For the GPS tracking example, you will need a GPS unit, as well as the FTDI. EM-406 GPS module with Breakout Board (or any NMEA capable GPS)įor the loopback test, all you need is the FTDI Basic.If you want to follow along with everything in this tutorial, there are a few pieces of hardware you will need. We will finish with a real-world example that takes GPS data over the serial port and plots position overlaid on a scaled map of your choice. The loopback test demonstrates how to send and receive serial data through Python, which is the first step to interacting with all kinds of embedded hardware over the serial port. Once you can run a simple Python script, we move to an example that shows you how to perform a serial loop back test, by creating a stripped down serial terminal program.
This tutorial will start with a general introduction to Python and Python programming. Showing a trip from SparkFun to Boulder, CO. Just enter your NMEA data into a text file and the program will do the rest.
The program can also be used as a general purpose NMEA parser, that will plot positions on a map of your choice. I wanted the position of the balloon plotted on my own map, so that I could actively track, without the need for internet or paper maps. Of course, with an internet connection, I could easily load my waypoints into many different online tools to view my position on a map, but I didn't want to rely on internet coverage. However, in this tutorial, instead of using radios, we will use a GPS tethered to your computer over USB, as a proof of concept. My base station is a radio receiver connected to my laptop over a serial to USB connection. My goal was to have my HAB transmit GPS data (as well as other sensor data) over RF, to a base station, and graphically display position and altitude on a map. In my quest to design a radio tracking system for my next HAB, I found it very easy to create applications on my computer and interact with embedded hardware over a serial port using the Python programming language.
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