LORA APRS Tracker using T-Beam ESP32 with GPS

 Setting up a  LoRa APRS Tracker or Igate on 433Mhz.

I need to build a Tracker for LORA on 433Mhz and I hate two options to consider.

Using the same TTGO-T-Beam ESP32 with GPS and Lora 433Mhz module that will be the same as my Lora Igate board.

Setting up a Lora APRS tracker using the ESP32 Lora32 TTGO-T T-Beam 433/470Mhz Module.

 Here is picture of how the Lora signal looks like

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was looking for a low power battery backup APRS Lora system to track Balloons and cars.

I then got the TTGO-T T-Beam witch has ESP32 with WIFI and Bluetooth.
It also has a GPS Ublock and a Lora32 TTGO 433/470Mhz and USB port.

This module is available from Giga Technology here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found a project on Github https://github.com/lora-aprs/LoRa_APRS_Tracker
It seems to be strate foreword replacing the default firmware in the SP32

So lets get Started

Lets download the project from github here

On your pc run the following

git clone https://github.com/antonjan/LoRa_APRS_Tracker

cd LoRa_APRS_Tracker/

 
I Recommend installing Visual Studio Code with PlatformIO plugin.


PlatformIO can be downloaded directly from the PlatformIO website. There you just have to press the green button with “Install PlatformIO now”. Then just install it. If you have already installed Visual Studio Code, the PlatformIO Module can also be installed via the Plugin Manager. Now the source code can be opened in Visual Studio Code.

Start your Code editor

 

 

 

First we have to make some adjustments to the  data/is-code.json file

We now need to edit the is-code.json settings as follows

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The callsign must be changed (line 3) 

The SSID and password must be filled in of you WIFI.

Latitude and Longitude must always be filled in.  

If you don't have your coordinates in your head, simply open Google Maps, right-click on the desired location and click on ‘What's there?’  

These settings have to be changed if you want to use an iGate: the active in wifi and aprs must be set from false to true.

These settings have to be changed to get a Digi: the active in digi must be set from false to true.

It is not recommended to run an iGate and a Digi at the same time. This will be checked in a later version and only the settings of the iGate will run (presumably the Digi Mode will be active when no WiFi connection can be established - let's see). May board dont have the display but I dont think you have to change any of the setting.

Choosing the right board in Platformio plug in Code

Now the right board has to be selected, because each board is wired a little differently (the GPIOs are used differently) or has additional components. This can be changed in the status bar, which is currently still in Default.  

 Here is example of platformio.ini file. Select TTGO_T_Beam_V1_0 as in picture below

 

How to make a persisnt ubuntu LIve Memeory stick (16GB)

How to make a persistent live Ubuntu USB Memory stick (16GB)

16Gb Flash disk

I wanted to create a boo-table Ubuntu live flash stick that will also keep my last installed applications and not default back to standard when I reboot.

Ubuntu 17.10 Live with all my apps

You need to create two partition fat32 for the Ubuntu instillation from ISO file and a ext4 casper-rw partition for the persistent part. The compleet proses is done with a application called DUS.
Here is the process to install the DUS software
sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mkusb usb-pack-efi
sudo apt-get install mkusb-nox usb-pack-efi
dus



Select the following on the screens.

1) Double-Click on the i option Install(make a boot device):
2) Double-Click on the p option Persistent Live and select the .iso file:
3) Click on the USB drive to make persistent. I want to use my 32 GB one so I mark the radio button:
4) Click Use Defaults to let mkusb choose default:
5) Enter a percentage of the drive to reserve for persistence. Mine is a large (32GB) so I allot only 20% ~ 6GB. The remaining space will be turned into an empty portable drive:
6) Double check very carefully and confirm. You don't want to mess up another drive.

Waite until 'Done' is written go and get some coffie :-)

 Here was my configuration

Cruzer Blade     sdb                                                    14.6G
                 |-sdb4 iso9660 Ubuntu 17.10 amd64         1.4G
                 |-sdb2                                                         1M
                 |-sdb5 ext4    casper-rw                             12.9G
                 |-sdb3 vfat    usbboot                                 244M
                 `-sdb1                                                        1.1M


ref : https://askubuntu.com/questions/397481/how-to-make-a-persistent-live-ubuntu-usb-with-more-than-4gb
and https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD/Persistence

