Troubleshooting the Adafruit Ultimate GPS When Not Getting a Fix

[@olamideakinyele4476]

I have been watching your lessons lately. They have been invaluable to me. I can't stop showing interest in learning about micro processors and micro controllers. You are the best TEACHER. You made learning so easy

[@jimedgar6789]

THanks! This module has been the bane of my life! Working now, got good power.

[@jamieshelley6079]

Thank you so much ! It's given me a few ideas. Namely plugging the vcc into a voltage regulator that I use for the other more sensitive instruments.

[@petleh82]

If a GPS receiver have lost all its memory, it have to get the complete satellite positions and orbital maps almanac from the satellites. That will take 12 minutes and that is if it have good reception and doesn't loose any packets during that 12 minuts or else it will take a lot longer. So it is good to have a backup battery connected to a GPS, so that it can keep the almanac in memory and just need to update it a little when powered up. Just leaving a GPS turned on outside for a couple of hours usually fixes it so it gets lock faster in the future. (giving it time to download the almanac). Have a nice day !

[@paulmcwhorter]

What you are saying is correct. Also, though, the Adafruit ultimate GPS without an external antenna can be a little tricky sometimes. Sometimes WAAAAAY longer than twelve minutes.

[@foodini]

You mention that you need totally clean power for the GPS Breakout board. I have a project where the GPS shares 3v3 and gnd with a number of other devices. None of them burn as much current as the GPS, but I do find that occasionally, it will seem to brown out. It'll do two 1Hz flashes, then a very brief pause before two more. I assume this is the board restarting itself over and over as power misbehaves. It's never done it while connected to my scope, so I'm assuming here. If I wanted to get "clean" power for this thing, I assume a capacitor will do the job. What's the common wisdom for selecting it/them?

[@1rocketman1]

Party game: Watch this video and drink every time he says the word "fix"

[@tomstanley7772]

I was able to get a fix indoors once. What sucks is that's the only time I got a fix. I even tried a remote antenna. I'm going to try a good 5vdc power input to see if that brings things around. Thanks for the info.

[@alexrogers9086]

i have the raspberry pi ultimate gps hat and i have not been able to find any setup guides with enough detail. i'm wondering if i soldered the pins right and how i connect the serial port and what not.

[@cristianmoreno5738]

Hi Paul, I connected a Ultimate GPS Featherwing to the MO adalogger of adafruit get uploaded codes, however, I don't see any data in the monitor plotter. I tried even doing the simple RX & TX test on the powered GPS, which after a while started blinking showing fixs, however, the monitor plotter remains blank. I conclude the GPS works and get fixs, however, I am not able to see that. What your recommendation?

[@umut373]

In my GPS module, the date looks like 2080, does it affect the operation of this module? And how do I fix it?

[@rachelpappanastos5954]

What are the details of that button battery? Hard to fully see in the tutorial...

[@phaksndlovu7619]

I recently bought a raspberry pi zero w for a livestock project ,i need to add aGPS and speaker Phat. i need to know which GPS module is compatible with it.

[@terrencewong1743]

Hi, may i know how to determine whether gps is working or not because my gps is connected to raspberry pi but no fix is show. I duno whether it's not enough power supply or wat. i had no idea on it

[@paulkupfer5465]

The example ultimate GPS code assumes that the loop() is always running. This is how it reads characters from the GPS serial to make a "sentence". Once you are not in the loop, you need to create a separate loop when checking GPS.fix to get ALL of the characters every time. Something like this: void get_gps() { int k = 200; int t = 0; while (t < k) { char c = GPS.read(); if (GPSECHO) if (c) Serial.print(c); if (GPS.newNMEAreceived()) { if (!GPS.parse(GPS.lastNMEA())) return; } t++; } }

looks like theres an ext ant connector there (gold) that might help too.

[@paulmcwhorter]

***** That is a good point. On my application I can not afford the weight of external antenna and cable, but for others that might be a good option.

[@stargazer7644]

99% of solar flares make no significant difference to GPS. Only truly enormous flares (happen every few decades) are even measurable on GPS. The one thing you didn't mention is EMI/RFI. The Adafruit is a very sensitive radio receiver, and is trying to pick up microwave signals from satellites from 12,000 miles away using an antenna the is a fraction of a square inch. The tiniest amount of electromagnetic interference from any other electronics in the GPS band will completely blot out the GPS signals. Don't mount it near unshielded electronics. Strong nearby transmitters (telemetry, video, etc) even if they're on other bands will desensitize the GPS receiver and deafen it. The external antenna jack is on that board for a reason. Get the antenna away from things causing radio frequency interference and the system will work better. Very small and light antennas can be built or purchased.

[@eliasmagallanes7884]

Hi, im from Venezuela and im using this gps module and have a question. When the module get a fix for the first time, it begins to work normally? i can´t get a fix yet but i will follow your suggestion and see what happens. Thank you.

[@paulmcwhorter]

+Elias Magallanes Sometimes it takes time to get fix first time. If you use the button battery, and keep it in the unit, it will find fix faster next time.

[@alessandrocava2113]

How should I power this. I am new to this type of gps data receiving

[@williamquigg6198]

My GPS is capable of achieving a fix from a satellite but will not transmit the data to my raspberry pi. I know it can contact satellites due to the change in frequency of the blinking red light. Do you have any experience with getting a fix but not being able to transport the data to your micro-controller?

