activate The LED s in the window will light when each stage of flight is recognized After landing altitude readout will happen briefly At this point you should disconnect FlightView from the Flight Computer and the Flight Computer turned off then on again It has flown a flight and does not think it is connected anymore Calibration f 4 Accelerometer Calibration
38. to switch high or low current limit on all outputs Jumper position number With Jumper IN With Jumper OUT JP 2 Pyro current selection High Current two batteries only Low Current one battery possible JP 7 Cluster or Stage selection Stage Cluster JP 5 Break wire launch bypass Break wire launch detect TB2 3 4 User analog input 0 5v TB2 3 4 JP2 JP7 JP5 Serial Output JP5 Break wire Beeper Cluster Stage Communications Current N Bypass 9 LA 06 Of Op A Ot ob OF hate we pebzeneees 22e0ne JP2 3 Safety Shunt Photo 1 TB1 TB2 I O Headers Status LED HCX Use the following guide to wire batteries charges and igniters to the terminal bar TB1 Pyro Port Pin Assignments TB1 PyroPortPin Assignments _ Pin 1 Pin2 Pin3 Pina Pins Pin Pin7 Pin8 Pin 9 Pin 10 Pini Pin2 Pin3 Pina Pins Pine shunt shunt Input input C Bate c eare Pyro Shunt BWire Analog CPU Battery G Wiz HCX 8 Easy Guide for Launch Setups 1 Dual parachute deployment using one 9v battery No clustering or staging A single battery powers both the computer and firing devices 1 1 Run a jumper wire from the CPU Power or CBatt terminal TB2 Pin 6 on the terminal bars to the Pyro Power or PBatt terminal TB1 Pin 10 on the terminal bars See photo 1 below Shunt Plug E ESE ET EA bila TET Jumper Wire gt
39. tteries to power the computer and the pryo channels charges are wired for apogee and low altitude deployment in this case the default 800 feet and a stage sequence JP7 ON which fires when the altimeter senses the booster motor burnout Be sure to remove the red shunt plug JP1 3 only when the rocket is mounted on the pad and ready to launch Photo 9 Note If your application does not allow use of the shunt plug the unit must be tested by power on then shut off until on the pad G Wiz HCX 13 4 Single parachute deployment at apogee with one 9v Follow the instructions in section 1 1 just as you would when setting up for dual deployment with a single battery The only difference is that there is but one firing device to connect Omit step 6 connecting a device to the low altitude pyro ports With the shunt plug in place or power disconnected be sure you connect your firing device to the Apogee and terminals pin 3 and 4 Use Davyfire 28b s to fire your charges in the low current mode as any other electric match device will most likely not work unless using two batteries and the High current mode with the twin pin JP1 jumper ON Once all the correct firing devices are hooked up you can test the circuits Turn on your power switch to the altimeter with the shunt plug plugged in Once you ve tested it by listening to the beep sequence or observing the status LED you can either leave it on or turn it off until the rocket is m
40. unch Jumper to select between Cluster or Stage on Pyro channel 0 When used for Staging can be set to 1 2 or 3 stage All channels have an optional timer delay before event trigger 0 25 seconds in 1sec increments On board Safety Shunt and terminals for optional extern shunt Single battery low current mode Or dual battery high current mode 8A max Variable recording rate from 62 sample per second to 500 samples per second 12 bits per sample RS 232 or USB Connections Configurable low altitude Can be set in 100 foot meter increments to 25500 feet meters Metric or English for low altitude configuration and max altitude readout Reverse protection diode to protect against accidentally connecting a battery backwards 4 output channel totally programmable Optional break wire use for launch detect Optional analog input and be recorded and or used for events Capable of recording multiple flights Barometric altitude over 70K feet MSL Maximum acceleration of 56Gs HCX 50 112Gs HCX 100 168Gs HCX 150 or 224Gs HCX 200 Firmware in Flash memory and upgradeable by user G Wiz HCX 5 Flight Computer Operation Power On When First powered on the LED will light for 1 2 seconds with no sound then turns on while the beeper beeps status and off for continuity checks The normal sequence is LED ON One or Two low pitch beeps one for Cluster 2 for Stage If low power on either battery a quick warble is
41. und New Hardware Wizard Please choose your search and installation options H Program Files GWiz iewer usbD rivers G Wiz HCX 37 Again as shown select Search for the best driver in these locations And Include this location in the search De select any other choices In the edit field use Browse or type in the location of the GWizViewer install directory and the usbDrivers directory under it The location shown here is the default install location if your main disk is H Finally Windows XP will display a dialog like this Hardware Installation Just press Continue Anyway and installation should continue This whole process will happen twice just follow the same directions both times That s it
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