SDR Comparison

SDR Comparison

Name	Type	Frequency range	Band with	Channel	Host Interface	Windows	Linux	Mac	Estimated price
AirSpy	Pre-build	24-1750 MHz	20 MSPS MSps ADC sampling, up to 80 MSPS	1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes using ports	US$199
SDRstick UDPSDR-HF1	Pre-built	0.1–30 MHz	80 Msps	1	1G Ethernet via BeMicroCV-A9	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$169
Apache Labs ANAN-10E	Pre-built	10 kHz – 55 MHz	122.88 Msps (14 bit ADC)	2	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$995
Apache Labs ANAN-10/100	Pre-built	10 kHz – 55 MHz	122.88 Msps (16 bit ADC)	4	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,649-US$2,449
Apache Labs ANAN-100D/200D	Pre-built	10 kHz – 55 MHz	122.88 Msps (16 bit ADC)	7	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$3,299-US$3,999
SunSDR2	Pre-built	10 kHz – 160 MHz	160 MSPS	3/4	10/100 Ethernet, WLAN (embedded)	Yes	Yes	?	US$1,960
bladeRF	Pre-built	300 MHz - 3.8 GHz	80 kSPS - 40 MSPS RX/TX (12-bit ADC/DAC)	?	USB 3.0 SuperSpeed	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$420
FLEX-6700	Pre-built	0.01–73, 135-165 MHz	245.76 MSPS (transceiver)	8/8	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$7,499
FLEX-6700R	Pre-built	0.01–73, 135-165 MHz	245.76 MSPS (receiver)	8/8	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$6,399
FLEX-6500	Pre-built	0.01–73 MHz	245.76 MSPS (transceiver)	4/4	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$4,299
FLEX-6300	Pre-built	0.01–54 MHz	122.88 MSPS (transceiver)	2/2	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$2,499
FLEX-5000A	Pre-built	0.01–65 MHz	48, 96, 192 kHz (transceiver)	2/2	1394a Firewire	Yes	No	No	US$2,800
FLEX-3000	Pre-built	0.01–65 MHz	48, 96 kHz (transceiver)	1/1	1394a Firewire	Yes	No	No	US$1,700
FLEX-1500	Pre-built	0.01–54 MHz	48 kHz (transceiver)	1/1	USB	Yes	No	No	US$650
Perseus	Pre-built	10 kHz – 40 MHz (87.5–108 MHz using FM down-converter)	80 MSPS	?	USB	Yes	Yes	?	US$1,199
SDRplay: Radio Spectrum Processor	Pre-built	0.1–2,000 MHz	0.5-12 MS/s and up to 8 MHz bandwidth	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$149
ISDB-T 2035/2037	Pre-built	50–960 MHz	0.5-12 MS/s and up to 8 MHz bandwidth	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$25
Soft66AD / Soft66ADD / Soft66LC4 / Soft66RTL	Pre-built	0.5–70 MHz	External ADC required (I/Q output)	0/1	USB	Yes	Unofficially	?	US$20
FUNcube Dongle	Pre-built	64–1700 MHz	96 kHz	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$160
FUNcube Dongle Pro+	Pre-built	0.15–240 MHz, 420-1900 MHz	192 kHz	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$200
FiFi-SDR	Pre-built	200 kHz – 30 MHz	96 kHz (integrated soundcard)	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	?	€120
SDR-IQ	PnP	0.1 kHz – 30 MHz	66.666 MHz	1/1 ?	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$525
WinRadio WR-G31DCC	Pre-built	9 kHz – 50 MHz	100 MSPS	3/3	USB	Yes	No	No	US$950
USRP B200	Pre-built	70 MHz to 6 GHz	56 Msps	?	USB 3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$675
USRP B210	Pre-built	70 MHz to 6 GHz	56 Msps	?	USB 3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,100
USRP N200	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	25 Msps for 16-bit samples; 50 Msps for 8-bit samples	?	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,515
USRP N210	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	25 Msps for 16-bit samples; 50 Msps for 8-bit samples	?	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,717
USRP X300	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	200 Msps	?	Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, PCIe	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$3,900
USRP X310	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	200 Msps	?	Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, PCIe	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$4,800
Cross Country Wireless SDR receiver v. 3	Pre-built	472–479 kHz, 7.0–7.3 MHz/10.10–10.15 MHz, and 14.00–14.35 MHz	External ADC required (I/Q output)	1/1	Crystal controlled two channels	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$80
Realtek RTL2832U DVB-T tuner	Pre-built with custom driver	24–1766 MHz (R820T tuner) (sensitivity drops off considerably outside this range, but can go 0–2,200 MHz (E4000 tuner with direct sampling mod))	2.4 MHz (can go up to 3.2 MHz but drops samples)	?	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$8 - US$10
SoftRock-40	Kit	7.5 MHz	48 kHz	1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$21
SoftRock RX Ensemble II	Kit	180 kHz – 3.0 MHz, and 1.8–30 MHz operation	External ADC required (I/Q output)	1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$67
ZS-1	Pre-built	300 kHz – 30 MHz	10 kHz, 20 kHz, 40 kHz, 100 kHz	3	USB 2.0	Yes	No	No	€1,399
HackRF One	Pre-built	1 MHz - 6 GHz	8 Msps - 20 Msps	1	USB 2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$299
HiQSDR	prebuilt modules & kits, pcbs	30 kHz - 62 MHz	48 - 960 kHz	?	10/100 Ethernet	Yes	Yes	No	US$650 US$1,400
KiwiSDR	Pre-built	0.1 - 30Mhz	30Mhz	4	Beagle black	yes	yes	yes	USD 99
LimeSDR	Pre-built (full Open Source / Hardware)	100 kHz to 3.8 GHz	61.44 Msps (12 bit ADC)	?	USB 3.0, PCIe	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$299(USB) US$799(PCIe)

