Re: ✘NEO-M9N

[Frank Nicholas]

The document links at Sparkfun are to the uBlox site, and makes it easy to find 
the docs for the product you’re looking for.

I have 3-4 u.FL -> RP-SMA in use, and haven’t had a failure.  Can’t say I’ve 
ever tested for quality of connection/performance, but my GPSs work.

Because of the multi-GNASS for the board, I though the antenna would help with 
some of the other GNASS frequencies that are not quite L1 (as you put it).  And 
at the time I didn’t know what L1/L2/L5 was.  It is much more expensive than 
any of  my other antennas, which I paid $10-$20 for.

I was letting you know of the antenna features if you were looking for one for 
the ZED-F9P, also.

Thanks for the details on what I might see with the ZED vs. other board.  
Definitely not worth the $220 vs. $65 price difference for my purposes.

Thanks,
Frank

> On Feb 12, 2020, at 5:27 PM, Gary E. Miller <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> Yo Frank!
> 
> On Wed, 12 Feb 2020 17:09:58 -0500
> Frank Nicholas <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
>>> I think the GNSS 7 is somewhat better:
>>> 
>>> Price:              $40          $65
>>> Antenna Connector:  SMA          u.fl
>>> Backup:             Super Cap    battery
>>> Berg Pins:          Installed    Just holes
>>> Size:               57x25 mm     40x33 mm
>>> Mounting holes      No           Yes  
>> 
>> Site for the product you linked says Backup:  ___Battery Holder +
>> Battery___.
> 
> My mistake, yes, both are battery.  I was looking at another board at the
> time and conflated the two.
> 
>> It___s also ___Open Hardware___, released
>> under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 License.  I
>> see +/- for both boards (cost especially for the board you linked).
> 
> The schematics for the GNSS 7 are also available.  Not sure the license.
> 
>> There is a lot of official/good uBlox documentation linked from the
>> Sparkfun uBlox product pages for the board & antenna (see antenna
>> mentioned below)
> 
> Or, just go to u-blox.com and get the latest rev doc.
> 
>>> One takeaway is that GPS antennas do not work well with modern
>>> multi-GNSS receivers.  
>> 
>> This is why I purchased these items with the module:
>> Interface Cable RP-SMA to U.FL - WRL-00662 - SparkFun Electronics
> I hate that part.
> 
>> uBlox brand multi-band
>> antenna:  GNSS Multi-Band Magnetic Mount Antenna - 5m (SMA) -
> 
> Overkill, you only need an L1/E1/GLONASS antenna.  The L2/L5 in that
> antenna adds a lot of cost, not use on the M9N.
> 
>> GPS Antenna Ground Plate -
> 
> I use old 3.5" HDD platters.  Almost exactly the size that u-blox
> recommends, and they do help a tad.
> 
>> I hope the antenna is worth the price - $64.95 USD.  With it being a
>> uBlox part (ANN-MB-00), it might be available elsewhere for less.
> 
> Very few L1/L2/L5 antennas on the market, yet.  So the price is not bad
> for what you get.
> 
>> For $4.95 USD, it___ll be interesting to see what/if the steel disk
>> improves.
> 
> You should get, on average, one half extra sat used.
> 
>>> For somewhat over $200 the ZED-F9x can approach similar accuracy to
>>> survey receivers costing thousands.  But the NEO-M9N will not be in
>>> that class.  I'll post plots after I get the NEO-M9N that I orderd.
>> 
>> The antenna I linked above is ___ Designed for the latest u-blox F9
>> platform--including the ZED-F9P module___, with ___L1/L2 dual reception___.
> 
> Yes, but you only have L1 in the NEO-M9N.
> 
>> Sparkfun has this ZED-F9P module for $219.95 USD:  SparkFun GPS-RTK2
>> Board - ZED-F9P (Qwiic) - GPS-15136 - SparkFun Electronics
> 
> I have tried other brands of ZED-F9P.  They are nice, but I'll wait for
> the price to come down before buying them.
> 
>> My main hobby/use for these modules is time keeping.  Does L1 only
>> vs. L1/L2 improve time accuracy enough to measure/matter for the cost?
> 
> The improvement in PPS is below what you can measure with KPPS.  But
> you will see the added location accuracy.
> 
> RGDS
> GARY
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Gary E. Miller Rellim 109 NW Wilmington Ave., Suite E, Bend, OR 97703
>       address@hidden  Tel:+1 541 382 8588
> 
>           Veritas liberabit vos. -- Quid est veritas?
>    "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." - Lord Kelvin