Rocket Track - Open Source GPS Tracker for Smartphones

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Great news!

You can run the rx off a usb port or battery charger without the battery. I've done it lots of times while testing.

It should still charge the battery if it is plugged in and turned on provided your usb power source is capable of supply enough current. I haven't measured the current while doing this to verify it, but it should be ok. the rx doesn't require much current to operate.
 
I can't wait to test this out. Weather permitting I'll try for 6k-7k foot flight at the end of this month.

I had a little scare last week right after I soldered the charge jumper on the rx board. I plugged in a battery and a USB cable to charge it. I let it charge for a few minutes and then the charge light went out. It was too soon for it to be fully charged and so I figured I broke something or overloaded a circuit. Checked all the connections, made sure I didn't accidentally solder something extra, etc. Checked the battery and I wasn't getting any voltage reading back from it. Checked the battery connection on the board and was getting 4.2v with the USB plugged in, but nothing with it unplugged and the battery connected. After worrying about it a few minutes I decided to look closer at the battery. I pulled off the wrap from around top and one of the leads had broken off the tin-like connector. Reconnected it with a little solder and encapsulated it in epoxy (just to be sure) and it appears to be working fine.
 
that's a little worrisome. I would hope the batteries are built a little better than that. :(

was this a 750mah hobbyking turnigy battery?
 
Yep, I bought two of them. You can sort of see one in my finished product pic in post #24. I'm just glad it wasn't something I did :eyeroll:

that's a little worrisome. I would hope the batteries are built a little better than that. :(

was this a 750mah hobbyking turnigy battery?
 
I've been getting emails and pm's asking about alternate parts because the BT module and Xbee radios are on back order. :(

The BT module is usually available from Sparkfun:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11601

Microchip Direct sometimes has it too (Microchip makes the BT Module):

https://www.microchipdirect.com/ProductDetails.aspx?Category=RN42

For the XBee radios, you can order the 900 HP radios with the Digimesh firmware instead of the Point to Multipoint (P2MP) firmware (XBP9B-DMST-002 is the RP-SMA version, XBP9B-DMWT-002 for the wire antenna).

Digi has two variants of the radios I use: Digimesh and point to multipoint. Digi has told me the radio module is the same. Only the firmware is different. You can load the Digimesh fw on the P2MP radio, and vice versa. I've already done this a couple of times.

Alternately, you can also just use the Digimesh fw. The only catch is the same fw has to be loaded on both radios. The Digimesh fw has a much greater air date rate which should reduce the range of the radios which is why I use the P2MP fw.

You can use Digi's X-CTU sw to load the new fw. Look at farsidius's screen shot below for the correct modem and function set settings:

View attachment 132321
 
Re-Programing the firmware was a breeze! Choose the correct modem version from drop down, and "write". Done. (did change the baud rate on the Rx Xbee at the same time and worked great!)
FYI, I checked to make sure the settings were correct by unplugging from PC and plugged back in - don't forget that on the Rx modem you need to change the baud rate to be 115200 on the com port before it will communicate with the modem)
 
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yeah! but, the $39 question is do they talk to each other? :D

I just did this myself, but I don't have an antenna to test them with.
 
Has anyone flown this yet? I'm looking to go for my L2 in the Fall, and I'm going to need some kind of tracker. This looks promising, it's probably going to be either this or a Tagg dog collar. The Tagg works fine at Lucerne Valley but it would be nice to not have to pay the $8 monthly cellular fee...
 
That's too bad. I'd be surprised if the software isn't better by then. Both are usable now and better than what I first used.
 
Guess I need to figure out how to get them on the phone so I can play with them. The links in the thread look like they go to source code repositories.

That's too bad. I'd be surprised if the software isn't better by then. Both are usable now and better than what I first used.
 
well, you can either compile it or one of us could probably send you the apks.
 
Just finished configuring the Bluetooth. As long as it was plugged in and powered up, I decided to see if my Android would find and pair up with it. (while attached to the PC)
Sure enough! Nice to know before I solder it to the Rx board. :wink:

Side note: instead of copy and past the "entire" configuration, I had to input each line one at a time.
HyperTerminal did not display my typed characters, but responded with "AOK" after each enter.
 
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Thought I might help out the next person - LED's have a positive and negative side. (I destroyed 3 because I soldered them on in the wrong orientation and didn't have 2 solder guns to remove them properly)
Knowing which side is which before you solder them on is a good idea! So I did a little investigative work. Found a pdf from manufacturer. You can tell which side is + & - by the way it is packaged, and if you have good eyes (or magnifying glass) lay it on its side.
Here is a pic of the 2 helpful aids in determining + & - (hint, C is ground, A is positive) First picture is in the tape packaging. Second is a loose LED, Bottom and side view (I found the side view helpful, turning it on its side allowed me to see the polarity and then just turn it right side up and install).
Untitled.jpg
Untitled2.jpg
 
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Good work!

I have the data sheet printed out for reference when I build one. The key is you need to take note of the structure of the led while it is still in the package so you can identify the + side and the - side after you dump it out on the board. The negative side has the circle with bulls eye like thing attached to it. The positive side is the less interesting side.

