{"id":16,"date":"2026-08-21T01:08:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/project\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T01:08:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:08:39","slug":"project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/project\/","title":{"rendered":"The Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/span>\"Aerial
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The Project<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every mile has a signature<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Tidepoint began as a question: what does a cellular network actually look like when you drive through it? The answer required building our own hardware \u2014 because no off-the-shelf logger records GPS, signal strength, and bandwidth in the same breath.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"ESP32-based<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Hardware<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ESP32 core built for the field, not the bench<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The logger pairs an ESP32-S3 with a u-blox GNSS module and a cellular modem capable of reading RSRP, RSRQ, and live throughput. Everything runs on a low-power duty cycle designed for multi-day field deployments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firmware polls all three subsystems in parallel, tags each reading with a shared clock, and writes to onboard flash before anything ever touches a laptop. No phone required, no app, no fragile Bluetooth link to babysit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ESP32-S3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GNSS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LTE Cat-1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onboard Flash<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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How It Works<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From raw radio noise to a clean row of data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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01<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capture<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 GNSS fixes and modem diagnostics are sampled continuously, even in marginal coverage where most trackers give up.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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02<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timestamp<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Every reading is stamped against a single synchronized clock so position and signal never drift apart.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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03<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correlate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Location, signal strength, and bandwidth are fused into one unified record per interval \u2014 no post-hoc matching required.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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04<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Export<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 The complete log is packaged into a single file, ready to drop straight into Google Maps or Sheets.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Data Formats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built for the tools you already use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Logs export as clean CSV for spreadsheet analysis, or as KML for instant plotting in Google Earth and Maps. Every row carries latitude, longitude, timestamp, signal strength, and measured bandwidth \u2014 no proprietary viewer needed, no lock-in.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"Map
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Data Gallery Preview<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speed and signal, laid over the road itself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each trip renders as a colored route: green where bandwidth is strong, amber where it thins out, red where the connection nearly disappears. A second overlay traces speed, so dead zones and highway stretches tell their own story at a glance.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Spec Sheet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s inside the enclosure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Days Battery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuous logging on a single 5000mAh cell at standard sample rates.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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72ch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GNSS Chipset<\/p>\n\n\n\n

u-blox multi-band receiver, sub-3-meter accuracy in open sky.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Cat-1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cellular Modem<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LTE Cat-1 modem reporting live RSRP, RSRQ, and throughput.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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32GB<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onboard Storage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MicroSD logging with automatic CSV and KML file rotation.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hardware An ESP32 core built for the field, not the bench The logger pairs an ESP32-S3 with a u-blox GNSS module and a cellular modem capable of reading RSRP, RSRQ, and live throughput. Everything runs on a low-power duty cycle designed for multi-day field deployments. Firmware polls all three subsystems in parallel, tags each … <\/p>\n

Read more “The Project”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width-no-title.php","meta":{"inspiro_hide_title":false,"inspiro_hide_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsparks.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}