Have you ever wondered where your scooter is when someone borrows it for "just a sec"? Or want to track your dog (or grandma) without buying a clunky commercial tracker and paying $30/month? Yeah, same here.

In this Arduino Project, we built a GPS tracker to accomplish just that. 

Why Bother? 

 Because:

  • No creepy cloud company is spying on your movement
  • No recurring subscription fees
  • You get to control the code, the update rate, everything
  • It works. Like, actually works. We tested it.

How It Goes Down

  1. GPS grabs your coordinates
  2. Arduino reads it
  3. SIM800L sends it online to something called GeoLinker
  4. GeoLinker shows your tracker's location on a map like Google Maps, but for free.

Quick Wiring Notes

  • GPS TX → Arduino RX (Pin 0)
  • SIM800L TX → Pin 9
  • SIM800L RX → Pin 8 (via those resistors)
  • SIM800L VCC → 5V pin through a diode (drops it slightly)
  • GND to GND (always)
  • Pin 2 → Arduino RST pin (trust us on this one)

Important: Unplug the GPS TX when uploading code, or it’ll go bonkers.

GeoLinker Lite: We didn’t just build a GPS tracker. We also built a free dashboard. It’s called GeoLinker. No login required (unless you want to store stuff). Here's the code part you care about:

#include <GeoLinkerLite.h>
GeoLinkerLite geoLinker(Serial, Serial);

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  delay(1000);
  geoLinker.setResetPin(2);
  geoLinker.setGSMPins(8, 9);
  geoLinker.setModemAPN("your.apn");
  geoLinker.setAPIKey("your_api_key");
  geoLinker.setDeviceID("tracker_01");
  geoLinker.setMaxRetries(3);
  geoLinker.setDebugLevel(1);
  geoLinker.setTimeOffset(5, 30);  // India timezone
  geoLinker.begin();
  delay(1000);
  geoLinker.run();
}

void loop() {
  delay(10000); // update interval
}

Grab your free API key from CircuitDigest Cloud. 10,000 points per device. That’s plenty.

Taking It Outside

  • Go out in the open. It needs a clear sky for satellite lock.
  • Give it a couple of minutes. GPS isn't instant.
  • Watch the Serial Monitor and see data flow.
  • And just like that, your location shows up on the map.

Stuff That Might Go Wrong

  • Code won’t upload? Unplug that GPS wire from the RX pin.
  • Keeps resetting? SIM800L is power-hungry. Use a strong power bank.
  • No GPS data? Try outdoors. Wait. Be patient.
  • SIM module silent? Double-check wiring. Use a working SIM. Not Jio (no 2G).

Final Words: You don’t need fancy parts or paid services to track things. This build is cheap, simple, and gives you total control. Customize it, upgrade it, or throw it in a weatherproof box and mount it on your bike. Just don’t forget where you put it.

Full tutorial, wiring guide, and GitHub repo are right here: Arduino GPS Tracker