Nice blog and very informative. I have a questions I am hoping someone might have some advice.
I am new to electronics and looking to make something with the following functions.
Small device with gps tracking capability from a smartphone. Plus the ability to click a button (from an app) which activates a vibration on the device. Also maybe another button on the app where I can remotely turn on an LED light.
I found a battery, vibration device, gps, and am not sure what kind of circuit board I need?
Um… you’re going to need the ability to write a custom app for the phone and an understanding of how to make the phone communicate with an outside device using either USB or Bluetooth connectivity. (Maybe through the earphone jack - there are peripherals that work from there but I am not certain how the interface works.) The kind of circuit board is a pretty minor issue but for prototyping there are a number of prefab boards you can get - even Radio Shack used to sell a couple.
This is not primarily an electronics or tech board, although there are some here with the kind of expertise you’re looking for. You might want a dedicated e-hobbyist board instead.
On the other forum, you said you wanted to make a GPS-tracking dog collar, and someone already recommended circuit boards. As for the wireless, most similar applications use an internal cellular modem, like a cell phone. You could also try WiFi, like the Parrot AR drone, or look into the RF chips that radio controlled airplanes use, or satellite tracking like SPOT. But it seems to me that dogs have a tendency to get into more cover than airplanes, so you’d need a more reliable signal… cellular reception still seems like a better bet.
There are some highly integrated solutions out there, but most are not FCC pre-approved, and require you to integrate them onto your own PC board. Here’s an example.
I don’t think this is a Newbie electronics project.