Arduino questions

[jp_bez]

To all the Arduino buffs and electronic buffs.

I want to make use of an Arduino with a GSM shield to send an sms to the owner of a truck every time it tips out a load. It seems to be pretty straight forward, but, trucks use 24volt sytems, which I'm afraid will fry the Arduino.

Am I barking up the wrong tree to think this must be very easy to do using the Arduino, or is there an off-the-shelf product already out there?

Your inputs will be greatly appreciated.

[Musashi]

It shouldn't be very difficult to do. A step-down converter should be able to bring the voltage down to 5V but if the cabin has 12V supply, a simple lighter plug to USB car charger could do the trick.

[cainslie]

You have a few options:

• LM7805 voltage regulator. Cheap and should have (but doesn't NEED) a couple of smoothing capacitors. You'll need to solder it up on some project board and assuming a 100ma draw for the Arduino, it'll be dissipating 1.9W of heat so it'll need a heatsink too.
• Buck converter. There are plenty cheap buck converter boards that will satisfy your needs.

[IcePick88]

If you are not dead set on a Arduino, why not look at a GSM Commander?

My take it will be much easier to setup than a Arduino. I have worked with GSM Commanders before and they are pretty easy to setup with a nice application on the PC to send the config to the commander.
I would think hooking up a pressure sensor to the GSM Commander and when the sensor is triggered, it will send a sms.

https://gsmcommander.com/

[cainslie]

If you are not dead set on a Arduino, why not look at a GSM Commander?

My take it will be much easier to setup than a Arduino. I have worked with GSM Commanders before and they are pretty easy to setup with a nice application on the PC to send the config to the commander.
I would think hooking up a pressure sensor to the GSM Commander and when the sensor is triggered, it will send a sms.

https://gsmcommander.com/

Nice product, but with an Arduino with a A6 or A9 GSM module, some bits and pieces & an industrial reed switch, this problem could be solved for ~R300.

[jp_bez]

If you are not dead set on a Arduino, why not look at a GSM Commander?

My take it will be much easier to setup than a Arduino. I have worked with GSM Commanders before and they are pretty easy to setup with a nice application on the PC to send the config to the commander.
I would think hooking up a pressure sensor to the GSM Commander and when the sensor is triggered, it will send a sms.

https://gsmcommander.com/

Very nice option, but overkill for the application I have in mind.

[IcePick88]

Nice product, but with an Arduino with a A6 or A9 GSM module, some bits and pieces & an industrial reed switch, this problem could be solved for ~R300.

True, much cheaper I hear you.

But from a programming view, I'm thinking Arduino will be a headache. Unless you can find code already written for the specific application in mind (with the same peripherals you intend to use) that you can just "upload" to the board.

[cainslie]

True, much cheaper I hear you.

But from a programming view, I'm thinking Arduino will be a headache. Unless you can find code already written for the specific application in mind (with the same peripherals you intend to use) that you can just "upload" to the board.

Fair point. In this particular example it would take me about an hour to write the code, end to end so it all comes down to what skills the OP has for the project.

[SBSP]

If you are comfortable with soldering and power consumption is not a big deal. You can just de solder the component as shown in the picture and then replace it with a LM7805 as mentioned before.
If I remember correctly a 7805 regulator will take up to 36V and you may need a heatsink.

GSM does come with a bit of maintenance. You would have to make sure it has enough airtime all the time and deal with situations where there is no signal so you dont mis an instance where the truck was tipped.

Alternatively you could make use of an ESP8266 or ESP32 and a RTC. Save the data to a log on chip using its internal memory via SPIFFS and have it upload the data to a nearby web service when the truck goes home. The trade off offcoarse will be its not live.

[Edit] if you consider using the Wifi route I could help. Can even 3d print a nice enclosure for you.

[jp_bez]

Fair point. In this particular example it would take me about an hour to write the code, end to end so it all comes down to what skills the OP has for the project.

I have some experience with the coding, as I bought one of the kits of Wish. My son and I had some serious fun building and testing the kits. But I will not call myself an expert.
I believe from what I have seen that there is code available for download that should work with maybe a little tweaking. The unit will be powered permanently, and the trigger to send the SMS will just be a signal from the PTO, or even just a mechanical micro or read switch.

@SBSP
I think the owner would like to rather have the SMS live as to monitor his driver. I'm sure he will keep the airtime in place and will understand the whole no coverage scenario.
I do know where the hot side of a soldering iron is, so the modification is not a problem.

[SBSP]

@SBSP
I think the owner would like to rather have the SMS live as to monitor his driver. I'm sure he will keep the airtime in place and will understand the whole no coverage scenario.
I do know where the hot side of a soldering iron is, so the modification is not a problem.

Well in that case good luck. Looking at various GSM modules there are quite a few and nice options. Most of them support GPS , so you can include the Longs and Lats in the SMS.
Once you have the time, GPS location you can derive other info such as speed. GPRS can be used to send the longs and lats to a Web service and those can then be used to plot it on a google map.

Some even comes with an accelerometer. Soooo many things that you can do with this.,

My personal preference will be this one. All in one board and then just add an external antenna.
https://www.robotics.org.za/TTGO-ESP32-GSM?search=gsm

[jp_bez]

I see that a Garmin gps charger has an input of 10 to 30v and an ourput of 4.8 to 5.2 volt. Will it be ok to drive both the Uno and gsm shield?

[SBSP]

I see that a Garmin gps charger has an input of 10 to 30v and an ourput of 4.8 to 5.2 volt. Will it be ok to drive both the Uno and gsm shield?

You need to know the amount of current that can be drawn from the PSU at 5V. Which GSM module will you use ? You have to also make sure you connect the module and Arduino in parallel to the power source. Dont power the GSM module from any of the Arduino header pins.

Rough guess, it will probably be fine. Maybe also make sure the GSM module runs at 5V and not at 3V

[jp_bez]

This is the one I am looking at.
https://make.net.za/product/sim900-g...c&utm_term=221

[Rustie]

If I remember correctly a 7805 regulator will take up to 36V and you (may need) ​ WILL NEED a heatsink.
[Edit] if you consider using the Wifi route I could help. Can even 3d print a nice enclosure for you.

Fixed that for you.