Adafruit Ultimate GPS Logger Shield – Includes GPS Module

Brand new and better than ever, we’ve replaced our Adafruit GPS shield kit with this assembled shield that comes with an Ultimate GPS module. This GPS shield works great with any ‘Arduino shaped’ board that has SPI and UART pins available and is designed to log data to an SD card. Or you can leave the SD card out and use the GPS for a geocaching project, or maybe a music player that changes tunes depending on where you are in the city.

• -165 dBm sensitivity, 10 Hz updates, 99 channels
• Low power module – only 30mA current draw, half of most GPS’s
• Assembled & tested shield for Arduino Uno/Duemilanove/Diecimila/Leonardo (not for use with Mega/ADK/Due)
• MicroSD card slot for datalogging onto a removable card
• Built-in data logging to flash
• PPS output on fix
• Internal patch antenna + u.FL connector for external active antenna
• Power, Pin #13, and Fix status LED
• Big prototyping area

The shield is built around the MTK3333 chipset, a no-nonsense, high-quality GPS+GLONASS module that can track up to 33 satellites on 99 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dB tracking!), and a built-in antenna. It can do up to 10 location updates a second for high speed, high sensitivity logging or tracking. Power usage is incredibly low, only 30 mA during navigation.

The MTK3333-based module has external antenna functionality. The module has a standard ceramic patch antenna that gives it -165 dB sensitivity, but when you want to have a bigger antenna, you can snap on any 3V active GPS antenna via the uFL connector. The module will automatically detect the active antenna and switch over! Most GPS antennas use SMA connectors so you may want to pick up one of our uFL to SMA adapters.

Each order comes with one assembled and tested shield, a stick of 0.1′ male header. Some light soldering is required to attach the header to the shield in order to plug it into your Arduino. if you want to stack a shield on top, be sure to pick up a set of stacking headers to use instead. MicroSD card is NOT included either, but we do stock them in the shop!

We think this is the Ultimate GPS shield and we also think you’ll agree! For more details, tutorials, and example code check out our comprehensive tutorial.

Revision History

• As of Aug 20, 2023 – we’ve updated this PCB with Adafruit Pinguin to make a lovely and legible silkscreen and it now uses the 2 x 3 dedicated SPI port instead of pins 11, 12, and 13. This makes it compatible with a wider range of Arduino-shaped boards!
• As of July 26, 2023 – We no longer include the 12mm coin cell battery. 
• As of June 22, 2021 – The original GPS module is no longer available, so we’ve replaced it with a nearly identical GPS module that has the same shape and performance. This module can now receive GLONASS as well as GPS. Some commands for querying the antenna have slightly changed and the power draw has increased.
• Aug 29, 2014 – we now sell it with firmware v5632 which fixes some altitude calculations (more accuracy)

Specifications

• Satellites: 33 tracking, 99 searching
• Patch Antenna Size: 15mm x 15mm x 4mm
• Update rate: 1 to 10 Hz
• Position Accuracy: < 3 meters (all GPS technology has about 3m accuracy)
• Velocity Accuracy: 0.1 meters/s
• Warm/cold start: 34 seconds
• Acquisition sensitivity: -145 dBm
• Tracking sensitivity: -165 dBm
• Maximum Velocity: 515m/s
• MTK3333 Operating current: 29mA tracking, 35 mA current draw during navigation
• Output: NMEA 0183, 9600 baud default
• DGPS/WAAS/EGNOS supported
• FCC E911 compliance and AGPS support (Offline mode: EPO valid up to 14 days )
• Up to 210 PRN channels
• Jammer detection and reduction
• Multi-path detection and compensation
• Dimensions (PCB only): 69mm x 53mm x 6.7mm
• Weight (w/o GPS module): 24g

Resources

• Primary Guide