Cellular Module Sample

[airman00]

I just ordered some sample boards for this cellular module board that I invented. I have 1 or two unreserved samples, is anyone here interested?
Features of my cell module:
High data rate up to 115200 and software selectable baud rate
LEDs for power and status
UART interface at 1.8V to 45V level ( all shifting is done onboard)
Wires for a SIM card connector - works with any SIM card
Quad band cellular
Sends texts
Dials phone calls ( it can only dial, if you want to use a microphone or speaker you need to slightly modify the board, though most people will just use the board for transmitting data - aka UAVs transmitting lots of data)
Connects to Internet and sends data over the internet to sockets ( This is what I use it for in my consumer product. It works fabulously and I transmit tons of data wirelessly to my computer using a TCP socket)
Store data/names/numbers in phonebooks
Fits into breadboard easily for easy prototyping
Alarms
Real Time Clock synced to Cellular Tower's time
Works as high up as a cell phone does ( at least 10,000 feet up. I'm actually putting my module on a weather balloon that a nearby hackerspace is launching to demonstrate height)
Basically it can do anything a cellphone can do, and any microcontroller can control it

Also, since I used this module in my product, I have all the code and libraries finished already, so even a newbie can use this module to transmit data wirelessly. Here's a quick video explaining it: Cellular Module

I'm going to make some demo videos later on this week when I get the new samples. Cost for a sample is $70, $80 with antenna, antenna cable, and SIM card holer. The only competition with my product are the Evaluation Modules ( the ones that have all the chips assembled) from Sparkfun. http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?c=69 . But as you can see their cheapest is $150 ( the GE865 evaluation board).


If you are interested ,please email me eric [ at ] narobo [dot] com . Be sure to mention what you will use the cellular module for, because I'd like the very first samples to be used in cool projects/people who know what they are doing.

[little-c]

would be intrested, but not right now, as I have too many other bits going on to actuly use one for a while.

if there will be some avalible at a latter date, Im intrested.

[airman00]

if there will be some avalible at a latter date, Im intrested.

Oh I wasn't clear on this This will be sold in the next few weeks through a few well known electronics/robotics/wireless online stores.
I'll update this post upon the official release. The samples will probably be $30-$40 less than retail, so if you have an interesting project and are looking for a cellular module, please let me know.

[little-c]

would love to say yes, but I need to work out what the exact requirments in terms of my project are. once I get some of the image processing code back, I will have a better idea.

requirements are too fuzzy at the moment. and I a little worried about expanding the project too quickly. easiest way to kill it off.

certainly intresting for consumer spin offs, Ill earmark it for a look once I have actuly documented enough stuff to be able to develop the consumer side of things.

[madsci1016]

I am interested in this for my UAV project, but I am only just begun building my UAV.

Few questions.

So this board will just take in serial, and send out to a (i'm assuming configurable) IP address (can it be a domain instead?) and TCP port. Does it make the connection as soon as it's powered up, or are there serial AT style commands to have the modem connect? What about sending data from the remote computer to the uC connected to the modem, is this possible once the incoming TCP socket is established? Can I 'call' or 'txt' to tell it to establish a data connection?

Are there any plans for computer side software development? It would be nice if the incoming TCP socket data could be fed into a 'virtual com port' allowing beginners to use the modem like a REALLY long serial cable with little knowledge of data modems. For example, the Ardupilot interface is written in labview and looks for a com port to receive data from the UAV. If your modem included a 'Virtual Com port Socket Server', I could drop it into my application with little work, and track my UAV as it flew around my city.

Sorry if my questions border on the idiotic, or if you answered them in your video, as I was not able to watch all of it.

[airman00]

So this board will just take in serial, and send out to a (i'm assuming configurable) IP address (can it be a domain instead?) and TCP port.

Yes

Does it make the connection as soon as it's powered up, or are there serial AT style commands to have the modem connect?

Serial AT style

What about sending data from the remote computer to the uC connected to the modem, is this possible once the incoming TCP socket is established?

Yes

Can I 'call' or 'txt' to tell it to establish a data connection?

Yes

Are there any plans for computer side software development?

Plenty exist already.Window's Hyperterminal can even do it. There are plenty of easy to use program that do TCP or UDP sockets. iPhone/iTouch apps also exist.
I personally program TCP or UDP sockets in PERL or Python and run it on my Linux machine. Its more configurable and easier for me to add functionality ( logs, MySQL tables, etc.)

[madsci1016]

Hmm, well I did some more googling, and found this:

http://www.hw-group.com/products/hw_vsp/index_en.html

Correct me if i'm wrong, but that software plus your modem would be a 'Cell Modem' serial cable end to end, and be easy to drop into many projects without much programming. For example, i'm not about the re-write the Ardupilot base station program to use TCP server instead of a com port. But if there was a a middle man that took the network socket from your modem, it would be 'easy as pie' to use your cell modem in the place of wireless radio modems like Xbee's.

Thanks for answering my questions, I am interested in your modem, but i'm not near that point in my project. Any chance for a smaller SIM card holder, or possibly a sim card holder built onto the PCB? (space is tight on an UAV).

[airman00]

Yep its pretty easy to have two way communication using the module.
I have a smaller SIM card holder available, but it will off board, so this way people can swap out cards. Some might opt for the larger SIM card format, while others prefer the smaller one.
I have a complete product working and finished, that uses this module to accomplish reliable two way communication with a server.