#51 SIMPLE DIY RADIO
SIMPLE DIY RADIO
Category Archives: Electronics
MADUINO ZERO SIM808
#48 MADUINO ZERO SIM808 GPS TRACKER
The Maduino Zero SIM808 GPS Tracker is an IOT (Internet of things) Solution based on the 32-bit Atmel’s SAMD21 MCU and GPRS/GSM GPS module SIM808. It intergrates a micro Controller ATSAMD21G18, GRRS/GSM module SIM808, which is the upgrade version of SIM900, power management and storage, to make the SIM808 GPS Tracker ready for IOT projects such as smart-home, outdoor monitoring, shared bicycle, etc. The Marduino Zero SIM808 GPS Tracker based on the Arduino, users can program it with Arduino IDE, which is very easy especially for the none-programmers.
This is the V3.4 version, Note that to ensure the module starts up right, a lipo battery is needed to power up the Maduino Zero SIM808 GPS tracker V3.4.
Quick Spec
- AT Input Voltage: 3.4-4.2V
- Microcontroller: ATSAMD21G18, 32-Bit ARM Cortex M0+
- Clock Speed: 48 MHz
- Micro SIM connector
- Integrated Power Control System
- AT command interface with “auto baud” detection Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900Mz
- Send and receive GPRS data (TCP/IP, HTTP, etc.)
- GPS L1 C/A code
- 22 tracking /66 acquisition channels
- Tracking: -165 dBm
- Cold starts: -148 dBm
- Time-To-First-Fix：Cold starts-32s (typ.), Hot starts-1s (typ.)，Warm starts-5s (typ.)
- Accuracy: approx. 2.5 meters
- Interface: I2C/SPI/UART/18*GPIO
- Arduino compatible
- Working Temperature: -40 – 85℃
- Size: 40 x 55mm
- Net Weight: 23g
MDVR WIFI USB MODULE
#47 150M Wireless Lite-N USB Module (2015)
The 150M Wireless Lite-N USB Module PW-MN427 is designed to provide a high-speed and unrivaled wireless performance for your devices, with a faster wireless connection, you can get a better WLAN/Internet experience. The PW-MN427 150M Wireless Lite-N USB Module complies with IEEE 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n standards. It can perfectly interoperate with all of the 802.11b/g/n devices.
The PW-MN427´s auto-sensing capability allows high packet transfer rate of up to 150Mbps for maximum throughput. Additionally, it supports WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) function, which can help you create a wireless connection with effortless security setup, to prevent outside intrusion and protect your personal information from being exposed.
Features
- 150Mbps wireless transmission rate
- Specific PIN for Radio On/Off, LED, and WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup)
- Supports 64/128-bit WEP, complies with 128 bit WPA standard(TKIP/AES), supports MIC, IV Expansion, Shared Key Authentication, IEEE 802.1X
- Compatible with 11b/g/n equipments
- Onboard LED is optional
- Supports 3.3V or 5V power supply
- Supports Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, Linux OS
MDVR COMMON PROBLEMS
#46 Device’s Most Common Problems (2015)
Reasons Device could be faulty
No data
No power
No 3G
No settings
GPS repeating too quickly
Permanent loop
Faulty sim card, Contract, not depinned
A.
Phone the device. Answer means there is power and there is signal. The sim is working.
Checks
1. Reboot the device via SMS
2. Check the data.
3. Ask Cale to send server settings.
4. Hard reboot device.
5. Still not working? Double check signal quality, Double check GPS interval, consider replacing sim card, consider replacing antennas.
B.
No answer means the sim card is either Faulty, the device is in a bad signal area, the device is off, the device is cross border, there is no sim in the device. Ask Cale to send server settings. Phone the client to find out if the vehicle is driving.
Checks
1. No power, no 3G, no sim?
2. Is the device under a building or in a bad signal area?
3. Is the vehicles battery flat? Is the device disconnected from the battery?
4. Is the fuse blown?
5. Do the antennas need to be replaced?
6. Replace entire device.
**LOG AND SEND THE NUMBERS OT THE VEHICLES THAT COME ONLINE AFTER THE REBOOT T0 CALE
**LOG OFFLINES
**CHECK IF THE VEHICLE IS NOT IN A BUILDING WHEN BUSY WITH OFFLINES
Hard Drive and SD Errors
General
Device will have no recordings for days when the vehicle was off.
