Rocket Track - Open Source GPS Tracker for Smartphones

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Finally got my antenna in (that took fooooorever) so I could finally test out the system.

I haven yet to solder he jumpers on the TX as I'm waiting to make sure I have the radios set how I want. I was doing some research on youtube about how to configure them and I one of the videos I came across talked about the baud rate. He said the higher you set the baud rate the less transmit distance you will get between the radios.

Some more googling brought me to a drone forum and they use xbee radios as well. A quote from there:

It came about from a lot of testing. We got too many lost packets on the standard 900Mhz Xbees at 115200, and the telemetry team said they didn't need any faster speed than 57600, which is more reliable. We used to run them even slower at 38k, but after a lot of field trialing felt comfortable enough to raise that.
Click to expand...

and

Standard GPS NMEA output is even lower : 4800 bps.
Click to expand...

So I checked out the data sheet for the GPS:

Fastrax UP501 default firmware configuration:
Port 0: NMEA 9600 baud
Click to expand...

So was there a technical reason that it is suggested to bump the baud rate up on the radios all the way to 115200?
 
dingle said:
Finally got my antenna in (that took fooooorever) so I could finally test out the system.

I haven yet to solder he jumpers on the TX as I'm waiting to make sure I have the radios set how I want. I was doing some research on youtube about how to configure them and I one of the videos I came across talked about the baud rate. He said the higher you set the baud rate the less transmit distance you will get between the radios.

Some more googling brought me to a drone forum and they use xbee radios as well. A quote from there:



and



So I checked out the data sheet for the GPS:



So was there a technical reason that it is suggested to bump the baud rate up on the radios all the way to 115200?
Click to expand...

You are confusing two different data rates - the air rate and the interface rate. The air rate is fixed depending on which firmware you are running on the xbees. The interface baud rate controls the speed the external serial interface runs at.

You need to read the posts more closely. I tell you you need to change the baud rate of the Rx xbee to 115200 to match the BT module. The tx xbee stays at 9600 to match the GPS. Devices talking to each other need to match.

You'll have to read the data sheets to figure out what the air rate is based on the firmware.
 
Derek said:
You are confusing two different data rates - the air rate and the interface rate. The air rate is fixed depending on which firmware you are running on the xbees. The interface baud rate controls the speed the external serial interface runs at.

You need to read the posts more closely. I tell you you need to change the baud rate of the Rx xbee to 115200 to match the BT module. The tx xbee stays at 9600 to match the GPS. Devices talking to each other need to match.

You'll have to read the data sheets to figure out what the air rate is based on the firmware.
Click to expand...

You are correct, sorry I missed the leave the TX radio at default. Thanks your help.
 
No problem. You don't want to change the tx rate because the GPS defaults to 9600 every time you power cycle it.
 
I received my new mini transmitter pcb and got it built and tested yesterday:

Txs.jpg

The completed tracker is 1.5" long x 1.0" wide x ~0.42" thick. The adafruit gps module was actually a lot easier to solder than I had anticipated and in my limited testing seems to work as well as the up501. The obvious difference between the two is the size, but they function identically including supporting the optimizations that the Rocket Track software does to the gps.

Some additional improvements are the addition of a fix LED and I increased the size of the mounting holes to accommodate #4 screws. However this didn't quite work out as planned as the holes are a bit too small. I'm not exactly sure what happened here. Also there is one other change I'd like to make to the cutout so the antenna wire has a bit more clearance. Electrically the board is fine.

I'm not going to sell these pcbs directly because it isn't worth the effort as three of them from oshpark cost $7.50 shipped. They have a store feature that allows you to buy the pcbs directly from them which is probably what I'll end up doing if you are interested in buying them. I'll post the link once I'm happy with the mechanical changes in case anyone wants to build it.

Derek
 
I like it.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Rocketry Forum mobile app
 
I haven't had a chance to test the new mini tx in a rocket yet, but I have had it in my car logging while I drive around. So far it seems pretty accurate. Here is a shot from a google earth track I imported from the log file showing the end when I pulled into my driveway:

adafruit_gps_test.jpg

It stops almost exactly where I stopped. Pretty good!

Now I just need to try it in a rocket... :D
 
Any updates on the new (smaller) board? I have a couple of smaller projects in ind these would be perfect for, but only if the range is still as good as the full sized tracker.
 
Hi, sorry for perhaps asking a silly question.

Is IOS still a no?

Is this allowed in the UK?

Do you offer it as full blow kit with it all included?

What about using on a laptop. Tether laptop to smartphone over wifi for cellular access to get map. BT or USB to the receiver?

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
Demonian said:
Any updates on the new (smaller) board? I have a couple of smaller projects in ind these would be perfect for, but only if the range is still as good as the full sized tracker.
Click to expand...

