New 3D Robotics product: u-blox LEA-6H GPS

Hi everyone! I'm very happy to announce our new u-blox based GPS board. The development teams and 3D Robotics have been working on this GPS unit for some time, and we have seen very good results on ArduPlane, ArduCopter and ArduRover. The Sparkfun AVC and the Quadcopter Rodeo were excellent opportunities to observe this GPS in action, and it helped Team Overhead win first place at AVC.

The device is pretty straight-forward. It has active circuitry for the ceramic patch antenna, rechargeable backup battery for warm starts, and I2C EEPROM for configuration storage. The units will ship pre-configured for ArduPilot Mega use, and the configuration file is available in the repository if needed.

Features and Specifications:

ublox LEA-6H module
5Hz max. update rate, configured for 4Hz for APM
25 x 25 x 4 mm ceramic patch antenna
LNA and SAW filter
rechargeable 3V lithium backup battery
low noise 3.3V regulator
I2C EEPROM for configuration storage
power and fix indicator LEDs
ArduPilot Mega compatible 6-pin JST connector
exposed RX, TX, 5V and GND pads
38 x 38 x 8.5 mm total size
16.8 g weight

It's on sale now, price is $75.99 USD. It starts shipping on Monday, July 9th.

Design files and links to the board's main component data sheets can be found in the product listing.

We look forward to hearing your feedback!

The issue with the remzibi is that a lot of people were using a special version of the software (look for the +remzibi code in the downloads section) You raise an important point about MAVLink versions, the minimosd also needed to be upgraded to understand MAVLink 1.0, and the remzibi would need to be upgraded also. But that has nothing directly to do with the gps. If you cannot get the remzibi upgraded to support MAVLink 1.0, then it's a rembizi/arducopter/ArduPlane version incompatibility, not a remzibi/gps compatibility. If that is the case, and you want to use the remzibi so much that you'd run old code rather than a recent version, it is not hard to recompile for MAVLink 0.9, even with new code, or to add this gps code to an older version. I had a remzibi before it was a 3dr was available, and I put it aside because it generated vast amounts of heat, it was affecting the shrink wrap it came in, and I didn't like the idea of all that power lost as heat. Anyway, what I'm suggesting is the gps is easy enough to get it working with just about any board (APM) and just about any code, with minor changes if it doesn't work out of the box. Let me know if you have any trouble and I'll help you get it working, or I'll buy it off you. I don't use remzibi right now, but if you have a working system with remzibi, and it stops working with this gps, let me know way code you are using and I'll make the GPS work on that code. I'd suggest not deciding on which flight software to run based on the choice of OSD, but that is your call.

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Comments

Moderator

Michael Pursifull July 11, 2012 at 2:44pm

But you may also want to follow the discussions about lower Hz reporting for the GPS, I'm not clear what the device actually can do, or how that might affect your specific application. It is an open question in my mind that I have not yet addressed and plan to explore when it arrives.
Moderator

Michael Pursifull July 11, 2012 at 2:42pm

Greg - mine has just shipped, should be waiting for me when I arrive in Texas. So I cannot tell you about this GPS, but I can tell you I had the old uBlox5 for my quads. I had a more reliable sat lock in more flight conditions, near buildings, etc. But the biggest benefit for using my uBlox5 over the stock MTK was that I used a battery backed GPS. You can battery back both, but at the time 3DR sold a battery backed adaptor for the uBlox and not for the MTK. That is one upgrade, irrespective of the GPS you decide to use, that I can really get behind. You can DIY or buy, this GPS form factor has a battery, and jDrones sells a battery unit for the their MTK, and there are at least two blog/forum posts showing users how to DIY add batteries to MTK and APM2-mounted MTK GPSes. Definitely worth taking the time to do, I believe. Besides saving time at boot, it might also save you a crash or bazaar behavior when you accidentally launch w/o a lock.
Greg July 11, 2012 at 1:49pm

Mike,

I was just asking to consider potential issues and the options, as I was about to purchase the 3DR version Remzibi OSD at the same time the new GPS came out. Many thanks for the handy info, especially heat issue comment. i need to re think the osd now, minimosd looks to be the only option. But topic for another article.

