[Solved] Ultimate GPS Breakout v3 not responding Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

[bamapookie]

I'm trying to use the Ultimate GPS Breakout v3 board with a Feather M4. I am getting no response from the GPS board. No LEDs, no RX, nothing. I've tested the M4's TX/RX pins by looping back, using the same sketch (https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_GP ... hoTest.ino), and I get echos back from the serial port monitor. Is there anything I am missing?

I have soldered the header pins and the battery connection, but I have not installed a battery yet.

Thanks for your help,

Shawn K.

[bamapookie]

After removing my breakout board from the breadboard, and then reattaching it, I discovered the problem. See attached.

IMG_20190306_190839.jpg (632.03 KiB) Viewed 292 times

:)

[adafruit_support_mike]

That would do it..

You can repair the pin connection by wrapping a piece of 30-gauge wire around the end of the pin, scraping away some of the soldermask on the PCB's ground plane, and soldering the wire to both the PCB and the pin.

[bamapookie]

I just pushed the pin down and resoldered it. Works great now.

Thanks Mike.

[adafruit_support_mike]

I'm glad to hear it's working, but solder doesn't have much shear strength. If it gives way again, throw in a piece of wire.. that will make it much stronger.

[gwd]

Problem: Ultimate GPS Breakout V3 red blinking light has stopped working when power is applied.
This was a Xmas gift from my daughter-in-law Kelly Davis. It was purchased from kjd Electronics through Amazon on 11/25/2018. Order# is 113-4560734-5505043
Multi-reader measured 5.03V input to GPS
The Parsing monitor image remained the same even after GPS was unplugged from the board.
I contacted Kevin at kjb Electronics and after he looked at the pics, he sent me to your forum and said he would work with you on a refund is you could not solve the problem.

Thank you for your help,
Gary Davis

[adafruit_support_mike]

Your connections look good, and the Ultimate GPS breakout can handle 5V on its Vin pin.

Do you get any output from the GPS module when you use the Direct Computer Wiring method shown in this part of the tutorial?

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-ult ... ter-wiring

[gwd]

Mike,
I used use the Direct Computer Wiring method and did not get a readout.
Gary

[adafruit_support_mike]

Just to verify the connections for that, since they're a little tricky, could you post a photo showing how the GPS module is connected to the Arduino for Direct Connect use please?

[gwd]

Mike,
Attached is the picture you requested showing the wiring hook up.
Gary

[adafruit_support_mike]

That is the correct connection, thank you.

There's one last thing to test: disconnect the GPS module from the Arduino completely, and plug a jumper into the Arduino's header so it connects pins 0 and 1. Leave the "don't do anything" code on the Arduino, and open the Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE. Enter some text in the field at the top and see if it comes back as output.

It's called a 'loopback test', and should verify whether the Arduino's USB-to-Serial connection is working properly.

[gwd]

Mike,
I did the loopback test and I have attached a picture of the read out.
Gary

[adafruit_support_mike]

I assume that isn't the text you entered.

That suggests a problem in the jumper connections, or possibly in the Serial connection to the computer.

Can you program the Arduino with a simple sketch like:

Code: Select all | TOGGLE FULL SIZE

void setup () {
    Serial.begin( 9600 );
}

void loop () {
    Serial.println( "hello, world." );
    delay( 500 );
}


and see the output show up as expected in the Serial Monitor?

[gwd]

My IDE will not allow access to the serial monitor until it is attached to a board. When attached it works fine and the monitor reads hello world. Also, don't forget we still need to address the GPS problem. As mentioned before when the GPS unit was working it would start up immediately after 5V was applied and now does not work at all.
gary

[adafruit_support_mike]

What we're doing is called 'differential diagnosis': comparing the hardware's actual behavior to the way it's supposed to work to isolate symptoms of the problem. We have to deal with unexpected results as they come, because those can hide anything happening beyond them.

In this case, problems with the Serial connection's behavior in a loopback test mean we can't trust any results, or lack of results, from attempou can upload ts to communicate with the GPS module.

If you can upload code and get output from Serial.print, it sounds like the Arduino's Serial hardware is working. That means the next most likely suspect to cause failure in a loopback test will be the jumpers. It's possible for the wires to break inside the insulation.

Program the Arduino back to the do-nothing sketch from the Direct Connect instructions, then try new jumpers until you see messages you enter into the input bar in the Serial Monitor come back in the output window. This is a test we've done many times, and we know it works.