Upgrading the T-Deck: GPS Module Installation in the New Slim Case

[@enforcer535]

Amazing cases! Tolerances are millimeter perfect, and they look great. Thanks for all your hard work!!

[@randomalleycat]

Thanks, I’m glad you like it! Let me know if you have any ideas of anything else you’d like me to make!

[@enforcer535]

@@randomalleycat If you can make me as good as you at 3D modelling that would be awesome thanks 😁- still very much a novice here and getting things to fit right and look good is a real skill! Thanks again.

[@degenhexican9355]

Just ordered my case! So excited!

[@shaun900]

Thanks Alley Cat, your cases are great and I've put GPS in all 3 of my t-decks

[@randomalleycat]

I’m glad you like them, thanks for watching!

[@HawaiianFlyGuy]

I must say Alley, Your Designs are top notch! I have printed up both T-Beam 3S and the T-Deck. Its hard to believe the quality prints that are coming off my printer bed. Using PLA+ makes it that much smoother! Thank You for the hard effort and passion you put into your designs.

[@brendonla]

Nice soldering iron -- I need to get one of those. And great video! I'm expecting my T-Deck board, case and battery next week and putting it together. I didn't get a GPS chip but watching this I'm thinking about it....

[@espenskog8745]

Great video. Thanks for sharing how to mount it. Will both the gps modules you link to in the description fit in the unit ? The mini gps in the desciption is currently no longer available so I wonder if I could order the other one and if it will fit as well ? Do you also have a link to the battery ? I want one which fits perfectly like the one in the video. PS! Would soldering the gps module directly to the PCB work as well as placing it in the top of the case ?

[@randomalleycat]

Take a look at the printables page linked in the description. I put links to the GPSs based on which case they fit with, the one that says it's for the standard case won't fit the slim case. The links for the exact batteries I purchased are on there as well. If you can fit the GPS module in the space next to the battery, it's fine to solder it directly. Someone posted a pic I believe where they use a separate patch antenna and it seemed to fit fine. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[@randomalleycat]

Just found this one and it looks like the same design as the other one: a.co/d/1wPri50

[@RNMSC]

As an observation, if you're new to GPS devices, the first time they start up, and the first time they start up after being powered down for a fairly long period of time, say several weeks, or months, the GPS module may take upwards of 15 min to get a GPS Lock and report the number of satellites it sees. This is at least in part because the satellites are sending correction information for their orbit elements and with WAAS, they are often including such information for several other satellites. give it time, preferably on power, and in a space with a good view of the sky. (I'm in a house that is sided in stucco. That got applied to a wire mesh, so the walls act as a Faraday cage. Your experience may be better. Also toasted a non-LoRa t-deck today. Or at least it smelled like it let the magic smoke out when I added a battery pack. The smoke apeard to be being released, while the device was powered off, which suggests that either the connector that shipped with the t-deck either was miss-wired, or I miss-wired it to the battery pack. I'm not going to lay odds on which, but it would surprise me if the cable they shipped was wrong. Powering it up by the USB-C port (w/o the battery) at least boots it into the LillyGo demo screen, which is somewhat different from the t-deck. Ideally I'd like to set that up to be able to take notes that automatically update to my own systems. But since this one may be 'batery toasted' getting all of that worked out may not work out. But I can use it as a demo hand out and don't worry if it comes back broken, device. It's not a criticism, just an observation as I assembled and re-assembled these today, In addition to being careful about the power switch, be care full with the bottom of the front face. For some reason both of the ones I worked on today wanted to push that on the right side of the device out past the face frame of the front piece and that got interesting to 'correct. I found a small awl that I have on a mini-Leatherman, did a decent job, but be careful as you're going to be putting pressure on it that it shouldn't have. A better plan is to take it back apart and carefully make sure the front drops inside rather than through the opening. That gets extra difficult if you mounted the SMA antenna connector to the case already... you don't have to ask how I know that, do you? Again, thank you for the great work on this design Alley Cat. Be well, and perhaps see you down the log some day.

[@randomalleycat]

That's some good info about the GPS, thank you! Sucks that you burnt out the battery connection at least it still works for testing and demonstration. Maybe you can figure out where the smoke came out and replace the component, sounds like a fun project! The case is definitely a tight fit, I'm going to make a new video showing more clearly how to assemble all of my cases with the latest updates to them. Thanks for watching!

