I have been messing around with an Arduino Uno R3 for the past couple months. After researching some other projects I came to the conclusion that I would like to build my own GPS.
Currently I am a US Army Infantryman and a huge part of my job is land navigation. While majority of the men in my line of work can navigate the terrain with a compass, protractor and map, we have grown accustomed to GPS systems due to their speed, and accuracy.
I was going to purchase a Garmin Foretrex but figured I would attempt to build my own.
I have seen many GPS projects using the arduino, but none that fit my specific needs. I am looking for advice on if the project is feasible, and if so where should I get started.
What I need is....
A small package that is waterproof, or at least water resistant enough to not leak in the rain
MGRS Compatible (So far I have only seen people using latitude and longitude)
Compass feature
Screen that it not overly bright (for night missions)
Good battery life (preferably AA or another form of disposable)
Is this even possible given the tools available? Where should I start?
All the GPS receiver modules or shields on the market output lat/lon degrees, you'll need to convert to MGRS on your own. You can buy magnetometer to implement compass feature. Finding suitable waterproof package housing capable of showing LCD screen would be the biggest challenge for this project.
RH314:
All the GPS receiver modules or shields on the market output lat/lon degrees, you'll need to convert to MGRS on your own. You can buy magnetometer to implement compass feature. Finding suitable waterproof package housing capable of showing LCD screen would be the biggest challenge for this project.
Any idea how I should start tackling the conversion to MGRS? I just ordered a teensy 3.1 because in my research I found that some people have successfully converted units from lat/lon to UTM and had issues with memory space.
Chris1448: Screen that it not overly bright (for night missions)
There are LCD screens that display either red characters , or have a red back light. not to mention its rated down to -20C
I am working on implementing Geographiclib into the code. I believe that this library will push the memory threshold of the uno, and the nano that I have. My teensy 3.1 should be here next week though.
