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I'm working on an engineering project where I want a go-kart to maintain a direct connection with a base station. The base and go-kart can be separated by about a half mile (with lots of obstacles in between) which is too far for WiFi.

I'm thinking about using 3G/4G to directly connect the two. Does anyone have any resources or ideas that might help?

Or, alternatively, a better way to connect them? I'm just trying to send some sensor data (pretty low bandwidth) in real-time.

manlio
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Dan Kearney
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2 Answers2

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The biggest problem you face is radio spectrum that you are allowed to use. All 3G/4G spectrum is licensed to some firm and they get really unhappy (e.g. have you hunted down and fined) when you transmit in their space.

I did find DASH7 which

is an open source wireless sensor networking standard … which operates in the 433 MHz unlicensed ISM band. DASH7 provides multi-year battery life, range of up to 2 km, indoor location with 1 meter accuracy, low latency for connecting with moving things, a very small open source protocol stack …

with a parts cost around US$ 10. This sounds like it satisfies your requirements and keeps the local constabulary from bothering you.

msw
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  • So I've just learned that it's possible, given the course, to exceed the 2km range considerably (even up to 5km, with lots of obstacles). Do you have any ideas that might give a longer range? – Dan Kearney Oct 08 '13 at 05:18
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You could maybe use SMS, between a modem on the kart and a mobile phone or modem at the base.

A mobile data connection like a telephone call isn't possible directly between the two; you have to make a data connection from the kart to a server in your operator's core network, identified by the APN. Then you can access IP addresses as for a normal internet connection - so the base computer would have to be a web server.

user1725145
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