Adafruit Ultimate GPS Breakout – 66 channel w/10 Hz updates [MTK3339 chipset]. We carry a few different GPS modules here in the Adafruit shop, but none that satisfied our every desire – that’s why we designed this little GPS breakout board. We believe this is the Ultimate GPS module, so we named it that. It’s got everything you want and more, with -165 dBm sensitivity, 5V friendly design, breadboard friendly, mounting holes, 10 Hz updates, 66 channels, RTC battery-compatible and has a status LED all for under $40! The newest version we carry (using the MTK3339 chipset, as of March 26th) adds built in datalogging capability and high altitude functionality with even lower power.
The breakout is built around the MTK3339 chipset, a no-nonsense, high-quality GPS module that can track up to 22 satellites on 66 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dB tracking!), and a built in antenna. It can do up to 10 location updates a second for high speed, high sensitivity logging or tracking. Power usage is incredibly low, only 20 mA during navigation.
Best of all, we added all the extra goodies you could ever want: a ultra-low dropout 3.3V regulator so you can power it with 3.3-5VDC in, 5V level safe inputs, ENABLE pin so you can turn off the module using any microcontroller pin or switch, a footprint for optional CR1220 coin cell to keep the RTC running and allow warm starts and a tiny bright red LED. The LED blinks at about 1Hz while it’s searching for satellites and blinks once every 15 seconds when a fix is found to conserve power. If you want to have an LED on all the time, we also provide the FIX signal out on a pin so you can put an external LED on.
Two things that really stand out about the new MTK3339-based module is the high-altitude functionality and the the built in data-logging capability. Most modules permit NMEA output only when the module is traveling under 515 mph AND when its at an altitude of under 60,000 ft (18,000 m). This is to prevent the modules from being used for military use. However, as the requirements are not as strict, we’ve requested the factory to keep the speed limit but remove the altitude restriction. We trust that the factory has removed the limit but we have not done independent verification yet. If this feature is critical, please do not purchase until we’ve personally verified it!
The other cool feature of the new MTK3339-based module (which we have tested with great success) is the built in datalogging ability. Since there is a microcontroller inside the module, with some empty FLASH memory, the newest firmware now allows sending commands to do internal logging to that FLASH. The only thing is that you do need to have a microcontroller send the “Start Logging” command. However, after that message is sent, the microcontroller can go to sleep and does not need to wake up to talk to the GPS anymore to reduce power consumption. The time, date, longitude, latitude, and height is logged every 15 seconds and only when there is a fix. The internal FLASH can store about 16 hours of data, it will automatically append data so you don’t have to worry about accidentally losing data if power is lost. It is not possible to change what is logged and how often, as its hardcoded into the module but we found that this arrangement covers many of the most common GPS datalogging requirements.
Adafruit 5V-friendly GPS Breakout – 66 channel w/10 Hz updates – MTK3329 chipset. We carry a few different GPS modules here in the Adafruit shop, but none that satisfied our every desire – that’s why we designed this little GPS breakout board! It’s got -165 dBm sensitivity, 5V friendly design, breadboard friendly, mounting holes, 10 Hz updates, 66 channels, RTC battery-compatible and has a status LED all for under $40!
The breakout is built around the MTK3329 chipset, a no-nonsense, high-quality GPS module that can track up to 22 satellites on 66 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dB tracking!), and a built in antenna. It can do up to 10 location updates a second for high speed, high sensitivity logging or tracking. Power usage is also reasonable, only 37 mA during navigation.
Best of all, we added all the extra goodies you could ever want: a ultra-low dropout 3.3V regulator so you can power it with 3.3-5VDC in, 5V level safe inputs, ENABLE pin so you can turn off the module using any microcontroller pin or switch, a footprint for optional CR1220 coin cell to keep the RTC running and allow warm starts and a tiny bright red LED. The LED blinks at about 1Hz while it’s searching for satellites and turns off when a fix is found to conserve power. If you want to have an LED on all the time, we also provide the FIX signal out on a pin so you can put an external LED on.
NEW PRODUCT – Adafruit 5V-friendly GPS Breakout – 66 channel w/10 Hz updates – MTK3329 chipset. We carry a few different GPS modules here in the Adafruit shop, but none that satisfied our every desire – that’s why we designed this little GPS breakout board! It’s got -165 dBm sensitivity, 5V friendly design, breadboard friendly, mounting holes, 10 Hz updates, 66 channels, RTC battery-compatible and has a status LED all for under $40!
