Seeed Grove connectors for HAB?

[Oliver de Peyer]

Due to pets and a small flat I can't solder anything. But I recently discovered Seeed Grove connectors and am having great fun with them.

On the face of it, there seem to be enough bits in the Grove range to build a HAB tracker, at least to prototype one anyway (you could always solder up the real one). Would be good for schools too perhaps?

So, for instance:

Grove Lora boards:

Are these the "right sort of Lora" for linking to HABBASE etc?

And similarly:

Does this GPS module have an airmode?

(I have seen a couple of other Grove GPS modules as well)

The Grove cables plug onto Grove shields for Arduino and Pi Zeros, e.g:

Which holds out the possibility of a FlexTrak-Grove hybrid!

I rushed into this and inadvertently bought the Arduino shield first. I've bought a Uno R4 Minima to go with it. I'll probably move on to trying a Pi Zero next.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance

Oliver

M0LVR

[Oliver de Peyer]

Due to pets and a small flat I can't solder anything. But I recently discovered Seeed Grove connectors and am having great fun with them.

[Oliver de Peyer]

Due to pets and a small flat I can't solder anything. But I recently discovered Seeed Grove connectors and am having great fun with them.

On the face of it, there seem to be enough bits in the Grove range to build a HAB tracker, at least to prototype one anyway (you could always solder up the real one). Would be good for schools too perhaps?

So, for instance:

(I don't think I can post links, so you will need to have a google):

Grove Lora boards:

433 and 868Mhz

Are these the "right sort of Lora" for linking to HABBASE etc?

And similarly:

Grove GPS (Air530)

Does this GPS module have an airmode?
(I have seen a couple of other Grove GPS modules as well)

The Grove cables plug onto Grove shields for Arduino and Pi Zeros, e.g:

Grover Starter Kit for Pi Zero

Which holds out the possibility of a FlexTrak-Grove hybrid!

(this is for other stuff I am doing like commanding servos, relays etc in flight)

[Nick McCloud]

On Friday, 21 November 2025 at 10:36:09 UTC Oliver de Peyer wrote:

Due to pets and a small flat I can't solder anything.

Kitchen worktop with the door shut should do the trick.

 

But I recently discovered Seeed Grove connectors and am having great fun with them.
On the face of it, there seem to be enough bits in the Grove range to build a HAB tracker, at least to prototype one anyway 

 

433 and 868Mhz

Are these the "right sort of Lora" for linking to HABBASE etc?

There is only one LoRa as there is only one manufacturer of the radio, it's all about how you program it. These are just the radio - it will need a MCU to run it. Most of the UK HAB runs on 433MHz.

That said, some modules have an MCU attached to provide a point to point serial interface. These are not them.

 

Grove GPS (Air530)
Does this GPS module have an airmode? 

Don't know, what does the datasheet say? If you want someone to read it for you, please provide a link to it!

You'll see from recent discussions that the ATGM GNSS module seems to be a favourite and appears in many designs for Pico trackers too.

Anyhoo, flight mode is irrelevant, as you are unlikely to want to fly such a setup - you may be able to but I'd not. 

 

Thoughts?

Sort of prototyping sure, sorting out some firmware, yes, flying it all, waste of balloon gas lifting the mix of PCBs and cables.

I'd find a way to solder, perhaps a local maker space or a friend or at work or something.

Hopefully this reply will curb your email program from sending the message every few days!

73 de Nick M7TXF