Here's a new board for people who want longer range than Xbee can provide. You just treat it as a regular serial port, just like an Xbee, and with the right code it can communicate with anything from a website to a phone. There's no APM code for it yet, but sample code is provided so you can find your own uses. Note that mobile wireless coverage can vary a lot from place to place, and some regions use cell towers that do not propagate to altitudes far above ground level. So your performance will depend a lot on the local networks. But in the right places, this could be really powerful.
"The DroneCell is a cell phone for your robotics/ electronics/ minicomputer/ anything project. Its an all-in-one communication device: communicate via texts, phone calls, or even over the internet. Any device with a TTL UART can communicate with the DroneCell. C libraries are available for download.
* Send and Receive Phone Calls
* Send Text Messages
* Communicate over the Internet
* Send and Receive Multimedia Messages ( pictures , text files )
- LED indication for both network status and power
- Small footprint (5cm x 4.5cm)
- Breadboard compatible for easy prototyping
- 4.5VDC-16VDC power supply input
- 3.3V or 5V UART Interface (voltage-shifting is done on board)
- High serial data rate (up to 115200 baud)
- GPRS communication rate (86.5 kbps downlink) - cellular to server communication
- CSD (up to 14.4 kbps) - cellular to cellular communication
- Software configurable baud rate
- Works with any SIM card
- Quad band cellular connectivity
- Internal switch to detect SIM card presence
- Dial and receive phone calls (however, no microphone or speaker interface setup)
- Send and receive text messages
- Send and receive Multimedia Messages
- Send and receive data to any Internet connected computer
- Send and receive data over TCP or UDP sockets
- Super long range (anywhere there is cell reception)
- High altitude (at least 10,000 feet, up to 30,000 depending on Cell tower)
- Phonebook entries and storage
- Software libraries for AVR
- Real time clock, synced to cellular tower time
- User set alarms
In stock now for $120.
Comments
That way you configure the ground station to point to mydronecell.dynamicdns.com and if it drops its connection you know you will be able to get it back again.
Just a gentle reminder to be careful with airborne cellular radios, particularly in the US... check out this link to the current law on the restrictions on airborne operation (surprisingly, it's an easy read): http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2004/octqtr/47cfr22.925.htm
There's obviously a debate ongoing about what applies to sUAS / Hobbyists / RC / etc., but knowing the applicable laws is a good thing to do before assuming that something's legal or operating under the "difficult to enforce" philosophy, in my opinion.
So, keep in mind that I think this is a cool implementation of a cool technology, and I even think that it has a place in UAS's in the national airspace. In the interests of encouraging continued innovation and easy availability, keep up the good work of conscientiousness that the vast majority of this community embodies!
Already got ideas – using it to control camera fuctions from my cell phone,,,the sketch
THE SKETCH
CELL PHONE [ANDROID] -> DRONE CELL -> ARDIUNO -> ARDUINO USB HOST SHIELD -> SONY DIGI CAM
Hope this will work…..suggestion well come
I hope this version of the comment is acceptable ---- only one line in caps….i need to highlight that
Herman, I think we discussed over chat this issue already in yesterday. This device is just for radio telemetry, it does now know anything about cameras or anything else. If you want to make your cameras working, you can always start working with your ideas even now. All program code is open and every one are free and even invited to modify the code.
And please do not use caps, it looks really ugly.
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