Comparison

This table compares the openaltimeter's features with other DLG electronics that I know about. I've tried to make it as fair as possible, but given that I designed the openaltimeter, you should probably take it with a pinch of salt! It was made in November 2010. If it's now after that, things might have moved on :-)

	openaltimeter	How-High	RAM3	ZLog	EagleTree altimeter	LoLo5	PLD-BAC-LMA
LiPo regulator	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Low-voltage alarm	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Lost-model alarm	Yes-ish (*5)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Logging altimeter	Yes	No (*1)	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	N/A
In-situ altitude readout (*2)	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	N/A
Open-source firmware	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Open-source plotting app	Yes	N/A	No	No	No	No	N/A
Weight	5.3g (*3)	2.2g	2.25g	8g	4g	4g	5.5g
Memory (samples)	262144	90	64800	16378	?	432000	N/A
Size	31 x 16mm	20 x 15mm	20 x 16mm	40 x 23mm	28 x 16mm	23 x 15mm	19 x 12.5mm
Current consumption	4.5mA	1.2mA	5mA	13mA	?	8mA	?
Price (*4)	$72	$39.90	$79	?	$38	$173	$31.50

(*1) The How-high can log a small number of altitude readings on user command, but doesn't log periodically.
(*2) By "in-situ" I mean some way of reading out altitudes at the field without having to open up the glider. ZLog and the EagleTree altimeter do have numeric displays.
(*3) Typical configuration with cables, without regulator.
(*4) Converted to USD, correct on 17/10/2010.
(*5) Yes-ish means you can use the output beeper to find the model when it's lost. It's loud enough to hear for around 20 feet, which can be helpful when you've landed in long grass etc. It's not loud enough to search out the model in a forest though.