adding GPS

RealLax

I want to be able to get my position via GPS.

What type of GPS module would I need to get?
What other equipment would i need?

Any information and suggestions would be wonderful!

Jonathan

Real,

You might try a Motorola Oncore module. They are often on ebay for sale at very reasonable prices. I also bought an active antenna for it, total was around 30 dollars. I haven't actually done much with it yet, but I used Jon's code to read it and it all worked. I can't say how it is in actual use, just on the desk.

Jonathan

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
www.madlabs.info - Home of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Robot

Steel

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=4_17

Robert@HCC

The LassesnIQ GPS module at the above site is good as well. Apply power ( need a ribbon cable available from Samtec) , a couple resistors and a connection to your programed stamp and its spitting out data. Very small, and you can purchase a very small compact antenna at the site above. Mine is powered by a 9v battery connected to a 7833 regulator to provide around 3.3v as required by the GPS module. A lithium coin backs up the satellite data (almanac, epherimides) to NVRAM.

RealLax

Robert@HCC said...
The LassesnIQ GPS module at the above site is good as well. Apply power ( need a ribbon cable available from Samtec) , a couple resistors and a connection to your programed stamp and its spitting out data. Very small, and you can purchase a very small compact antenna at the site above. Mine is powered by a 9v battery connected to a 7833 regulator to provide around 3.3v as required by the GPS module. A lithium coin backs up the satellite data (almanac, epherimides) to NVRAM.

Can you give me a part list of the items I would need? (links to the parts, if possible)

I'm probably going to need assembly instructions as well...but we can save that for another post

Robert@HCC

The module from SparkFun (LassenIQ) , and a ribbon cable which you can sample from Samtec. Let me know if you are seriously going to purchase the Lassen - I have to do a bit of digging for the part # number for that ribbon cable, I have it just not at the moment and I am short on time right now. Its a FFSD part, but I gotta look up the rest.Other than that, a lithium battery to back up the violatile ram that stores the almanac and such, a separate 3.3v main power supply ( I have a 9v battery running into a 7833 voltage regulator, then to the GPS) and a couple resistors to pullup the pins not in use. oops - Also, the antenna needs to be ordered.

I should note that I mounted my GPS on simple prototype board - this requires soldering the individual wires from the bare end of the ribbon cable to the protoboard. If you are using a PCB, a surface mount connector is available from SamTec as well, and you can just order the ribbon cable with connectors on both ends, instead of single-ended as I did. The programming is fairly simple using readily available examples on the Inet, as well as here

If you decide to go with this GPS unit , and need a bit of help or the part # number for the cable, feel free to email me at robert@hawaii.rr.com.

Here are some links :

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=163
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=4_18
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=4_86
http://www.samtec.com/


Edit: I attached a picture of my LassenIQ mounted on the protoboard of a CanSat (mimi-satellite)

Post Edited (Robert@HCC) : 4/29/2006 8:12:58 AM GMT