I built a LoRa-GPS Tracker // Range test, battery life & firmware

День тому

#lora #gps #eink
I built my LoRa-GPS Tracker with PCBs from PCBWay www.pcbway.com. I worked on the firmware and ran some tests before doing an outdoor range test. Here, I describe each of the components of building the device.
Checkout the PCBWay project page: www.pcbway.com/project/sharep...
‣ Some links below are affiliate. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
⏰ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:17 Idea
00:45 Range test - hutscape.com/oak/code/demo
02:54 BOM and Cost - hutscape.com/oak/bom
03:25 Battery and power circuit hutscape.com/oak/pcb
04:21 Charging battery - hutscape.com/oak/design#charg...
05:53 Measuring battery life - hutscape.com/oak/design#measu...
06:46 LoRa communication - hutscape.com/oak/code/lora-du...
07:17 GPS Module - hutscape.com/oak/code/gps-fix...
08:34 GPS Format - hutscape.com/oak/code/latlong...
10:28 E-Ink display - hutscape.com/oak/code/eink-ro...
11:26 Microcontroller - hutscape.com/oak/code/custom-...
11:52 Code configuration - hutscape.com/oak/code/demo#ma...
13:33 Inspiration LilyGO T-Beam - hutscape.com/tutorials?search...
14:18 Applications for LoRa-GPS Trackers?
🛍️ PRODUCTS MENTIONED
LilyGO T-Beam s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_9ggvh6
Opus BT - C3100 rechargeable battery charger amzn.to/3oHWqwF
HopeRF LoRa RFM95 module s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A49mJI
Waveshare 1.54inch E-Ink display black/white 200x200 s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Aa47iU
🎩 PROJECT FILES
Project Oak hutscape.com/oak/
📺 WATCH NEXT
Using 121GW Multimeter as Datalogger for battery charging profile • Using 121GW Multimeter...
How to read GPS NMEA Sentences • How to read GPS NMEA S...
Using LoRa for P2P half-duplex long-range communication • Using LoRa for P2P hal...
Uploading Arduino bootloader on a new micro-controller • Uploading Arduino boot...
Why does PCB to blinky LED take so long? • Why does PCB to blinky...
A case study of LoRa-GPS tracker and how to evaluate similar projects • A case study of LoRa-G...
🔗 LINKS SHOWN
Sketch specification - Arduino CLI: arduino.github.io/arduino-cli...
Arduino zero bootloader github.com/arduino/ArduinoCor...
waveshare/e-Paper: github.com/waveshare/e-Paper/...
Adafruit_GPS github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_GPS
Adafruit Mini GPS PA1010D www.adafruit.com/product/4415
Antenna, Compressed Whip, Stub Straight: sg.element14.com/lprs/ant-ss9...
Frequency Plans by Country www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs...
sandeepmistry/arduino-LoRa github.com/sandeepmistry/ardu...
MCP73831/2 Data Sheet: ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en...
Introduction to Battery Chargers: predictabledesigns.com/batter...
18650 battery holder datasheet: www.farnell.com/datasheets/20...
CRC library for Arduino: github.com/RobTillaart/CRC
PA1010D GPS module www.cdtop-tech.com/products/p...
🙏🏻 CREDIT
Kayaking video by Mikhail Nilov www.pexels.com/video/people-k...
🔌 TOOLS USED
hutscape.com/tools

КОМЕНТАРІ: 69

@GeertDroid Рік тому

Do you know that the 18650 you use is totally fake? A 18650 with a 4200mAh just does not exist ! Do some research if you don't believe. Buy branded 18650 cells instead like Panasonic, LG, Sanyo, Samsung, Liitokala etc... the real deal. At time of speaking 3600mAh is the highest capacity for a 18650 but it seems that Samsung has a 4000mAh version model number INR21700-40T. Good luck with your project.

@sayanee Рік тому

Thanks for the heads up! I'll look it up.

@toto99303 Рік тому

+1 on this.

