So i recently purchased the ublox LEA6 gps from 3DR, I am having a really tough time getting a GPS lock. I have it hooked up to a battery and esc, sitting outside with an unobstructed view of the sky. It's been over an hour and still no lock. I live in IL so coverage shouldn't be a problem. Are there any trouble shooting steps I should/could take?
(full disclosure: I was able to get a lock a couple of times last week, but none this week.)
Replies
Yes, I returned the GPS to 3DR and the replacement solved the issue
Same problem. but sometimes it works perfect fixing 7/8 sats in 10 seconds. i think is a soldering problem.
Edit : now i am sure the problem is bad soldering of the ufl cable under the ceramic patch antenna. now i try to resold.
Received my replacement GPS from 3DR today. Haven't tested it yet, but with a cursory inspection I see that the solder joints connecting the ublox chip seem to be of better quality(on my old one, some of them seemed to be missing/incomplete) . I'll check GPS lock tonight and report back...
Same problem :/
I have RMA'd my unit to 3DR, so we'll see what happens
I have exactly the same problem. Luckily I ordered two APM2.5 kits with these GPSs. I unpacked the other GPS, plugged it in and it got lock nearly instantly!
So, I'm guessing the other one is bad/dead. Not sure if I did anything to kill it - plugged it into the APM just like I did with the one that is now working....
So what have you changed from last week to this week (hint, hint)?
Likely, it's a power problem with noise coming from your regulator (BEC or ESC). Eliminate the noise and willing to bet it locks just fine. Most likely, some component last week wasn't connected and this week, it's making bad EMI/RFI.
To block noise, use an inductor in series on the power wire feeding the entire APM.
I posted a pretty clear answer with link to usage of the filter circuit in this thread http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/new-3dr-ublox-gps-causes-interfer...