I received the revised mini tx pcbs last week and all the mechanical changes look good. The four mounting holes are big enough for #4 screws, the cutout for the wire antenna clearance is much better and the new pad size for the leds should make it easier to solder them to the board. I've installed the gps module on a new board and that is fine but I'm waiting on a couple of parts from digikey so I can complete one for testing.

If all goes according to plan, I hope to test one in a rocket this weekend.

As for your range question, since they use the same xbee modules and antennas as the normal size tx, the range should be exactly the same.

If the assembly and flight test goes ok, I'll post the files so people can buy the pcbs next week.
 
Pyropetepete said:
Hi, sorry for perhaps asking a silly question.

Is IOS still a no?

Is this allowed in the UK?

Do you offer it as full blow kit with it all included?

What about using on a laptop. Tether laptop to smartphone over wifi for cellular access to get map. BT or USB to the receiver?

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
Click to expand...

My design isn't supported by ios devices. I thought I read that apple had removed the certification process for bt 4.0 devices which would make it easier to adapt these for ios use, but then I read John at Jolly Logic still has issues getting his new product certified so now I'm not so sure.

So the answer is no.

As for use in the uk, you'll need to buy the european xbee modules instead of the us ones and you will be fine. I don't offer it as a kit. I only the sell the pcbs to us customers. Getting the boards fabbed yourself is very easy and I can walk you through the process if you want to do that.

You can use a laptop instead of the smartphone. Other people do this with the tracker, but I'm not sure which software they are using. In that case, you really only need the tx pcb. You can buy a $25 xbee to usb adapter for the rx. There should be some examples posted in this thread.
 
I have all the parts and pieces for the current version, will I be able to use those with the new smaller board or will there be a different parts list?
 
Eyeguy41 said:
I have all the parts and pieces for the current version, will I be able to use those with the new smaller board or will there be a different parts list?
Click to expand...

The gps is the only different part but there is also a new led for the fix status. I installed an orange one but you are free to use whatever color you like (or not - the leds are not required).

Mini tx gps:

790_MED.jpg


https://www.adafruit.com/products/790
 
Finally finished assembling my transmitter. Huzzah! I'm able to see NMEA data sentences on my laptop (receiver radio plugged into the USB and using Putty to monitor COM port). It's awesome! I can't believe I actually soldered those tiny parts, but I did. This was a great learning experience as well as a useful tool.

This tracker will get mounted to a nose cone sled (with support for the antenna). I would like to build one of the smaller transmitters too, so please shout when the boards are available for order on oshpark.

Thanks again for sharing this design!

IMG_1233.jpg

Cheers!
 
gwolski said:
Finally finished assembling my transmitter. Huzzah! I'm able to see NMEA data sentences on my laptop (receiver radio plugged into the USB and using Putty to monitor COM port). It's awesome! I can't believe I actually soldered those tiny parts, but I did. This was a great learning experience as well as a useful tool.

This tracker will get mounted to a nose cone sled (with support for the antenna). I would like to build one of the smaller transmitters too, so please shout when the boards are available for order on oshpark.

Thanks again for sharing this design!

View attachment 165376

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Very nice, Gene!

I'm hoping to test the new mini tracker this weekend. We'll see.

edit:

I meant to add I see you used the battery connector. How does it work? That is the first pic of seen of someone using it.
 
Last edited:
Pyropetepete said:
https://www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk/ArduPilot-Xbee-Telemetry-kit-2-4-GHz-p/tel-kit.htm

They offer this kit but have spoken with and the can make me a custom setup and test it for me.

I hope i got it right

2 of these https://www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk/XBee-PRO-RF-Module-RPSMA-S1-p/xbee-rpsma.htm

1 of these https://www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk/XtreamBee-USB-Adapter-p/tel-xbeeusb.htm

I have 2 of these laying about already https://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/?model=TL-ANT2408CL

Am i right?
Click to expand...

I'm confused about what you are attempting to do. It isn't clear what those xbee carrier boards are for. Also, your 2.4 ghz xbee modules probably won't have the same range as the 900 mhz ones my tracker uses.
 
Derek said:
Very nice, Gene!

I'm hoping to test the new mini tracker this weekend. We'll see.

edit:

I meant to add I see you used the battery connector. How does it work? That is the first pic of seen of someone using it.
Click to expand...

The battery connector seems to work just fine, but it's only soldered on the bottom for now. I may solder from the top as well to make sure it is as secure as possible. The battery will be strapped down tightly, so there should be minimal strain on the power connection.

Good luck with the test flight this weekend!
 
Derek said:
I'm confused about what you are attempting to do. It isn't clear what those xbee carrier boards are for. Also, your 2.4 ghz xbee modules probably won't have the same range as the 900 mhz ones my tracker uses.
Click to expand...

I'm limited as the uk can not use 900mhz.

Have spoken to some hams and said I could use it if I'm quick and get away with it.



Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
Pyropetepete said:
Make me a unit dude that I can run the ground station on USB please?


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
Click to expand...

already done. just buy a xbee to usb adapter. I list a couple on the first page of this thread.
 

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