@rwatson2609 Рік тому

+1 more as well. There are some 3500mah cells out there that would probably double your battery life. I would suggest either LG-MJ1 or Samsung 35E or Panasonic NCR18650GA. Batteries are notorious for false advertising, you could watch a video on UKposts where some guy tests out a bunch of these (Farm Project 18650). Either way, I liked your video, very well presented from a very smart tech.

@jacquesb5248 5 місяців тому

test them and they'll show the true capacity

@Dinkleberg96 9 місяців тому

The video is really well done, informative well edited and pleasent to watch/listen

@JonathanBeri 2 роки тому

Fascinating project, thanks for sharing!

@asrajo5728 Рік тому

thank you for sharing this interesting project

@andynicholas2246 11 місяців тому

Your videos should be ranked much higher. You do an excellent job of explaining how you put everything together.

@PhG1961 Рік тому

Waw, excellent video, very well explained and documented.

@CesarHarada Рік тому

Amazing job and great explanation!

@sureshbabuvu Рік тому

Really high standard, informative, strong theory backup, this is not for the beginners or not for causal approacherres.

@iot-software-developer 3 місяці тому

brilliant and inspirable video and project!

@jeffking3693 6 місяців тому

Very nice walkthrough

@brianzhou4070 2 роки тому

your videos are amazing!

@joels7605 5 місяців тому

Excellent work. I just subscribed.

@parthibbasu9518 2 роки тому

Very cool!

@kenrod6643 2 роки тому

At 2:35 you mention designing a 3D printed case for your project. A video from you on that process would be valuable. That's a step that is a roadblock for me on many of my projects. Many of them I don't complete because the final implementation would be too ugly for use in public. Thanks for another great tutorial!

@sayanee 2 роки тому

Yes, I'm planning to get into FreeCAD this year and I will definitely be sharing the process. I also have to acknowledge, although the past decade has made prototyping very easy, it's pretty challenging for one person to pick up all the skills from various domains like mechanical (3D CAD design), software (cloud, firmware, security), hardware (electronics). So it's quite normal to feel like you :) Me too!

@thisusernameismine10 2 роки тому

I replied on Twitter re: possibility of 433mhz instead of 915 because last year I did 433 P2P range tests here and get much better coverage. We live in a valley, full of trees and I can get sigs through dense trees (in leaf, btw) no probs. I can even get out of line of sight from beyond the hills (only tested up to abt 1km, no LOS). Bear in mind I had tuned the radios almost to max sig strength. Totally with the poster re: tracking where the heck my dogs are - its a mystery every day, great work Sayanee.

@sayanee 2 роки тому

You are correct, possibly a different frequency might create a different range. Many factors to consider for a good signal! Actually, I did 433MHz with T-Beam because I accidentally bought the frequency. I also had 1km similar to yours. For LoRa, the frequency needs to match the country's regulation unless lower power. Also, gotta check the regulation in that area. www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs/lorawan/frequencies-by-country/ So yes, you could easily swap the frequency by exchanging the antenna and the radio module.

@CodeBallast 2 роки тому

you've made some fantastic videos. Love it. Can you tell more about how you get the breakout boards onto your own print.

@sayanee 2 роки тому

Do you mean how to put breakout boards within PCBs or how to integrate breakout boards' components into your design? I did use breakout boards directly onto my PCBs before. You can refer to this project: hutscape.com/cactus/ I have also made a video on the breadboard to PCB design transfer here: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/hIqjh3mWeH2jroE.html Hope that helps!

@CodeBallast 2 роки тому

@@sayanee Thank you so much.

@ChirawatNg Рік тому

THANK YOU

@denizcancgsar2810 8 місяців тому

Thanks for nice video.. For single code base, I would use EEPROM or similar storage to store configuration; and bind/configure the modules on bootup. That way same code runs in different configurations.. This works values such as address etc well. For display types etc, it requires a little more work. I have no idea the libs you are using, but in my designs I use abstraction so that the implementation is seperated from usage etc..

