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This document describes the hardware features and specifications of the cost effective and high-performance LEA-5, NEO-5 and TIM-5H GPS modules featuring the u-blox 5 positioning engine. These compact, easy to integrate stand-alone GPS receiver modules combine exceptional GPS performance with highly flexible power, design, and connectivity options.
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FW6.00 UBX-TN-09001-A This document and the use of any information contained therein, is subject to the acceptance of the u-blox terms and conditions. They can be downloaded from www.u-blox.com. u-blox makes no warranties based on the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document and reserves the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time without notice.
4. Product testing: This chapter provides information about testing of OEM receivers in production. 5. Appendix: The Appendix includes guidelines on how to successfully migrate to u-blox 5 designs, and useful information about the different antenna types available on the market and how to reduce interference in your GPS design.
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Read the questions and answers on our FAQ database on the homepage http://www.u-blox.com Technical Support Worldwide Web Our website (www.u-blox.com) is a rich pool of information. Product information, technical documents and helpful FAQ can be accessed 24h a day. By E-mail If you have technical problems or cannot find the required information in the provided documents, contact the nearest of the Technical Support offices by email.
GPS modules are not designed for life saving or supporting devices or for aviation and should not be used in products that could in any way negatively impact the security or health of the user or third parties or that could cause damage to goods.
VCC - –ain power The main power supply is fed through the VCC pin. During operation, the current drawn by the u-blox 5 GPS module can vary by some orders of magnitude, especially, if low-power operation modes are enabled. It is...
If no backup battery available connect the V_BCKP pin to GND (or VCC). As long as VCC is supplied to the u-blox 5 receiver, the backup battery is disconnected from the RTC and the backup RAM in order to avoid unnecessary battery drain (see Figure 2). Power to RTC and BBR is supplied from VCC in this case.
Maximum Performance mode. u-blox 5 deactivates the acquisition engine as soon as a position is fixed and a sufficient number (at least 4) of satellites are being tracked. The tracking engine continues to search and track new satellites without orbit information.
Hardware handshake signals and synchronous operation are not supported. For the default settings see the module data sheet. 1.5.2 USB (LEA-5, NEO-5) The u-blox 5 Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface supports the full-speed data rate of 12 Mbit/s. 1.5.2.1 USB external components The USB interface requires some external components in order to implement the physical characteristics required by the USB 2.0 specification.
For more information about DDC implementation refer to the u-blox 5 Receiver Description including Protocol Specification [2]. u-blox 5 GPS receivers normally run in the slave mode. Master Mode is only supported when external EEPROM is used to store configuration. No other nodes are connected to the bus. In this case, the receiver attempts to establish presence of such a non-volatile memory component by writing and reading from a specific location.
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EEPROM or D/A Converter, etc) and can operate as either a transmitter or receiver, depending on the function of the device. The default DDC address for u-blox GPS receivers is set to 0x42. Setting the mode field in the CFG- PRT message for DDC accordingly can change this address.
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VDD_IO SDA2 SCL2 u-blox 5 M odule EEPROM Figure 6: Connecting external serial I2C memory used by the GPS receiver (see data sheet for exact pin orientation) Note that the case shown on Figure 6 is different than the case when EEPROM is present but used by external host / CPU as indicated on Figure 7.
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual VDD_IO VDD_IO VDD_IO SDA2 SCL2 u-blox 5 M odule EEPROM External CPU / Host Figure 7: Connecting external serial I C memory used by external host (see data sheet for exact pin orientation) 1.5.3.3...
1.5.4 SPI (planned with LEA-5Q and NEO-5Q/5G) A Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) will be available with selected u-blox 5 modules for serial communication. This is a synchronous serial data link standard that operates in full duplex mode. SPI is primarily used to enable a microcontroller unit ( C) to communicate with peripheral devices.
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual device is not selected (i.e. its chip select is not activated), its data output enters a high-impedance state (hi-Z) and does not interfere with SPI bus activities. The data output MISO functions as the data return signal from the slave to the master. Figure 9 shows a typical block diagram for an SPI master with several slaves.
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1.5.4.3 Connecting u-blox 5 modules to an SPI master Figure 11 shows how to connect a u-blox GPS receiver to a host/master. The signal on the pins must meet the conditions specified in the Data Sheet. GPS.G5-MS5-09027-A2...
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SPI and u-blox 5 configuration pins With some u-blox 5 modules the SPI MOSI, MISO and SCK pins have a shared configuration function at start up. To secure correct receiver operation make sure that the SS_N pin is high at start up. Afterwards the SPI function will not affect the configuration pins.
