SXBlue GPS Reference Manual
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4. Operation Basics
This chapter introduces the general operational features of the SXBlue GPS system,
operating modes, and receiver default operating parameters.
4.1 Powering SXBlue GPS
As described in Chapter 2, Introduction, the SXBlue GPS is powered by either connecting
the battery to the power (PWR) connector (in the case of the 4.5 to 9 VDC model) or by
connecting the red and black power leads of the power cable to the appropriate power
source and ground. Refer to Table 3.1 in section 3.4 and the back label of the SXBlue GPS
for proper voltage ratings. Once battery or both leads of cable are connected, the SXBlue
GPS will be immediately powered.
With the application of power, the SXBlue GPS system will proceed through an internal
start-up sequence; however it will be ready to communicate immediately.
When installed such that the antenna has an unobstructed view of the sky, the SXBlue GPS
will provide a position quickly, within approximately 60 seconds. SBAS lock requires
approximately 30 seconds to acquire.
Note - It can take up to 5 minutes for a full ionospheric map to be received from
SBAS. Optimum accuracy will be obtained once the SXBlue GPS is processing
corrected positions using complete ionospheric information.
4.2 Communicating with SXBlue GPS
The SXBlue GPS features two serial ports that may be configured independently from each
other (Serial and Bluetooth). The ports may be configured for any mixture of NMEA 0183,
binary, and RTCM SC-104 data. The usual data output is limited to NMEA data messages
since these are industry standard.
Note - If you require different data types to be output from the SXBlue GPS
simultaneously (such as NMEA and binary or NMEA and RTCM), ensure that the
software used for logging and processing of the data has been designed to correctly
parse the different data types from the single stream of data. Alternatively, you may
also use the two ports (serial and Bluetooth) to separate the different data types and
at different output rates.
4.2.1 NMEA 0183 Interface
NMEA 0183 is a communications standard established by the National Marine Electronics
Association (NMEA) and provides data definitions for a variety of navigation and related
equipment. Such instruments supported include gyrocompasses, Loran receivers, echo
sounders, GPS receivers, and more. NMEA functionality is virtually standard on all GPS
equipment available. NMEA has an ASCII character format that allows you to read the data
via terminal software on the receiving device (if possible). One second of example NMEA
data from the SXBlue GPS follows: