how to make GPRS/GSM SIM900 shield work with gps neo-6M module using Arduino UNO board

Question

I'm a beginer to arduino program.i will like to make a program that will send latitude and longitude on my mysql database.so since 3 days i try to learn how to use all this material(GPRS/GSM SIM900 shield, gps neo-6M).But i only success to make them work alone.i also learn that i cannot use SoftwareSerial for GPRS/GSM SIM900 shield and gps neo-6M at the same time. so how can i make GPRS/GSM SIM900 shield and gps neo-6M work together using arduino uno

thank you for you help

Answer 1

I think you are searching for a solution like this Interfacing GSM and GPS Module using Arduino where GPS and GSM modules can run together and receive data at the same time.

I tried bringing up both inside setup() and it blocked the other device. Here is some extract of the code (Note that rx,tx and baud rates may differ according to the modules).

SoftwareSerial gsm(7,8);
SoftwareSerial gps(3,4);

void setup() {
    Serial.begin(9600);
    gps.begin(9600);
    gsm.begin(4800); <--- This stopped receiving GPS updates
}

If you look for an advanced way of handling this situation, you may need to implement some light-weight threads (e.g Protothreads) and assign GPS and GSM modules to run in separate threads, so one device may not block send/receive of the other device. These Arduino forum answers may help for such approach.

Answer 2

I will suggest you to use TinyGPS to connect only via GPS and get the position, make sure you are testing outside with good view of the sky or the gps will never get a lock down.

Then when you are familiar with TinyGPS and how to get the location, add the GSM module to send over this information to your mysql server.