Has anything ever come of the idea to build a breakout or evaluation board for the Telit 863-series modules? (I’m just starting with the -GPS version.) Their EVK2 is OK but too pricey, $550 before you add two antennas. It would be great to have something to jump-start a hardware development, make power and timing measurements, etc. without first going through a shot-in-the-dark BGA board development|test|repeat cycle.
Can’t speak for the SFE guys, but there have been lots of requests for a GE863 breakout over the last 1-2 years and nothing has appeared. You’re right, BGA is a big step, especially when doing hand assembly.
My recommendations:
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Start with the GM862 - then you don’t have to worry about getting the SIM and antenna traces just right. And you can easily move the module between different versions of your PCB.
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SemiconductorStore.com sells a “GE863-GPS Interface Board” that breaks everything out - well worth it!
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Consider using the GC864 if you are OK with having a separate GPS receiver. If you have extreme power saving requirements, you will want to seriously consider this because the GE863 requires you to power up the GSM modem to get access to the GPS data. With a separate GPS chip, you can leave GSM powered down.
HTH,
Brett
Ran into that same power problem Brett pointed out just in the last few weeks. You’d think the '863 designers would have been considerate enough to provide separate supplies for the GPS and GSM sections, but nooooo… so I’m using the GC864.
Hey Telit, if your listening, split the supplies!
It’s a tricky problem, since they handle everything with the same uP internally. I’ve spoken to the Telit guys, and they said most people are using an external GPS receiver for other reasons.
You’ll notice that the newer Telit chips have dropped GPS in favor of dual uP cores, smaller footprint, etc. I imagine it’s just too hard to keep up with the state of the art in GPS, when Telit’s core competency is in GSM.
For my last project, I used the GE863, but will use the GC864 from now on. Integrated SIM holder, standard antenna connector, comparable in size to the GE863. Hard to beat.
If size and power requirements aren’t too strict, then the GM862 is a great way to go!
Thanks guys. I’m going with the 863-GPS on this because it has everything I need - almost nothing else but SIM and battery. This iteration has the ‘Fast’ and ‘Small’ buttons pushed so I’m trying to eliminate integration issues.
The breakout daughterboard for the Eval Kit looks like it will do what is needed as a platform for measurements and comparisons.
Now off to sacrifice a goat to the antenna gods.
bretth:
For my last project, I used the GE863, but will use the GC864 from now on. Integrated SIM holder, standard antenna connector, comparable in size to the GE863. Hard to beat.
I agree, the GC864 looks very good since it is nice and small like the GE863 but has the connector so no need to do reflow soldering and risk a component with a high unit price.
Any chance you’ll be stocking the GC864-PY anytime soon, Sparkfun? 
Janus-RC has the '864-QUAD for $80.00US, but I don’t think they stock the PY. They do have several other options and some I/F boards, so maybe you can concoct something. Here’s the link to the -QUAD, if your app can get by without Python:
SemiconductorStore.com has the GC864 with integrated SIM holder on top for $6 more. For me it’s worth the additional money since I don’t have to route/protect the SIM lines and it frees up some extra space on the PCB where the holder would be.
VStar650CL:
Janus-RC has the '864-QUAD for $80.00US, but I don’t think they stock the PY.
I emailed them about this as I want the Python features. They said as of recent firmware updates the QUAD supports Python the same as the PY model (this is of the GC864 - I can’t comment on other modules) so I’m ordering soon and expecting it to work with Python.