GPS module test: BN-180, BN-220, BN-880, Matek SAM-M8Q and M8Q-5883 against each other

[@ZaksterBlue]

Test between BN220 and BN220T would be of interest!

[@pozytywnyy]

Uwielbiam nasz akcent :D Dzięki za film.

[@rcgridcom]

Pawel, thanks to you, we built a speedometer for our RC car, just like F1 style. We used BN880 with F4 flight controller to measure the speed.

[@FPVUniversity]

That is awesome!

[@RaynerGS]

Matek M9N is much better then M8Q? Is there much difference?

[@winandd8649]

Nice that the test device shows the cold start fix times, but I don't see that anywhere in the summary?

[@rizen3467]

Nice, have been wondering about effectiveness of gps modules yesterday, so great timing 😄

[@Beitian]

Thank you so much.❤

[@FPVUniversity]

my pleasure

[@breakflight]

Thanks. I'm curious about an M9 vs. the others, and how Ground Assist affects the comparison.

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

I've never noticed a huge difference using vs not using ground assist but, I think this will be highly dependent on where you are flying. I'm only really flying gps rigs in the middle of nowhere or in the mountains. Maybe in really noisy RF while also being closer to the towers there would be a noticeable difference but, I think it provides a less accurate vertical accuracy probably because of multipathing.

[@AndroidYardimcisi]

I have hglrc m100 GPS and compass module, I have a speedybee f405v4 motherboard, Inav 7.1 software is installed, my GPS protocol is ublox7 selective, pos hold and alt hold are working stably, but when I send my drone to the duty point somewhere 330 meters away, my drone goes to another place. If pos hold and alt hold are working properly, navigation Shouldn't it work flawlessly in mode? GPS finds 18 satellites, HDOP level is below 1.2, where am I making a mistake?

[@ForbiddenOldman]

Dzięki Panie Pawle, jedyny szczegółowy film o interesującym mnie teraz temacie, który znalazłem bez długich poszukiwań.

[@FPVUniversity]

Cieszę się że mogłem pomóc

[@lesjack137]

Useful to know, thanks for posting.

[@elxero2189]

bn880 would never lock in my area on my long range quad. but the matek m8q has been rock solid.. I found out that it's shielded that could be why

[@nullx8]

the M8Q modules are also FAR LESS sensitive to outside interference, if the receiver is close to a motor, VTX, or a bad/cheap camera ... good luck getting a fix at all. the M8Q has no problems with his. also shielded cables are not really required as it just knows what is what. also i can confirm that the BN receivers do "Cold start" far more often that the Mateek ones do, for the 180 1+ hour is already enough to make it cold start on a 220 about 3 hours. the Matek does hot-start even after 6 or 7 hours. (not as fast but MUCH faster than actual cold starting)

[@twinturbostang]

Might be useful to show average hot start and average cold start. The worst and best cases shown can sometimes be outliers due to weather conditions, number of satellites in view, etc. Average values would show more real-world situations.

[@rougeneon1997]

Ohh OK you did the cold starts indoors? Ive never had much luck with that.

[@Clif_Brown]

BN-880 is a lot bulkier/bigger//heavier than the M8Q-5883. The M8Q-5883 have worked great for me in INAV.

[@saifcathum3423]

I wonder if some of the issues I've had between identical GPS receivers is due to damage from G-forces/vibrations, hard landings and crashes. It would be interesting to test new GPS receivers against older GPS receivers that have been put through their paces.

[@willsintheair]

I got very similar results recently. I put an m8q-5883 on a flywoo hexplorer and a Bn-880 into a rover, both running iNav. Favourable results with both but the 880 is pretty big. With the m8q my RTH landings with the hex are very accurate. Never more than 30cm from the home point. (iNav 3.0) With the 880 I get 3D fix almost instantly and I'm running a DJI air unit in the rover with no problems to the GPS. (10cm separation between AU and GPS) a

[@Bommelmox]

Hi @willsintheair thanks for sharing your experiences! I plan to install a m8q-5883 on my Flywoo Explorer in order to be able to run it on INAV. Where did you mount this GPS unit on your Hexplorer? Did you use the original GPS mount in the back of the quad, or did you put it on a mast? I am wondering about the required distance between the Compass and the other electronics. Could you share your experiences on that topic? :)

[@GhostRyderFPV]

My fiancee just overheard the intro. She asked what Pawel's OnlyFans access costs? Outstanding comparo, I hope that one day you'll have data for the M9N series to compare with these. It seems to me, most times I'm shopping for a GPS sensor, the BN-220 and M9N are the most prevalent and available. I haven't had great luck with either, usually waiting 5 minutes or more for a cold-start lock.