My description makes much more sense once you've examined them with a magnifying glass! :)
 
Derek,

Back in post #21, you attached a photo of the transmitter with a small white whip antenna. Is that the optional XBP9B-DPWT-001 that you list on the BOM? And, does the module come with the antenna, or do you have to purchase that separately?
 
Back in post #21, you attached a photo of the transmitter with a small white whip antenna. Is that the optional XBP9B-DPWT-001 that you list on the BOM? And, does the module come with the antenna, or do you have to purchase that separately?

Yes, that is the wire antenna version and yes, the antenna comes with that module.

You only need to buy an antenna for the rp-sma version of the radio.
 
I've never done any kind of electronics work before, so forgive me if I ask some silly questions... But I was noticing that the pins that attach to the PCB on the transmitter's 6 pin header will hit the chip on the other side unless the pins are clipped. Is that the proper way to deal with that issue? I also thought that instead of leaving the 6 pin header vertical, I would bend the pins over 90 degrees so that the header could be used, while still maintaining a low profile. Is that kosher?

Thanks.
 
I've never done any kind of electronics work before, so forgive me if I ask some silly questions... But I was noticing that the pins that attach to the PCB on the transmitter's 6 pin header will hit the chip on the other side unless the pins are clipped. Is that the proper way to deal with that issue? I also thought that instead of leaving the 6 pin header vertical, I would bend the pins over 90 degrees so that the header could be used, while still maintaining a low profile. Is that kosher?

Thanks.

The 6 pin programming header on the tx is only used temporarily in case you need to program the xbee. It doesn't get soldered on to the board.

In the event that you actually need to use it, the holes are be placed underneath the sticker on the xbee, so even if the pins do touch the radio, it shouldn't cause any shorts. If you are still worried, then you can either trim the pins so they don't go all the way through the board or slide the plastic spacer down to accomplish the same thing.

Make sense?

Derek
 
Just curious, do you guys change any of the network settings (address, channel, vendor ID) to match your recievers and transmitter so as not to conflict, or be conlficted by others running the same transmitters at a launch?

I haven't needed to do so yet as I'm the only one using them at my club. This could be an issue if there are a few at the same club.

I'm pretty sure you just need to change the destination address on each and leave the others settings at the default.
 
Yep, makes sense, but if i wanted to permanently solder it to the board, would my ideas work? I'm thinking just in case I need to reprogram the Xbee at some point down the road.
 
Yep, makes sense, but if i wanted to permanently solder it to the board, would my ideas work? I'm thinking just in case I need to reprogram the Xbee at some point down the road.

that should work, but it really isn't necessary.

edit:

an easier way to attach the header would be to solder the header on without the xbee installed and trim the protruding leads with flush cutters.
 
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This is defiantly my next project, I love all the new electronic devices that have been coming out. Thank you for doing this.


TA
 
Part two: the Receiver

Last night I programmed the Bluetooth and XBee radio modules. I used PuTTy to send the commands to the Bluetooth module and x-ctu for changing the baud rate of the XBee. In PuTTy I entered each command one line at a time and it returned OK after each set except for the final command with returned "Reset" so I figured it worked. With the BT unit still plugged into my computer, I used my phone's BT setup menu and searched for devices. It found one named RocketTrack which told me I did it correctly.



farsidius,

You said you used PuTTy to configure the bluetooth module. What were the settings you used? I can't get a connection. The black screen comes up, but no keyboard response. My serial cable is on COM6, so I set that and changed the baud rate to 115200, to no avail. Any insight you could provide would be appreciated.

Also, I tried using telnet but couldn't get a connection there either.

Oh, one other thing... Any bluetooth device should see the bluetooth transmitter on the RX whether it's programmed or not, including an IPhone, right?


Thanks,

Darrell
 
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An android device won't see the bt device until you program it. An iphone will never see the rx because of apple's restrictions.

I use hyperterminal to configure the bt device and haven't had any problems with it. Make sure you set it for no flow control.
 
OK, I got the Xbee baud rate changed, and I finally figured out the bluetooth configuration, but I'm concerned because even when my computer says it's paired via the bluetooth, the connection status light on the bluetooth module is still flashing and the beeper is still beeping.

I started up the transmitter which has a solid green light and a blinking red light, then I powered up the RX which has a solid green light for the power, and a blinking red light for the radio link. I then checked the BT pairing on the PC which says it's paired, but the beeper continues to beep along with the connection status light on the BT module. I'm assuming that the BT really isn't paired, but I don't know. And the red light on the TX continues to flash too. I think that means that there is no link between the radios either, right? Any thoughts?

You know, all this connectivity stuff is going to drive me to drinkin'. :)

Thanks,
 
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You have paired the rx to your computer, but it doesn't actually connect to the rx until you run a program that opens the serial port. Run a terminal program, select the virtual com port that represents the rx and the beeping should stop and you should see the gps data coming in.

The red lights blink when there is activity. Since they are both blinking, that means they are talking to each other.

It sounds like it is working. You just need to open the com port and see what comes out.
 
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