GPS Project

Community Projects
1

Hi, I’m a high school student doing a Design Technology project.

For my project, I am looking at the agricultural sector and trying to figure out the tracking of cows on the farm. I plan to insert a GPS receiver inside the cow’s collar (Which I have made) so that I can track their location, movement over the course of the day (Both in terms of distance and altitude) and speed of movement.

My questions are as follows:

  1. I would like to get your recommendation on what GPS technology I should use. I was thinking to use the GPS-RTK board together with the Molex Flexible GNSS Antenna. This is because I thought the board and antenna would be ideal because of its size for using on the collar. Do you have a suggestion?

  2. I am trying to research what software programs are available to support this technology. Is the software only available for desktops or are their apps that can be used? Are you able to help?

  3. Is there any other hardware or software that you think I will need to purchase to set-up this project?

I am new to SparkFun technology, but the technology that you advertise on your website seems to be the closest to the project I am trying to complete…so I am hoping you can help me!

Thanks

Olivia

2

Hi Olivia.

  1. I would like to get your recommendation on what GPS technology I should use. I was thinking to use the GPS-RTK board together with the Molex Flexible GNSS Antenna. This is because I thought the board and antenna would be ideal because of its size for using on the collar. Do you have a suggestion?

Really, any GPS will work. RTK is millimeter accurate, but you don’t need anything more accurate than a regular GPS receiver that’s accurate to a meter or so. You could save a lot of money by going with an [inexpensive GPS and it will work just as well for your application.

  1. I am trying to research what software programs are available to support this technology. Is the software only available for desktops or are their apps that can be used? Are you able to help?

You might look into using a [logger that allows you to save the data from a GPS to a file on s SD card. Just pop a fresh card into the logger in the morning, and then when the cow comes back in the evening, pop it out and copy the file off for processing on your computer. You should get a map of everywhere your cow went during the day with that setup.

  1. Is there any other hardware or software that you think I will need to purchase to set-up this project?

[Google Earth will allow you to load in log files from a GPS receiver and that will display them on your computer, that might be something worth looking into. There’s also a website called [GPS Visualizer that will draw maps from GPS data plus give you speed and altitude.](https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/)](Importing Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data in Google Earth Desktop – Google Earth Outreach)](SparkFun OpenLog - DEV-13712 - SparkFun Electronics)](GPS Module - GP1818MK (56 Channel) - GPS-19166 - SparkFun Electronics)

3

Hi,

Thank you so much for your response, which is very helpful. I really like the idea of using a logger to help track the cow’s movements as this seems to be a really clever option. Based on your feedback and from the information included in the SparkFun website, I wanted to ask if you can confirm the items that I need to purchase to assemble this project are as follows:

  • Arduino Pro Mini 328 - 5V/16MHz

  • microSD Card with Adapter - 16GB

  • JST SH Jumper 6 Wire - 1.75”

  • Break Away Headers - Straight

  • GPS receiver - GP-735 (56 Channel)

  • SparkFun Mini GPS Shield

I wanted to point out that I am trying to minimise the size of the hardware so that it fits in the collar that I am making for the cows. This list seems to have the right dimensions to fit within the collars, but please let me know if you think there is better quality technology that also has size advantages.

Can I check if this combination requires a separate battery source that I also need to purchase?

Also, based on my research, the use of antennas seems to help improve the reception and accuracy of the GPS receivers. Do you think I should purchase the Molex Flexible GNSS Antenna (U.FL) or do you think there is any other similar technology that I can use?

Thank you again for your help. I am really excited about the potential of my project being able to achieve my objectives!

Olivia

4

Hi Olivia.

Your parts list looks OK to me. The GP-735 has a built in antenna that should work just fine as long as you keep it on the upper portion of the collar, pointing toward the sky. This particular GPS doesn’t allow for an external antenna to be attached.

You will need an external power source and batteries would work. 3 AA batteries could be used if you want to keep things simple and then you could upgrade to something rechargeable later on. I recommend keeping things simple to start with to reduce the number of things that could go wrong and cause you trouble.

5

Hi. Everything looks good to me. If you are ready, I think you can get started.