I'm waiting until all the basic stuff arrives in the post. I haven't ordered the transceivers yet. I'll leave that until last.
It's probably going to be another week until all of it's here. A lot of it I bought on ebay very cheap from china, so it takes a while.

In the meantime, I'd like to know what software you used to draw the schematics so I can at least have a look.

Also, regarding the conservation of power - with the nodes, battery size isn't a problem, so could I not use a couple AA batteries for each node instead?
Would they last considerably longer with this type of power supply?

 

I used Eagle Cad (Lite/Free version), and as for the power for the nodes, any battery you would like to use should work, and yes, the 2 AA's should work longer (I am not sure on how much longer, I guess it would depend on the batteries amp hour, in this case mA hour) than the CR2302 coin cell battery....

 

Som Piezo buzzer suggestions:
10mm diameter: http://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/AB1070B/668-1000-ND/1464739
12mm diameter: http://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/AB1290B/668-1001-ND/1464740
Are these alright to use in the tags?

I've also been looking a bit more at antennas. Sorry BMorse, I trust your opinion, but I don't understand why there are such a wide range of antennas on sale if a bit of hookup wire works just as well.
Did you mean that in referring to just testing on a breadboard, or for the finished tags/nodes?

So, I had a look and I came across this: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9131. It's a very small antenna for GPS.
And then more appropriately I found this: http://www.simplesolutions-uk.com/p...er-chip-antenna-433mhz-wireless-communication.
They are very small, just fine for the tags. But does their size directly mean that they are not great antennas?
Again, due to my lack of education on radio waves and antennas, I don't know what separates a good antenna from a bad one. I imagine they all involve coils, even the ceramic kind. How does the coil size affect the quality of the antenna?
Again, this could easily be researched on Wikipedia but I'd like to hear it from your perspective.

And finally, I came across this: http://www.digikey.co.uk/scripts/DKSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&itemSeq=119979931&uq=634839804905920881
These are extremely small, extremely cheap GPS receivers.
I know that isn't currently the plan, but due to their price I'm tempted to throw them in anyway just in case.
This brought up another worry of mine though. They are 5mm x 5mm. Now surely, BMorse, that is impossibly small for a human to solder those tiny pads to a PCB? I have a ruler in front of me and I just can't see any possible way of doing it by hand. It also reminded me how small the transceivers are and how difficult that will be also.

This reminds me, I'm still not fully sure what you meant when I asked about testing these tiny modules on breadboards. Do you suggest I solder temporary pins to the transceiver pads? (don't like this idea) Or should I buy/make an adapter which I can just sort of press the module into and secure it with something other than solder? Or is there a better way you didn't mention?

 

sorry for the late response, for some reason I didn't see this thread under new posts even though you had replied..... anyway...

for those piezos to work, you will have to generate the tones yourself with the pic (just adds to more code to write, using PWM, etc.), you would be better off trying to find a mini piezo buzzer with the built in drivers (internally driven), so all you have to do is turn an I/O of or on to toggle the beeps.....

 

've also been looking a bit more at antennas. Sorry BMorse, I trust your opinion, but I don't understand why there are such a wide range of antennas on sale if a bit of hookup wire works just as well.
Did you mean that in referring to just testing on a breadboard, or for the finished tags/nodes?

As for the antennas, a wire will work, BUT, if trying to get the maximum range from the transceivers (either while prototyping or in the end product) I would suggest looking at the antennas specifically fabricated for those modules, I know they seem bulky, you will have to compensate for the type of antenna you choose to use, the ones suggested by the manufacturer where specifically tuned/ calibrated to the resonance of the transceivers, so they are more precise.... you can go as far as having the antenna as part of the printed circuit, but you will have to read the specs and figure out how to incorporate it as part of it when the boards are made....

some of those surface mount antennas you linked to may work, bu that would be up to you if you want to get some and try them with the modules......

 

And finally, I came across this: http://www.digikey.co.uk/scripts/DKS...39804905920881
These are extremely small, extremely cheap GPS receivers.
I know that isn't currently the plan, but due to their price I'm tempted to throw them in anyway just in case.
This brought up another worry of mine though. They are 5mm x 5mm. Now surely, BMorse, that is impossibly small for a human to solder those tiny pads to a PCB? I have a ruler in front of me and I just can't see any possible way of doing it by hand. It also reminded me how small the transceivers are and how difficult that will be also.

adding extra functionality or even changing the whole design if you find better parts that you think may work better for your project than suggested is totally up to you....

