I wondered if anyone had tried hacking a cheap bluetooth GPS receiver? There's no lack of them on eBay and with a bit of tinkering it should be possible to disable the bluetooth portion (in case of 2.4GHz interference) and find some kind of serial binary or NMEA output.If there was an easy hack I think it could work out cheaper than some of the standalone modules.
You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!
If you are gooood with a soldering iron, and have some very fine & sharp points for it, DO IT!
I know you asked a while ago, but im posting incase anyone else reads this.
The GPS units are (for the most part) generic modules produced by companies. Then people come along and implement them into USB bluetooth etc devices, but the GPS module is still doing the same thing.
If you carefully crack open the device you are working with, locate the USB microchip or the bluetooth chip, look up the data sheets on that chip. You should find a TX and RX on the chip.. and this is usually what the generic GPS module is talking with. Therefore, you can heat up your fine soldering iron, and piggyback a wire on top both the TX and the RX pin. Add power to the device the standard way you used to, and run the wire you attached to a serial input on an arduino, configured to the same baud settings as the gps.
has worked for me every time. but dont be fooled, its tough. Especially because the microchip you are piggybacking the wire(s) to is tiny, and the pins are smaller. about twice the width of your hair. Double check you didn't bridge any pins with solder!!! or bad things will happen.
i know its a bad write-up, but im quite tired.... i wanted to answer it, but knew if i went to bed, i would forget by tomorrow
Replies
I know you asked a while ago, but im posting incase anyone else reads this.
The GPS units are (for the most part) generic modules produced by companies. Then people come along and implement them into USB bluetooth etc devices, but the GPS module is still doing the same thing.
If you carefully crack open the device you are working with, locate the USB microchip or the bluetooth chip, look up the data sheets on that chip. You should find a TX and RX on the chip.. and this is usually what the generic GPS module is talking with. Therefore, you can heat up your fine soldering iron, and piggyback a wire on top
both the TX andthe RX pin. Add power to the device the standard way you used to, and run the wire you attached to a serial input on an arduino, configured to the same baud settings as the gps.has worked for me every time. but dont be fooled, its tough. Especially because the microchip you are piggybacking the wire(s) to is tiny, and the pins are smaller. about twice the width of your hair. Double check you didn't bridge any pins with solder!!! or bad things will happen.
i know its a bad write-up, but im quite tired.... i wanted to answer it, but knew if i went to bed, i would forget by tomorrow
GL
Big ask.