L70 EVB User Guide
GPS Module Series
Rev. L70_EVB_User_Guide_V2.0
Date: 2013-05-31
www.quectel.com
GPS Module
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Quectel Wireless Solutions Co., Ltd.
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About the document
History
Revision
Date
Author
Description
1.0
2013-02-21
Dishon ZHOU
Initial
2.0
2013-05-28
Ada LI
Hardware upgraded
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Contents
About the document ................................................................................................................................... 2
Contents ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Table Index ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Figure Index ................................................................................................................................................. 5
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 6
2 Introduction to EVB Kit ....................................................................................................................... 7
2.1. EVB Top and Bottom View .......................................................................................................... 7
2.2. EVB Accessories ......................................................................................................................... 9
3 Interface Application ......................................................................................................................... 10
3.1. USB Interface ............................................................................................................................ 10
3.2. UART Interface.......................................................................................................................... 11
3.3. Antenna Interface ...................................................................................................................... 12
3.4. Switches and Buttons ............................................................................................................... 13
3.5. Operating Status LEDs ............................................................................................................. 14
3.6. Test Points ................................................................................................................................. 15
4 EVB and Accessories ........................................................................................................................ 16
5 Install Device Driver ........................................................................................................................... 17
6 Starting PowerGPS ............................................................................................................................ 18
7 Appendix A Reference ....................................................................................................................... 24
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Table Index
TABLE 1: PINS OF UART PORT ....................................................................................................................... 11
TABLE 2: SWITCHES AND BUTTONS ............................................................................................................. 13
TABLE 3: OPERATING STATUS LEDS ............................................................................................................ 14
TABLE 4: PINS OF J106 ................................................................................................................................... 15
TABLE 5: EXPLANATIONS OF POWERGPS WINDOW .................................................................................. 19
TABLE 6: REFERENCE .................................................................................................................................... 24
TABLE 7: ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 24
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Figure Index
FIGURE 1: EVB TOP VIEW ................................................................................................................................ 7
FIGURE 2: EVB BOTTOM VIEW ........................................................................................................................ 8
FIGURE 3: EVB ACCESSORIES ........................................................................................................................ 9
FIGURE 4: MICRO-USB INTERFACE .............................................................................................................. 10
FIGURE 5: UART INTERFACE .......................................................................................................................... 11
FIGURE 6: ANTENNA INTERFACE .................................................................................................................. 12
FIGURE 7: LNA LAYOUT .................................................................................................................................. 12
FIGURE 8: SWITCHES AND BUTTONS .......................................................................................................... 13
FIGURE 9: OPERATING STATUS LEDS .......................................................................................................... 14
FIGURE 10: TEST POINTS J106 ...................................................................................................................... 15
FIGURE 11: EVB AND ACCESSORY EQUIPMENTS ...................................................................................... 16
FIGURE 12: POWERGPS TOOL ...................................................................................................................... 18
FIGURE 13: MTK COMMAND .......................................................................................................................... 20
FIGURE 14: STATIC TTFF TESTING ............................................................................................................... 21
FIGURE 15: STATIC TTFF TESTING CONFIGURATION OPTIONS ............................................................... 22
FIGURE 16: STATIC TTFF TESTING CONFIGURATION ................................................................................ 23
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1 Introduction
This document defines and specifies the usage of L70 EVB (Evaluation Board). You can get useful
information about L70 EVB and GPS demo tool from this document.
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2 Introduction to EVB Kit
2.1. EVB Top and Bottom View
Figure 1: EVB Top View
A
B
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
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Figure 2: EVB Bottom View
A: UART port
B: Serial port alternation switch
C: RESET button
D: POWER switch
E: Micro-USB port
F: Indication LEDs
G: Antenna interface
H: L70 Module
I: STANDBY switch
J: Test points
A
J
E
F
G
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2.2. EVB Accessories
Figure 3: EVB Accessories
A: USB cable
B: GPS active antenna (3.3V)
A
B
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3 Interface Application
3.1. USB Interface
Figure 4: Micro-USB Interface
The main power is supplied via Micro-USB interface. Quectel provides two ways for data communication:
Micro-USB and UART interface which are controlled by serial port alternation switch (S2). Both of RS232
and Micro-USB cable are necessary, if you want to use UART in order to output NEMA. So the easy way
is that use Micro-USB cable which both provides the power and output NEMA. You can make alternation
between UART port and Micro-USB interface via switch (S2).
If you want to use PowerGPS Tool, UART interface is recommended for data communication.
NOTE
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3.2. UART Interface
Figure 5: UART Interface
Table 1: Pins of UART port
Pin
Signal
I/O
Description
2
RXD
I
Receive data
3
TXD
O
Transmit data
5
GND
GND
.
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3.3. Antenna Interface
Figure 6: Antenna Interface
Figure 7: LNA Layout
Antenna
R118
C109
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For choice of external antenna, both of active antenna and passive antenna can be selected. Please note
the LNA is installed in the EVB by default, so you have to move C109 to R112 and R118 to R105, when
you want to remove the LNA for test.
3.4. Switches and Buttons
Figure 8: Switches and Buttons
Table 2: Switches and Buttons
Part
Name
I/O
Description
S1
POWER
I
Control power supply via Micro-USB.
S2
Serial port
alternation switch
I
QUECTEL EVB supplies two communicative
ways: Micro-USB and UART which are controlled
by switch.
S1
S2
S3
K1
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S3
STANDBY
I
The module will enter into standby mode when
switching from OFF to ON, and exit from standby
mode in the opposite operation.