[@masondawson4061]

Thank you for sharing. Really nice design. I just finished adding the "standard" GPS module. I made the case clear so I could keep tabs on all of the lights. The GPS has a blinking red, and solid blue light, but I keep getting the no GPS notification. It's been raining all day, and now it's just misting. When the weather is bad do you get the same no GPS/GPS not present notification? This would make sense because the GPS got lost in the mail, and I have been staring out the window the past several days waiting on it.

[@randomalleycat]

Did you make sure to have the TX and RX wires swapped?

[@masondawson4061]

I did. I also tried switching from alfa to the current stable version of firmware. I can't seem to get it to work in the web client either.@@randomalleycat

[@randomalleycat]

Join us on the Meshtastic Discord if you aren’t on it already, you can get a lot better help there. I did notice it’s a little buggy, but the devs are continually making updates.

[@masondawson4061]

Well thank you for getting back with me. I may do that if it doesn't work after the next firmware version. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.@@randomalleycat

[@randomalleycat]

@@masondawson4061 If I figure anything out I'll let you know. When mine didn't work I just turned it off for a while and when I turned it back on it worked. 🤷🏻‍♀

[@RRMGarage]

another dope design from Alley Cat!

[@randomalleycat]

Thanks for your support!

[@03stage2]

Mine arrives in a couple days and I plan on using your vid as a tutorial. Thanks so much!~

[@randomalleycat]

Sounds great! I know I wasn’t super detailed, so let me know if you have any questions!

[@SpectrumIntruder]

which battery is that? I can't find the right JST plug

[@randomalleycat]

Check the Printables page linked in the description, there is a link to the batteries I used. Technically it's not a JST connector because the 1.25 pitch JST connectors have a latch, it's actually a generic connector based on the Molex PicoBlade. We all just call it JST because that's the most common brand of these style connectors.

[@benjaminnevins5211]

Great case! Thank you for making it!

[@randomalleycat]

Glad you like it!

[@luisgonzalez8803]

Awesome design! Any reason why you didn't add the hole for an external antenna like you did with your first design?

[@luisgonzalez8803]

Well...I answered my own question. I wasn't paying attention and hadn't noticed you mentioned there is one available with the SMA opening.

[@randomalleycat]

It’s all good, I probably should have shown both versions. I’ll get better at this KZbin thing, I promise! Thanks for watching!

[@Robert-cd5zr]

Thanks for all the hard work. I'm planning on opting for the slim case. The slim 706090 battery you linked has the larger JST 2.0 plug, not the 1.25mm. Do you know of a battery that already comes with the appropriate connector? If not, did you de-solder the old wires and resolder the new onto the protection circuit pads, or simply repin the wires into the smaller connectors? Alternatively, do you think a JST 2.0 to JST 1.25 adapter would fit inside the slim case? Have you had any luck with a haptic module in place of the speaker, or perhaps repositioning the speaker on top (for those not using GPS)? Ultimately I'm hoping to put together something with a haptic model, or alternatively a speaker with a kill-switch.

[@randomalleycat]

When I got the battery, it came with a separate 1.25 pigtail and heatshrink so you could cut off the end and solder the other leads on. I actually did put a small connector in between in case I wanted to use the battery for something else in the future and it was a tight fit but I was able to squeeze it into the case. After I finish a couple other projects I do plan to revisit this case and make some more options for speakers and GPS and switches and all that.

[@bimmers50e30]

the cat logo is the best part!!!

[@MrKoblepot]

Hey thanks, just printed from you today, was months it was waiting on my desktop, since I had issues with my printer, today all good 👍

[@randomalleycat]

I hope you downloaded the latest first, there have been plenty of updates!

[@MrKoblepot]

@@randomalleycat yes thanks a lot again for sharing it 🙏

[@Ammed_KN6STX]

My T-Deck is different than yours. Mine has a socket where yours is just the board where you soldered the wires. Any advice on what I should do to attach the gps module???

[@randomalleycat]

Mine had that connector, I removed it, but you should be able to just solder the wires without removing it if you’re careful.

[@Ammed_KN6STX]

Is there a connector that fits the socket on T-Deck instead of removing the socket???

[@Ammed_KN6STX]

I could also solder the wires to the backside of the socket

[@randomalleycat]

@@Ammed_KN6STX It's a Grove connector, so you can try to find one that you can solder or crimp to the wires and then you'd need to modify the case to fit but I don't recommend it. It's a lot easier to just solder the wires and it's not like you're going to be removing it often.

