GPS 4 Click

How does it work?

GPS 4 Click is based on the L70, a compact GPS module with ultra-low consumption and fast positioning from Quectel. Its compact design provides outstanding GPS performance, low power consumption, supporting location, navigation, and industrial applications with Differential GPS (DGPS) and SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, and GAGAN). High sensitivity down to -165dBm for tracking satellites and -148dBm for acquisition, and the lowest Time-to-First-Fix will fulfill the most challenging requirements. The L70 supports EASYTM, an advanced GPS technology without external memory that allows the L70 to log position information to internal flash memory. The AlwayslocateTM technology, which has logs from internal memory, ensures that L70 calculates and predicts orbits automatically using ephemeris data (up to 3 days), thus making the L70 fix position quickly, even at indoor signal levels.

The L70 has 66 acquisition channels and 22 tracking channels. In addition, there is a Baloon mode for high altitudes of up to 80km. An additional feature of the embedded logger function called LOCUS allows the L70 to log the position information to internal flash memory at default intervals of 15 seconds, thus typically providing more than 16 hours of log capacity. Both PPS and NMEA can be used for time service. If you are into developing a wearable device, it is good to know that L70 supports the Fitness Low Power (FLP) feature that consumes only 5mA in static receiving. You can add a backup battery on a VBAT side header.

GPS 4 Click uses a standard 2-Wire UART interface to communicate with the host MCU, supporting baud rates from 4800 up to 1152000bps, while 9600bps is the default baud rate. In terms of logic translation, the GPS 4 Click uses the TXB0106, a 6-bit bidirectional level shifter and voltage translator from Texas Instruments. You can reset the module using the RST pin. The STB pin allows you to enter or exit from Stand-by mode (a low-power mode), while the FON pin is used for the Force-On function.

The GPS 4 Click also features an SMA connector with an impedance of 50Ω for connecting the appropriate active antenna, like an Active GPS antenna, from our offer for improved range and received signal strength. In addition, the PPS LED next to the SMA connector serves as a connection indicator. It will start flashing when the GPS receiver connects with the satellite constellation.

This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

Specifications

Pinout diagram

This table shows how the pinout on GPS 4 Click corresponds to the pinout on the mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns).

Notes	Pin					Pin	Notes
Module Force On	FON	1	AN	PWM	16	STB	Standby
Reset	RST	2	RST	INT	15	NC
	NC	3	CS	RX	14	TX	UART TX
	NC	4	SCK	TX	13	RX	UART RX
	NC	5	MISO	SCL	12	NC
	NC	6	MOSI	SDA	11	NC
Power Supply	3.3V	7	3.3V	5V	10	5V	Power Supply
Ground	GND	8	GND	GND	9	GND	Ground

Onboard settings and indicators

GPS 4 Click electrical specifications

Software Support

We provide a library for the GPS4 Click as well as a demo application (example), developed using MIKROE compilers. The demo can run on all the main MIKROE development boards.

Package can be downloaded/installed directly from NECTO Studio Package Manager(recommended), downloaded from our LibStock™ or found on Mikroe github account.

Library Description

This library contains API for GPS4 Click driver.

Key functions

• Generic parser function.

• Generic read function.

• Wake-up module.

Example Description

This example reads and processes data from GPS4 clicks.

 void application_task ( void ) 
 { 
     gps4_process(  ); 
     parser_application( current_parser_buf ); 
 }

The full application code, and ready to use projects can be installed directly from NECTO Studio Package Manager(recommended), downloaded from our LibStock™ or found on Mikroe github account.

Other Mikroe Libraries used in the example:

• MikroSDK.Board
• MikroSDK.Log
• Click.Gps4

Additional notes and informations

Depending on the development board you are using, you may need USB UART click, USB UART 2 Click or RS232 Click to connect to your PC, for development systems with no UART to USB interface available on the board. UART terminal is available in all MIKROE compilers.

mikroSDK

This Click board™ is supported with mikroSDK – MIKROE Software Development Kit. To ensure proper operation of mikroSDK compliant Click board™ demo applications, mikroSDK should be downloaded from the LibStock and installed for the compiler you are using.

For more information about mikroSDK, visit the official page.