Getting Started with u-blox Thingstream and PointPerfect
Contributors:
bboyho
bboyho 
Software Installation
Note: This example assumes you are using the latest version of the Arduino IDE on your desktop. If this is your first time using Arduino IDE, library, or board add-on, please review the following tutorials.
If you've never connected an CH340 device to your computer before, you may need to install drivers for the USB-to-serial converter. Check out our section on How to Install CH340 Drivers" for help with the installation.
- Installing the Arduino IDE
- Installing an Arduino Library
- Installing Board Definitions in the Arduino IDE
If you've never connected an CH340 device to your computer before, you may need to install drivers for the USB-to-serial converter. Check out our section on How to Install CH340 Drivers" for help with the installation.
The SparkFun u-blox Arduino library enables the reading of all positional datums as well as sending binary UBX configuration commands over I2C. This is helpful for configuring advanced modules like the ZED-F9P but also the NEO-M8P-2, SAM-M8Q and any other u-blox module that use the u-blox binary protocol.
Note: We support two versions of the SparkFun u-blox GNSS library. Version 2 and Version 3. Version 3 uses the u-blox Configuration Interface (VALSET and VALGET) to configure the module, instead of the deprecated UBX-CFG messages. For modules like the F9 and M10, we recommend upgrading to Version 3. However, older modules like the M8 do not support the Configuration Interface. For those you will need to keep using Version 2 of the library. We will continue to support both.
The SparkFun u-blox Arduino library can be downloaded with the Arduino library manager by searching 'SparkFun u-blox GNSS v3' or you can grab the zip here from the GitHub repository to manually install. Once the library is installed, you can take advantage of the examples for the ZED-F9P. For the scope of this tutorial, we will be using the PointPerfect Client example.
Note: Some examples use the 'MicroNMEA' library by Steve Marple. Make sure to install the library as well by searching for it in the Arduino library manager. You could also grab the zip here from the GitHub repository to manually install.