[@randomalleycat]

@@Ammed_KN6STX Yeah, soldering to the backside is what I meant when I said to solder without removing it.

[@joel6221]

what is that soldering iron?

[@randomalleycat]

It's the MiniWare TS80P, nice for small stuff. They also make a slightly more versatile one called TS101.

[@Russian0o1]

Thanks! Followed your tutorial and my T-Deck is now GPS enabled! Def worth a like and subscribe 😁

[@randomalleycat]

Awesome! I'm glad it worked, and thank you for watching!

[@EdIcarus-rl2fp]

@@randomalleycat why you put the 5v red cable to the TX Pin and the yellow to the Vcc Pin?

[@randomalleycat]

@@EdIcarus-rl2fp no good reason. I felt like red for RX (on the other end) would help me remember. Yellow for constant voltage is not unreasonable either. Sometimes I’m just random.

[@doctorbill37]

Thank you for sharing this. I like your slim design with the 706090 Lipo battery and am wondering which charger you use to charge the battery? I'd really appreciate getting this right (and safe) the first go around.

[@randomalleycat]

I've been charging it from my laptop through the USB port on the T-Deck. If you just charge it with a standard (reputable) USB charger, I think it will be fine. If you're thinking of charging it outside of the device, I'd try to avoid that if you don't have a specific device meant to charge these batteries. Thanks for watching!

[@doctorbill37]

@@randomalleycat ah ok, I did not realize you could charge it through the USB port. Problem solved. Thanks!

[@randomalleycat]

It's probably not the fastest, but I think it's the safest and easiest!

[@doctorbill37]

@@randomalleycat I agree. I have printed the case and it looks great. I have attempted to find a 12mm M10 GPS and the one you linked shows out of stock. Nothing that size is available in my neck of the woods. However, there is a selection of 18mm square units. I took my calipers to the GPS module slot you have created and it is almost (not quite) wide enough, but there is technically enough room to resize that width in cad without hitting the M3s. I measure ~18mm to the very back surface of the case from the bottom of the front slot, so the only solution would be to thicken the wall of that back part and create a notch on that back plate, or maybe use the fat back..? Regardless, the width of the slot won't work for 18mm GPS modules. So close. Dang!

[@randomalleycat]

What about the 15mm Mini M100?

[@squiddymute]

is t-deck sold in Europe?

[@randomalleycat]

Yes, you should be able to order it direct from Lilygo or from Aliexpress. Make sure you get the correct frequency for your local regulations!

[@sterkriger2572]

it's possible to add a GPS module directly in the space that is available? Perhaps using an SMD module?

[@markwagner7023]

What AWG are you using for the GPS module?

[@randomalleycat]

It’s the wires that came with the module, I’m guessing maybe they’re 24.

[@markwagner7023]

Thanks, I didn’t see that there were wires included….

[@markwagner7023]

My FlyFish RC GPS seems to be powering up but, all it does is flash red. I crossed the tx and rx wires, and I've connected the antenna. Any suggestions? I've never ventured into Meshtastic before. Thanks in advance for your help. Mark

[@randomalleycat]

You might want to take a look in the setting and see if you need to enable it in there. Unfortunately they haven't integrated that into the tdeck firmware yet, so you will need to use the phone app or the web client. Check out the meshtastic website to see what the settings are, they have been making a lot of updates so it's hard for me to tell you exactly what setting is what at the moment, but the website covers it pretty well.

[@markwagner7023]

@@randomalleycat OK, thank you for your quick response !

[@randomalleycat]

Keep me updated!

[@kleinbiker1]

No link for the GPS module?

[@randomalleycat]

They’re in the video description!

[@kleinbiker1]

@@randomalleycatoops I missed it!

[@randomalleycat]

No worries, thanks for watching!

[@cxcabrera]

I snagged a T-deck with a HGLRC GPS module. I got my wires correctly soldered, but get "No sats" pretty much always. Red light is on for a bit but eventually goes off and only blue remains. Can't understand what is going on.

[@randomalleycat]

If you're sure that your wires are connected properly, you also want to make sure that GPS mode is enabled in the settings, and then just leave it powered on in a place that you know gets a good signal, outside if you can, and you might need to restart it after a while as well. If you join my discord, you can get some more help pretty quickly as well.

[@cxcabrera]

@@randomalleycat I'll do just that, thanks!