The breakout is built around the MTK3329 chipset, a no-nonsense, high-quality GPS module that can track up to 22 satellites on 66 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dB tracking!), and a built in antenna. It can do up to 10 location updates a second for high speed, high sensitivity logging or tracking. Power usage is also reasonable, only 37 mA during navigation.
Best of all, we added all the extra goodies you could ever want: a ultra-low dropout 3.3V regulator so you can power it with 3.3-5VDC in, 5V level safe inputs, ENABLE pin so you can turn off the module using any microcontroller pin or switch, a footprint for optional CR1220 coin cell to keep the RTC running and allow warm starts and a tiny bright red LED. The LED blinks at about 1Hz while it’s searching for satellites and turns off when a fix is found to conserve power. If you want to have an LED on all the time, we also provide the FIX signal out on a pin so you can put an external LED on.
I happened to be digging through Google searches a couple weeks back, and I stumbled upon an amazing looking hack of the Coobro Geo. A regular here at Adafruit, Stephanie, has done some nice work with a custom Chronodot library, and other hacks of Adafruit products. Using the open source schematic of the Coobro Geo, Stephanie managed to strap on an Adafruit OLED, and a lipo battery she had laying around to create her own GPS tracking device. Here is how Stephanie describes it:
In a nutshell – I was thinking of making an arduino/gps device to help me track walks. I wanted to know the time and distance I was walking. When I saw your Coobro Geo project I realized that would be a perfect platform to build on.
For the LEDs, I’m using them to indicate the GPS accuracy – if there’s no signal or it’s too poor to use, the three LEDs flash. As the signal gets better, it goes to two, then one, then if the signal is excellent, none of the LEDs blink. The OLED screen displays some basic stuff on the top, like lat, long, UTC time. The push-button toggles the ‘track’ mode, so once it’s on and has a fix, one push starts it tracking – so it starts counting time, and every 10 seconds it checks how far it’s travelled. This info is displayed on the lower half of the screen. A second push of the button stops the tracking, so you can see the total distance covered, the time, and the calculated average speed. And finally, a long-push of the button clears the data.
I haven’t finished working on it yet, I was also planning on having it save the readings to the EEPROM, like every 10 seconds (or once a minute or whatever) I’d have it save the lat lon and utc stamp. Then I could dump that info at home and play it back over a map or something.
I am using a LiPo for power, I had one I’d pulled out of a dead handheld gaming device which was almost exactly the same size as the Coobro PCB. I added a JST connector so I can just unplug the battery and plug it in to a charger when I need to top it up.
I left off one of the distance LEDs because I wanted to keep the I2C pins available “just in case” and left the other LED off because… it had to be symmetrical! hehe. To connect the OLED I used several of the directional LED pins, but I did wire three of the direction LEDs up – they’re just hidden beneath the screen. The screen is held on by the wires that I used to connect it, most of which are on the left-hand side. On the right hand side there’s two wires that are not used, other than to hold the screen down. So if I needed to access the uC for any reason, I only have to desolder two wires and the OLED will fold away to one side.
Finally, I wired the power switch for ‘always on’ and replaced the jumper with the power switch, so switching it to ‘battery’ turns it on and switching it to the ‘ftdi’ side turns it off (unless you have the ftdi plugged in of course). The downside is that this means the GPS does not get that backup power to keep its settings. But I realized it would lose that every time I unplugged the battery to recharge it, so I figured it wouldn’t matter if it had to coldstart each time. It only takes about 2 minutes to get a lock and solid signal even indoors.
I totally love that gps module by the way. It’s my first experience working with a gps and it blows me away how sensitive it is. I found it was ‘too talkative’ though so I figured out how to send it the NMEA control info to have it only send the two sentences I required.
Cheers!
-Stephanie
p.s. Just remembered I had to modify the tinygps library. For ‘signal quality’ I am actualy using HDOP (horizontal degree of precision) but the tinygps library was ignoring that value. It’s a bit of an arbitrary thing, but the lower-the-better and I figured i’d want to know if it was accurately tracking my walk or not. I’ve included my modified library as well as the sketch… I also increased the buffer in the new soft serial library, as I found it was having trouble keeping up with the gps.
