Parallax GPS Module Woes
Hello,
Has anyone had difficulty acquiring a valid gps signal using the Parallax GPS Module, i.e. get the red led to stop blinking and remain constant?
My current setup simply uses a Board of Education (BOE) Rev C, GPS Module, and the sample code provided by parallax's website. The module is currently sitting on the second story porch of our house with a clear view of the sky. After waiting four hours, a quick call home to my wife confirms that the unit has yet to acquire a signal, i.e. red light still blinking. The degug terminal also lists "No" for "Valid Signal".
I just wanted to pulse the user community to see if others are having similar difficulties, or if my clear view of the sky isn't as clear as other clear skies!
Regards,
Bryce
Has anyone had difficulty acquiring a valid gps signal using the Parallax GPS Module, i.e. get the red led to stop blinking and remain constant?
My current setup simply uses a Board of Education (BOE) Rev C, GPS Module, and the sample code provided by parallax's website. The module is currently sitting on the second story porch of our house with a clear view of the sky. After waiting four hours, a quick call home to my wife confirms that the unit has yet to acquire a signal, i.e. red light still blinking. The degug terminal also lists "No" for "Valid Signal".
I just wanted to pulse the user community to see if others are having similar difficulties, or if my clear view of the sky isn't as clear as other clear skies!
Regards,
Bryce
Comments
Dave
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Dave Andreae
Parallax Tech Support·
Dave
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Dave Andreae
Parallax Tech Support·
At first I thought it was due to the proximity to the laptop. I started with a two foot serial cable connected to the laptop serial port and Board of Education (BOE). This setup resulted in no valid signal from the GPS module. Then I happened to find a four foot serial cable and tried it with no success.
Finally, I hooked up three, two foot long lead wires to the GND, VCC, and SIO pins of the GPS module and connected them to the VSS, VDD, and P15 sockets of the BOE; instead of directly placing the module on the BOE breadboard. This setup worked like a charm. The GPS module was able to acquire a valid signal from 5 satellites in approximately 30 seconds.
Am I the only moron having difficulty testing this device?
Might be 'cause this moron had no problems. :-D
I put my BoE board at the other end of a 6-ft serial cable from my laptop,
plugged the GPS directly into the breadboard, and placed it all in a south-
facing window. Before too long (sorry, didn't time it) I had 3 sats and now
it's tracking 6 sats but was tracking 7 for a bit. S'pose I need to pull out
the Garmin and see what the satellite geometry (where the sats are in the
sky) is looking like right now.
Another thing that might be considered is what type of power supply
you're using. A 9-v battery? Dunno how long it can supply the current
that the GPS needs plus that for the Stamp. I'd prefer to use something
"beefy-er" like a wall-wart.
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-Rusty-
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Rusty Haddock = KD4WLZ = rusty@fe2o3.lonestar.org
**Out yonder in the Van Alstyne (TX) Metropolitan Area**
Microsoft is to software what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking