We could also do with an SMS module to help with recovery once we've lost line of sight (LOS) with the payload (eg once it landed). One way we could do it is described here using $20 mobile phones. Basically we'd probably want the Arduino to sense a mobile signal, and send an SMS every 10 mins or so containing the position of the ballon. We could also arrange to send it an SMS to do stuff (how about sounding a very high volume piezo alarm - like a fire alarm) to help with recovery?
Update 28/2/13: The module here looks just the job. At 36g it's pretty light and it only costs $47 delivered! Just add a SIM and hook up to an Arduino. At low altitudes, you could also use it to stream video over 3G...
I was looking at SMS stuff as well. The lightest solution appeared to be to use something like the Telit GM862 (Machine to Machine GSM). That device also supports GPS see here. However, cost is of the order of £80. Maybe do that in later versions. I started looking at the Nokia 5110 examples but your link is just as good. In the spirit of dividing tasks up I'll take a look at the SMS bit.
ReplyDeleteBTW this blogger is horrible. I'm typing this in a letterbox sized window with scrollbars inside scrollbars. Yuk. There appeared to be a slightly fancier editor available last night but now reduced to HTML.