User manual Winged Shadow How High

ManualsBrandsAutres ManualsHobbyAltimeter Metric Version Winged Shadow How High super light

Figure 3

3) Reporting Peak Altitude

Upon landing, before turning the unit

off, activate the altitude report. With

the LED pointing toward the sun, or the

brightest part of the sky, wave your ﬁnger

back and forth across the LED as shown

in Figure 1.

Tips for Activating the Altitude Report:

• You can practice activating the report at any time (even before installation).

• Come very close to (or lightly touch) the LED as your ﬁnger passes over.

• The sensor is looking for a pattern of light and shadow. Make sure the LED is pointed directly at

the sun, bright sky, or other light source, and not blocked by your shadow.

• Move your ﬁnger completely past the LED on each side by at least an inch (25 mm).

• Don’t go too slow. About two “round trip” cycles per second is good. This is the point where your

ﬁnger will begin to look like a blur.

• Flexing your hand at the wrist gives better results than just moving your ﬁnger.

• Indoors, incandescent light sources provide easier activation than ﬂorescent lights.

• Usually, only 2 or 3 passes are needed. If it is not working, try re-aiming the LED toward the light.

INSTALLATION

The How High altimeter must be placed

in a location that is away from the direct

blast of air ﬂowing past the airplane. Di-

rect airﬂow around the unit will result in

inaccuracies in the reported altitude. At

the same time, the location must provide

for sensing small changes in air pressure

with altitude. Fortunately, the fuselage

of most model planes is an ideal environ-

ment. The unit’s light mass and rugged

surface-mount construction allow mount-

ing with double-sided foam tape (“servo”

tape) or sticky-backed Velcro

Simply drill a 1/8” (3mm) hole, so that the

LED can protrude through the fuselage.

When positioning the unit, keep in mind

that the LED will need to point toward a

bright area of the sky for report activation.

On most planes, it is best to position the

unit so that the LED comes through the

TOP of the fuselage. If you have a small

hand-held plane, the fuselage side or bot-

tom could be considered, since you can

turn the plane over as needed. You can

also place the unit under a hatch, but you

will need to open the hatch to activate the

report.

Remember to choose a position that will

allow you plenty of room to move your

ﬁnger over the LED. If longer

leads are needed, a servo ex-

tension can be used.

For ﬂexibility in mounting, the

LED can be repositioned by

bending. Figure 2A shows the

unit as shipped. In Figure 2B

the leads of the LED have been bent to a

right angle. Bend the leads slowly using

your hands (no tools) to prevent damage.

Figure 3 shows the unit, with the bent

LED, ﬂipped over and mounted to the

top of a fuselage with Velcro

. Apply the

sticky-backed Velcro

or mounting tape

to the side of the device with the white

lettering, NOT the component side.

There are many alternative mounting

methods. With the LED left in the straight

position, the unit can be mounted vertical-

ly to the fuselage side, or to a bulkhead,

with the LED still protruding through the

top of the fuselage. If you wish to avoid

When the unit recognizes your wave, the

LED will come on for 4 seconds. At this

point, stop waving and start counting!

The unit will report the peak altitude by

ﬂashing the LED.

For example, an altitude of 423 feet (or

meters for metric units) will report as 4

ﬂashes followed by a pause, 2 ﬂashes, an-

other pause, then 3 ﬂashes.

ﬂash-ﬂash-ﬂash-ﬂash

ﬂash-ﬂash

ﬂash-ﬂash-ﬂash

Each group of ﬂashes represents one digit.

Leading zeros are suppressed, so 89 will

report as 8 ﬂashes, pause, 9 ﬂashes. Alti-

tudes as high as 7000 feet (2150 meters)

can be reported. A zero is represented

by a quick double ﬂash (you will know

it when you see it). After the last ﬂash of

the altitude report, there is a 4 to 6 second

delay before the unit returns to its 2-sec-

ond heartbeat.

Did you miscount or forget the number?

No problem, the peak value is stored in

memory. Just wave again and the How

High will again report the peak altitude of

the last ﬂight.

You can now turn the unit off. It will still

remember the peak altitude of your last

ﬂight. When your next ﬂight exceeds an

altitude of about 50 feet (15 meters) above

ground, the How High

will automatically

reset. You do not need to turn off power

between ﬂights – simply activate the re-

port. If you make a number of ﬂights

without activating the report or turning

off the power, the unit will report the peak

altitude of the combined ﬂights.

The

How High always reports altitude

above ground level (AGL). This is the

difference between peak altitude and the

elevation of the plane when the altitude

report is activated.

Figure 1

Top of Fuselage

1/8 Dia.

Hole

Mounting

Tape

Bend

Slowly

using adhesives, you can wrap foam

around the unit and wedge or band it into

position. When using foam, make sure

that the ends (where the wires and LED

leads come out) are left open so that air

can reach the pressure sensor.

Finally, plug the unit into any unused ser-

vo channel on your R/C receiver. Align

the brown wire with the black/brown ser-

vo wires. If all your channels are in use,

you can use a Y-harness to share a channel

with an existing servo. For DSC compat-

ible receivers, do not use the “DSC” or

“DSC/battery” slot.

For free-ﬂight (and other stand-alone

applications), you will need to provide

a voltage source. The How High works

across a wide range of voltages (from

3.2V to 12V) so any battery in this range

can supply power. This includes common

9V rectangular batteries or even single

lithium-polymer cells. Just add an appro-

priate connector and, if desired, a power

switch. Connect the RED wire to the

POSITIVE (+) battery terminal. Connect

the BROWN and ORANGE wires to the

NEGATIVE (-) battery terminal.

Figure 2A

Figure 2B