Coobro Geo owner and active user Gerard (call sign DL8SEL) has been pumping out updates to the Coobro Geo code and he is finally ready to show it off. We are blown away with what Gerard has done here. Here is the long list of new features he has developed:
32 breadcrumb coordinate storage in eeprom
32 geo coordinate storage in eeprom
Active geo and breadcrumb coordinates shown on the distance LEDs in binary
Activity logging: every time you turn on the device it logs the date/time/location of your start (10 revolving data logs)
Read and write coordinates and breadcrumbs via serial communication (a write command allows you to store breadcrumbs lat/lon in a specific location in the table, a read command shows all non-zero breadcrums lat/lon)
When you turn on the device, it will flash the software version in binary
When you turn off, then turn on the device, it will return to the last coordinate you were navigating to
The close-up distance display can be changed easily with a #define macro (from 5 to 10 or xx meter if you want to use it in a car)
When you turn on the device, it will transfer all wp of the program code into the corresponding eeprom wp storage area if the corresponding storage field is empty
A special thanks to Gerard for all of his hard work on the code! This is what makes open source great.
The picture above is the entirety of Coobro Labs. Coobro Labs is run out of my 800 sq. ft. condo in Minneapolis, MN. This is where we kit and ship the Coobro Geo, and work on future open source hardware kits. The reason for sharing this with you is to hopefully encourage those of you out there who think you need a lot of room, and a lot of expensive equipment to start your own KitBiz. Let me break down the things that we find useful, and things we couldn’t live without.
An impulse sealer – This is a must have piece of equipment that we picked up brand new off of ebay for about $50. This tool takes rolls of anti-static tubing (see item #2) and heat seals the ends to create bags on-the-fly. You can buy impulse sealers with or without a built in cutter. The cutter isn’t really necessary, as it is just as easy to cut the bags with a scissors.
Rolls of anti-static tubing – These are 500 foot rolls of anti-static tubing picked up from uline.com. The reason for buying the rolls of anti-static tubing versus simply buying pre-made bags is that you can adjust the size of the bag to whatever length you want, and they are cheap at $25-30 per roll.
Laser printer – Below our workbench, we have a used Kyocera EP C170N laser printer that we picked up off of Craigslist for less than $50. While it isn’t mandatory, laser printers are much more cost effective, and the ink won’t be affected by moisture. We use the laser printer mainly to print out shipping labels.
High quality soldering iron – Having a decent soldering iron is what I feel is the most important tool I own. The difference between a quality soldering iron and a cheap hardware store model is huge. I used to find soldering frustrating and stressful, now I find it enjoyable and relaxing. We have an Aoyue model 2900 soldering iron, but Adafruit’s Hakko FX-888 is a great choice.
Fume extractor – A fume extractor is one of my most recent additions, and I can’t believe it took me so long to get one. There are a lot of toxins in solder, and breathing them in is very dangerous. I used to simply solder in a well ventilated area, and hold my breath until the smoke cleared. This is about as stupid as closing your eyes to avoid the arc flash while welding without a mask. I own the Weller WSA350 model and it works really well.
Hot air reflow station – Once I started to get into soldering surface mounted components, this is the first tool I bought. Before I made my own reflow soldering oven, I used this tool to solder surface mounted components. While you certainly can use a good soldering iron to solder surface mounted components, this tool will save you a lot of headache. We have the Aoyue 852A++ model, which can be had for around $150.
Reflow oven controller – We use the Rocket Scream Electronics Reflow Oven Controller ($40) Arduino shield. We have done some testing with our reflow oven by simply cranking the oven temperature up until the solder reflows, then shutting the oven off and letting the board cool in the oven with the door closed. This seems to work just as good as using a reflow oven controller that follows a specific reflow curve.
Toaster oven – This is a toaster oven that we bought in a Woot-Off for about $30. It is really nice because it has a ‘Stay On’ feature, and it’s a convection oven, so there are no hot spots. If you don’t plan on working with surface mounted components, you don’t need to worry about the last three items.
All-in-one printer – I have owned this HP PSC 1510 inkjet printer for a few years now and it has worked really well for me. The important thing here is that it has a built in scanner. You will need a scanner to be able to scan your signed purchase orders for component suppliers. A scanner basically replaces a fax machine.
Component storage – I have a nice collection of Sparkfun shipping boxes that I have saved and used for component storage. Simply slap a label on the top or front of the box to remember what is inside. These also work great for project boxes. You can also see other items we have used for component storage such as mint tins.
More component storage – When you are just starting out, this is really all you need. We store all of the components needed to build up Coobro Geo kits in this small parts organizer from our local hardware store. Through hole components, even in quantities of 1000+, take up very little room. Eventually, as we release more kits, we will need to upgrade, but this system works well for the time being.
Ikea hacked workbench – My workbench is really just a bunch of components I picked up from Ikea. The shelving is just Ikea CD storage boxes stacked in between some Ikea birch shelves. The CD storage boxes work great for tool, parts, wire, and other large component storage.
As you can see, there really isn’t a whole lot to Coobro Labs. There are obviously some items missing from the picture, such as shipping supplies, but this really is the majority of the Coobro Labs kit making business. If you have a great idea for an open source electronics kit that you think others would also be interested in, there really isn’t anything standing in your way.
NEW PRODUCT – UP501 Breadboard-friendly 66 channel GPS module w/10 Hz updates. When we saw this breadboard-friendly module used in the Coobro Geo kit, we were excited to carry it as a separate product. It’s a no-nonsense, high-quality GPS module that can track up to 22 satellites on 66 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dB tracking!), and a built in antenna. The chipset is the latest MTK3329 which can do up to 10 location updates a second for high speed, high sensitivity logging or tracking. Of course the icing on the cake is the use of 6 x 0.1″ spaced holes on the side which make it trivial to add to any breadboard or perf-board project. This has the same chipset as what we’re using for the FLORA GPS module.
The only thing you’ll need to watch for is that the module is designed to run at about 3.3V, and shouldn’t be powered by 5.0V. If you’re using an Arduino, simply connect the GPS power pin to the 3.3V pin. If you want to configure the module, you’ll want to put a 10K resistor divider on the RX pin so you don’t put 5V on the data pin. We include these resistors, as well as a 6 pin header you can solder to the module in order to plug it into a breadboard.
NEW PRODUCT – Coobro Geo Kit – DIY GPS Geocaching Pendant. The Coobro Geo is an easy to assemble GPS navigation kit. Upload coordinates, turn it on, and the Coobro Geo will help you navigate to any destination on earth by using LEDs to show you the correct direction and distance remaining. Before you leave on your quest, press and hold the breadcrumbs button and the Coobro Geo will remember your location and help you navigate back. Store up to five pre-entered destination coordinates and five breadcrumbs, or modify the open source code and store as many coordinates as you want.
We met the maker of this project our weekly ASK AN ENGINEER show-and-tell, and liked his product so much we wanted to carry it!
Use the Coobro Geo to help you find geocaches, store and navigate between hot fishing spots, complete a scavenger hunt, or simply help you find your car after a hike.
Features:
High quality Fastrax UP501 GPS module with 66-channel receiver
All through hole kit is easy to solder and requires minimal tools
Completely open source hardware and software
Program the software using the Arduino IDE
Stores breadcrumbs in EEPROM so it remembers locations when turned off
Open Source Hardware: This kit is 100% open source hardware. The makers provide the Eagle Cad design files, schematics, and software for your hacking pleasure.
Jamming of global positioning signals (GPS) during Europe’s largest military exercise has been suspended, following complaints from fishermen. The Royal Navy issued warnings in September and October that GPS in parts of Scotland would be disrupted during Exercise Joint Warrior.
The first of 24 satellites that will make up the global positioning system is put into orbit.
GPS revolutionized navigation, both at sea and on land, by providing position reports with unprecedented, pinpoint accuracy. Each satellite is placed in a specific orbit at a specific altitude to ensure that four or five satellites are always within range from any point on the planet. A GPS receiver picks up signals from the satellites and trilaterates the data to fix the position.
This satellite system is so valuable — besides navigation, GPS has applications in mapmaking, land-surveying and the accurate telling of time — that even though it was developed and is maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense, it’s been available since 1993 without charge to anyone, anywhere on Earth.
Although GPS has eliminated the need for determining a ship’s position by shooting the sun or stars, no sailor worthy of the name would put to sea, even now, without the ability to use a sextant. Electronic navigation devices fail, and even GPS isn’t immune to the odd glitch, and the open ocean is a lonely place to be if you don’t know where you are.
GPS shield for Arduino kit with data-logging capability. After building this easy kit, you can create your own geo-locative project.
