General Inquiry/GPS

I purchased an arduino pro kit and I done mostly all I can with it, but I want more…

I want to get a GPS. My first general question is: How can I know what is compatible with my arduino uno R3? As in when I go to many websites and look for GPS sensor/components/modules I have no on earth what I need…

I kinda understand most components need shields. Could someone direct me to a link that explains all of this and maybe even show me some links to some products that would be compatible with what I have b/c I don’t know all the components I need to make it work using the Arduino uno R3.

Thanks sorry I’m so vague… I have been looking at the GPS chips for a few days now and I can’t seem to come up with a conclusion on what I need to buy.

It’s a simple question, but hard to answer.

The shortest answer is if it has a library or example code for the arduino, you’re probably good to go.

What do you want it to do?

GPS is easy to use with an andruino as there are libraries (TinyGPS for example) that can read the standard NEMA strings that a gps can output. TinyGPS has some example code, and that will tell you what pins it expects the gps to be hooked up to on your adruino. (The pins can be changed to suit your needs of course)

The next thing to look at is the voltage the gps runs on. The EM-406 for example runs at 5 volts, while the venus gps runs at 3.3 volts. Since the arduino uno r3 is a 5v board, sticking with a 5v gps makes life a little simpler. The venus can be made to work with a logic level converter (which isn’t difficult). You’ll also see the EM406 has a shield, and it also has a breakout board for the little cable. Either of these will work wonderfully, in fact the breakout board is probably the easiest if you’re just playing around on your desk.