[@FPVUniversity]

There is no OnlyFans but Patreon is quite affordable 😂

[@grim-upnorth]

I put the BN880 on everything, even though I don't use the built in mag. I've actually started buying the BN880Q now, a slightly more compact form factor but still the same GPS receiver.

[@tukanxx]

Paweł, could you repeat this test with currently available M10 GPS modules such as BZGNSS, Walksnail, HGLRC, FOXEER, RUSHFPV, Beitian, Matek, IFlight, GEPRC and others...? Thank you ;) Greetings from Poland

[@Chillin-fpv]

This is what i was looking for

[@utube521]

on which of them did you see Galileo?

[@padcom]

Could you do one with the new GPS modules? I mean the M9s and M10s

[@FPVUniversity]

time man, time :)

[@tomaszek2633]

maybe a series about sensors? what compass, sonar ...

[@robertdroner]

Very good Pawel - I only use the BN-880. It just performs as expected.

[@gilgsn]

I shield the GPS wires with the braid from RG58 coax: Fast acquisition and never any problem!

[@KleszczuPK]

What about HGLRC M80?

[@jeroenjegerings]

The link for Matek SAM-M8Q goes to Banggood page of the m8q-5883

[@DerImmo]

Really interesting topic Pavel, thank you very much for this! Do you think it might be possible to have a follow-up concentrating on the ability to cope with interference from for example cheap hd cameras and the ability to recover from something like that in a "noisy" environment? Perhaps one or the other gps sensor might react very differently to EM noise...

[@blair.nichols]

Id want to see this test done with the same setup used for each GPS, a regulated power supply and a fixed(exact) position for each test. I like the idea but feel there are still too many vairables to get concise results. I also think multiple locations should have been used to rule out any changes. However, with that said I am fairly sure results would not differ too much.

[@РоманС-ш5щ]

Купил BN-220ZF. Никак не работают с Inav. В чём разница BN-220ZF и простым BN-220 ?

[@bambitakesflight7345]

Hello Pavel, I'm not sure if you are aware but you can update and change the firmware on the GPS itself, this includes modifications for hot/cold start. Also once GPS has gained satelite data it will usually boot up a lot quicker and more reliably within that 24 hour period.

[@FlyingMohsinRC]

You should check M9N from matek too..

[@sullytrny]

I don't think they are fully supported yet and they are pricey

[@chipsterflysome]

I have a matek M8Q-5883 I'm setting up in INav. I am trying to use the magnetometer. I get correct readings in INav but nothing to my Transmitter where I am trying to display Hdg. My flight controller is a Tyro-129 (target Matek F405) and my receiver is a TBS nano II. Where could my problem be? My wiring runs from the GPS SDA and SCL to the same connections on the flight controller.

[@1stslave143]

Pawel, Could you please do the same test with the next GPS moduls again. Would like to get an idea how good the ifligh one is as example.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Thanks, good info.

[@FPVUniversity]

No problem!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

@@FPVUniversity my responses keep getting erased from this channel. I see you did make a video about CAN with all the info I needed. thx very much!!

[@thomassinger5613]

hy Pawel. can you say more about the ESP32 test board?

[@andree8832]

Does GPS require both Tx and Rx wires to be connected to FC? I have only GPS Tx wire connected (no free full UART) and it works but would it be any better with Rx?

[@emmanuelsab1095]

you're the king!! ;-)

[@FPVUniversity]

Wow, thanks!

[@theartofflying3108]

How to find out what GPS will work with what brand Flight Controller..?