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual 1.5.4.5 Pin configuration with u-blox 5 module as one of several slaves Chip_Select Chip_Select SPI Slave SPI Slave MOSI MOSI MISO MISO Microprocessor u-blox 5 (SPI Master) GPS Receiver (SPI Slave VDD_IO Chip...
As with ANTARIS 4 versions, LEA-5 and TIM-5H modules come equipped with a RESET_N pin. Driving RESET_N low activates a hardware reset of the system. Unlike ANTARIS 4 modules, RESET_N is not an I/O with u-blox 5. It is only an input and will not reset external circuitry.
2.1.1 Layout design-in checklist Designing-in a u-blox 5 module is easy, especially when based on a u-blox reference design. Nonetheless, it pays to do a quick sanity check of the design. This section lists the most important items for a simple design check.
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Is the voltage VDDUSB within the specified range? Compare the peak current consumption of your u-blox 5 module with the specification of the power supply. GPS receivers require a stable power supply, avoid ripple on VCC (<50mVpp) ...
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual 2.1.2 Design considerations For a minimal design with a u-blox 5 GPS module the following functions and pins need to be considered: Connect the Power supply to VCC. VDDUSB : Connect the USB power supply to a LDO before feeding it to VDDUSB and VCC. Or connect to GND if USB is not used.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Passive Antenna RF_IN LEA-5 Reserved Top View VCC_RF V_BCKP V_ANT/NC RESET_N AADET_N/SCS1_N CFG_COM1/MISO /Reserved /Reserved NC/MOSI/CFG_COM0 VCC_OUT NC/SS_N/Reserved NC/SCK/CFG_GPS0 VDDUSB NC/VDDIO Micro USB_DM RxD1 Processor USB_DP TxD1 (serial) EXTINT0 SCL2 TIMEPULSE SDA2 Figure 15: Passive antenna design for LEA-5 receivers not using USB port and not using backup battery For passive antenna designs use an LNA to increase sensitivity up to 2dB.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Function Description Remarks UART TxD1 Serial Port 1 Serial port output. Leave open if not used. Serial port input with internal pull-up resistor to VCC. Leave open if RxD1 Serial Port 1 not used. Don‖t use external pull up resistor. USB_DM USB I/O line USB2.0 bidirectional communication pin.
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Function Description Remarks System Hardware Reset Leave open if not used. Do not drive high. RESET_N (Active Low) Timepulse Configurable Timepulse signal (one pulse per second by default). TIMEPULSE Signal Leave open if not used. External Interrupt Pin.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Function Description Remarks System TIMEPULSE Timepulse Configurable Timepulse signal (one pulse per second by default). Signal Leave open if not used. EXTINT0 External External Interrupt Pin. Interrupt Internal pull-up resistor to VCC. Leave open if not used. SDA2 DDC Pins DDC Data.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Function Description Remarks Power Provide clean and stable supply. Maximum allowed Ripple Supply Voltage Vcc=50mV. Assure a good GND connection to all GND pins of the module, 2,11-16,18 Ground preferably with a large ground plane. VCC_OUT Connected to VCC.
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual 0.8 mm [31.5 mil] Stencil: 200 m 15.7 mm [618 mil] 17.0 mm [669 mil] 17.0 mm [669 mil] 20.8 mm [819 mil] Figure 18: LEA-5 footprint Figure 19: LEA-5 paste mask 1.0 mm [39.3 mil] Stencil: 170 m 12.2 mm [480.3 mil]...
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual 0.8 mm 1.0mm [39 mil] [32 mil] Stencil: 180 m 23.5 mm [925 mil] 26.0 mm [1023.5 mil] 25.4 ± 0.1 mm [1000 ± 4 mil] 28.7 mm [1130 mil] Figure 22: TIM-5H footprint Figure 23: TIM-5H paste mask The paste mask outline needs to be considered when defining the minimal distance to the next component.
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Digital Part 'emitting' RF & heat circuits RF Part 'emitting' Non 'emitting' circuits circuits RF Part Digital Part RF& heat 'emitting' circuits Digital & Analog circuits Digital & Analog circuits Figure 24: Placement (for exact pin orientation see data sheet) GPS.G5-MS5-09027-A2 Released Design-in...
2.5.3 Antenna connection and grounding plane design u-blox 5 modules can be connected to passive patch or active antennas. The RF connection is on the PCB and connects the RF_IN pin with the antenna feed point or the signal pin of the connector, respectively. Figure 25 illustrates connection to a typical five-pin RF connector.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual micro strip line micro strip line Module Module Ground plane Ground plane Either don't use these layers or fill with ground planes Figure 26: PCB build-up for micro strip line. Left: 2-layer PCB, right: 4-layer PCB General design recommendations: The length of the micro strip line should be kept as short as possible.
