uBlox NEO breakout boards and devices

Archive New Product Ideas
1

I really wish you guys would start making some uBlox NEO breakout boards. At the moment, the only place online you can get something like this is in Latvia and shipping takes forever. Plus, uBlox has some newer devices that nobody makes a breakout board for.

2

What are the main advantages of the NEO over other modules?

3

I’m a hobbyist building a battery-powered activity tracker; I have no connection to u-blox. But since no one answered, I’ll pick up the torch. Here are some of the differentiating features of ublox GPS modules:

  • Unmatched sensitivity and accuracy

  • User-configurable support for all GNSS constellations; capacity to track all visible satellites from any 3 major constellations, plus several minor augmentation networks

  • Raw data (pseudorange, carrier phase, code phase) from M8T/M8F/M8P, and from undocumented commands on the v2.xx M8N

  • Great documentation–search for ublox m8 receiver description

  • Concurrent support for USB, 2 UARTs, I2C, SPI

  • Overwhelmingly detailed configuration and diagnostic features

  • In particular, a motion model configuration option to limit wild excursions and collection of bad data

  • u-center GUI application for configuration, testing, prototyping, analysis, etc.

  • Integrated data logging in most models, including flexible trigger and filter options

  • Geofencing feature

  • Optional binary data interaction protocol that’s way more convenient, compact, versatile and useful than NMEA

  • Frequency and timing reference features in some models (M8T/M8F)

  • Untethered dead reckoning model (M8U) with integrated MEMS sensors and clever built-in fusion algorithms

  • Integrated support for real-time kinematics (M8P)

  • Flexible power-saving modes

  • Option to preload “LiveAssist” data for quick cold starts

  • Active support by senior engineers on the u-blox forums

  • There’s more, but I’ll stop here

The GPS modules offered by SparkFun seem dated and limited in comparison.

I’ve purchased uBlox M8T modules from two small vendors in Europe catering to the drone enthusiast market. Unfortunately they do not expose the i2c or SPI buses, which I would prefer for interrupt-driven, low power operation.

4

I would also like to see SparkFun or another American company make a breakout or shield for the u-blox GPS/GNSS receivers. I strongly prefer the NEO-M8N or similar multi-system receiver.

I’m using a NEO-6M and a NEO-M8N on Arduino data logging shields in two different versions of a project. I like being able to use the u-blox u-connect software to test and play with different configurations of these receivers. The NEO-6M only receives GPS signals, but the NEO-M8N uses both GPS and GLONASS in its default configuation and can be configured to use up to three of the four GNSS systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou) simultaneously.

I have a slight preference for an SMA antenna connector, rather than a built-in antenna, but a module with a built-in antenna would also work in my project.

The NEO-M8N gets down to $13.31 per piece at quantity 100 at DigiKey, and $11.74 at 250 direct from u-blox.

You can get NEO-M8N logging shields from DuinoPeak in China for under $35 including shipping, but you take the risk of getting a counterfeit GPS module (I got a counterfeit NEO-6M based on a Chinese ATGM332D chipset on a board with a DuinoPeak silkscreen logo; DuinoPeak claims it’s not their product and that they only use genuine u-blox) and you may wait 2-3 weeks to receive it.