Does anyone have a view / flight data on the 3DR LEA-6 GPS current draw and heat output versus the MTK 3329 Always a consideration when looking at enhancing your flighing platform. In other words is it minimal difference compared with gains in operational effectiveness with the APM2?
Moderator

Michael Pursifull July 10, 2012 at 10:04am

Remzibi is less likely to work with mav1.0 than with 0.9, I would put hopes that mavlink1.0 solves any compatibility issues with remzibi. But if you aren't using remzibi now, are you just asking to keep your options open?
Moderator

Michael Pursifull July 10, 2012 at 10:01am

The issue with the remzibi is that a lot of people were using a special version of the software (look for the +remzibi code in the downloads section) You raise an important point about MAVLink versions, the minimosd also needed to be upgraded to understand MAVLink 1.0, and the remzibi would need to be upgraded also. But that has nothing directly to do with the gps. If you cannot get the remzibi upgraded to support MAVLink 1.0, then it's a rembizi/arducopter/ArduPlane version incompatibility, not a remzibi/gps compatibility. If that is the case, and you want to use the remzibi so much that you'd run old code rather than a recent version, it is not hard to recompile for MAVLink 0.9, even with new code, or to add this gps code to an older version. I had a remzibi before it was a 3dr was available, and I put it aside because it generated vast amounts of heat, it was affecting the shrink wrap it came in, and I didn't like the idea of all that power lost as heat. Anyway, what I'm suggesting is the gps is easy enough to get it working with just about any board (APM) and just about any code, with minor changes if it doesn't work out of the box. Let me know if you have any trouble and I'll help you get it working, or I'll buy it off you. I don't use remzibi right now, but if you have a working system with remzibi, and it stops working with this gps, let me know way code you are using and I'll make the GPS work on that code. I'd suggest not deciding on which flight software to run based on the choice of OSD, but that is your call.
Greg July 10, 2012 at 9:38am

Mike and Chris thank you for the response. I agree I was not sure about the 3DR Remzibi being able to tap the APM2 mavlink flow as there is a note in the 3dr store that says it is incompatible with APM2. I am not sure that is the case now APM2 uses mavlink v1.0. i.e maybe the Remzibi osd can work ok with mavlink 1.0 flows in APM2 So I just wanted to be sure there was nothing which would prevent me from using the new GPS on the Remzibi's gps input if there is still the old issue. Sounds like theres no issue so thanks again for clearing this up.
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson July 9, 2012 at 6:15pm

Greg: it is compatible with the MinimOSD. I don't know about the Remzibi.
Moderator

Michael Pursifull July 9, 2012 at 1:20pm

@Greg - why wouldn't it be compatible? Both the minimosd and 3DR remzibi tap into the mavlink flow, and the mavlink flow comes from the APM, not the GPS. GPS messages are included in the mavlink flow, but they are formatted the same way irrespective of the GPS used. Of course the classic remzibi and many other OSD units also have their own inputs for a GPS, but often these are not used when connecting to an APM. In any case, you are almost surely going to be happy with either GPS unit, I just didn't want you to feel like you weren't getting any answers.
Martin Mueller July 9, 2012 at 10:32am

Sam, u-blox says that it is 2Hz for flash (LEA-6H) and 5Hz for ROM, just as printed in the data sheet. The link you gave is currently not available.

Chris, why did you silently modify your post from 10Hz to 5Hz (instead of correcting it)?

[The LEA-6H initially gives position updates at 5Hz. That can change into a
stuttering output if the processor load increases with more satellites visible]
Greg July 9, 2012 at 8:24am

Since I cannot get a confirmation the new GPS is compatible with the 3DR minimosd or 3DR remzibi osd I am holding off on purchasing the LEA-6 for now. Also I just bought the MTK 3329 and the accuracy seems fairly close to the LEA-6.

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