Someone was asking about the cheapest way to get a LoRa Tracker. I would get a 433MHz T-beam board from Amazon (about £33 delivered). It comes with an antenna. The plastic case it comes with can be macgyvered into a makeshift case. After that you just need an 18650 battery (vape shops sell them). There will shortly be an online software flasher so that will make setting it up very easy. That way you could have a plug-and-play tracker for about £38.
Edited. Nearly as cheap from Amazon plus you do need a board with a display. The previous link I gave didn’t have a display.
You’d have been about 15 or so when it started and it was aimed squarely at teenagers so I am surprised you never watched it. Saturday early evening if my memory serves me correct.
The T-beam tracker works well and is easy to set up. Yes, the supplied plastic box can easily be bodged to make a case for the tracker. The SMA antenna socket has five pins, four corner ground pins and a centre pin. Only two of the four ground pins are soldered to the board, so care has to be taken not to put stress (ie a large antenna load) on the socket.
That’s what I’ve been using for the last year and that makeshift case (packed out with foam) has protected it well, incuding from a fall 2m onto concrete!.
Upgrading the GPS antenna to a larger panel helps it get initial lock quicker (sometimes took >10 mins on the original one) and a lightweight quarter-wave is more effective than the little helical.
Same Board is available here, on Ali Express, around a tenner cheaper! The amazon one Richard has linked to has £8 p&p on Making it £40, despite my prime! Ali express is ex VAT but free p&p for £23 + VAT!
IMHO the Heltec Wireless Tracker is the best and (probably) the cheapest LoRa EU433 tracker that can be bought - and is available for around £25 (including 7 day delivery and import tax) from AliExpress. As always with AliExpress, the prices do vary massively, and I have paid anything between £16 and £27 for them. One just has to be vigilent for when offers become available.
There are lots of cases available on Etsy and eBay for this board, some including antennas and batteries but these are all have Meshtastic labelling all over them. I therefore decided to design one (without all the Meshtastic branding) and this is what I came up with:
These are the same LoRa APRS trackers that Richard has kindly been putting together, configuring and shipping here on the reflector to encourage the up take of this techology. The case (front and back sections), the switch, JST switch PCB (so no soldering required), SMA connector, 2500mAH LiPo battery, rear clip, wrist strap and desk stand can be yours for just £10. If you factor in £25 for the cost of the Heltec Wireless Tracker board (and use the stubby SMA antenna that comes with it) that works out at around £35 for a complete tracker. For a little more money (£5.54), one can upgrade the stubby antenna to a RF solutions FLEXI-SMA-433 1/4 wave whip which is what I use:
BTW, switch is not needed.
Ricardo implemented the triple click. Its switching off the Tracker. And after a click on the reset button its turning on again.
The triple click is a poor substitute for a physical switch. It’s hard to do reliably and is not always successful. A real switch is definitely better.
I must admit, they do seem more popular, i was just going simplicity! an “all in one solution” if you will…
Now this, i like the sound of, i also like the look of it too! there is a WIDE selection of antennas available, i have some old baofeng HH ones somewhere, off radios that have broke/been repurposed! I take it those are available through yourself?? also what Heltec unit do i need? the ones i have seen dont seem to have GPS on them!
Yes I have been in touch with him, and should be on the list, however if i can build one in the mean time… Thanks Dave!
I too have a load of old flexible handheld antennas, but they are generally designed for 2m and tend to “work” ok at 70cm ( 430MHz is close to the third harmonic of 144MHz). I have tested many on the VNA and they are generally pants. The RF solutions Flexible 433 antenna Richard has been shipping with the LoRA APRA trackers is specifically designed to be resonant around 430MHz. As amateur radio kit goes, it’s also pretty cheap at just £5. If you buy it from CPC, and make the order up to £20 with other goodies, then shipping is free:
