Summary of Arduino GPS Tutorial – Complete Guide
This tutorial explains how to create a handheld Arduino GPS logger using an Arduino, a GPS shield with a USGlobalSat EM-406A receiver, and an SD card to record latitude and longitude data. It covers the basics of how GPS works by receiving signals from at least three satellites that provide time, date, position, and altitude data. The tutorial walks through interfacing the GPS shield via serial communication, including setting up the Arduino by removing the ATmega chip and using jumper cables to power the GPS unit, enabling data reception on a computer.
Parts used in the Arduino GPS Logger Project:
- Arduino board
- GPS Arduino Shield (USGlobalSat EM-406A receiver)
- SD card
- FTDI cable
- Jumper cable
Do I need to say more about GPS? See here for some background info: Global Positioning System (GPS)
In this tutorial, I will be showing you how to use Arduino, a GPS Arduino shield and a SD card to make a handheld Arduino GPS logger, to record your latitude and longitude over the course of a day.
I will be taking it step by step:
- How does it work?
- How to interface this into your robot or other projects
Basic GPS Working Concept
GPS satellites orbit the Earth at an approximate altitude of 20,000 km. For a GPS unit to fix its location it needs to receive signal from at least 3 satellites.
The GPS signal that is transmitted from each satellite contains:
- Time (accuracy of millisecond) (GMT time).
- Date
- Position (accuracy of 2 to 3 meters)
- Altitude
From these information, it is also possible to work out compass heading and speed.
The Tools
The reason we use Arduino is because it’s very easy to integrate into different projects, and it’s very popular among electronics hobbyists. I also will be paring the Arduino with a GPS Shield which uses a USGlobalSat EM-406A receiver.
This Shield has also a data logging facility that saves to a SD card .
Arduino GPS Work Through
Okay, let’s get our hands dirty. I will break the tutorial into 3 parts.
Part One: Receiving Data from the GPS Unit via Serial Port
Firstly, we set up the system in basic configuration. We will try to talk directly to the GPS via its serial port just by connecting a FTDI cable direct to the GPS shield board, so we can check what kind of data we will be receiving on our computer.
- Remove the ATmega chip on the Arduino Board as we only need the serial circuit on the Arduino.
- Place a jumper cable between digital i/o pin 2 and ground (as Shown Below).
- This switches the GPS Unit on and you can use the Arduino’s serial port to read the data.
For more detail: Arduino GPS Tutorial – Complete Guide