@Braddeman 2 роки тому

Ever thought of using Meshtastic along with ATAK. Especially since it does mesh networking.

@wassimmehanna4402 6 місяців тому

is there any plan to extend this project to use a LoraWan Gateway ? I cannot see anything on the internet for that. I bought myself a lilygo T-Beam v1.2 and a Pinedio from pine64. I'm unable to connect to the gateway somehow.. looking for references. I love your work by the way

@sadelta1 2 роки тому

You inspired me to build a gps lora tracker for my dog to know where she is when we are in the mountains without mobile service. Used 2 t-beams. I could read, buy, program and test the system in a week, even with a 3d printed case from thingiverse. It is absolutely amazing to be able to do this with so many people sharing such high quality knowledge. By the way, I added an electronic compass module and calculate the bearing with a formula similar to the haversine distance. Still need to put some time on that but I'll make it work! One quick question: have you tried different spread factors to achieve longer distances? Thank you for your great videos! Cheers from Barcelona

@sayanee 2 роки тому

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your use case. Tracking our pets is a great use case for using LoRa and GPS. Thanks for the ideas on using the compass module and different spread factors, which I have never tried.

@kennethhickey2823 4 місяці тому

Did you finish this project, I'm going to use some Lora to track my hunting dogs in Ireland.

@TheDogWithTheMan 3 місяці тому

I’d be weary of the performance of the gps and lora modules out of sight

@HarishPillay 2 роки тому

Thanks for sharing this. I have a bunch of devices for LoRa but have not done much yet. I would be keen to see far I can have the two nodes from my home in the west. I can see bt timah hill from my apartment and it would be interesting to see if it works.

@sayanee 2 роки тому

Amazing!! Would love to know the results too :) I hope the distance from your apartment to Bukit Timah is more than 2km that I tested.

@HarishPillay 2 роки тому

@@sayanee it is at least 5km I think.

@LuPeter1971 Рік тому

Great video !! Did you use frequency hop in LoRa peer to peer for enhancement ? I did fix frequency 915MHz with 125K bandwidth and CRC, but some packets were dropped (I guess interference). Thanks your sharing!

@sayanee Рік тому

I did not use frequency hopping! Thanks for the suggestion!

@mohammadabdollahzadeh268 Рік тому

Dear sanaee I built this project with stm32 and arduino And I used loea02 And gps and iI had the same problems with gps but I used a strong antenna Foe gps and my problem was solved also my system sent humidity and temperature to the reciver then simcom module sent deta to the network beside photovoltaic panel was used in order to charge batteries I think you should use a strong antenna for gps module

@devadroid5269 2 роки тому

I'm not interested in the GPS feature, but definitely LoRa. I want to use it to send data to a battery-powered eInk display in my house (e.g., weather-station-like data) but gather and process all the data on a VM or remote device I can have plugged in 24/7 (more processing will kill battery faster, hence the plug in power idea). These are on opposite sides of the house as well, so one of them will likely have issues with Wi-Fi, hence the desire for LoRa.

@SA-oj3bo 2 роки тому

Would be interesting to use 1 tracker and modify it so it can connect by Lorawan to TTN Lorawan network. I think RFM95 can do that right?

@roycecosta1353 Рік тому

that would be great in a custom Rc plane position system.

@jacquesb5248 5 місяців тому

i ponder if a lora radio would be possible.....compression and small packets will be needed

@lasmurf4175 2 роки тому

Cool Not many woman out there doing this kind of stuff. But why looks your place so clean ? Mine is a mess...la Keep up your great work. Greetings from Taiwan

@sayanee 2 роки тому

Because the mess is inside the cupboard :) I also have a motivation to keep out sharp multimeter probes or tiny 0603s out of my curious toddler's hand, haha :)

@lasmurf4175 2 роки тому

@@sayanee Haha, fair enough, now you caught my interest how you arranged your mess inside the cupboards. I try to avoid anything smaller then 0805. I can't see them anyways