[@antigravity8247]

Can you test the BN-220T, this is the thicker and better version of the GPS antenna.

[@thomasbarbic6667]

how do I find my drone by the gps if my osd wasnt working?

[@FPVUniversity]

If you had GPS transmitted over telemetry to you radio, you can pick the last known coordinates from there. Of course, if you do not turn off the radio

[@spammerscammer]

Wrench test?

[@blueRC]

Interesting, but in my experience there are really big differences between the same models, that would be an interesting comparison

[@sempron1500]

Hi all, what do you think about the Beitian BN-220T. It has a thicker ceramic antenna, do you think it is better than the standard BN-220? If so, I would buy it. I have the BN-200 (same as BN-220) and is very slow at cold start :(

[@chriscflint]

I use both 180 and the 880 and the 880 is amazingly fast wheras the 180 take up to 5 minutes in an open sky to get the first cold start fix.

[@jiatan_fpv]

So.. did you actually mention the test conditions anywhere in the video? I couldn't find it. I hope you did the test outside, otherwise it's not of much use.. Also measuring standard deviation of the 3D fix would be a better metric than the self-reported HDoP/VDoP. PS. Have zero issues with BN-220, suspect anything else might be overkill unless you need GPS position hold on multirotors or do Arducopter missions..

[@rougeneon1997]

Im pretty sure he cold started indoors

[@thelethalmoo]

would be keen to see what happens if you whap a f9 ublox chip in that list

[@reptethetetlen]

I'm content with the BN-880, you only have to place it further from the VTX. Getting a fix doesn't take a lifetime indeed in my experience.

[@hknight007]

Excellent video! may I ask you, how do the 2 Mateks compare against the 2 new modules from Flywoo (Goku GM10 - Pro and Mini). Thank you for your help.

[@FPVUniversity]

I can't compare. M10 is smaller and lighter for sure and I would persomally go with M10 now

[@hknight007]

@@FPVUniversity Awesome! Thank you 🙌

[@20basty]

i get a fix with 880 inside my home with the plane fairly fair from windows and 2 floors above me

[@gregdavidd]

Why no M10-5883 in this roundup?

[@FPVUniversity]

back then, 2 years ago, M10 was not yet a thing

[@gregdavidd]

@@FPVUniversity So I assume m10 kicks ass on all of them now?

[@m9hrdad]

How do these compare to the Matek M9N-5883?

[@andreabalzarini6615]

BN 880 has an Active antenna so better performance over BN 180 and 220 is highly expected. Anyway, hdop value as shown between 68 and 88 are very poor, probably because of indoor situazion (should be 2 or lower)

[@SteveFPV80]

I'm using the BN-220T on my wing and that seems to be really good. I'm not sure what the T stands for but I feel like it's a better unit.

[@897bialy]

as far as i know the "T" version has bigger antenna

[@SteveFPV80]

@@897bialy that would make sense. I never feel like I have to wait long for a lock and any extra weight is lost on my wing.

[@ChrisLeeX]

in your spreadsheet, why didn't you label any of the cells with units? makes. zero. sense.

[@gprov590]

Hi Pawel, what is the beitan 880's cable called? I can't seem to find a replacement..

[@FPVUniversity]

I think it's Molex Picoblade. But BN880 has big enough soldering pads, you can solder you own no problem and it's what I'm doing most of the time

[@gprov590]

@@FPVUniversity i see.. Thanks man. I'll solder mine too :)

[@gprov590]

@@FPVUniversity hello again pawel.. I couldn't find any info on where to solder the scl/sda cables on my f722 45A FC. Where should I solder it?

[@blainsmith3097]

Good stuff guy. I run the 220's in all my stuff for now. There strange , sometimes 14 sat lock in 60 seconds and other times they just sit and burn and burn . UBLOX7 is suppose to speed up things. Never tested it idk.

[@AEMBowers]

Thanks for the video. You've been my go-to guy for learning how to install GPS on my 5" quad. Question: Does anyone using 5" quads on Betaflight utilize the compass component that many of these modules come with? No matter where I put the module on my 5" quad, I cannot seem to get accurate headings. I've fiddled around with the magnetometer's alignment in BF, put the module on a small stalk, made sure to calibrate the module when there's no metal around, etc. The one thing I haven't done is actually fly with it yet, but I'm assuming that if the compass doesn't work well on the ground, it won't in the air either.