[@BryanSawler]

Sadly chalk another up to the "tried this but still getting No GPS" - love the case designs printed both a fat and slim for my 2 tdecks! Now I just need to figure out how to debug this GPS issue. I also noticed since installing the GPS module I can't get the web-based serial tools (flasher. or client.meshtastic) to connect. Guess I need to jump on the discord :)

[@randomalleycat]

That's frustrating. It's been a little buggy for me too, but it seems to work better if I have it in a location that gets a good signal when I turn it on, but that could be a coincidence. Specifically the 10 series ublox chips are having issue with meshtastic, so I'm really hoping that the issue and they will fix it soon because the T-Beam Supreme also uses the 10.

[@BryanSawler]

@@randomalleycatSo I had to manually set the GPS Rx and Tx pins in the position config to 44 and 43 respectively for the t-deck and set GPS to "Present" and then 2-3 reboots later it's started working pretty consistently!

[@randomalleycat]

@@BryanSawler That's good info to know, thank you!

[@GaryStango]

What SMA connector do you recommend for an external antenna?

[@randomalleycat]

Something like this would be perfect: a.co/d/hVqEtv5

[@GaryStango]

@@randomalleycat Thank you. That's what I was assuming, but wanted to make sure!

[@HighyieldGD]

what is the name of the internal RAK antenna you took out at time stamp :33

[@randomalleycat]

store.rakwireless.com/products/pcb-antenna-for-lora

[@kai_jokela]

This is great, but I need the speaker to get notified of a message. Perhaps there is an alternative speaker somwehere.

[@randomalleycat]

I agree, and I’m looking for a speaker that will fit. I’m also looking into using a vibration motor instead. In the mean time, you can still use the standard case with the GPS which still has room for the stock speaker. Thanks for the feedback and thanks for watching!

[@kai_jokela]

Your designs are the best, I am now printing a second case of your design. I also appreciate a lot that you make these available for free and listen to feedback for upgrades

[@randomalleycat]

@@kai_jokela Thank you for being supportive and understanding!

[@qfour22]

Enjoyed the video and the case looks great. Sounds like I need to resurrect my ender and spit out some of these.

[@kai_jokela]

@@randomalleycat I received some really tiny speakers from Aliexpress, and in Prusaslicer I made a round hole for the tiny speaker, next next to screws. It fits there nicely.

[@mikeschmalz2031]

I just printed your case on a Prusa, and it is amazing! very tight fit, but it is perfect! I tried other cases, but I am definitely using your design. Are you an engineer by trade?

[@randomalleycat]

Thanks! I'm glad it worked out for you! I'm using Prusa as well, so that probably helps. Sometimes I wish I worked as an engineer, but then I think I would hate doing it as a job. I've just been doing it for myself for a long time and I'm really obsessive about details, but I'm definitely not an expert!

[@Liharris30]

The.links are out of stock

[@randomalleycat]

Try just doing a search for "FlyFishRC M10 Mini" on AliExpress, there should be other sellers who still have it in stock.

[@randomalleycat]

I updated the links to just do a search on AliExpress so that should make it easier.

[@Liharris30]

@@randomalleycat thanks for your help i finally got round to setting up the T-Deck with GPS and used the FlyFishRC M10 Mini - all i ever get is No GPS Lock

[@randomalleycat]

@@Liharris30 you might have to enable it in the settings, if it is enabled, you might need to put it in a spot with a good signal and just leave it for a while. If you aren't already in the meshtastic discord server, that is a really good place to get more help, or you can join my discord server and we can figure it out.

[@markwilliams5654]

I just ordered a new t deck

[@randomalleycat]

There's an updated version of the case being tested in my Discord if you want to check it out.

[@volkinaxe]

it still says GPS not present why ? it`s not working ?

[@randomalleycat]

You might need to check the settings using the Meshtastic app to make sure that it’s active. Also, double check that your TX RX lines are crossed, and when you turn it on, let it sit in one place that has a clear signal for at least 15 minutes. I think the firmware is still a little finicky for GPS on the T-Deck but it definitely can work!

[@kfamilyvideos1]

Fantastic! Have you tried printing in tpu? Meow

[@randomalleycat]

I haven’t, but I think someone on the Meshtastic discord did. I think I have a spool so maybe I’ll try it.

[@EJackson82]

any chance you could get me a link to that battery?

[@randomalleycat]

Check the Printables link in the description, that has all the instructions and links to parts.

