Asset Tracker stopped updating GPS

A couple months ago I got the Asset Tracker kit and was able to use it soon after I got it. I was able to see the GPS data on the particle cloud and could see that little red light on the board blinking, telling me it was sending GPS data. Now, for some reason, I can not get it to update the location. It should happen automatically like before. I have not changed anything with my code or with the board. I have also charged the battery and it still did not work. It is able to connect to the cloud and pulses the blue LED and I can see the variables and functions it was using, but it just doesn’t update the location.

If you need any more information let me know,

Thanks!

Actually not. The red LED indicates whether the GPS module has got a fix (receiving valid position data). It doesn't tell you whether the data received is passed on to the controller and into the cloud or not.

How long have you had the device sat outside with a clear view of the sky?

I let it sit outside for around 10 minutes after I had this problem. Before that I could just put it next to a window and it would work.

Also, when I would set it outside, I would put it in a clear container. I don’t think that would mess anything up though.

Thanks!

I guess you had your module depowered for a while and no backup battery attached to the GPS module.
A cold start of GPS modules can easily take that long since they need to download the positions of all satellites which are embedded in the GPS datastream which is a really low bandwith transport.
Once the almanach is downloaded a warm start should happen withing a few seconds.

1 Like

So should I leave it outside for a while to make sure it downloads them? And how do I know it actually downloads them?

The GPS module does this internally without you needing to do anything else than powering it up and leave it to do its job.

Okay thanks. I’ll leave it outside for a while and come back and let you know what happens

Now that I look at it, I notice that there is not a startup event (I think that’s what they’re called) that shows up in the console when it turns on. I thought I had seen those before, but maybe it isn’t important.

It’s been an hour and when I try to call the GPS function I get a red box at the bottom right corner of the screen saying “Bummer! Failed to call gps”

What does the controller do?
Is it switching on the GPS module (I think via D6)?

It’s working now. Dumb mistake. I had the electron plugged in the wrong way

2 Likes