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uBlox GS-407 Antenna Problems.. (Solution)

Posted by Jordi Muñoz on May 6, 2010 at 12:30pm

A few batches of the GS407 (uBlox) modules came defective. This problem includes units sold by SparkFun and DIYDrones Store ... The problem seems to be around the antenna solder joins, they are weak and break easily, so any little crash may break it. You can try to solder them by removing the hard glue, but is not recommended because you will void the warranty.

If you carefully check the picture you will see three tiny gold pins, those pins support all the stress and weight of the whole antenna. The big solder balls you see are mine, not from factory...

The uBlox chipsets are intact and fully functional but they are unable to catch satellites.

If you are a victim of this situation, please send it back to me and i will chip them out to the factory for a FREE repair!

Don't send me the remains of your module if you hard crash it, your burn it or something else is not related to this issue. Only units ordered from DIYDrones Store in good conditions will be accepted.
Tags: ublox
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Comments

  • Ryan May 7, 2010 at 3:54pm
    I suggest the manufature do a better job!

    Just because it's DIY doesn't mean that we should fix all the crappy hardware ourselves.
  • Admin
    Morli May 7, 2010 at 3:39pm
    k, Sgt, will do some thing similar in the new airframe once I figure out all the other stuff. True, Thin CA has some good penetration power, we don't want them on contacts. tnx ( Jordi too)
  • Moderator
    Sgt Ric May 7, 2010 at 3:18pm
    I've heard some horror stories of it wicking on a microscopic level and insulating contact points.

    Jordi's suggestion of hard glues sounds best.

    I plan on a real serious buildup of epoxy!
  • Admin
    Morli May 7, 2010 at 3:03pm
    Sgt, that may be true for plugs/pins/ any removable contacts and also anywhere there is a plastics( some plastics melt a bit with CA) but what about soldered contacts /joins like in this case? Do you thing CA will do harm than good ? if so what do you recommend in this case of UBlox GPS (hardening! )?
  • Moderator
    Sgt Ric May 7, 2010 at 2:55pm
    CA glues and electronics should NOT mix!

    The superglue wicks along the connections and robs you of a good contact.
  • Developer
    Jordi Muñoz May 7, 2010 at 2:52pm
    Any hard glue around the antenna and the PCB to keep it very secure....
  • Admin
    Morli May 7, 2010 at 2:48pm
    Jordi, Mine does not show solder blob ( or atleast it is not that big) , I don't have any GPS issue as of now and I don't want it either. So do you recommend that I should run a little solder on those three gold contacts and then drop of glue? What glue , superglue or epoxy or any thing else there? Will hot melt glue do?
    '
  • Kenny Huang May 7, 2010 at 6:05am
    I have ordered this Ublox GPS on March 26 from DIYDrones Store (the order number is 3234).
    It never got any satellite. I even upgraded it to the newest firmware 6.02, and still got nothing in u-center and ublox tester. I think it's defective in the antenna. May I mail it to you for a FREE repair?
    However, I ordered another Ublox GPS on 4/30/2010 and it got the GPS fix very soon in u-center and ublox tester. But something strange. When I first connect it to u-center, I need to drop the baud rate to 9600 to get connected. I think I order it with ArduPilot Ready(order number 3538), the baud rate should be 38400. However, after I put in the configuration file, it work fine now.
  • Ryan May 7, 2010 at 5:44am
    Nah, got it from SparksFun - it'd cost me more to send back to you from Australia.
  • Developer
    Jordi Muñoz May 7, 2010 at 12:31am
    Ship it back! Did you bought it from me?
This reply was deleted.