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...

$61.70 AUD, inc GST

$56.09 AUD, exc GST

Available with a lead time
Expect dispatch between May 28 and May 31

Quantity Discounts:

6-12 $53.85 (exc GST)
12+ $52.16 (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 micro USB cable, with handy on-board 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, 66 channels
Plug and Play USB with CP2104 USB-to-Serial converter built in.
PPS output on RI (Ring Indicator) serial control pin
USB Micro B connector + two mounting holes
Only 25mA current draw
RTC battery-compatible
Built-in datalogging
Internal patch antenna + u.FL connector for external active antenna
Fix status LED + UART activity LEDs

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 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 ~25 mA during navigation.

Please note that as of July 2021, the original module we used was discontinued by the vendor. We 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.

This breakout board now has the PA1616D GPS module. The PA1616D uses IC MT3333 (GPS+GLONASS) instead of the MT3339 (GPS only), so power consumption is higher PA6H, and patch antenna is chonkier from 2.5mm to 4mm.

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 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, 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 version 3 MTK3339-based module is the external antenna functionality and the 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 and a CR1220 coin cell holder. 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 its plugged in. If you want to parse data within Python 3, Adafruit have example code for Adafruit's CircuitPython library that uses pyserial

Technical Details

GPS + GLONASS supported
Satellites: 33 tracking, 99 searching
Patch Antenna Size: 15mm x 15mm x 4mm
Update rate: 1 to 10 Hz
Position Accuracy: < 3 meters (all GPS technology has about 3m accuracy)
Velocity Accuracy: 0.1 meters/s
Warm/cold start: 34 seconds
Acquisition sensitivity: -145 dBm
Tracking sensitivity: -165 dBm
Maximum Velocity: 515m/s
Vin range: 3.0-5.5VDC
MTK3333 Operating current: 34mA acquision, 29 mA tracking
Output: NMEA 0183, 9600 baud default, 3V logic level out, 5V-safe input
DGPS/WAAS/EGNOS supported
AGPS support (Offline mode : EPO valid up to 14 days )
Up to 210 PRN channels
Jammer detection and reduction
Multi-path detection and compensation

Breakout board details:

Weight (not including coin cell or holder): 9.8g
Dimensions (not including coin cell or holder): 40mm x 25.3mm x 8.1mm / 1.0" x 1.35" x 0.25"

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This product is listed in:

Wireless>GPS>Modules

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