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7d1d Right this moment’s visitor submit 7d1d will deal with the capabilities 7d1d of Swarm, and Swarm’s community 7d1d structure along side SparkFun.
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7d1d This can be a visitor 7d1d weblog submit from Rohan Verma 7d1d and our buddies at 7d1d Swarm Applied sciences 7d1d . Swarm supplies the world’s 7d1d lowest price, world connectivity for 7d1d Web of Issues units. All 7d1d of this in orbit at 7d1d 450-550km altitude, offering absolutely world 7d1d protection.
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7d1d Intro
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7d1d We’re excited to introduce one 7d1d of many latest additions to 7d1d SparkFun’s product line, the 7d1d Satellite tv for pc Transceiver 7d1d Breakout – Swarm M138 7d1d ! On the coronary heart 7d1d of this breakout board is 7d1d the Swarm M138 Modem which 7d1d is a Mini-PCI Categorical (mPCIe) 7d1d type issue board consisting of 7d1d a satellite tv for pc 7d1d transceiver and a GNSS receiver. 7d1d This weblog submit focuses on 7d1d the capabilities of Swarm, and 7d1d Swarm’s community structure.
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7d1d The Satellite tv for pc 7d1d Transceiver Breakout – Swarm M138 7d1d allows any consumer to entry 7d1d the complete performance of the 7d1d Swarm community by way of 7d1d the Swarm M138 Modem. The 7d1d board design features a USB-C 7d1d interface for energy and/or serial 7d1d information, along with a full 7d1d set of breakout pins which 7d1d give the consumer entry to 7d1d options such because the GPIO 7d1d pin accessible on the Modem. 7d1d The on-board energy circuitry makes 7d1d it simple to produce the 7d1d M138 Modem with the ability 7d1d that it must transmit message 7d1d packets to area.
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7d1d The package contains the whole 7d1d lot wanted to start out 7d1d transmitting on the Swarm community 7d1d (together with a floor aircraft, 7d1d which is required for the 7d1d VHF antenna). The breakout pins 7d1d make it simple to hook 7d1d up the board to a 7d1d microcontroller, reminiscent of an Arduino 7d1d Professional Mini, to observe sensors 7d1d and transmit information from wherever 7d1d on the earth. The downlink 7d1d (2-way) performance makes this Modem 7d1d nice to ship configuration data 7d1d again to the gadget as 7d1d properly with out having to 7d1d bodily entry the unit.
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7d1d What’s Swarm?
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7d1d Swarm is a low-cost IoT 7d1d satellite tv for pc connectivity 7d1d supplier with one aim; To 7d1d attach individuals and units wherever, 7d1d always, on the lowest price. 7d1d Swarm accomplishes this by way 7d1d of the usage of sandwich 7d1d sized satellites named “SpaceBEEs”.
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7d1d Swarm’s SpaceBEEs talk with their 7d1d floor gadget named the Swarm 7d1d M138 Modem to transmit and 7d1d obtain small packets of knowledge 7d1d from wherever on the earth. 7d1d The Modems can transmit and 7d1d obtain as much as 192 7d1d bytes of knowledge utilizing a 7d1d normal information plan of 750 7d1d packets/month. Every information plan prices 7d1d $5/month and is billed yearly 7d1d and there are not any 7d1d different related charges.
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7d1d Overview of the Swarm Community
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7d1d When a SpaceBEE passes over 7d1d any given location, it’s going 7d1d to ship out beacon packets 7d1d to Swarm Modems which are 7d1d of their receiver state. The 7d1d Modem’s antenna might want to 7d1d have a transparent view of 7d1d the sky, and a low 7d1d RF noise setting to obtain 7d1d this satellite tv for pc 7d1d beacon.
