Not able to connect to XA1110

GPS/GNSS Development Boards
1

Hi all,

I have a SparkFun GPS Breakout - XA1110 (Qwiic) connected to a Sparkfun Pro Mini ESP32 via a qwic cable and I can’t seem to communicate with the GPS module.

I get the “Module failed to respond. Please check wiring.” error with just the first example. I’ve tried different qwic cables and even each qwic connector on the GPS module board.

Is there anything else I can check? I get the pulse led on the GPS module board so it’s getting power at least from the qwic cable.

Cheers,

Michael

2

The i2c pull up resistance might be too high, especially if using cables over a few inches long - try disabling them by de-soldered the blob here https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_t … umpers.png and see if the device becomes detectable

3

Thanks for your quick feedback - I tried this and still got the same “Module failed to respond. Please check wiring” error message. I’ll try with another micro to see if it’s a problem with the qwic connector or something there. Anything else I should try?

4

Hey Michael,

Russell had the same thought I did. I’ve also had plenty of I2C issues caused by kinked wires, and by the contactors getting partially dislodged from the connector (though not with Qwiic…). When I get a failed I2C connection, I usually first try bypassing the connector to see if it’s a wiring/connector issue. It looks like the GPS Breakout has the I2C bus exposed outside of the Qwiic connector; not sure if the ESP32 Pro Mini has exposed I2C…

Beyond that, something to note is the I2C address of the GPS Breakout is fixed at 0x10. If you specify a different address, or you have additional devices on the same bus, they may be in conflict.

5

Ok so I tried both another Sparkfun Pro Mini ESP32 & another qwic board (RV-1805 board) and wasn’t able to communicate with that one either. I ran a I2C scanner sketch and am not getting a “Unknown error at address 0x01” error. Is there something else going on here?

6

Are you using a serial adapter? https://docs.sparkfun.com/SparkFun_ESP3 … _assembly/ Share a photo of your board/wiring setup.

Do the regular blink sketches work for the Prom Mini boards?

Also see “Note: Unlike other ESP32 boards, this device requires user interaction to program. To program the device, hold down GP0 while resetting it. This is a simple process, but it is not automatic.”

7

Thanks all - I’m using a different CH340C board than the sparkfun one but it’s uploading fine and communicating fine (blink sketch works, I am getting the serial print commands and errors in the serial monitor) - could that be messing up something with I2C?

Looking at the schematic for the pro mini I don’t see any other ways to connect to the SCL, SDA pins (looks like ESP_5 & ESP_15) but I also am not very experienced at reading schematics so I could be missing something. It’s here https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/1/7/6/4 … ticV12.pdf

Here is a picture of my setup. https://imgur.com/a/R3OglQO

8

Hmm not sure why the photo didn’t load but it’s here: https://imgur.com/a/R3OglQO

9

TS-Russell:
Are you using a serial adapter? https://docs.sparkfun.com/SparkFun_ESP3 … _assembly/ Share a photo of your board/wiring setup.

Do the regular blink sketches work for the Prom Mini boards?

Also see “Note: Unlike other ESP32 boards, this device requires user interaction to program. To program the device, hold down GP0 while resetting it. This is a simple process, but it is not automatic.”

Another update - it works with a different board entirely (Adafruit TFT feather board: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5300) so seems like an issue with the pro mini potentially?

10

Maybe try here https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/qw … ng-and-faq - is a COM port showing up? If so: do the regular blink/other simple examples work?

Is the behavior the same for all 5 units you have? Perhaps try a different OS if possible as well? (mac/PC/linux)

11

Sorry to clarify I am running the first example file from the GPS library. The error I’m getting is a serial output from the setup part of the example code see below:

void setup()
{
  PORT.begin(115200);
  PORT.println("GTOP Read Example");

  while (myI2CGPS.begin() == false)
  {
    PORT.println("Module failed to respond. Please check wiring.");
    delay(500);
  }
  PORT.println("GPS module found!");
}

The “module failed to respond. Please check wiring” is where I’m getting the error in the serial montior on the pro mini so it has uploaded successfully and is starting to run the code but the myI2CGPS.begin() function is returning false for some reason.

When I swap the qwic cable to the adafruit board (so gps board and cable are the same) and upload and compile the same example code - everything works as intended.

12

Ok yes, I believe the Pro mini is the issue (just be sure you have the correct board selected when uploading: SparkFun Pro Micro → ATmega32U4 5v 16MHz)

Was it purchased from us? If so head over to www.sparkfun.com/returns (contact vendor if purchased elsewhere) and we’ll get ya squared away