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Making a GPS Datalogger — Parallax Forums

Making a GPS Datalogger

SPolySPoly Posts: 20
edited 2011-07-26 17:51 in Robotics
Hi there. Basically I am a newbie at Parallax and also new to Stamp. Having said that i need to make a project related to GPS Datalogger, I decided to use Stamp and a few other components to make this possible. So let me start on the basics of my project.

My idea here is that I want to make an aircraft disaster location system that will be attached in an RC plane. Therefore at every few intervals, the coordinates of the aircraft will be sent to a computer not far away[less than 600m] using the GPS module and such.Also if a crash occur, a message will be sent to the computer stating the incident report and also the coordinates of the wrecked aircraft.
Therefore after much research, I came to a conclusion that what I need to make this project work are :
Parallax GPS Datalogger kit x1
XBee PRO 60mW Wire Antenna (XBP24-AWI-001) x2
XBee USB Adapter Board x1 (to connect the XBee Pro to the computer to act as a receiver)
XBee 5V/3.3V Adapter Board x1 ( to connect the XBee Pro located in the aircraft)
MMA7455 3-Axis Accelerometer Module x 1 (to measure the sudden impact)

So please help me in this and state any other crucial components that i might need. Please note that the testing will not be done while flying as the main point here is to get the system working first.
Thanks all....

Comments

  • alex123alex123 Posts: 102
    edited 2011-07-24 14:44
    It sounds like a fun project. I'm an RC pilot myself. You are on the right tracks. I'd suggest logging more than just a crash data though e.g. battery voltage, engine or motor RPM, air speed, altitude etc.
    You could use the signal (or lack of it) from the transmitter to detect a crash and trigger the on-board crash indicator. The accelerometer may give you false positives on a rough langing vs. a gentle crash nose down in some tall trees... Depending on the receiver the PWM signal either disappears (analog) or goes to some preprogrammed settings (spread spectrum) when the transmitter is turned off or out or range.
    I hate to spoil all the fun but would just a loud audio generator suffice? How about and RF generator and a directional antenna for a more sophisticated approach?
    Also make sure to add quite a bit of padding around your data logger because the crash may be the last event this thing will ever record... lol. Good luck.
  • SPolySPoly Posts: 20
    edited 2011-07-25 06:49
    Hi there..thank you for your assistance. As for the accelerometer, I intend to set a high G values for it to trigger, such as impact. Therefore I assume there will not be any problem as what you have stated.
    As for the other method of doing this project such as what you have stated which is loud audio generator, I think I'd just stick to my idea since I understand it better and no sophisticated approach as i still have yet to face the simpler problem hehe :)) Anyways, i do intend to send our data such as altitude, speed and such per interval.

    Lastly, is there any problem you reckon i might face while doing this project??

    Thanksss :)
  • alex123alex123 Posts: 102
    edited 2011-07-26 17:18
    I think you should be good with what you're planning on using. BTW, The XBee Pro P/N is XBP24-Z7WIT-004 rather than XBP24-AWI-001.

    Also using MMA7455 just to detect a crash it's really underutilizing its capabilites. You should log the acceleration in all 3 directions every second or so in addition to an impact. That'd be really cool to plot it on a map and see what was going on... Having said that, I think a more practical approach would be an on-board datalogger so you don't miss data if your plane is out of the Xbee range or you temporary lose signal due to mutipathing. Can you add a barometric pressure sensor to measure the altitude? I think I saw a part that's more precise than a GPS. Just a thought... Keep in mind that these GPS modules have a resolution of 10 meters. In real life it's probably more than that... I'm yet to verify that myself...

    Post your progress when you have time. I'd be interested to see how it works out for you...
  • SPolySPoly Posts: 20
    edited 2011-07-26 17:51
    Hello,

    Firstly, I have checked the SN of the XBee and the one you have stated is the ZigBee model. Why? its just that i plan to use the simple XBee pro.

    Yea!! I did plan to make an onboard datalogger,thanks anyway. As for the MMA7455 measuring acceleration data, I think its a good idea and i will try to program it. Very good idea from you!! thanks! (: As for the baromatic thingy, I will keep that in mind,maybe after completing the main part then i will try to include it in. Anyway,what is the recommended thumbdrive data storage size for the datalogger?any ideas? I know it depends on usage,so lets give it a usage of 30mins??
    Thank you...
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