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7d1d Format of a satellite tv 7d1d for pc beacon packet:
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7d1d $RT RSSI=,SNR=,FDEV =,TS=,DI=*xx
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7d1d As soon as the Modem 7d1d receives this satellite tv for 7d1d pc beacon, it’s going to 7d1d try and transmit any queued 7d1d transmission packets to the satellite 7d1d tv for pc. Message packets 7d1d which are efficiently obtained by 7d1d the satellite tv for pc 7d1d will then be acknowledged by 7d1d the satellite tv for pc 7d1d again to the Modem. The 7d1d Modem will then discard the 7d1d message packet from its outgoing 7d1d transmission queue.
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7d1d The Swarm M138 Modem can 7d1d retailer a most of 1000 7d1d outgoing message packets. Every message 7d1d packet is held for a 7d1d default length of 48 hours, 7d1d which is consumer configurable, after 7d1d which the packet will probably 7d1d be discarded if not transmitted.
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7d1d The satellite tv for pc 7d1d will then carry that message 7d1d packet till it passes over 7d1d a Swarm floor station. The 7d1d satellite tv for pc will 7d1d downlink the message packet to 7d1d the bottom station after which 7d1d the information will probably be 7d1d routed to Swarm’s cloud platform 7d1d named the 7d1d Swarm Hive 7d1d . The consumer can then 7d1d view their information on Hive, 7d1d or extract that information utilizing 7d1d Swarm’s 7d1d REST API 7d1d , or 7d1d webhooks 7d1d .
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7d1d The Swarm Hive will retain 7d1d information for 30 days earlier 7d1d than it’s discarded, so it’s 7d1d best to drag that information 7d1d from the Hive to reference 7d1d it later. Swarm has a 7d1d Python Script instance that you 7d1d could obtain by 7d1d clicking right here 7d1d .
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7d1d Getting Began
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7d1d Getting began with the Satellite 7d1d tv for pc Transceiver Breakout 7d1d is a fast and straightforward 7d1d course of from getting your 7d1d components unboxed, to transmitting your 7d1d first message on the Swarm 7d1d community.
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7d1d Step one is to put 7d1d in the Swarm M138 Modem 7d1d onto the breakout board. To 7d1d do that, take away the 7d1d 2 M2.5 screws from the 7d1d standoffs on the board. Align 7d1d the M138 Modem’s mPCIe connection 7d1d pins with the breakout board’s 7d1d connector and insert the Modem 7d1d at an angle into the 7d1d connector. As soon as the 7d1d Modem’s pins are inserted into 7d1d the connector, gently maintain the 7d1d Modem down over the standoffs 7d1d and safe it in place 7d1d utilizing the 2 M2.5 screws. 7d1d For finest outcomes, don’t tighten 7d1d one screw absolutely earlier than 7d1d inserting the opposite screw into 7d1d its respective standoff.
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7d1d Join the GNSS antenna to 7d1d the u.FL connector labeled “GPS” 7d1d on the Swarm Modem. Then 7d1d join the u.FL to SMA 7d1d adapter cable to the u.FL 7d1d connector on the Swarm 7d1d Modem that’s labeled “VHF”.
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7d1d Safe the SMA connector of 7d1d the u.FL to SMA adapter 7d1d cable to the included floor 7d1d aircraft utilizing the washer and 7d1d nut. Screw the Swarm VHF 7d1d antenna onto the SMA connector 7d1d whereas making certain that it’s 7d1d hand-tight.
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7d1d For finest outcomes, place the 7d1d VHF antenna and floor aircraft 7d1d no less than 1m above 7d1d the bottom, or any strong 7d1d surfaces.
