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With GPS you are able to know where you are, where you're going, and how to get there anywhere on Earth within 30 seconds. This means the higher the accuracy the better! GPS Real Time Kinematics (RTK) has mastered dialing in the accuracy of their GPS modules to just millimeters, and that's why we had to put it on this board!
Based on the SparkFun GPS-RTK2 designs, the SparkFun GPS-RTK-SMA raises the bar for high-precision GPS and is the latest in a line of powerful RTK boards featuring the ZED-F9P module from u-blox. The ZED-F9P is a top-of-the-line module for high accuracy GNSS and GPS location solutions including RTK that is capable of 10mm, three-dimensional accuracy. With this board, you will be able to know where your (or any object's) X, Y, and Z location is within roughly the width of your fingernail! The ZED-F9P is unique in that it is capable of both rover and base station operations. Utilizing our handy Qwiic system, no soldering is required to connect it to the rest of your system. However, we still have broken out 0.1"-spaced pins in case you prefer to use a breadboard.
We've included a rechargeable backup battery to keep the latest module configuration and satellite data available for up to two weeks. This battery helps 'warm-start' the module decreasing the time-to-first-fix dramatically. This module features a survey-in mode allowing the module to become a base station and produce RTCM 3.x correction data. Based on your feedback, we switched out the u.FL connector and included an SMA connector in this version of the board.
The number of configuration options of the ZED-F9P is incredible! Geofencing, variable I2C address, variable update rates, even the high precision RTK solution can be increased to 20Hz. The GPS-RTK2 even has five communications ports which are all active simultaneously: USB-C (which enumerates as a COM port), UART1 (with 3.3V TTL), UART2 for RTCM reception (with 3.3V TTL), I2C (via the two Qwiic connectors or broken out pins), and SPI.
We've also written an extensive Arduino library for u-blox modules to make reading and controlling the GPS-RTK-SMA over our Qwiic Connect System easy. Leave NMEA behind! Start using a much lighter weight binary interface and give your microcontroller (and its one serial port) a break. The SparkFun Arduino library shows how to read latitude, longitude, even heading and speed over I2C without the need for constant serial polling.
The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector. This reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong.
If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.
Skill Level: Competent - The toolchain for programming is a bit more complex and will examples may not be explicitly provided for you. You will be required to have a fundamental knowledge of programming and be required to provide your own code. You may need to modify existing libraries or code to work with your specific hardware. Sensor and hardware interfaces will be SPI or I2C.
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If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
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We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.
Based on 6 ratings:
1 of 1 found this helpful:
SMA connector is very sturdy; thank you SFE engineers for releasing this version of the board. Works great, TTFF 30-45 seconds, tracking 27 satellites indoors with 100-150 PDOP. Updates at 10 Hz easily, very high quality module.
0 of 1 found this helpful:
Easy to use and program. Works great with the right add ons.
0 of 1 found this helpful:
The product looks nice and works as my expectation. Thanks Sparkfun!
0 of 1 found this helpful:
Despite the availability of the Arduino library for the new generation of u-blox modules, the integration thereof falls short of providing a working implementation. After a full 3 days of tinkering I'm nowhere closer to having a working solution to pipe the correction data over the provided USB interface to SNIP / RTK2go. The tutorial simply glances over this crucial part; the USB interface should be the easiest to configure but still this is not covered in any capacity, it really is not straightforward to get the configuration working. Will post any updates if I'm able to get something working in the meantime.
Hi - I've written the first part of a tutorial series that may help you. The first focuses on setting up a rover base system. The second focuses on building your own GNSS reference station and should show you everything you need to setup NTRIP on RTK2GO. If you find it helpful, please consider modifying your review. They mean a great deal to us.
Really nice breakout board for industry-leading receiver. Tested it in RTK mode via u-center, works good, centimeter-level precision is evident.
P. S. Do not forget that you want multi-band GNSS antenna, like u-blox https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15192 for $65. The cheapest antenna for $10 can work but will limit the receiver potential.
It was really easy to configure an start receiven RTCM messages at my USB port. I recommend it!
Wow- Another exciting RTK product. Ever since I relocated to eastern Washington I lost the use of the (at the time of purchase) expensive DGPS receiver I was running on my robots.
These RTK-capable boards are great, but for me there is one rub- how to get the base station DGPS correction data out into the field at least 1000 feet or so for roving robots? I am sure beyond a doubt that SF carries the necessary components in-stock; either by way of radio, Xbee or such, but I fear I would get lost in the integration of these components. I once made a successful XBee-toXbee connection between two GPS boards , but I could not go beyond the default settings the units came with and was unable to configure multiple receivers (due to my own ineptitude surely).
If SF offered a four-component kitted RTK package specifically for roving applications that included: Two of these RTK boards, and two QWIIC-capable radios which would not degrade the GPS signal, along with the associated connectors and hardware, (and Arduino libraries), I know I would have immediate need for at least two of them- I suspect others might as well.
A better and perhaps more cost-effective product might be to integrate the radio onto an RTK GPS board which could then be configured for base or rover operation. The whole point behind RTK is assuming one would have a base station at some known fixed location and a roving unit moving about in the field- so why shouldn't the units have a radio integrated into them?
Great to see this board with an SMA connector! I've been constantly worrying about damaging the u.Fl connector on the GPS-RTK2 board over the past several months.
It's important to note that the power consumption value of ~35 mA is not correct.
The actual power consumption, as listed in the ZED-F9P datasheet, ranges between 68-130 mA. Both the GPS-RTK2 and GPS-RTK-SMA product pages should be updated to reflect this.
Nice catch. I think it's an artifact from the first RTK's product page that was released. Both have been updated to reflect the datasheet. =)
Hello, i have a question. Am i wrong or the only difference between this module and the "GPS-RTK2 Board - ZED-F9P (Qwiic)" module is the type of connection? The one being U.FL and the other SMA? Also, if i use more than one of them as a base station is the accuracy going to be better?