[@FPVUniversity]

Betaflight does not use mag. You would need INAV to have position and heading hold

[@AEMBowers]

@@FPVUniversity That's interesting. Then why does BF have a magnetometer icon on setup page, an option to turn the mag on and off, a mag alignment drop-down, a compass on the setup page that shows heading (which does change when I change configurations for the mag), a mag calibration option, etc? Why do you otherwise say that BF "does not use mag"? All I want is to see a heading arrow in my OSD as well as provide extra information to make GPS Rescue more accurate (many online have said a compass will allow for this)--I do realize that I cannot have position hold, RTH, etc, unless I use INAV. Here is a post from SnowLeopardFPV on the IntoFPV forum: "Unless you are using INAV or Arducopter then a magnetometer is pretty useless anyway. All you can do is display the your compass heading in the OSD of your goggles (unless you are using the DJI FPV System in which case you can't because they don't support the compass OSD elements). That is all. It can't be used for GPS Rescue or anything else in Betaflight." I will be using the DJI digital FPV system. Can someone confirm that I am out of luck in being able to get compass information under my circumstances (i.e., using BF and DJI digi goggles), even if I do manage to get my compass properly calibrated? It's confusing, because I've read a bunch of conflicting info about using a mag with Betaflight. No one seems to know the full truth.

[@shotbyarian]

thank you for the review! can you test the new beitian bn-250?

[@DKAS-g4h]

M80?

[@minhtutruong7381]

at last. who will be win ?

[@wingsmh27]

Best is BN220 in low cost , bad experience with BN880 take too much time to fix,

[@AndreyZzz]

Only-5883 ☝👍👍

[@WinstonSmith1984]

Off topic about something in the news: Is Tamil a Polish name? It doesn't sound Polish to me.

[@FPVUniversity]

Nope, not polish at all

[@David_11111]

Yay enjoyed this.. do you share code ?

[@youwei888]

good vedio.we are big commany who produce this.intrested,callus

[@CesiumSalami]

I always suspected my Mateks were more accurate. My BN220s seem to lock on min sats more quickly and reliably, which is strange. every once and a while my Mateks take a really long time (even under similar mounting) and often the bn220 schools the Mateks on hot start. Fortunately I'm only using these for BF GPS rescue which sets a pretty low bar for needs / accuracy. Also prefer being able to set the 10hz update rate in ucenter and saving there as BF doesn't support UBLOX7 yet and that's not really possible (practically) with the two Mateks shown here.

[@Simofly]

That’s interesting ! Is it possibile to set 10hz on the BN or Matek?

[@CesiumSalami]

@@Simofly yep, both are capable of 10hz. Just depends on the firmware you use. For inav i think the ublox7 protocol sets them to 10hz. For BF you’d have to do a very tiny amount of custom code. But with the BN220 (and other gps units with flash space) you can set everything in ucenter and turn off any configuration commands sent by inav/bf.

[@fluoxethine]

only pricey

[@remainsmemories626]

Please, don't darken whole image when showing titles

[@spammerscammer]

Get out and get some sunshine and do this test outside where these are meant to work. Testing them in your moms basement isn't a real test.

[@theroc495]

Here2 and here3

[@Vousie]

So... You've tested the 5 *worst* GNSS receivers on the market... There really are much, much better GNSS receivers for drones out there. The Matek M9N would be one step better.

[@Nici619]

fucking expensive

[@Vousie]

@@Nici619 So $100 for the 4 motors is normal but $50 for a GPS is too much?

[@Nici619]

@@Vousie yes. My motors cost max 15€

[@Vousie]

​@@Nici619 Is this for all 4 or each? 'Cause I'm fairly sure I've never seen 4 motors for 15 euro.... But in any case, if you like buying such cheap rubbish, then prepare to have your quad fall out of the sky 'cause it lost GPS lock.

[@stefffpv]

Good day what do you think is the best GPS for drones ?