Last year a friend of mine was kind enough to watch me jump out of a perfectly good airplane. While pondering that incredible adrinaline rush, I thought it was time for an altimeter hacking extra. (Don’t answer your phone for at least 12 hours after the jump or you might accidentally tell your mom…. Even if you’re 30 and in another state, you’ll probably get yelled at.)

The 2004 KAP rig on this page caught my eye. It features a small dongle that logs altimeter data when the shutter is activated on the camera. Schematics are in the pdf. The rest of the setups are pretty freakin’ impressive too.

Of course, there’s the classic model rocket altimeter project. If you’d prefer to leave off the cost of a basic stamp, try the more recently updated recording altimeter. It’s got a nice low parts count.

If you want something a bit more versatile, check out this RF transmitting altimeter. It’s still in progress, but it’s getting a thorough writeup as it progresses.

We’ve seen them before, but I’d be remiss not to mention a GPS data logger. (I took my old garmin foretrex on my skydive, but didn’t have a decent signal until I was out of the plane.

If someone finds a diy audible altimeter, let me know.