5mmx5mm is doable, but tricky, I have done some by hand before, the trick is to get them properly lined up with the pads on the pcb before soldering the whole thing down, but with a magnifier and a pair of tweezers, it can be done Here is one that I did by hand, basically I extended the traces that go under the IC, I "tinned" the IC's pins (which were under the IC), and traces, used a solder wick to remove most of the excess and once I had the IC in place where I wanted it, I just touched the end of my soldering iron to the extended trace, which will heat the tinned pin and trace, soldering them together.... http://www.morse-code.com/478f4d70.jpg

 

This reminds me, I'm still not fully sure what you meant when I asked about testing these tiny modules on breadboards. Do you suggest I solder temporary pins to the transceiver pads? (don't like this idea) Or should I buy/make an adapter which I can just sort of press the module into and secure it with something other than solder? Or is there a better way you didn't mention?

for use on a breadboard, you may just want to solder short wire leads to each pin then plug the wires into the breadboard for testing (this may cause issues with transmission/reception from stray capacitance in the wires and breadboard, just keep the wires as short as possible), as for an adapter you can just "press" the module into, the modules pin connections are on the side, bottom and top of the modules PCB, if you can come up with an inginious way of securing it to make proper connections go for it.......

actually, now that I think about it..... maybe there maybe a way to "plug" them into the breadboard, the modules pin spacing are the same as the pin spacings on a breadboard, maybe some double ended pin headers plugged into the breadboard can act as a temporary "fix", once 2 rows of pins are pressed into the breadboard (spaced as wide as the modules) then you can slide the modules between them witch should make contact to the side of the modules solder pads.... you may have to use some tape or something to keep pressure on the pins to keep the module pinched in between

 

Any updates? or progress with the prototyping? Just curious to see if this is something you are still working on

 

I'm back!
Sorry. I've been busy with other things recently.
Also, as the weather has turned a little shitty recently, the cats have been very good in staying close to the garden, so this doesn't seem so urgent.

Now that I've had a few weeks away from this, I think I can see things a little clearer...
I currently use the Loc8tor device, and despite its flaws, it does work surprisingly well.
My cats have only been going out a year, but they never venture more than 350/400 metres. They have gotten into a groove, and I don't see it changing much any time soon.
So, I've come to the sensible decision that this network/signal booster idea is very overkill for my situation.
All I need, is a better working/longer range Loc8tor.
So, the tags stay the same, but my device/phone combo only needs a transceiver and some way to detect the direction.
The Loc8tor claims to show you the direction of the signal, but it doesn't, the signal just gets weaker if you turn away. I imagine this is because your body is absorbing some of the waves when you face the wrong direction.

So all I would need is 3 transceivers probably.

Still haven't got them. I have a real problem with the pricing of this stuff and the delivery rates. Also, the PCB is a problem.

 

I'd like to finally implement my design. I have decided against the network of transceivers dotted around the perimeter.
All I want now is a long distance 2 way communication between me and each of the cats.

I send out a signal, they respond, I get their signal strength.
Unlike the locator, I don't want to be firing out signals every second or so. I want to hit a button and send out a single signal. This way I will hopefully not drain the betteries of the tags so quickly.
If there is some way to detect direction, then that would be ideal, but I don't think it's that necessary. With GPS, homemade software and a 320x480 screen to display all sorts of data (my phone), after a few communications and a bit of movement by me, I should be able to determine a rough direction of where they are, and the closer I get the more accurate it will become.

So I am ready to order all the parts I need.
Tags consist of pcb, PIC, buzzer, transceiver, antenna, battery holder.
Locator consists of pcb, arduino, transceiver, antenna, phone.

Because I am so inexperienced in all of this, I really need some help.
Some statements and questions:

- I do not know how to design a PCB layout. I remember BMorse designed something for me back when I was posting a lot.
- I do not know of any cheap UK based PCB prototyping services. I have decided against making it myself. The PCBs will be very small and will require 1 layer so hopefully it should be fairly cheap.
- Do I need to buy anything else? All of the components operate at 3v, and will be operated through a pic chip/arudiuno. I'm guessing I do not require resistors/capacitors and such.
-The tags will require a casing of some sort. And the batteries will need to be changed every now and then so it needs to come apart quite easily... I have no idea how I will do this.
- Can someone explain to me the importance of an antenna? The transceivers claim they can send and receive data within a range of 914 metres. I would be happy if I can get 500 metres out of it. Is this at all realistic considering the size of the tags?
I have 2 choices of antenna:
http://www.simplesolutions-uk.com/products/rf/rf-antenna/linx-433mhz-helical-coil-antenna-smt
http://www.simplesolutions-uk.com/p...er-chip-antenna-433mhz-wireless-communication
The second one is significantly smaller and more appropriate for the design of the tags, but am I guaranteed that it will perform as well?
Do antennas have a range themselves? I've seen some antennas with specific distances in their description. This is the thing that scares me most. It would be horrible to go through all of this only to find it has a range less than that of the Loc8tor.

It is important I get a response to each bullet point. These issues are what stop me from going ahead with my idea.

 

I suggest you look into Zigbee. In Europe the operating frequency is 868MHz. You might get better range compared to the standard 2.4GHz.....

Opps...sorry miss read the post. please ignore