Mini GPS Shield

GPS/GNSS Development Boards
1

Hello,

I am using the Sparkfun Pro Micro along with the mini gps shield and the GP-735. I’ve followed the instructions on the mini gps shield hookup guide but I am unable to get any information from the gps. The first code example in the hookup guide is supposed to display information through the serial monitor. I’ve tried that and I have a long enough usb cable to set the gps receiver in a window sill but it never locks a position and the led on the shield never comes on. I’ve also tried the second example code in the hookup guide and went outside with a clear view of the sky, still nothing. I have a micro sd card and a 5V rechargeable battery pack that I use with with my full size usb logger shield and Uno so I know that those two components work fine. In both cases I have let the board run for several minutes at a time.

I found a post on here (Pro Mini GPS Shield - TinyGPS++ error) about someone else having similar issues. I installed an older version of the IDE (1.0.5) as recommended and still no luck. I know that I am uploading the sketch to the board just fine as I am able to tweak the serial monitor output, just the text it displays when there are no satellites found.

Is there some way I can test to see if something is wrong with either the shield or the GP-735? I’m not a professional when it comes to all of this stuff but I did manage to build the full size version of this as I mentioned above and have used it for well over a year now with no issues.

Thanks,

Andy

2

Hi Andy,

It sounds like there are some bad connections or wiring issues going on here since the Mini GPS Shield was designed to work with the Pro Mini which has some minor differences to the Pro Micro. Can you please take a few photos of your boards and circuit and attach them to your reply? Please do your best to make sure they are clear and well-lit. The example code uses the SoftwareSerial library which has limitations with Arduinos using a 32U4 outlined [here. You will probably need to adjust the code to switch the pins it is using to ones that will work with the Pro Micro. Check the limitations for the Leonardo and Micro as they both use the ATMega32U4.](https://www.arduino.cc/en/Reference/softwareSerial)