SparkFun Forums

[toni31]

Hi,
I was wondering if it would be possible to have a gps tracking device into my rc car and track it in real time with my laptop.

Max. 2 miles.
Without GSM.
Mapping with google earth or something else (i prefer google earth because it runs and without internet)
No internet connection.
low cost about 100-150$

Optional low power
small size

i don't care about communication protocol (I try it with bluetooth but the distance is a problem). I have very little programming knowledge i made a few arduino projects (some LED, servo and other stuff from tutorials) and prefer to make something without programming.
what i want is it feasible?
Thanks

[teekay_tk]

Depending on how big your car is you could have put in an old android phone in it with an android app for tracking but as you dont want either gsm or internet I can suggest digi XTEND high power transeiver . I am not sure how much range you would get from those though because the closer you are to the ground the less your range is.

[mbavaro77]

Hi,

RFDesign stocks quite a bit of products which may be suitable for you.

If you can carry a long dipole antenna I would give a go to the cheap narrowband FM RX/TX pairs:
http://www.rfdesign.co.za/pages/5645456 ... odules.asp
http://www.radiometrix.com

Another idea could be to use a simple MCU and encode the GPS NMEA fix in a smart way to use your (I assume) existing remote control RF link... assuming that you have a spare channel.
At the end of the day NMEA sentences carry a lot of redundant information so -if you need only the position at 1Hz- a 1200bps link would be more than enough.

Cheers,
Michele

[skimask]

Hack in to a couple of those cheap FRS radios. Encode the GPS data as tones at the Xmtr end, decode the tones at the Rcvr end, kinda like the old 300 baud modems. Worked for me, although I was only sending at most 5 simultaneous tones (SPI-ish, 1 tone for new byte, 2 tones for the clock, 2 tones for the data itself), decoding them using a PIC18F and FFT routines. Not fast by any stretch, a tad under 1 byte per second, but it worked. Not to mention I was probably breaking the rules by sending the data continuously thereby tying up a channel for minutes on end, but hey, where I'm at, I'd seriously doubt anybody cared, or even knew.

[toni31]

Thanks all of you for replies.
The RF probably it's a good solution but how i connect the GPS with RF transmitter and in the other end RF receiver with laptop and software.
I don't have this knowlege as i said. Can you help me?
If someone have a complete proposal would help me a lot.

[jlhonora]

What about those 900 MHz ZigBees? They have a couples of miles range.

You would need:

2 x XBee 900 MHz http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9097
1 x XBee USB Explorer http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8687
1 x XBee Breakout http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8276
1 x Power source http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10255
1 x Battery http://www.sparkfun.com/products/339
1 x GPS unit (maybe this one: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10702 is the best one for your purposes)

Some cables, enclosure, solder and really really few technical hands-on (X-CTU configuring and reading a couple of datasheets). This solution needs a clear view from both XBees to ensure a reliable connection.

[toni31]

Thanks a lot jlhonora this is a very good solution i'll take a look.please tell me another thing just i plug in the usb from XBee Explorer USB and open the google earth and play? or i must to do something else?
Before two days a friend of mine suggested me to take a look of thishttp://www.ebay.com/itm/MAX6Q-GPS-Real- ... 3cc2094222with thishttp://www.goodluckbuy.com/apc230-apc23 ... meter.html. i don't know if is it the best to do my job but i think is the cheapest that i found.

[BigRedBee]

Check out my solutions. RF based GPS telemetry transmitters. I've got 2 meter and 70cm versions that require ham licenses, and a complete 900 Mhz 100mw license free solution.

http://www.bigredbee.com

Greg K7RKT

[iball]

Check out my solutions. RF based GPS telemetry transmitters. I've got 2 meter and 70cm versions that require ham licenses, and a complete 900 Mhz 100mw license free solution.

http://www.bigredbee.com

Greg K7RKT

Two words: Awe. Some.

And your kits have me thinking more about APRS in general. However, depending on where he's going to use this, if there aren't any repeaters in the area then it becomes a line-of-sight game.
Honestly, slapping in a GSM kit with a pay-as-you-go data might be easier.

[anny0498]

Hi,
I think you are looking something like this. you can check this reference design. it might be of your interest.