Device will have no recordings if the HDD is problematic.
If there is old firmware send cale a request to update it.
If there is no snapshot plan send a request to Russell.
The SD card mirrors the HD drive.
If the problem persists at this point inform Cale.
Checks
1. Reboot device
2. Check the firmware
3. Check the recording status
4. Check that the recording plan is set up.
Extended
If you still can’t get recordings it could be because of the following:
HDD has faulty sectors on the disk.
Faulty HDD circuit board or disk motor failure.
Double check recording plan not setup in settings, check recording plan. Reboot the device, check the firmware if it’s not the latest request an update from cale, disk check error, if the problem persists after this then request assistance from Paul.
Make sure you keep a list of the HDD/SD errors reported on the drives. Try to write down as many useful facts as possible.
Example.
Write Down
WHATS THE FIRMWARE & BIOS?
IS THE SD/HDD ON ZERO?
ARE THERE RECORDINGS ON DRIVES?
ARE THE RECORDINGS SMOOTH OR FRAGMENTED?
HOW OLD IS THE HDD? HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN IN THE FIELD?
Snapshot Protocols
If no snapshots are picked up for a device……
1) Check data is on device or online status. It will only have snapshots of online
2) Send a reboot message, and wait 60-120mins to check if snapshots appear
3) Check SD1 recording status….. SD1 must be active and there must be recording on SD1. If there is no recording then teh SD card might be faulty
4) At this point, ask Russell to confirm snapshot is configured correctly
5) If SD1 faulty, ask Cale to format SD card.
6) Once formatted, start at 1) again.
7) If no luck, then lodge with Software to investigate further.
Q.C LITE SETUP
#45 OLD MDVR SETUP (2015)
How to set up MDVR
- Open the box and separate the MDVR from the cable box. Next inspect the MDVR device for any form of damage. Then inspect the contents of the cable box… make sure all the cables are there. the box consists of: 1x GPS module, 1x 3G antenna, 1x WIFI antenna, 4x camera cables, 1x power cable with 10A fuse in it, 1x USB 2.0 cable, 1x screen cable, 2x keys with 1 spare fuse in a sealed packet.
- Next place the MDVR on a stable table, open the device lock and slide the HD out, next place a SIM card and a SD card in the open sockets. Take the HD and connect it to a PC, make sure that the HD is working then copy/paste the necessary param.xml file on to the root dir. of the HD. Now take the HD and place it securely into the MDVR and lock the MDVR again
- Now connect the screen cable to the front of the MDVR, connect the GPS, 3G and the power cable to the back of the MDVR. Wait for the device to power up then login, move to system setup > terminal. Then insert the device number into the device id field and into the phone number field. Next move to Tools > Parameters > Parameters Import and select OK… Make sure the device outputs IMPORT SUCCESS. Also make sure that you run the command without the SD card in the MDVR and in some instances the HD may have to be formatted first then the PARAM file copied over and imported on the device. The device will now restart.
- Plug each camera cable into the back of the MDVR, test each cable by applying pressure to the full length of the cable through your hands. Test each of the 4 sockets as well. Now open RMVS ( 視頻應用 ) and make sure the device is reporting online. Test the cameras by double clicking on the online vehicle. Next click Playback > Record and then click “search” ensure that the graph shows a green line. Don’t worry if it’s thin. Also check that the device is recording to the HD and SD properly. You can do this by selecting the device no. > click on playback > click on record > click on search. Select the file tab on the bottom of the page. Ensure that there is a 999mb file and that the SD an HD record times are the same (There might be a few second missing but that is ok) If there is no 999mb file or there is a 1999mb file, both the HD and the SD card must be formatted and then check again to make sure that those files are there.
Also don’t forget to set the report interval for the devices. To do this right click on a device > click on GPS Reports Intervals and set the time to 120s.
