Adafruit Ultimate GPS with USB - 66 channel w/10 Hz updates

SKU: ADA4279 Brand: Adafruit

The Ultimate GPS module you know and love has a glow-up to let it be easily used with any computer, not just microcontrollers! With the built in USB-to-Serial converter...

$66.95 AUD, inc GST

$60.86 AUD, exc GST

Available with a lead time
Expect dispatch between Jul 01 and Jul 07

Quantity Discounts:

6+ $58.43 (exc GST)
12+ $56.60 (exc GST)

Restrictions apply to this equipment as it uses button/coin cell batteries:

The equipment is intended to be used in trades, professions or industries
The equipment is not intended for sale to the general public
The equipment is not intended to be used where children are present
You are aware that this equipment may not meet child safety testing requirements as it is not intended to be used by consumers or general public, but rather, is intended to be used in trades, professions or industries in conjunction with the limitations and restrictions listed above
You are aware that these restrictions are due to a change in A ustralian legislation in 2022 for button/coin cell batteries

Button Battery Warning

A declaration of use will need to be submitted during checkout.

The Ultimate GPS module you know and love has a glow-up to let it be easily used with any computer, not just microcontrollers! With the built-in USB-to-Serial converter, you can now plug-n-play the Ultimate GPS into your computer, laptop, embedded Linux computer, and more. Power and transport data over any USB type C cable, with handy onboard indicator LEDs that let you know fix status and whether data is being received & transmitted.

Adafruit believe this is the Ultimate USB GPS module, so they named it that. It's got everything you want and more:

-165 dBm sensitivity, 10 Hz updates, 99 search channels
GPS + GLONASS support
Plug and Play USB with CP2104 or CP2012N USB-to-Serial converter built-in.
PPS output on RI (Ring Indicator) serial control pin
USB Type C connector + four mounting holes
Only 30mA current draw
RTC battery-compatible
Built-in datalogging
Internal patch antenna + u.FL connector for external active antenna
Fix status LED + UART activity LEDs

...all for under $30!

The breakout is built around the MTK3333 chipset, a no-nonsense, high-quality GNSS module that can track up to 33 satellites on 99 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dBm 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 ~29 mA during navigation.

Please note that as of July 2021, the original module Adafruit used was discontinued by the vendor. Adafruit found and are using a nearly identical version of the module - it's a little taller (4mm) but has the same functionality. The commands for querying the antenna have changed slightly so existing projects may need to update their firmware.

Adafruit added all the extra goodies you could ever want: 4-pin USB breakout for direct-soldering or connection to a USB host, two yellow receive/transmit LEDs let you know when data is being transmitted to or from the GPS module serial interface, a CR1220 coin cell holder 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, They also provide the FIX signal out on a pin so you can put an external LED on.

Two features that really stand out about the MTK3333-based module are the external antenna functionality and the built-in data-logging capability. The module has a standard ceramic patch antenna that gives it -165 dBm sensitivity, but when you want to have a bigger antenna, you can snap on any 3V active GPS antenna via the uFL connector. The module will automatically detect the active antenna and switch over! Most GPS antennas use SMA connectors so you may want to pick up one of Adafruit's uFL to SMA adapters.

Comes with one fully assembled and tested module with CR1220 coin cell holder soldered onto the back. A CR1220 coin cell is not included, but Adafruit have them in the shop if you'd like to use the GPS's RTC

For use with a computer, use any GPS software or serial monitor software, at 9600 baud default serial rate. You will immediately get data on the serial port once it's plugged in. If you want to parse data within Python 3, Adafruit have example code for Adafruit's CircuitPython library that uses pyserial.