I came here because I need to make a small battery powered device, which would
Roughly every second or every other second receive coordinates from the Global possitioning satellite
system. These coordinates would have to be very accurate +/- 2-3 meters at most.
Take those coordinates and write them onto a tiny hard drive.
this device would need to be as small as possible, it would need to be powered by an arrangment of standard store batteries and it would need to be able to preform its functions for atleast 72 hours without a battery switch.
If the battery happened to empty, it is crucial that the data meassured and writen on the hard drive remains uncorrupted.
My personal experiences:
I have a soldering iron, and I know how to use it. I have experience in programming in both C and C++.
I have however no hardware atm, and no experience in buying it for such a task. The primary thing I am asking for is a guidence with purchasing the hardware.
Since I have no experience with purchasing this type of hardware, I have no idea what the price range for such a device would be. But if it could be done for 50 or 60 euros that would be ideal.
Can you please suggest a list of components and where to buy them? If it matters, I live in central Europe.
"As small as possible" is pretty meaningless. What is the maximum size (in real measurements like inches or mm) that your device must be?
It doesn't really sound like an Arduino project. You need lots of storage and very low power consumption and neither of those are what Arduinos are really good at.
One way to do it would be to get an Arduino equivalent that has an SD card holder on it. The SD card would have ample capacity to store your position data.
Hook it up to a GPS module, figure out how much battery capacity you would need for 72 hours and get an appropriate battery holder.
The positional accuracy you're looking for is a little more than conventional GPS can manage unaided, but I notice that some vendors (e.g. Adafruit) sell modules that claim that they get less than 3m error.
slipstick:
"As small as possible" is pretty meaningless. What is the maximum size (in real measurements like inches or mm) that your device must be?
It doesn't really sound like an Arduino project. You need lots of storage and very low power consumption and neither of those are what Arduinos are really good at.
Steve
About 100x100x20 mm would be the max, I could get away with.
Does a module not exist for arduino which stores data? Like an SD card, perhaps? Is it imposible to connect a USB to an arduino?
If arduino isn't right can you recommend an alternative?
wildbill:
One way to do it would be to get an Arduino equivalent that has an SD card holder on it. The SD card would have ample capacity to store your position data.
Hook it up to a GPS module, figure out how much battery capacity you would need for 72 hours and get an appropriate battery holder.
The positional accuracy you're looking for is a little more than conventional GPS can manage unaided, but I notice that some vendors (e.g. Adafruit) sell modules that claim that they get less than 3m error.
Im totally new to this, im not sure what is compatible with what. I will look around. Is the battery consumption part feasable? Or should I, if im looking for such a device go look somewhere else, other than arduino?
Edit:
How about using:
A2035-H-V412 GPS module
Arduino Micro
an SD card module for Arduino (I dont know which one to buy, please advise)
Would I also need anything else (except for wires and power source)? Like resistors or transistors or capacitors? Or would those 3(5) components be everything I would require?
And how would I hook this up? Any sources for code libraries, so I wouldnt have to re-invent hot water?
Use an SDcard module with built-in 3.3V regulator, some SDcards need more current than some Arduino 3.3V pins can provide. The SDcard module should have appropriate level conversion on the logic signals if using a 5V Arduino.
You can read each NMEA string as it comes in from the GPS and open the log file for appending, write the string, close the file. That ensures its physically written immediately.
The current consumption you'd need to figure out - and then choose battery size as appropriate.
You'd ideally need to monitor battery voltage to shutdown cleanly before the power goes.
Furnis:
About 100x100x20 mm would be the max, I could get away with.
...
A2035-H-V412 GPS module
From the datasheet of the GPS, it's 24mAh at 1Hz fix, which is your requirement. 72 hours means 1728mAh, plus Arduino, plus SD consumption. a 2500mAh lipoly battery could be sufficiently small to stay within your size. However, if you do not have any experience and your are just interested in the function (tracking), within your budget there is some ready made tracker that does what you want without need to develop it.