[@paulmcwhorter]

+William Quigg I would start by trying to just print the raw datastream coming off the GPS. The adafruit sits and spits out NMEA sentences if it is powered. Try to just print the datastream coming from the adafruit on the raspberry pi.

[@williamquigg6198]

+Paul McWhorter Do you have any resources where I can learn how to print out the NMEA sentences? Currently I only know how to print the time, location, speed etc... display, all these values say N/A and says NO FIX (O seconds) even when I know there is a fix.

[@paulmcwhorter]

+William Quigg You need to just capture the raw data stream coming off the serial connection to the GPS. It is sitting and spitting out raw data. Even without a fix, you can see the NMEA sentences. My videos show how to do it on BBB and Raspberry pi should be almost the same.

[@williamquigg6198]

+Paul McWhorter Thank you for the help. When I have a fix the NMEA sentences are working properly (there is a value in every field) yet I am still unable to have "cgps -s" return a valid fix. Is the "cgps -s" crucial for capturing data on my microcontroller or can I capture time and location with just the NMEA.

[@paulmcwhorter]

+William Quigg All the information from the GPS is contained in the NMEA sentence. I am not sure what you are doing with cgps-s . . . just parse the NMEA sentences, and you have all the data

[@21cgd]

Hi paul, I am using the ultimate gps with the rasp pi 3 using a UART connection. I am having difficulties getting it to work. I am a beginner that could use some help. Is it possible to make a video using this setup, it would be very help full. Thanks Chris

[@paulmcwhorter]

Chris, RPI really messed things up on the RPI 3. They tried to incorporate blue tooth, and it has messed up some of the UART pins. There are some work arounds but they are not easy. My suggestion, hate to say, is to get a RPI3 if you want to use the GPS and hope they work through the bluetooth issue at some point.

[@jared-gross]

My ultimate GPS, is connected correctly, it does send me data, but it heats up, like not warm, but HOT, it still works, but it gets hot, Even when powering with 3.3v straight from arduino, and also tried 5v, it just heats up faster, which is expected, but it works, I just dont want it to heat up. I have the same issue with the LSM303 Compass/accl, they work but they just straight up dont work anymore if i try a second time, and after the first try when they work 100% they heat up insanely fast.

[@ziranshuzhang6831]

how can you not getting a fix inside? My phone's GPS works fine but I can't get a fix. Does it mean my phone's GPS is better than this one, which advertised for the 'best sensitivity'

[@mggevaer260]

actually your phone also looks around for nearby cellular signals, it then triangulates an aproximate location for you, much like cellphone tracking. this information is then used to get a fix with the satellites

[@ziranshuzhang6831]

do you mean cellular triangulation is substituting GPS localization while no fix received from gps, or do you mean the approximate location will help gps getting a fix? Because from the accuracy of my phone's gps, I don't think it's using triangulating, it's quite accurate while I'm in the same room I can't receive fix from this board.

[@mggevaer260]

ziranshu Zhang its used to get a faster fix, that's about everything i know about it

[@robinjansen51]

Powering the module with 5v did the trick for me in stead of 3.3v, even knowing it is 3.3v tolerant.

[@TamerAslanGooglePlus]

Hello everyone! Does anyone experience with building custom antennas for this shield? I will use this board in a custom design in the chape of a hexagonal box, and was wondering if i can imrpove reception with not a giant antenna, but sth i can build on my own.. Thanks!

[@paulmcwhorter]

Adafruit does sell an external antenna. You need the external antenna, and the small adapter cable. This will greatly improve the performance of the device, and probably allow for getting a fix much quicker. I do not use it, since my application is High Altitude Ballooning, in which case weight is the thing that must be minimized, hence no weight budget for an external antenna.

[@bernner]

clean Voltage .... thx cost me three days

[@AndrewHennessyHITS]

Peep zero hedge on tab 7 from the left. Haha.

[@igotalife787]

Define really really fast

[@ProfessorOzone]

I don't really understand the comment about ballistic missiles and GPS manufacturers needing to shut down the GPS because they are moving fast and at high altitude. GPS is receive only. How does that affect anything? Am I missing something here? Sounds like you've been told some old wives tales.

[@paulmcwhorter]

Actually it is not an old wives tale. Try using most any GPS at high altitudes (>60000 feet). It shuts off. It has nothing to do with transmitting. The module itself realizes its altitude, and turns itself off. The issue is, the government does not want the technology used for home brew advanced weapons, which is understandable. Manufacturers interpret the regulations in such a way that they prevent legitimate and legal uses.

[@ProfessorOzone]

@paulmcwhorter I see.

[@lauraray1208]

no fix no matter what i do....clear sky...button battery or not

[@AndrewHennessyHITS]

Peep zero hedge on tab 7 from the left. Haha.

[@paulmcwhorter]

Do you follow the hedge? Great place to get news.

[@AndrewHennessyHITS]

Yes! Daily. One of my favorites. @@paulmcwhorter

[@AndrewHennessyHITS]

I do have to use adblock however, their attempts at over monetization have made the sight significantly slower over time. They use admiral to mitigate the use of adblockers but there are various workarounds.