What parts do I need?

lamberts · December 23, 2011, 11:19pm

I asked the questions below to the RobotShop.com support and they said I needed to ask the question here. Any help would be great. I’ve worked with other processors like the Rabbit, but I’m new to the Arduino platform and want to make sure I order all the correct parts.

I’m prototyping two different items. I want to make sure that I get all the parts that I need.

Item #1

This needs to be a small Arduino processor with wireless and GPS. I will put it into High Power Rockets for tracking and recovery. I’d prefer a 900 Mhz radio, or even a radio that can send APRS messages over HAM frequencies, like 2 Meter. I’ll need some way of getting messages, ether a standalone Arduino or wireless to a laptop.

Item #2

This will be a target lifter. I’ll need to run 3-4 motor, they might be stepper. And need to have some optical switches to sense the target position. It will need 3-4 of these inputs. I’ll also want to add wireless communication back to another Arduino with screen, or a laptop.

Please help me make sure and get all the parts that I’ll need.

titicaca · August 6, 2012, 9:16am

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cbenson · December 28, 2011, 3:49pm

There are several options for Arduino + GPS, but if you want something small in size (compared to a normal Arduino board), consider the Seeedstudio GPS XBee with an Arduino Nano XBee breakout board (and of course the Arduino Nano itself). We don’t have any devices specifically for a HAM radio.

If you want to broadcast the signal as well, you will need to either use soft serial and another device, or a larger microcontroller with two serial ports. The other option of course is to have a second setup like the one above, only with an XBee module instead of a GPSBee.

For item #2, you’ll need to know more about the torque required, the voltage at which you want to operate, if you want a servo or a stepper etc. Can you explain (or perhaps draw) the setup?