AGLoRa

Project AGLoRa - easy opensource LoRa GPS tracker. Created by Eugeny Shlyagin (shlyagin@gmail.com)

Click to open video.

AGLoRa is an acronym for "Arduino GPS LoRa". LoRa (from "long range") is a proprietary low-power wide-area network modulation technique. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LoRa

AGLoRa is a simple open-source satellite tracking system for hiking, sailing, pet finding, and other outdoor activities. All components are widely available to buy online (aliexpress etc.).

AGLoRa receives the GPS coordinates from other trackers (via LoRa) and immediately transmits them to the phone app. By default the tracker sends its coordinates via LoRa every 10 seconds, when its GPS data is valid.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

We are going to test E32-E433T30D. It is a wireless transceiver module, operating at 433 MHz based on original RFIC SX1278 from SEMTECH. Aglora broadcasts coordinates to other trackers.

COMPONENTS AND SUPPLIES

• Arduino Nano or Arduino UNO (ATMEGA328P, not ATmega168)
• LoRa Module (EBYTE E220-900T22D (868 MHz), E433T30D (433 MHz))
• GPS Module (Generic)
• AT-09 (HM-10) Bluetooth Low Energy Module
• iOS or Android device

APPS

• Arduino IDE

Wiring.

Let’s Start Building. The circuit is so simple, there are a few connections to be made.

Also you can read step-by-step instructions in AGLoRa Wiki

Сonnecting the LoRa module

Arduino Pins	 	  LoRa Pins
Pin 2		——>		TX
Pin 3		——>		RX
Pin 4		——>		M0   
Pin 5		——>		M1  
Pin 6		——>		AX    
5V		——>		VCC
GND		——>		GND

Connecting the GPS module

Arduino Pins	 	  GPS Pins
Pin 7		——>		TX
Pin 8		——>		RX
5V		——>		VCC
GND		——>		GND

Connecting the BLE module (optional)

Arduino Pins		  Bluetooth Pins
RX (Pin 0)	——>		TX
TX (Pin 1)	——>		RX
5V		——>		VCC
GND		——>		GND

Add a 5V stabilizer for battery power (like LM7805).

Uploading Sketch

Three steps:

1. Download or copy the Sketch from here: https://github.com/Udj13/AGLoRa/blob/main/AGLoRa-tracker.ino Just one file! Easy!

2. Change the “MY_NAME” setting. Сheck the debug mode is off.

char MY_NAME[NAME_LENGTH] = "Morty";
#define DEBUG_MODE false

3. Install "EByte LoRa E220 by Renzo Mischianty" library and "TinyGPSPlus by Mikal Hart" library from Arduino IDE library manager ("Tools" -> "Manage Libraries")

Ready! Upload a Sketch to an Arduino.

NOTES:

Value “NAME_LENGTH” must be same for all your devices

Remove Bluetooth module Tx-Rx connection before uploading the program!

I strongly recommend using the PlatformIO and the full project (https://github.com/Udj13/AGLoRa-full)! This way you will have the latest version of the code!

Install the app on your phone.

• Source code is available for free on github: https://github.com/Udj13/AGLoRa-client-flutter
• You can download the iOs app from Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/ru/app/aglora/id1600250635
• You can download the Android app APK from here: https://github.com/Udj13/AGLoRa-client-flutter/releases/tag/AGLoRa2.0

Permissions:

• Bluetooth permission required to connect to your AGLoRa device

• Location permission is required to calculate distance between AGLoRa devices. Without this permission the app will only show the coordinates.

  

How to use the AGLoRa Client App?

• Install application on your device
• Turn on the AGLoRa trackers. When the GPS data is correct, the built-in LED will turn on.
• Scan for available devices
• Select your Bluetooth module from the List (“AGLoRa”)
• Wait to receive data from other trackers

Hardware tests

If the modules do not work, then you can run test sketch from "hardware-tests" folder.

Script customization

Just follow the white rabbit the instructions in the code.

GPS_PACKET_INTERVAL - how often the tracker will be send data

USE_EEPROM_MEMORY - set "false" to use SRAM memory, "true" to use EEPROM

SRAM_STORAGE_SIZE - if you are using SRAM you can set the size of memory. In this case check the free memory in Arduino IDE.

Custom sensors

If you need you can add any sensors and then see its values in the application. To do this, just edit the section with the main data structure and the section with the protocol. Note that all software versions must be the same for all trackers. Example:

struct DATA {
  char id[NAME_LENGTH];  // name

  float lat;  // coordinates
  float lon;
  unsigned char sat;

  unsigned char year;  // the Year minus 2000
  unsigned char month;
  unsigned char day;

  unsigned char hour;
  unsigned char minute;
  unsigned char second;

  // Add more data fields here if you need
  // ...
  // unsigned char speed;
  // unsigned char battery;
  // unsigned char sensor1;
  // ...
};

void sendPackageToBluetooth(DATA *package){
....
// Sensors and additional data
Serial.print(F("&sat="));    //record separator
Serial.print(package->sat);  // satellites  1 byte

// Add more data here if you need ...
// Serial.print("&speed=");       // data's name in app
// Serial.print(package->speed);   // value

// Serial.print("&batt=");
// Serial.print(package->battery);

// Serial.print("&alienSensor=");
// Serial.print(package->sensor1);

Links

AGLoRa Wiki: https://github.com/Udj13/AGLoRa/wiki

Full project (C++, PlatformIO): https://github.com/Udj13/AGLoRa-full/

Mobile client (Dart, Flutter): https://github.com/Udj13/AGLoRa-client-flutter

Description in Russian: https://bitlite.ru/aglora-lora-gps-tracker/