Adafruit UP501 Breadboard-friendly 66 channel GPS module w/10 Hz updates

When we saw this breadboard-friendly module used in the Coobro Geo kit, we were excited to carry it as a separate product. It's a no-nonsense, high-quality GPS module that can track up to 22 satellites on 66 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dB tracking!), and a built-in antenna.

The chipset is the latest MTK3329 which can do up to 10 location updates a second for high-speed, high-sensitivity logging or tracking. Of course, the icing on the cake is the use of 6 x 0.1" spaced holes on the side which make it trivial to add to any breadboard or perf-board project.

The main considerations are that the module is designed to run at about 3.3V and shouldn't be powered by 5.0V. If you're using an Arduino, simply connect the GPS power pin to the 3.3V pin. For configuring the module, use a 10K resistor divider on the RX pin to avoid putting 5V on the data pin.

We include these resistors, as well as a 6 pin header you can solder to the module to easily plug it into a breadboard. Get started in a jiffy: after soldering the module, follow our wiring diagram to connect it to your Arduino or other microcontroller, then run our example sketch to quickly set the update rate and choose the NMEA sentences you want.