Arduino Phone

Hello everyone,

I am new here and I apologize if this is a wrong place to post it. I bought the starter kit a month ago and done few of the projects in it. And last week I decided to give a try on the Arduino Phone: http://www.instructables.com/id/ArduinoPhone/

has anybody tried this project here?

I have got all the main parts - UNO R3, GPRS v2.0, RTC, Li Po Rider Pro and TFT v2.0, but I couldn't really follow his instructions in detail.

First I am confused about the wiring connections between the RTC and UNO. Then I also don't understand what is being connected to the GPRS shield through audio jack.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Tuguldur

In his instructable he labeled them as the switch and audio jack.

Do you guys know what this switch might be for? If it is a general switch for UNO, then I don't need it because I have a switch on the Li Po Rider Pro.

Also a bit confused about what is he talking about by audio jack. Apparently that small board connects with the GPRS through audio jack. So maybe a speaker/microphone?

The wiring between the RTC and UNO is shown in this picture. But it s under that jelly looking thing and I can't really discern which wire is going where.

I don't think this is gonna help you very much, but I'll answer your question.

Well, that RTC has four connections — SDA, SCL, VCC, & GND.

SO,
SDA ---> SDA (Analog 4)
SCL ---> SCL (Analog 5)
GND ---> GND
VCC ---> positive voltage (in the photo, he has it connected to 5V*)

— http://arduino.cc/en/uploads/Main/Arduino_Uno_Rev3-schematic.pdf

*Not knowing the specs on that RTC, I cannot verify that is the correct voltage....or how much current it will draw. I'm only letting you know how it is connected in the photo. Use this information at your own risk. Also, I cannot recommend soldering/attaching anything to your Arduino the way as shown in photo (to bottom of pins on back of Arduino).

If you had trouble figuring out how to connect this, making a cell phone just might be a bit too complex for you at this juncture. I sincerely mean no offense. I would strongly suggest doing some other projects first. Maybe do a few things that use each if the components individually? ....just to get a better idea of how each of them work (and don't work). Things tend to get exponentially more difficult when you start combining different components/shields/etc, and try to get them all to work together. Also, that instructable seems rather lacking in information. It looks more like a "look what I did" rather than a "here's how to do it yourself".

— Just my 2¢.

Good luck!

Dave,

thanks for replying. Couple of days ago I had all that figured out from here:

it has lots useful stuff including all you wrote above.

Now my RTC is hooked up with UNO, to bottom of the pins. I don't see anything dangerous with this kind of connection, I believe it should be fine unless one makes unwanted short circuits.

Now I am waiting for the SIM card. Once I get the card I will try to install the code and see if I can replicate what they're showing in the video. I totally agree the instruction is pretty shitty... I actually afraid that configuring the code might not be straightforward as well.

But I won't be given up on this project even if this doesn't work. My plan is then to sell this TFT shell and buy one of those smartGPU board with a display. They have a very well documented code and instructions for making a much more advanced and powerful phone. Check out the following video: