SparkFun Forums

[sepoto]

I have the device communicating with an Arduino UNO and the prefabricated shield. I was getting readings for quite some time both jumpered in via jumper wires to digital pins 2 and 3. For some reason things seem to have gone dark on me as far as the TinyGPS gpsencode() function goes. I am returning the invalid value for the number of satellites (255). The shield is in the DLINE configuration and the GPS sensor is on and the light is flashing indicating it is fixating some kind of lock. Fore some reason I'm not able to get a LAT LON out of the device right now. It is returning 1000.00 for the LAT which of course the lat should be 34.00+- where I am.

I'm trying to determine what the problem is if perhaps there is something happening like a short somewhere of if there actually could be an outage happening. It's a a bit funny how this is happening as it has been working in this configuration for some time and returning correct values.

[SFE-Toni]

There may be some kind of outage happening, but there are a few other things to check as well. If you have your system hooked up to battery power, the batteries may be drained just enough that they aren't supplying enough current for the GPS to actually get a lock. Another possibility is that you could have changed some setting accidentally on the unit itself- you may want to try resetting the module.

You may also want to try moving your setup to a different location, or testing it outside, and see if that helps with the lock issue.

[sepoto]

I did take the whole setup outside and it appears there must be something more serious wrong because I am getting consistently the "Invalid Satellites" (255) coming out of it. I'm ready to break the whole thing down and start diagnosing but I could use some clues. What could be wrong with it?

[sepoto]

Strange I wired into the breadboard again and I'm finding the signal to be back now. I am wondering what is the name of the cable and how might be a good method to attach some conductors into my breadboard. The six connections are very very small.

[SFE-Toni]

It sounds like you just have a loose connection somewhere that was affecting the module's functionality. You can find the replacement cable here: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9123 and here: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/574. Take a look at the GPS's data sheet for more information on the pin out.