Customer:
I want to use the L86-M33 breakout board but I’m not sure how to interface with it. Does it work with Arduino? What connector is needed and what IDE is needed to upload code to it?
Originally submitted via email support on 8 September 2024. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
Yes, it works with Arduino. It’s a communications device which you can connect to an Arduino-compatible board and then get data from the device, which you can use in your Arduino sketch.
The easyC product version can be easily connected to Dasduino boards via an easyC cable. If you’re using a different microcontroller, you would need a connector like easyC on your board (it’s the same connector as Qwiic and stemma QT, see Soldered: Open-Source Electronics, Boards, Sensors & Modules – Soldered Electronics for more info).
The regular version interfaces between serial pins (RX and TX).
For code examples, check out the native version example here: Soldered-GNSS-L86-M33-Arduino-Library/examples/native/L86_M33_Basic_Readings/L86_M33_Basic_Readings.ino at main · SolderedElectronics/Soldered-GNSS-L86-M33-Arduino-Library · GitHub
For IDE, you can use Arduino IDE (version 1.8 is recommended, not 2.0) or the VSCode extension with Arduino.
I would also recommend getting an antenna, as the breakouts have a place to connect an antenna and this will greatly improve your readings.
Note that GPS can be sensitive at times, so it’s a good idea not to depend on data being read correctly every single time from the breakout. When you first get the breakout and try a GPS example, keep reading data and leave it on for a while - it takes about 30 seconds for the first value to be read correctly.