K1
RESET
I
Press and release this button, then the module
will reset.
3.5. Operating Status LEDs
Figure 9: Operating Status LEDs
Table 3: Operating status LEDs
Part
Name
I/O
Description
L1
TXD1
O
Flash: turn on successfully. Micro-USB or UART1
port can output messages.
Extinct: fail to turn on the module.
L2
1PPS
O
Flash: fix successfully. The frequency is 1Hz.
Extinct: no fix.
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3.6. Test Points
Figure 10: Test Points J106
Table 4: Pins of J106
Pin
Signal
I/O
Description
1/10
GND
Ground
2
STANDBY
I
Enter or exit standby mode
3
1PPS
O
1 pulse per second
4
AADET_N
I
Active antenna open circuit detection
5
32K/DRIN
Reserved
6
TIMER(FORCE_ON)
O
Logic high will force module to be waked
up from backup mode. Keep this pin open
or pulled low before entering into backup
mode. If unused, keep this pin open.
7
RESET
I
System reset
8
TXD1
O
Transmit data
9
RXD1
I
Receive data
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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4 EVB and Accessories
The EVB and its accessories are equipped as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11: EVB and Accessory Equipments
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5 Install Device Driver
Please note that you need to install the driver of Micro-USB, when use Micro-USB for data communication.
The driver has been stored in our FTP server. The driver of CP210x also can be download from internet.
The download path of our FTP server is as below:
Overseas customer: /d:/FTP/OC/Overseas_Technical/Overseas_Module Official Documents/GNSS
Module/Common/04 Tool Kit/ GNSS_EVB_Micro-USB_Driver_CP210x.
Domestic customer: /d:/FTP/CC/Domestic_Technical/Domestic_Module Official Documents/GNSS
Module/Common/04 Tool Kit/ GNSS_EVB_Micro-USB_Driver_CP210x.
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6 Starting PowerGPS
The PowerGPS version is V2.2.0. The PowerGPS tool can help user to view the status of
GPS&GLONASS receiver conveniently. When the tool is opened, the following window will be displayed:
Figure 12: PowerGPS Tool
After EVB accessories are assembled, turn on the module and start up the PowerGPS. Select a correct
COM port and baud rate (L70 module supports 9600bps by default), then click the button “Create
Connection”.
From the PowerGPS window, user can view CNR message, time, position, speed, precision and so on.
Explanations are listed in Table 5.
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Table 5: Explanations of PowerGPS Window
Icon
Explanation
SV with PRN 65. If the position of SV is near to the centre of the
Sky View, the elevation angle of SV is close to 90°. Dark blue
means this satellite is in tracking.
Light blue means this satellite is not in tracking.
The CNR of PRN 25 is 31dB/Hz. Light blue column means the
navigation data of this satellite is in use.
The CNR of PRN 70 is 32dB/Hz. White column means the
navigation data of this satellite is not in use. The range of
GLONASS SVID is 65-96.
UTC time
Latitude degree
longitude degree
Positing fix
Using the number of satellites
Horizontal Dilution of Precision
Altitude based on WGS84 Datum
UTC date
Fix type: No-Fix, 3D or 2D SPS
Using satellite
Position Dilution of Precision
Vertical Dilution of Precision
Speed of receiver
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PMTK Command
You can send PMTK command by PowerGPS. The format of PMTK command is included only characters
between „$‟ and „*‟, for example: PMTK869,0.
Figure 13: MTK Command
Automatic TTFF Testing
This tool allows you to measure the TTFF (Time to First Fix) under different testing conditions. You can
choose to test the TTFF from full start, cold start, warm start and hot start and the number of tests can be
chosen from 1, 10, 20, 100, 1000 and 10000. Click on the Run button to start the test and it can be
stopped by clicking on the Stop button. The configuration is as below:
Start “MTK” menu, and click “Static TTFF Testing”, then “Static TTFF Testing” as shown below:
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Figure 14: Static TTFF Testing
Click “Set reference point”, choose “Reference location”. After start positioning, clickUse Mean Position”,
then click “OK”. As shown in the screenshots below:
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Figure 15: Static TTFF Testing Configuration Options
Click “Config”, set “TTFF Time- out (sec)”, then click “OK”, shown as below:
In generally, if you choose hot start, TTFF Time-out (sec) sets 10s. If you choose warm start, the TTFF
Time-out (sec) sets 50s. If you choose cold start, the TTFF Time-out (sec) sets 100s. TTFF Timeout
(sec) can help you judge TTFF and save time.
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Figure 16: Static TTFF Testing Configuration
The above operation is completed. Click on the Run button to start the test and it can be stopped by
clicking Stop button.
After finishing the testing, you can see the testing result charts. Of course, the result also will be stored in
the tool installation path, and you can view the corresponding log.
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7 Appendix A Reference
Table 6: Reference
SN
Document name
Remark
[1]
L70_Hardware_Design
L70 Hardware Design
[2]
L70_Protocol_Specification
L70 Protocol Specification
[3]
L70_Reference Design
L70 Reference Design
Table 7: Abbreviations
Abbreviation
Description
CNR
Carrier-to-Noise Ratio
GPS
Global Positioning System
LED
Light Emitting Diode
PPS
Pulse Per Second
PRN
Pseudorandom Noise
SPS
Standard Positioning Service
SV
Satellite Vehicle
UART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver & Transmitter
UTC
Universal Time Coordinated
WGS84
World Geodetic System 1984
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