Figure 29: Micro strip on a multi layer board (Agilent AppCAD Coplanar Waveguide) 2.6 Antenna and antenna supervisor u-blox 5 modules receive L1 band signals from GPS and GALILEO satellites at a nominal frequency of 1575.42 MHz. The RF signal is connected to the RF_IN pin.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual u-blox 5 Technology supports either a short circuit protection of the active antenna or an active antenna supervisor circuit (open and short circuit detection). For further information refer to Section 2.6.2). 2.6.1 Passive antenna A design using a passive antenna requires more attention regarding the layout of the RF section.
LEA-5Q/5M and NEO-5 modules do not provide the antenna bias voltage for active antennas on the RF_IN pin. It is therefore necessary to provide this voltage outside the module via an inductor as indicated in Figure 31. u-Blox recommends using an inductor from Murata (LQG15HS27NJ02). Alternative parts can be used if the inductor‖s resonant frequency matches the GPS frequency of 1575.4MHz.
GPS/GALILEO band of 1.575 GHz. Therefore, it is not recommended to use digital supply nets to feed pin V_ANT. An internal switch (under control of the u-blox 5 software) can shut down the supply to the external antenna whenever it is not needed. This feature helps to reduce power consumption.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual 2.6.5 Active antenna supervisor (LEA-5H/5S/5A/5T, TIM-5H) u-blox 5 Technology provides the means to implement an active antenna supervisor with a minimal number of parts. The antenna supervisor is highly configurable to suit various different applications.
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Short Circuit Detection (SCD) A short circuit in the active antenna pulls V_ANT to ground. This is detected inside the u-blox 5 module and the antenna supply voltage will be immediately shut down. Antenna short detection (SCD) and control is enabled by default.
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Table 10: Active antenna supervisor, bill of material Status reporting At startup and on every change of the antenna supervisor configuration the u-blox 5 GPS/GALILEO module will output a NMEA ($GPTXT) or UBX (INF-NOTICE) message with the internal status of the antenna supervisor (disabled, short detection only, enabled).
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To activate the antenna supervisor use the UBX-CFG-ANT message. For further information refer to the u-blox 5 Receiver Description including Protocol Specification [2]. Similar to the antenna supervisor configuration, the status of the antenna supervisor will be reported in a NMEA ($GPTXT) or UBX (INF-NOTICE) message at start-up and on every change.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual 2.7 EOS/ESD/EMI Precautions When integrating GPS receivers into wireless systems, careful consideration must be given to electromagnetic and voltage susceptibility issues. Wireless systems include components which can produce Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Electrical Overstress (EOS) and Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI). CMOS devices are more sensitive to such influences because their failure mechanism is defined by the applied voltage, whereas bipolar semiconductors are more susceptible to thermal overstress.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Small passive antennas (<2 dBic Passive antennas (>2 dBic or Active Antennas and performance critical) performance sufficient) LNA with appropriate ESD rating Figure 38: ESD Precautions Protection measure A is preferred due to performance and protection level considerations. 2.7.4 Electrical Overstress (EOS) Electrical Overstress (EOS) usually describes situations when the maximum input power exceeds the maximum specified ratings.
2.7.5 2.7.7 GSM applications GSM uses power levels up to 2W (+33dBm). The absolute maximum power input at the GPS receiver is -5dBm for Antaris-4 and u-blox 5 GPS receivers. 2.7.7.1 Isolation between GPS and GSM antenna For GSM applications plan a minimum isolation of 40dB. In a handheld type design an isolation of approximately 20dB Can be reached with careful placement of the antennas, but this isn‖t sufficient.
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1550 1550 1575 1575 1600 1600 1625 1625 Figure 41: In-band jamming signals u-blox blox GPS receiver 5 LNA data bus Figure 42: In-band jamming sources Measures against in-band jamming include: Maintaining a good grounding concept in the design Shielding...
3.1 Packaging, shipping, storage and moisture preconditioning For information pertaining to reels and tapes, Moisture Sensitivity levels (MSD), shipment and storage information, as well as drying for preconditioning see the data sheet of the specific u-blox 5 GPS module. 3.2 ESD handling precautions ESD prevention is based on establishing an Electrostatic Protective Area (EPA).
Controlled cooling helps to achieve bright solder fillets with a good shape and low contact angle. Temperature fall rate: max 3°C / s To avoid falling off, the u-blox 5 GPS module should be placed on the topside of the motherboard during soldering. GPS.G5-MS5-09027-A2...
