Banana Pi team has come up with another board, but this time it does not run Linux or Android, as they’ve made an Arduino compatible board called BPI-GSM based on Atmel ATmega2560 MCU with a light sensor, DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor, and a GSM/GRPS & GPS module powered by a LiPo battery.
BPI-GSM board specifications:
- MCU – Atmel ATmega2560 8-bit AVR MCU @ 16 MHz with 256 KB flash, 8KB SRAM, 4KB EEPROM
- Connectivity – Simcom SIM808 GSM, GPRS, and GPS module + SIM card slot +
- Sensors – DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor, light sensor
- Display – OLED display
- Expansion headers – 54x digital I/O (including 14x PWM), 16x analog input, 4x UART. Max DC current per I/O: 40 mA.
- Misc – Reset button, LEDs
- Power Supply
- 5V via micro USB port
- 3.7V LiPo battery (2,500 mAh battery included in kit)
- Dimensions – TBD
The board can be programmed in the Arduino IDE by selecting Arduino Mega board. SIM808 modem is controlled with AT commands so that might not be the most programmer friendly board there is. You can find limited documentation for the board on gitbook.io. Bear in mind that several countries have or are going to phase out 2G networks, so the GSM/GPRS connectivity may not work for long depending where you live.
The kit which includes the board, the OLED display and 2,500 mAh battery sells for $64 on Aliexpress.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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