Global Positioning System

Objective

The goal of this assignment is to provide the code and circuitry necessary to retrieve data from a Parallax GPS Receiver Module.

Overview

The Parallax GPS (Global Positioning System) Receiver Module is a fully integrated, low-cost unit with an on-board patch antenna. It provides standard, raw NMEA0183 (National Marine Electronics Association) strings or specific data from up to 12 satellites via its serial command interface. It can provide the current time, date, latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, travel direction, and other data. The goal of the project was to set up a one-way connection between the PIC and the GPS Receiver Module, in which the PIC interprets the raw data collected by the GPS Receiver Module and displays it in a user-friendly format on a parallel LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Specifically for this project, there are three sets of information that can be displayed: Position (Latitude / Longitude); Time & Number of Satellites Detectable; Velocity / Direction of Movement. We will first discuss the circuitry of PIC-GPS connection, followed by the method used to allow the PIC to gather data from the GPS Module, and finally how to display specific information on the parallel LCD.

Circuit

The four primary components used in this circuit are: • Controller (PIC) • Parallax GPS Receiver Module • Liquid Crystal Display • Three buttons Image 1 shows the connection between the PIC and GPS Receiver Module. Image 2 shows the connection between the PIC and LCD.