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gps receiver not locking



  • hi,

    other than running my own fleet of gps satellites with my gps receiver 2 inches away from them...

    what is the secret to getting the receiver to actually lock to anything?

    got it on a long usb extension and having been waving it around outside all morning, downloaded and installed the ublox u-center to see what is actually going on and i able to report nothing is going on.. not a single squeak from any satellite.. the receiver is live and sending info back to u-center, seems to scan through satellites ok, can't lock to anything..

    would love to hear from anyone who has got things working..

    rup



  • I am having exactly the same issue and have tried all sorts so far.

    1. GPS plugged into power expansion directly
    2. GPS plugged into 2M expension
    3. Omega2 powered by 2A USB Brick + 10000mAh LiPo
    4. Omega2 powered just by LiPo
    5. Receiver left outside on extension for ~ 15 Hours
    6. Receiver & Omega2 left outside for ~15 Hours
    7. GPS plugged into powered USB Hub & left outside

    I am unsure where to go to next but my current thinking is to set the gps output to log to a file, turn off the wireless on the unit, place the omega inside a sealed metal box with the GPS sticking outside and see what happens.

    None of this bodes well for actually using it for anything however. The only other thing I came up with was purchasing a uFL to SMA adaptor and then fitting an external GPS antenna somewhere.



  • grab a copy of the ublox u-center util, you will see the output from the device. you'll need a windows box to run the util.

    i run a time server that uses gps and i have a very small external antenna, this device locks within seconds, so this is now the gps device should work, adding an external antenna to such a small board would be far from easy and would negate its small size.

    i'd like to hear from onion as to how they suggest we get the gps working properly.

    i have clear skies today so will give it another go..

    rup



  • Hi,

    Ran the u-center for an hour or two last night. Never got a lock at all.

    Didn't screen grab anything but the time/signal thing did occasionally show a blue block from a satellite but it was only over for one count and then it stepped off to the left and the satellite disappeared. I tried u-center on my phone and it was showing about 10 satellites all connected whilst in the same position as the GPS module.

    This weekend I will try and get things set up for an even clearer view of the sky and see what happens.



  • woooo hoooo!!

    locked to a single satellite!!!

    it does work, just badly.. šŸ˜‰

    rup



  • Well, i decided to take a chance for Ā£11 and have ordered an active antenna with 3m lead and an SMA to u.FL adaptor.

    Was going to be part of my half formed idea anyway so lets see how it goes.



  • worked by connecting to 2 satellites while sky was totally clear, as soon as any cloud cover appeared stopped, i'm assuming the antenna as supplied is next to useless. bit of a shame really.

    if anyone is thinking of buying this device i'd suggest thinking twice..

    rup



  • @Ian-Marchant hi ian, to save me reinventing the wheel, can you give me details of what you have ordered and where from? Ā£11 sounds doable so will follow suit..

    rup



  • Hi,

    The antenna is

    gg211

    and the u.FL to SMA adaptor is

    u.FL - SMA Female

    More news when it arrives šŸ™‚



  • I would put in a trouble ticket and get the GPS units replaced. Mine will connect inside my house and give back readings that match the GPS on my phone (+/- 3m).



  • I logged a ticket but so far it is sitting at processing with no reply from anyone.

    The active antenna arrived and at present with it sitting on the desk in the office (well away from any windows) i am seeing between 9 and 12 satellites and it has a fix.

    Will try it on the omega shortly.



  • Hmm

    Well same problem here, on the Omega2+ I am not able to get a gps fix at all doesnt matter where i put the gps expansion... Same problem with the program under windows.

    So also wondering if I might have a faulty gps expansion as well... Had to go through hoops and hurdles to get the Omega2+ going as, bad soldering which had to be removed but now that is at least working.

    regards,
    Leo



  • I think it may be an antenna issue. The external antenna has worked perfectly now and gives a good solid fix



  • @Ian-Marchant Yes agreed it might very well be a faulty antenna or just the antenna being quite small. I don't have an external antenna lying around unfortunately but will try experiment with one, once I find one šŸ˜‰ Ow well experimentation can be fun ! šŸ˜‰

    Leo



  • had re reply to my ticket this morning which may help a little.

    "There might be a design problem on GPS. We are sorry for that. It is not defective issue. There is a capacitor add wrongly on GPS. But due to the short of resources we are unable to fix that before campaign. The problem is harder than we expected. We will try our best to solve it thanks to your support. If there is new GPS version. We will let backers know as soon as possible. There is a way to solve that. Start from Antenna connector to the USB header, the second yellow component is the wrong capacitor. Right after the white inductor. Try dis-solder the capacitor, and you can get GPS fixed."



  • From this photo however, I am not 100% sure which part i am supposed to use?

    0_1486028757652_IMAG0436.jpg



  • @Ian-Marchant That's interesting I think I know which component is meant but desoldering an SMD type capacitor is not something I would love to do without the proper tools ie soldering equipment... If they promise me on my ticket, which I opened for this isse(no updates what so ever till now...), to send me a replacement I might just go for it. If I do I will let you know the results.

    greetz,
    Leo



  • @Ian-Marchant Maybe someone from @administrators can put a picture with a circle around the right capacitor on here, I also asked this on my running ticket.

    your right the description in that message is somewhat unclear šŸ˜‰

    regards,
    Leo



  • I also have the same issue being unable to lock onto a satellite both indoors and outdoors.



  • From the ticket reply I suspect there are lots of users with GPS devices that need to be returned to sender.
    Could just be a small bad batch but I'm guessing at a large batch as they don't make these in one's and two's.


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