Teensy 4.1 Flight Computer

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scottishapple

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I'm looking to construct a flight computer capable of logging data from an mpu-6050, bmp-180 and operate a live telemetry system using rfm9x Lora adafruit transceiver. In addition, I'd like the board to be able to operate a servo motor to deploy an airbrake system. I have created an initial schematic and I'm in the process of PCB design; however, I was wondering if adding a spi flash chip would be useful. I'm unsure whether the one on board the teensy 4.1 is sufficient or if I should add a separate one to the board and solder it on. Any guidance on this issue would be helpful as I'm not sure where to start.
 
If you want to log data to flash, I think it's a good idea to add a flash chip. There may be a lot of space in the on-board flash chip, but when you write or erase the on-board flash, interrupts are disabled, and that constraint may not be compatible with the other things you want to do. You probably know there are pads on the bottom of the T4.1 where you can solder a flash, and I think those are QSPI, or you can put one on your PCB. I'm sure you'll get some other input here, as well.
 
scottishapple said:
I see, is there a way of checking how much additional memory you may need?
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I think only you can estimate or determine your data logging requirements. If you're new to this, you can start by deciding how often you want to log data, and how much you want to log each time. Multiply those and you have a data rate (bytes/sec), and then decide you long you need to be able to log data to get total bytes. You can also use an SD card, which gives you many GB of logging space., and has the advantage that you can simply remove the SD card from the T4.1 and insert into a PC card reader to transfer data files. Data logging sounds simple, but like anything else there is a learning curve.
 
That makes sense I remember the 'baud rate' when testing some of the sensors using Arduino. So is it a safe bet to just get a large sd card as well? Sorry for all the questions myself and my friends are all fairly new to this.
 
scottishapple said:
That makes sense I remember the 'baud rate' when testing some of the sensors using Arduino. So is it a safe bet to just get a large sd card as well? Sorry for all the questions myself and my friends are all fairly new to this.
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Yes, if you can use an SD card, that's a simpler way to start. I recommend you look at SdFat library example programs, particularly TeensySdioLogger.
 
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