How to setup your NWT Spectrum Analyzer on Linux. (Ubuntu)

How to setup your NWT Spectrum Analyzer on Linux. (Ubuntu).

This Spectrum analyzer is available from http://www.giga.co.za/ocart/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=226

NWT70 in picture.

I got my Spectrum Analyzer and here are the steps I use to install and configure it on my Linux (Ubuntu) laptop.

Download the software here. http://www.dl4jal.eu/  link to the file http://www.dl4jal.eu/linnwt4_V4_11_10.tar.gz

Copy the file to your favorite directory
mkdir nwt
cd nwt
cp /home/anton/Downloads/linnwt4_V4_11_10.tar.gz  ./
Unzip the file in the directory.
unzip linnwt4_V4_11_10.tar.gz
Check if the files has unziped
There should be a directory linnwt4_V4_11_10 and cd to it.
cd linnwt4_V4_11_10
Check if you have qmake installed
qmake -v
 You need vertion QT 4 + if you don't have it, install it.
sudo apt-get install build-essential
now install QT
sudo apt-get install gcc qt4-qmake libqt4-dev
now create a directory build inside the linnwt4_V4_11_10 directory
mkdir build
Change to the build directory
cd build
run the gmake command
qmake -qt4 ../
Then run the make command
make
Get coffee ;-) it takes 2 min
There should the be a new file in exsiting directory called linnwt.
Connect your spectrum analizer to your laptop USB connector.
then run the apllication linnwt
sudo ./linnwt
mmmmm, its German!
no problem, run it with this parameter to get it in Englesh
sudo ./linnwt ../app_en.qm

USB device error could not find your NWT device.

So how do I identify my USB device and configure it in the software ?

Run the command tail -f /var/log/syslog

Then unplug your spectrum analyzer usb cable from laptop and reconnect it after 2 seconds to laptop.

There will be new text appearing in the terminal console. Something like this below.

Jun 26 11:55:07 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51330.537093] usb 2-1.2: USB disconnect, device number 5
Jun 26 11:55:07 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51330.537573] ftdi_sio ttyUSB0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now disconnected from ttyUSB0
Jun 26 11:55:07 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51330.537628] ftdi_sio 2-1.2:1.0: device disconnected
Jun 26 11:55:10 anton-SATELLITE-P755 bluetoothd[800]: Authentication attempt without agent
Jun 26 11:55:10 anton-SATELLITE-P755 bluetoothd[800]: Access denied: org.bluez.Error.Rejected
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.756112] usb 2-1.2: new full-speed USB device number 6 using ehci-pci
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.855421] usb 2-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0403, idProduct=6001
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.855430] usb 2-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.855434] usb 2-1.2: Product: FT232R USB UART
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.855437] usb 2-1.2: Manufacturer: FTDI
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.855440] usb 2-1.2: SerialNumber: AL01PTLP
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.858330] ftdi_sio 2-1.2:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.858406] usb 2-1.2: Detected FT232RL
Jun 26 11:55:11 anton-SATELLITE-P755 kernel: [51334.859036] usb 2-1.2: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0
Jun 26 11:55:12 anton-SATELLITE-P755 mtp-probe: checking bus 2, device 6: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.0/usb2/2-1/2-1.2"
Jun 26 11:55:12 anton-SATELLITE-P755 mtp-probe: bus: 2, device: 6 was not an MTP device

You will be looking for ttyUSB?? in the text.

I my example, my usb was ttyUSB0

So now enter your ttyUSB?? in this usb port detail screen below. and then save your configeration.

Select the Settings > Options Menu from the pulldown menu in LinNWT4 application.

Change the value to /dev/ttyUSB?? Your port number found above.

In my case it was /dev/ttyUSB0

O.k., lets now setup a Frequency Spectrum scan.

Add frequency svan limits and then select a single or continuos scan option.

Connect your filter or circuit for testing on SMA terminals.

Then click on your Graphics display to see the return loss of you filter or circuit under test.

Scan display.

Hope this helps.

This spectrum Analizer is available from Giga Technology http://www.giga.co.za/ocart/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=226