3/20/17 Problems and Progress
After weeks to months of research and experimentation, I've made a few tangible breakthroughs in the development process. I am now able to make calls and SMS text messages with ease through the Adafruit FONA technology, and it is operating with an active phone number. Below is an image of the arduino, Adafruit, and breadboard, as well as a screenshot of the successful message sent.
This did not come easily however. As you can see in the screenshot, this was the 5th test in a row--the previous tries resulted in no text being sent for various reasons. I have also been facing issues with the GPS and getting it to maintain a fix on my location. The problem is most likely stemming simply from inexperience--I've already had a few of those--, but it is an issue nonetheless. The continued process has also opened up new questions about the price, and I am weighing the option of making this a subscription based service similar to LifeAlert (though much cheaper). I have been investing quite a bit of time/thinking into that aspect.