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7d1d Obtain and set up the 7d1d SparkFun Python3 PyQt5 GUI from 7d1d GitHub right here to work 7d1d together with the Swarm Modem. 7d1d As soon as put in, 7d1d use a USB-C cable to 7d1d attach the board to your 7d1d pc. The board may be 7d1d powered utilizing a USB-C port 7d1d in your pc, or a 7d1d USB 3 port. Choose the 7d1d suitable COM port and take 7d1d a look at the communication 7d1d interface by urgent the “Configuration 7d1d Settings (CS)” button. The Modem’s 7d1d System ID and Title will 7d1d probably be displayed on the 7d1d serial monitor within the format:
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7d1d $CS DI=<dev_ID> ,DN=<dev_name>*xx
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7d1d The following step is to 7d1d position the gadget in an 7d1d outside location with a transparent 7d1d view of the sky, away 7d1d from any sources of RF 7d1d noise. As soon as the 7d1d gadget is about up open 7d1d air, use the “Obtain Check 7d1d 1Hz (RT 1)” predefined message 7d1d within the Python3 GUI to 7d1d measure the background RSSI. The 7d1d background RSSI measurements will probably 7d1d be up to date as 7d1d soon as each second and 7d1d signify the noise flooring within 7d1d the testing setting. The measured 7d1d background RSSI worth ought to 7d1d be between -95 and -105 7d1d dBm for dependable communication on 7d1d the community. A decrease, extra 7d1d adverse, worth is most well-liked.
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7d1d The Modem will be unable 7d1d to reliably talk with the 7d1d satellites if the reported background 7d1d RSSI worth is > -93 7d1d dBm. Attempt transferring the gadget 7d1d to a unique testing location 7d1d to look at how the 7d1d measured worth modifications.
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7d1d After confirming that the background 7d1d RSSI is throughout the specified 7d1d vary, the following step is 7d1d to queue some message packets 7d1d on the Modem for transmission. 7d1d The quickest option to queue 7d1d messages for transmission is to 7d1d make use of the predefined 7d1d messages within the GUI proven 7d1d on the backside of the 7d1d checklist. The message packets will 7d1d probably be queued for transmission 7d1d for a default maintain time 7d1d of 48 hours after which 7d1d they are going to be 7d1d discarded if not transmitted.
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7d1d The message packet maintain time 7d1d is consumer configurable for every 7d1d transmission command. Please seek advice 7d1d from the Swarm M138 Modem’s 7d1d 7d1d Product Guide 7d1d for extra data, and 7d1d for a full description of 7d1d obtainable instructions.
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7d1d The queued transmission packets will 7d1d probably be transmitted when a 7d1d satellite tv for pc passes 7d1d over the gadget’s location and 7d1d beacons the Modem. The following 7d1d satellite tv for pc move 7d1d over your location may be 7d1d predicted utilizing the 7d1d Swarm Satellite tv for pc 7d1d Cross Checker 7d1d . There may be additionally 7d1d a YouTube video accessible that 7d1d describes the move checker’s performance 7d1d in additional element accessible 7d1d right here 7d1d .
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7d1d To know if a satellite 7d1d tv for pc is making 7d1d an attempt to speak with 7d1d the Modem, be certain that 7d1d the “Obtain Check 1Hz (RT 7d1d 1)” command is enabled. Observe 7d1d the serial monitor for satellite 7d1d tv for pc beacons within 7d1d the format:
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7d1d $RT RSSI=<rssi_sat>,SNR=<snr>,FDEV=<fdev>,TS=<time>,DI=<sat_id>*xx
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7d1d The Modem will try and 7d1d transmit queued message packets after 7d1d receiving the satellite tv for 7d1d pc beacons. Every profitable transmission 7d1d will probably be acknowledged by 7d1d the satellite tv for pc 7d1d and will probably be displayed 7d1d on the serial monitor within 7d1d the format:
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7d1d $TD SENT RSSI=<rssi_sat>,SNR=<snr>,FDEV=<fdev>,<msg_id>*xx
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7d1d The transmitted information packet will 7d1d then be seen on the 7d1d 7d1d Swarm Hive 7d1d shortly after transmission.
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7d1d What are you constructing with 7d1d the Satellite tv for pc 7d1d Transceiver Breakout – Swarm M138?
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7d1d We might love to listen 7d1d to from you when you 7d1d have been experimenting with the 7d1d Swarm Community. E mail help@swarm.area 7d1d with a quick description of 7d1d your challenge, and any photos 7d1d that you’ve, to be featured 7d1d on a future weblog submit!
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