@sayanee 2 роки тому

@@lasmurf4175 Yeah, I shared a while back how I organize with transparent zip lock bags inside stackable boxes: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/fI96aYV6j4-V1Kc.html with partsbox.com/ I have to agree on the 0805s especially for first version of the boards which should be made for easy debugging, hence, lots of boding and desoldering :)

@lasmurf4175 2 роки тому

@@sayanee Ya, I saw. I have a box system & for SMD parts using the square plastic tube usually used by companies putting their drill or milling bits in. It works for me. I keep track on it with a sophisticated Excel sheet. Sort of inventory system

@TrailSinLlenadera 6 місяців тому

How can I get in contact with you? I need to implement a project using LoRa and a GPS module.

@ApesTechnologies Рік тому

Where you get your PA1010D? I had to get from Germany and shipped to Malaysia. Shipping cost is insane.

@sayanee Рік тому

Yeah, I actually contacted the manufacturer directly and got them shipped to Singapore. Email them info@cdtop-tech.com.

@sempoiabeh Рік тому

Let say if I have a lora gps tracker on a boat, but the distance to the lorawan gateway onshore is too far away. Luckily there is an island where I can install something there to increase the range, but there is no internet connection on the island. So the data transfer will be like this; boat to island, island to onshore gateway. Question, what should I install on the island ? A lora p2p ?

@sayanee Рік тому

Interesting! Maybe you need a LoRa extender/repeater lora-alliance.org/lora_products/wireless-m-bus-range-extender/ or hop onto an existing LoRa network such as www.thethingsnetwork.org/ or maybe even cellular if the island has mobile connectivity. Lots of options depending on the distance and types of other wireless comms available on the island, I guess.

@NicksStuff 4 місяці тому

I don't think the max range with line of sight matters in any way, it's not a realistic scenario. The fact the GPS cannot work on the bridge or if there's a bit of foliage, though, that's not good.

@HemaDarshiniSelvaraju Рік тому

you should post all this videos in Linkedin.

@rarecomponents 2 роки тому

Are those 18650 cells really have 4200mAh?? Seems fake. Did you get a chance to test the capacity.

@sayanee 2 роки тому

Interesting, nope I have not. Good point, maybe I should check it.

@rarecomponents 2 роки тому

@@sayanee Yeah. 4200mAh is practically not possible to fit into 18650 format. A test on capacity would be an interesting video. As far as I know, LG MJ1 18650 cell with 3500mAh is the most amount of juice that an 18650 cell can hold. Overall your videos are very informative, interesting and easy to follow. Love from India

@sayanee 2 роки тому

@@rarecomponents Thank you so much! I did not know about the cells. I'm also learning from you!

@BerndZeimetz Рік тому

How did you design the 50 Ohm line on the PCB? It depends a lot on the material used for the PCB.... And getting it right is very important for RF, otherwise your SWR will be pretty bad. ukposts.info/have/v-deo/oXleZoyhi3tkkmQ.html is a long video showing on how to try to tune such a connection.

@DNYTechnicals 2 роки тому

Hello what is the time to find the location for first time and how much accurate it is

@sayanee 2 роки тому

8:24 Under the open skies it takes a few minutes. Very accurate time and location once it has a GPS fix.

@meetpatel5142 Рік тому

thank you for the Indian rs.

@ramjet4025 Рік тому

This video fails to mention the most difficult part, the flashing of the device.

@sayanee Рік тому

Totally agree that flashing the bootloader is indeed the most difficult part. For the micro-controller that I used, SAMD21G, here are the steps that I used for flashing: hutscape.com/oak/code/bootloader And here is an earlier video that I did explaining the process: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/oGKff4iGh6J32mQ.html

@rivz99 Рік тому

Are bangali

@RoamingAdhocrat 2 роки тому

There's also Degrees and Decimal Minutes (DD:MM.MMMM), used in… I think some aviation context, by sadists

@sayanee 2 роки тому

Indeed! Standardized formats are hard :) 8:03 Interesting you mentioned it because initially, my parser was in DD:MM.MMMM format and I was wondering where that came from.