GPS Module PA1616D PPS Clarifications

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Paskach
 
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GPS Module PA1616D PPS Clarifications

Post by Paskach »

Hello, Adafruit forums!

I'm taking a look at the "Ultimate GPS Module PA1616D" for a project, but there's a question I have about it that I can't find the answer to in the Adafruit Learn Tutorial or the datasheet: Does the PPS signal continue to pulse when the module is cut off from power but still has VBACKUP? In the datasheet it mentions that the RTC keeps going while running off of VBACKUP, and I would imagine that the PPS pulses operate off of the RTC, but it never states whether the PPS signal dies with VCC or not.

Mainly, I want to occasionally warm-start the module, say once per day, to check in and re-acquire GPS signal but then cut off main power to the module after acquisition to keep my whole project as low-power as possible. The trick is I still need the PPS signal, so if it doesn't continue pulsing when running off of VBACKUP, I'll need to come up with a different solution.

Thank you!

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: GPS Module PA1616D PPS Clarifications

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

No, the PPS doesn't operate when the GPS module is running from the backup battery.

The coin cell keeps the module's RTC running in hopes of making it a little easier to acquire a fix when you connect power again. None of the module's other hardware runs.. if it did, it would suck the coin cell dry in a couple of hours.

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