MDVR Firmware & BIOS
- To update the FIRMWARE of the MDVR device——-> Put the device on, Open RMVS program use technical user, ensure that the device SIM has data and is reporting on the RMVS program. Next copy the entire contents of FTPfirmware.txt file into (right click online device > parameter config > custom) paste into input. Restart the device if necessary. You should see UPDATEING
- To update the BIOS of the MDVR device——–> Put the device on, Open the RMVS program use technical user, ensure that the device SIM has data and is reporting. Next copy the entire contents of BIOS.txt into (right click online device > parameter config > custom) paste into input. Restart the device if necessary. You should see UPDATEING on the screen
When new stock arrives always check it for faults first
Hard drives
How to Format New HDD
-Go to Computer Management > Initiate the HDD.
-Shrink the HDD to 494MB and 931.51GB NTFS.
-Open GUI FORMAT select drives and format.
-Insert the HDD into the Device
{Download from http://www.realmodscene.com/index.php?/topic/323-gui-format-fat32-drive-formatter/}
Opening a device
When opening a device first wash hands and make sure you have all the correct tools. Allen key, screw driver, socket key, & white silicone. Make sure you work in a non-static area.
Open the 12 outer screws with the correct size Allen key. Lift the top part of the cover up carefully. Remove the forward and back panel carefully. Remove the flexi cable and the lock cable from the motherboard. Remove the three antenna cables from their sockets on the device.
Carefully unscrew the daughterboard from the motherboard. There should be 4 screws. Remove the flexi cable connected to the LED lights board. Now unscrew the 2 bronze colored screws with the socket tool. Unscrew the remaining screws with the screwdriver. Take the motherboard out and replace with a new one.
MDVR DEVICE SEND SMS
ARM DEV BOARD STM32 MCU
#43 STM32 MCU ( BLUE PILL )
The STM32 F103C8T6 (AKA BLUE PILL) Is a great development board to upgrade to from the Arduino series. The STM32 platform is a massive powerhouse that can handle complex calculations extremely quickly. Examples such as quadcopter’s, robotics etc.
FEATURES
- On-board Mini USB interface, you can give the board power supply and USB communication.
- On-board test indicator LED
- On-board reset button and power indicator LED
- On-board 100ma 3.3V Regulator
- All GPIO are led out and the names of the pins are marked
- After soldering the headers, you can directly plug the board onto the breadboard
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- CPU Part Number: STM32F103C8T6
- Core: ARM 32 Cortex-M3 CPU.
- Debug mode: SWD (can be programmed with ST-LINK V2)
- CPU Internal Maximum Clock : 72MHz
- External Clock Source: 8MHz crystal
- 64K flash memory, 20K SRAM
- 2.0-3.6V power, I/O
- Reset(POR/PDR)
- Size:5.3cm x 2.2cm
PRO MINI FARM ALARM V1.0
#42 PRO MINI FARM ALARM V1.0 BREADBOARD
The Pro Mini has proven to be a suitable solution. The board is very small and has more than enough specs to control the GSM/GPRS module while also sending data to a remote server via TCP.
The Pro Mini requires an FTDI programmer since there is no USB port on the board.
FAILED ATTINY85 EXAMPLE
#41 A FAILED ATTINY85 EXAMPLE (GSM/GPRS)
My first attempt to build a small circuit which controls a relay to an alarm speaker was a failure. Contrary to popular belief failure in electronics projects is quite common and I would argue that it is of paramount need if you want to learn anything.
Surprisingly my failure was in using the ATTINY85 instead a Pro Mini, Uno or Mega. Some problems I had were:
- Not enough RAM to hold all my variables (I had to scrounge 😢)
- Very limited FLASH memory.
- GSM module interferes with the ATTINY’s 5v power source when connected using the same source with no filtering.
In a later project I created a reliably working solution with the Pro Mini as the brains.
My goal was to create a small circuit which uses the ATTINY85 as the brains. It uses the A6-GSM-Module to receive SMS’s, phone calls and sends TCP data. Finally it has a 5v relay which will switch on/off an alarm speaker. The theory is that when I’m on the farm in the fields and not near the house, I have the option of remotely starting an audio alarm at will. This should be a deterrent to potential criminals.
After making an easier to debug circuit I tried to get the ATTINY85 to work happily with the GSM module. This was going to be a bit complicated and I suspect I would have to isolate power between the ATTINY85 and the GSM module. This would require more components and the board is already looking cramped. A much easier solution is to use the Pro Mini instead of the ATTINY85.
ENTRY LEVEL OSCILLOSCOPE
#40 GW INSTEK GDS-1102-U OSCILLOSCOPE