The shield is designed specifically for use with the EM-406a module: the small surface-mount GPS connector is pre-soldered for you. (It is a high-quality engine with quick time-to-fix and excellent reception, even in downtown New York City!) It can also be used with a Tyco A1035D, EB-85A or Lassen IQ module (see the webpage for more details).
GPS module, Arduino, and SD memory card are not included. Please check the parts list to see what is included. Please note that the library is rather bulky, requiring 12K of flash and more than 1/2 K of RAM for buffering SD card memory blocks. The examples work fine on ATmega168-based Arduino (or compatible) but for more complex projects I strongly recommend upgrading to an ATmega328!
Run-time is approximately 3 hours with a 9V battery and up to 12 hours using a MintyBoost, assuming no power-saving features are enabled.
NEW PRODUCT – Basic GPS module – PMB-648. We picked up a few of these lower-cost GPS modules specifically for those that want to use them for time-keeping purposes. They function perfectly fine as a GPS, but they are not as accurate or low-power as the EM-406 modules we carry for location applications. For that reason, we don’t suggest them for precise, battery-powered location logging.
The PMB-648 GPS features 20 parallel satellite-tracking channels for fast acquisition of NMEA0183 v2.2 data for robotics navigation, telemetry, or experimentation. There is a built-in patch antenna; rechargeable battery for memory and RTC backup; cable for power, TTL and RS-232 connections.
SiRFstarIII chipset
20 parallel satellite-tracking channels for fast acquisition and reacquisition
Built-in rechargeable battery for memory and RTC backup
Supports NMEA0183 V2.2 data protocol
Includes cable for power, TTL and RS-232 connections
Power requirements: 3.3V – 5V DC @ 65mA
Communications: TTL or RS-232 asynchronous serial @ 4800 bps
Fun hack for the Ice Tube clock! Who doesn’t want satellite-precise timing? This firmware mod allows you to add any 4800 TTL NMEA GPS module. Check that the module can run from 5V power, and has a wire that outputs NMEA 4800 baud at TTL levels. Do NOT use any RS-232 level outputs, they can easily damage your clock!
Our favorite Soviet-Era display that found its way into a present-day kit now displays time from orbiting satellites. A GPS module patched into an Ice Tube Clock with modified firmware will be able to provide a satellite-synced time. The firmware, modified by yours truly, parses the GPS module’s NMEA RMC sentences for the time and date information and then updates the clock’s time and date. Fun was had making sure the alarm went off at the correct times when the time was updated by the GPS. Overall, it was a fun project and we look forward to seeing additional Ice Tube Clock hacks.
We picked up a few of these now-discontinued GPS modules specifically for those that want to use them for time-keeping purposes. They use an older chipset and our testing determined that while they function perfectly fine as a GPS, they are not as accurate as the EM-406 modules we carry for location applications. For that reason, we don’t suggest them for location logging.
Above is an an example of the new track feature in Google Earth 5.2 (released today) showing a bike route to work. You could/can use these new features to do all sorts of great data logging and display.
Visualize your hiking, biking, and running tracks – Google Earth has always been a great tool for viewing your outdoor activities, whether it be hiking, running, biking, skiing, sailing, or just about any other way you choose to explore the world. With the release of Google Earth 5.0, we added the ability to connect your GPS device directly to Google Earth and import your track. Now, with Google Earth 5.2, we’ve added the ability to view elevation, speed, and other data as a graph directly in Google Earth. Just connect your GPS device to upload your track, and select “View Elevation Profile” from the menu. This will bring up elevation and speed graphs. If your GPS device records additional information such as heart rate or cadence, these will also be available to view in the graph. You can also see statistics such as total elevation, maximum slope, and average speed. You can select a portion of your ride and get statistics for just that section.
The age of cheap, plentiful sensors, tracking everything from heartrates to the noise pollution slowly driving everybody insane is here. Joe Saavedra’s modular neuroid is a wearable, reconfigurable sensor system that monitors pollution we probably don’t wanna know about.The modular part of the system is that it works with different kinds of sensors. Currently there are working sensors for methane, liquid petroleum, light and sound pollution, and carbon monoxide. The flagship device, built with an Arduino + Adafruit GPS system and three connection points for sensors, is a little bulky—more of a bag-hanger than a pocketable unit, but it’s easy to see how it’ll be miniaturized over time. It pairs up pretty nicely with a Nokia N900
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