No GPS fix on CubeCell AB02S

#1

Hello,

I recently received my boards from the Heltec Store and noticed that instead of de specified Air530Z chip, it has a chip with G12 on it.

I installed all the stuff in Arduino and tried a few example-sketches. But whatever I run, i do not get a GPS location fix. Not even if I stand outside under a clear sky.
Is it the chip? Is it the sketch? The combination?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Guido
The Netherlands

#2

The antenna is very bad and after first start the almanac must be loaded.

So find a location with good receiving conditions and wait, possible 30 minutes!

Greetings E_T

#3

Thanks E_T, I am going to try with more patience :slightly_smiling_face:

#4

Hi,

It finally worked. It took more than 1.5 hours for the first fix. Now it goes considerably faster. A few minutes max. Maybe the almanac gets stored somewhere? It does have flash.

I guess the chip, labeled G12 is in fact an Air530 or 530Z. Heltec can you confirm?

https://github.com/sivaelid/Heltec_AB02S_Mods/blob/master/Air530%20GPS%20Manual%20Text%20English.pdf

Here a translation of the chinese spec-sheet of the chip.

#5

Hello @priemus, so did you used the 530 or 530Z code? Did you use an external antenna as well?
Thanks!

1 Like
#6

Hi :slight_smile: I have the same problem. Using Heltec’s provided LoRaWAN GPS Sensor Example with 120s of GPS Fix timeout, I don’t get a fix, even with an additional external GPS antenna. I’ve tried both the Air503 and Air503Z versions of the libraries.

#7

Have you ensured that the antenna you are using is an active GPS antenna and not a passive GPS antenna?
Some passive antennas look like active antennas, but if yours looks like the image below, it’s definitely a passive antenna:
image

I use this active antenna with my ABO2S, and typically have an HDOP of less than 5’ while outdoors (I don’t even use a grounding plate, which could further increase accuracy).

I certainly recommend using an external antenna with the ABO2S for all in this topic struggling to get a fix. The included antenna on the board is actually quite weak and breakable. I accidentally broke off the included antenna on my board the day I received it, which took almost no force. The IPEX connector next to the onboard GPS antenna can be used to connect any active GPS antenna, make sure you don’t use the one on the top of the board intended for RF.

#8

Mine look like these:

image
image.jpg582×626 115 KB

I think they’re passive (at least that’s what it says on the packaging).

#9

Hi, have you found a solution? Is an active antenna the best solution? I found another thread that talks about using Galileo GPS in combination with other options for the EU (I’m in Italy).

Thanks!