[@EJackson82]

@@randomalleycat Thank you very much for your quick reply. I see it. I LOVE this case.

[@MyTube4Utoo]

Thank you.

[@kai_jokela]

I have "GPS disabled by button" and "GPS disabled" messages on my T-Deck. the GPS mode does not stay in ENABLED, after boot it's allways DISABLED. I have tried all known pin numbers 43, 44, 47 & 48 but no success

[@randomalleycat]

My best suggestion would be to do a full erase and reflash of the T-Deck firmware, and then power it on as is and make sure it is in a spot with a good GPS signal. Let it sit there for at least 15 minutes, and then see if it works. If not, turn it off for another 15 minutes and turn it back on. If that still doesn't work, I would suggest hopping on the Discord for Meshtastic because there are a lot os super helpful people much more knowledgeable about the firmware than I am! Sorry you are having trouble!

[@kai_jokela]

Thanks for quick reply and suggestions. After triple clicking roller ball button the error message is "no GPS module". I'll now try flashing the device.

[@kai_jokela]

@@randomalleycat With your advices it started working! After some waiting the postitioning started to show on map, but for a long time GPS status messages on T-Deck screen showed "No GPS", until it changed to simply stating "Fixed GPS". No satellite lock count. I did not cross RX/TX wires by the way.

[@randomalleycat]

@@kai_jokela Awesome! I'm glad you were finally able to get it working! It's a bit tricky initially, but eventually it does work. Thanks for the feedback, I'm going to do a little bit of testing and I'll be making another video.

[@kai_jokela]

O boy, it does not work. "Fixed GPS" means that the position set manually in the app. I had accidentally flipped that switch.

[@kfamilyvideos1]

Have you found a li ion battery that will fit instead of the lipo? Hot car, exploding lipo and singed whiskers! Meow

[@randomalleycat]

With the fat back you can fit 18650s or 21700s!

[@turdferguson2863]

Here I go!

[@HotMicSystems]

Didn't know you had a youtube after talking on the discord

[@randomalleycat]

It isn't much, but it's mine!😊

[@markwagner7023]

BTW The T-Deck says - GPS not present

[@Wronda]

The TX and RX pins need to be swapped, and in MESHTASTIC, set the 'position' option to 'enable' to make the modification.

[@stanleyjungleib650]

Half of my pcb pads left with the connector. Be careful..

[@randomalleycat]

Oh no! Were you able to salvage it?

[@stanleyjungleib650]

No recovery, no. The two pads just floated off. No remnant to attach to.

[@randomalleycat]

Maybe you can strip a little solder mask off a trace and solder to that?

[@stanleyjungleib650]

@@randomalleycat I will dig around when patience accrues. It doesn't look promising. OTOH it can live without it. Replacement is cheap, but I may need new SMT tools. This is just the start. There will soon be a replacement. Actually, it was a dual disaster: the AliExpress 18650 battery holders were too small. RIdiculous. Thank you.

[@randomalleycat]

@@stanleyjungleib650 These things were clearly designed to keep us tinkerers busy!

[@jaqhass]

Can somebody please explain why a gps is even used for in things like t-deck or meshtastic? Given the power of ai and a certain someone being allowed the power of retroactive abortion for his political rivals (if elected) you'd think a gps is a bit of a problem, even for his most loyal fans.

[@randomalleycat]

I think the main benefit of using GPS in a meshtastic device is to share your location with someone else in your group. A lot of people use meshtastic in the standard public channel, but when you are out in the wilderness (or populated areas for that matter), you can set up a private encrypted channel and be able to communicate and share location with only the people you choose. Compared to a radio or cell phone, your communications are "more secure" and due to the relatively short range and transmit time, harder to detect. Of course you can also use it to pinpoint your own location on a map with the GPS coordinates, and if you don't transmit them, nobody can get them. All that being said, if a government or anyone else wants to find you bad enough, they'll find a way.

[@DeCalDemz]

​@@randomalleycatcertainly. More of a grid down benefit, but still very useful out in the wilderness if travelling without a phone for example. Either taking a break from socail or your on the run / covert operation 😂

[@randomalleycat]

@@DeCalDemzI know it’s getting harder to do these days, but I actually like to go out far enough that there’s no cell signal anyway. Even then of course the GPS can still work on the phone, but it’s either handheld radio or something like this to make contact. A bonus with the mesh network is I can put a node on a peak, hoist it into a tree, or even strap it to a drone to get a higher altitude relay.