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Cellular Modem - Long Range Com — Parallax Forums

Cellular Modem - Long Range Com

JBWolfJBWolf Posts: 405
edited 2015-01-24 16:07 in Propeller 1
Hello,
I'm curious about the availability of cellular chips that can be connected to the prop and used as a modem.
I have been thinking about a long range FPV RC airplane using cellular for communication.
So wherever there is coverage, I can fly without needing line of sight..... a GPS guided autopilot would RTB if signal is lost.

I imagine there are small, low power devices available to get on AT&T or Verizon networks with an account.
Anyone have experience with these by chance?

Thanks
J

Comments

  • bte2bte2 Posts: 154
    edited 2015-01-24 00:30
    My initial gut response would be to go to Sparkfun but I'm not sure what they are offering currently. They also have IMUs and other things that might be useful.

    Is doing what you want to do legal? You may want to check- that would suck hard if you spent 6 months getting it dialed in only to get fined for some BS law nobody's ever heard of.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2015-01-24 01:07
    I suspect that said "BS law" has nothing to do with communication technology but, rather, the FAA's restrictions regarding the loss of direct visual contact with, and control of, your airplane.

    -Phil
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2015-01-24 02:25
    The "Test Flite" youtube channel has a video about long distance FPV.

    And Phil is correct about the law regarding an aircraft being required to be within visual range.

    Adafruit sells a nice little cell phone module.

    I'd suggest paying attention to the Test Flite videos. You'll need a system for the airplane control and a separate system for the video. The two radios should be on different frequencies.

    None of the suggested solutions involved a cell phone.
  • JBWolfJBWolf Posts: 405
    edited 2015-01-24 04:05
    Cool, Ill check into it... Duane, any chance you could provide a link to the specific test flight video about long distance fpv?
    We have a very large farm with many miles of fields, forests and even a large pond, all with cellphone coverage... So I wont be violating any laws concerning land being flown over.
    I will be flying out of an ultralight runway, the telephone lines have high visibility orange bulbs on them and it's registered.
    I did read that any RC aircraft/drone must be flown under 500' altitude in WI for FAA compliance, above that and you need special permits/certifications.
    I will double check and adhere to all laws of course, we have dnr out here bigtime just dying to get someone for stuff like that.

    Legality aside, I would be amazed to find a solution that can work several miles beyond line of sight.
    Ill have to look up the adafruit product
  • JBWolfJBWolf Posts: 405
    edited 2015-01-24 06:18
    found this on adafruit.
    Says it can support a 1900mhz connection and do data.
    http://www.adafruit.com/categories/281
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2015-01-24 09:37
    JBWolf wrote: »
    Cool, Ill check into it... Duane, any chance you could provide a link to the specific test flight video about long distance fpv?

    I was wrong about it being on the "Test Flite" channel. It's on the "FliteTest" channel.

    I was disappointed to see the "expert" remove antennas to attenuate the signal. It's generally a very bad idea to power on a radio without an appropriate antenna. This is mentioned in another FliteTest video but it appears they weren't aware of this issue in this video.

    I agree with several of the commenters that the video didn't do a very good job of comparing the performance of these radios but it did give the viewer an idea of some of the units available.

    I hadn't been aware there were long distance links available.

    These units are for controlling the aircraft. The video link is transmitted over a separate system.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2015-01-24 09:39
    JBWolf wrote: »
    found this on adafruit.
    Says it can support a 1900mhz connection and do data.
    http://www.adafruit.com/categories/281

    That's the one I was thinking of. Adafruit has nice documentation.
  • JBWolfJBWolf Posts: 405
    edited 2015-01-24 11:35
    Interesting antenna, reminds me of the weird antenna created by the evolutionary computer process for nasa.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7KdN4PRgj4
  • JBWolfJBWolf Posts: 405
    edited 2015-01-24 12:12
    Found this on Sparkfun... but it looks like you also need a breakout board which doubles the cost, then there are other addons like sim ports for additional costs... adds up quick
    https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9533
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2015-01-24 16:07
    I don't know if Tubular still sells them, but he made a PCB for some Telit modules.

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/129293-Telit-GSM-GPRS-breakout-for-Propeller-proto-board

    I don't know how the Telit modules compare with the Adafruit board or the SparkFun option.
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