@realjoet, Serial1 uses the RX and TX pins on the Core while Serial uses USB. Is this what you expected?
No, not at all. Should I change it to Serial if I want it to print in the terminal??
And what language is this?? Iād like to do some reading into it so I can actually speak to you guys
@realjoet, this following code snippet should work
void setup(){
Serial1.begin(9600);
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop(){
....
Serial.println("Log line");
....
}
You can write Serial.println("<<your log string>>"); anywhere you want after Serial.begin(9600);. You can view the output on any terminal application. Make sure you select the baud rate 9600.
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@realjoet, the language is C++ with āwiringā extensions like Arduino uses.
@peekay123 any books or sites you recommend I check out to learn more??
Also, does anyone have suggestions on RF modules/beacons I could purchase to work with Spark?? Weāre trying to build something similar to Disneyās MagicBand but for event management.
Iām not familiar with RF at all and would love suggestions on what would be the best route! @krvarma @bko @wgbartley
@realjoet, about beacons, most of the beacons should work with Spark Core. There are different post related to iBeacons and RF Module in this community, like 433Mhz RF Module, 2.4GHz RF Modules, iBeacons, etcā¦ But if you can provide more information about what you are trying to do then you will get help from many members and Elites. I have used one 433Mhz library ported by @peekay123 in one of my project. Also I one project with iBeacons and BLE Mini.
2 Likes
Awesome!
Weāre trying to essentially re-create the Disney MagicBand but for camps. Itāll use RF to recognize when campers are in specific parts of the camp, itāll allow them to enter into their rooms without a room key, purchase things at the camp store from money their parents load onto the band from our dashboard and also store their medical information in case of emergency.
All the data loaded onto it will be from our online dashboard, but what I just mentioned will be the basic functionalities. We were going to go with cellular data at first since but it seems to be cost ineffective and too much tech for what weāre trying to do.
Based on what I described, what would you recommend me using @krvarma? Or do you recommend any place I should read into RF more to understand whether we will be 433Mhz vs 2.4Ghz??
If youāre planning on using it for payment/keys, then Iād consider using RFID tags. If you look for that using the search functions, some neat projects will pop up whoāve done something similar.
The tag will contain a unique ID which will be recognised if itās scanned by a reader. Those will check with a central database, which has the data belonging to that specific ID. Action can then be taken if necessary.
By not storing the payment and personal information on the band, privacy is better preserved if itās lost/stolen. Medical info on the other hand can be stored as to make sure it can be read with portable scanners.
2 Likes
Awesome! thanks, @Moors7! Thatās exactly what I was thinking just didnāt know how to say it
What weāre trying to do with the security of information is similar to what Final Credit Card does. I know the product manager, heās an alumni of the program Iām in (Boulder Digital Works), and so he can definitely help us on that front.
I appreciate all the feedback from everyone, and I think itās time I officially start my own thread with our project! (Update: Check out the project thread)
1 Like
Hi All,
I am also trying to get gps to work with Spark Core but it only publishes the coordinates 0.0, 0.0. I am using the TinyGPS script, and I have the MTK3339 GPS model (with shield, not sure if the shield version is the culprit?)ā¦
I noticed a few people have ran into this issue, but I wasnāt sure if anyone has figured out a solution?
Thanks!!
@kbecks, are you trying inside building or outside. The GPS Breakout Board performs very well when outside the building because it can see sky. @bko explained in one of the reply, you can see it above.
Also there is a delay of 15 minutes between GPS publishes in the sample firmware. You can see that on line no. 8. The variable is initialized as 15 * 60 * 1000. You can reduce this delay and see it quickly. It is not directly related to the issue of 0.0 but just you donāt need to wait 15 minutes to see another update.
Iām still working on it, I got really busy at work the past week trying to push out an e-commerce site, but Iāll let you know when I get it.
Iām sure it has to do with my solder job.
Dont mean to thread crash but i recently tried to use your library but end up with :
** undefined reference to `TinyGPS::TinyGPS()ā**
Im compiling locally and have added:
INCLUDE_DIRS += $(LIB_CORE_LIBRARIES_PATH)TinyGPS/
to the make file to link to the library and have the include :
#include āā¦/libraries/TinyGPS/TinyGPS.hā
with the tinyGPS library from the first post in this thread in the libraries folder within firmware.
Any idea why its failing to compile, have a similar set up with the bmp header file and thereās no problems there,
@redking, which firmware repo are you using to compile?
Also, are you using a Core or a Photon?
using a core and what do you mean firmware repo, using the tiny gps library from the spark ide.
@redking, I suppose your are using Sprak Dev. Download the source code., open the firmware folder, change the #include "TinyGPSTinyGPS.h" to #include "TinyGPS.h". Then you can compile successfully.
In case you are using Online Particle IDE, then you donāt need to change anything, simple add the library to your project and open the example application.
1 Like
Tried that and unfortunately still get undefined references to TinyGPS::TinyGPS()ā. I forked the current firmware/core-common-lib & core-communication-lib git repos and are using them to build locally in netbeans.
I assume its an issue with actually finding the libraries but the error is always focused on TinyGPS gps; in the code.
Thanks for the help so far 
@redking, for local building you may want to consider using the new ādevelopā branch which is super near to being released as the new version for both the Core and Photon. It changes entirely (simplifies) the way you configure your code for local compilation. In the meantime, have you considered using Spark CLI or DEV to compile your local code using the Cloud build farm?
hmm will look into those options,
I tried building with the spark online IDE and even with #include āTinyGPS.hā
i still get :
gps_test.cpp:15:21: fatal error: TinyGPS.h: No such file or directory