For everybody patiently waiting for a GPS module that behaves on all the Gadgeteer mainboards, I have some good news. I ordered a test batch of my redesigned board, so there is light at the end of this long tunnel !! I will probably have these ready in about 5 weeks. Details will follow in the usual places (here, community offers, and my site).
Some of you have already expressed interest in this board - please post a quick note to verify your intent to purchase. I’ll have 6 available initially, and will offer them at a “beta price”. The assumption is you will have time to help me find and work through any minor issues. I will crank out a bunch more once the beta group has absolutely verified these things behave 99.9% of the time and I can acquire funding for some component inventory.
@ devhammer - seems OSHPark does not like to render the gadgeteer logo at all. There is one there!
Are you aiming to re write the driver from scratch or are you planning on using Skewworks MTK339 driver as a base?
Ive been playing with the adafruit breakout on an extender (using the Seeed GPS driver) which works ok but isnt very elegant.
Love the purple colour too.
Edit Yes i’m interested still.
@ ransomhall -
Out of interest, did you follow RF design rules for the antenna? Things like 50ohm strip line, no/minimal vias, no sharp track changes, etc…
@ HughB - yes, I will be using the “Skew+” driver.
@ GMod - the antenna is included on top of the module, which is one of the reasons I like the MTK3339. There are some cautions in the datasheet , which were heeded. The hole in the middle of the OSHW logo is to access a solder point for an external antenna, but I’m not using one.
Steve Presley is also on the list. I wanted to get his name in here, so others know the first batch is spoken for. Already time to order more parts, I think. Thanks for all the support. My wife will be extremely happy if I can make this a break even hobby. Happy wife = happy life
I’m all over it - I already ordered the breakout to see how the external antenna might improve our fix issue.
They updated their breakout to take advantage of features on the chip that had not previously used. This implies that they got a shipment of MTK3339s in, but I have not seen a back in stock notification for just the GPS module yet (and am anxiously waiting). Meanwhile I’ve been looking for another reputable source for these.
Steve - I did not go through all the links you sent. This one requires an external antenna (not just an option). I’m sticking with the MTK3339 for now. The v2 board now being fabbed is designed specifically for it.
However, I did find a few of the MTK3329s w/antenna recently, so will have a corresponding number of the boards with USB support (rev 1) made at some unknown point in the future (so don’t ask when )
