Recently got a GPS unit from a local store but can’t get it to work. I did the wiring as instructed on the sparkfun page (), The unit is definitely doing something as it’s blinking (not regularly), but I can’t get it to talk back to the PC (WIndows 7).
Anyone got detailed step-by-step instructions to get this to work?
I never expected a solution immediately with the first reply. My intent was to start a dialogue/discussion and maybe some other people have stumbled upon issues as well, and hence, my request for a ‘step-by-step’ process that might be out there.
The alternative would be for me to post tons of info about my specific configuration, both hardware and software … and then we’ll go into data overload.
But ok, we’re smart enough here, and your point is well taken. Darn, I wrote a PhD thesis, I should be able to ask all the right questions 
I managed to get the software to work, but now it does not get any readings … Any clue what is wrong here?
Testing TinyGPS library v. 13
by Mikal Hart
Sats HDOP Latitude Longitude Fix Date Time Date Alt Course Speed Card Distance Course Card Chars Sentences Checksum
(deg) (deg) Age Age (m) --- from GPS ---- ---- to London ---- RX RX Fail
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
**** **** ********* ********** **** ********** ******** **** ****** ****** ***** *** ******* ****** *** 0 0 0
Got it to work, issue resolved!
To get the wiring/program to work, follow instructions on this page
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/176
Then, to translate the NMEA readings (in an Arduino Serial Monitor), copy/paste to this page
Do not use the TinyGPS code, it’s for a demo only and does not work. It spits out only *** and does not actually talk to the GPS unit.
Do not use the TinyGPS code, it’s for a demo only and does not work. It spits out only *** and does not actually talk to the GPS unit.
Nonsense. TinyGPS works well if used correctly.
Fair enough, TinyGPS dose NOT work directly ‘out-of-the-box’ and needs some serious tweaking. For beginners, and in my assessment, Tiny (no matter how great it is), is NOT the way to go … it is not for beginners.
needs some serious tweaking.
Can you provide the details of what you had to do to make TinyGPS work?
I have never needed to tweak it, but I’m sure that others would be interested.