5 modules must not be soldered with a damp heat process. 3.3.3 Optical inspection After soldering the u-blox 5 module, consider an optical inspection step to check whether: The module is properly aligned and centered over the pads All pads are properly soldered No excess solder has created contacts to neighboring pads, or possibly to pad stacks and vias nearby.
3.3.5 Repeated reflow soldering Only single reflow soldering processes are recommended for boards populated with u-blox 5 modules. The reason for this is the risk of the module falling off due to high weight in relation to the adhesive properties of the solder.
EMI covers is done at the customer's‖own risk. The numerous ground pins should be sufficient to provide optimum immunity to interferences and noise. u-blox makes no warranty for damages to the u-blox 5 module caused by soldering metal cables or any other forms of metal strips directly onto the EMI covers.
4.1 u-blox in-series production test u-blox focuses on high quality for its products. To achieve a high standard it‖s our philosophy to supply fully tested units. Therefore at the end of the production process, every unit is tested. Defective units are analyzed in detail to improve the production quality.
3. Power up the DUT (Device Under Test) and allow enough time for the acquisition 4. Read the C/No value from the NMEA GSV or the UBX-NAV-SVINFO message (e.g. with u-center) 5. Compare the results to a “Golden Device” or a u-blox 5 Evaluation Kit. 4.3.2 ‘Go/No go’ tests for integrated devices The best test is to bring the device to an outdoor position with excellent sky view (HDOP <...
A Migration to u-blox 5 receivers ® Migrating ANTARIS 4 to a u-blox 5 receiver module is a fairly straightforward procedure. Nevertheless there are some points to be considered during the migration. ® Not all of the functionalities available with ANTARIS 4 are supported by u-blox 5.
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Compare the u-blox 5 module peak current consumption (150 mA) with the specification of the power supply. u-blox 5 modules can be operated in two different power modes: Max. Performance or Eco mode. Select Eco mode for reduced current consumption. For FW 6.00 and additional Power Save mode is available.
Set to 1 with u-blox 5 UBX-CFG-TMODE UBX-CFG-TMODE With u-blox 5 FW 6.00 and above it is no longer necessary to configure the number of satellites in UBX-CFG-NAV to 1 to enable the timing mode. This is performed automatically. UBX-MON-HW UBX-MON-HW Message length has changed as the number of pins is different with u-blox5.
Table 15: Main differences between ANTARIS 4 and u-blox 5 software for migration The default NMEA message set for u-blox 5 is GGA, GLL, GSA, GSV, RMC and VTG. Contrary to ANTARIS 4, ZDA is disabled by default.
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual LEA-4H/LEA-4P/LEA-4T LEA-5H/LEA-5T Remarks for Migration Pin Name Typical Assignment Pin Name Typical Assignment Extended power supply range, higher peak supply 2.70 – 3.30V 2.70 – 3.60V current. No difference Internally connected to VCC, if you have circuitry VDD18OUT VCC_OUT connected to this pin, check if it withstands the...
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LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual LEA-4A/LEA-4S LEA-5A/LEA-5S Remarks for Migration Pin Name Typical Assignment Pin Name Typical Assignment BOOT_INT Reserved do not drive low. No difference No difference No difference RF_IN RF_IN RF_IN RF_IN No difference No difference VCC_RF VCC - –.1V VCC_RF...
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual A.5 Migration from NEO-4S to NEO-5Q/NEO-5M The pin-outs of NEO-4S and NEO-5M/NEO-5Q differ slightly. Table 18 compares the modules and highlights the differences to be considered. NEO-4S NEO-5Q/NEO-5M Remarks for Migration Pin Name Typ.
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual A.6 Migration from TIM-4H / TIM-4P to TIM-5H The pin-outs of TIM-4H/4P and TIM-5H differ slightly. Table 19 compares the modules and highlights the differences to be considered. TIM-4x TIM-5H Remarks for Migration Pin Name Typical Assignment Pin Name...
5 Firmware Version 6.00 Release Note, Docu. No GPS.G5-SW-09022 GPS Antenna Application Note, Docu. No GPS-X-08014 All these documents are available on our homepage (http://www.u-blox.com). For regular updates to u-blox documentation and to receive product change notifications please register on our homepage. Revision history...
LEA-5, NEO-5, TIM-5H - Hardware Integration Manual Contact For complete contact information visit us at www.u-blox.com Offices North, Central and South America Headquarters Asia, Australia, Pacific Europe, Middle East, Africa u-blox America, Inc. u-blox Singapore Pte. Ltd. u-blox AG Phone:...
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