Ublox Fastrax IT500 Series User manual

NMEA Manual based on MediaTek
chipset
For u-blox, Fastrax IT500 series GPS/GNSS modules
Manual
Abstract
This document provides NMEA command manual for u-blox, Fastrax
IT500 series GPS/GNSS modules based on MediaTek chipset. This
NMEA command manual serves as a reference tool.
locate, communicate, accelerate
www.u-blox.com

NMEA Manual based on MediaTek chipset - Manual
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Document Information
Title NMEA Manual based on MediaTek chipset
Subtitle For u-blox, Fastrax IT500 series GPS/GNSS modules
Document type Manual
Document number FTX-HW-13002-A
Document status Preliminary
Document status information
Objective
Specification
This document contains target values. Revised and supplementary data will be published
later.
Advance
Information
This document contains data based on early testing. Revised and supplementary data will
be published later.
Preliminary This document contains data from product verification. Revised and supplementary data
may be published later.
Released This document contains the final product specification.
This document applies to the following products:
Name ROM/FLASH version PCN reference
IT530M Flash N/A
IT530 Flash N/A
UC530M Flash N/A
UC530 Flash N/A
UP501 Flash N/A
UP501B Flash N/A
UP501D Flash N/A
UP501R Flash N/A
IT520 Flash N/A
IT500 Flash N/A
This document and the use of any information contained therein, is subject to the acceptance of the u-blox terms and conditions. They
can be downloaded from www.u-blox.com.
u-blox makes no warranties based on the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document and reserves the right to make
changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time without notice.
u-blox reserves all rights to this document and the information contained herein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties without
express permission is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013, u-blox AG.
u-blox®is a registered trademark of u-blox Holding AG in the EU and other countries.

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Contents
Contents..............................................................................................................................3
1NMEA default output messages..................................................................................5
1.1 GGA - Global Positioning System Fix Data ............................................................................................ 5
1.2 GLL – Geographic Position – Latitude/Longitude ................................................................................... 5
1.5 RMC - Recommended Minimum Specific GNSS Data. ........................................................................... 6
1.6 GSV - Satellites in view ......................................................................................................................... 6
1.7 GSA - DOP and Active Satellites............................................................................................................ 7
1.8 VTG – Course Over Ground and Ground Speed.................................................................................... 8
1.9 ZDA – Time and Date............................................................................................................................ 8
2NMEA commands .........................................................................................................9
2.1 PMTK000 TEST ................................................................................................................................... 10
2.2 PMTK001 ACK ................................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 PMTK010 Startup message................................................................................................................. 11
2.4 PMTK011 Output System Text ............................................................................................................ 11
2.5 PMTK101 CMD HOT START................................................................................................................ 11
2.6 PMTK102 CMD WARM START ........................................................................................................... 11
2.7 PMTK103 CMD COLD START ............................................................................................................. 12
2.8 PMTK104 CMD FULL COLD START ..................................................................................................... 12
2.9 PMTK120 CLEAR FLASH AID............................................................................................................... 12
2.10 PMTK127 CLEAR EPO FILE .................................................................................................................. 12
2.11 PMTK161 ENTER STANDBY MODE ..................................................................................................... 13
2.12 PMTK183 LOCUS QUERY LOGGING STATUS ...................................................................................... 13
2.13 PMTK184 LOCUS ERASE FLASH.......................................................................................................... 14
2.14 PMTK185 LOCUS START/STOP LOGGER ............................................................................................. 14
2.15 PMTK186 LOCUS LOG NOW .............................................................................................................. 14
2.16 PMTK622 LOCUS QUERY DATA ......................................................................................................... 15
2.17 PMTK869 ENABLE EASY ..................................................................................................................... 16
2.18 PMTK220 SET POS FIX ........................................................................................................................ 16
2.19 PMTK223 SET ALWAYS LOCATE DEFAULT CONFIGURATION ............................................................. 17
2.20 PMTK225 SET PERIODIC MODE .......................................................................................................... 17
2.21 PMTK251 SET NMEA BAUD RATE....................................................................................................... 18
2.21.1 Setting 5 Hz navigation ............................................................................................................... 19
2.21.2 Setting 10 Hz navigation ............................................................................................................. 19
2.22 PMTK286 ENABLE AIC........................................................................................................................ 19
2.23 PMTK300 Set Fix Interval .................................................................................................................... 20
2.24 PMTK301 API SET DGPS MODE .......................................................................................................... 20
2.25 PMTK313 API SET SBAS ENABLED ...................................................................................................... 20
2.26 PMTK314 API SET NMEA OUTPUT ...................................................................................................... 21
2.27 PMTK330 API SET DATUM.................................................................................................................. 22

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2.28 PMTK331 API SET DATUM ADVANCE................................................................................................. 22
2.29 PMTK335 API SET RTC TIME ............................................................................................................... 23
2.30 PMTK351 SET QZSS NMEA FORMAT .................................................................................................. 23
2.31 PMTK352 SET QZSS SUPPORT............................................................................................................. 23
2.32 PMTK353 API SET GNSS SEARCH MODE ............................................................................................ 24
2.33 PMTK386 API SET STATIC NAV THD MT333X..................................................................................... 24
2.34 PMTK397 API SET STATIC NAV THD MT332X..................................................................................... 25
2.35 PMTK390 API SET USER OPTION......................................................................................................... 25
2.35.1 Setting 4800 baud rate permanently ........................................................................................... 26
2.36 PMTK740 SET UTC TIME..................................................................................................................... 26
2.37 PMTK741 SET INITIAL POSITION AND TIME......................................................................................... 26
3Query commands .......................................................................................................28
3.1 PMTK400 API Q FIX CTL ..................................................................................................................... 28
3.2 PMTK401 API Q DGPS MODE ............................................................................................................. 28
3.3 PMTK413 API Q SBAS ENABLED ......................................................................................................... 28
3.4 PMTK414 API Q NMEA OUTPUT ......................................................................................................... 28
3.5 PMTK430 API Q DATUM .................................................................................................................... 29
3.6 PMTK431 API Q DATUM ADVANCE ................................................................................................... 29
3.7 PMTK490 API GET USER OPTION........................................................................................................ 29
4Firmware STATUS.......................................................................................................30
4.1 PMTK605 QUERY FIRMWARE INFO..................................................................................................... 30
4.2 PMTK607 QUERY EPO STATUS ........................................................................................................... 30
4.3 PMTK660 Q AVAILABLE SV EPH ......................................................................................................... 30
4.4 PMTK661 Q AVAILABLE SV ALM ........................................................................................................ 31
5FIX Valid Flag ..............................................................................................................32
6Appendix A.................................................................................................................33
Table 1: Map datums........................................................................................................37
Related documents...........................................................................................................37
Revision history................................................................................................................38
Contact..............................................................................................................................39

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1NMEA default output messages
IT500 series receivers support standard NMEA0183 messages.
In the default configuration, output messages are GGA, RMC, GSV and GSA messages. The receiver can be
configured to have a user defined set of output messages, by command PMTK314 as described in chapter 2.12.
Output messages are utilized in Fastrax Workbench 5 to visualize the GPS/GNSS data. Default output messages
cover most of the applications.
1.1 GGA - Global Positioning System Fix Data
Time, position and fix related data for a GPS receiver.
Example:
$GPGGA,114353.000,6016.3245,N,02458.3270,E,1,10,0.81,35.2,M,19.5,M,,*50
Format:
$GPGGA,hhmmss.dd,xxmm.dddd,<N|S>,yyymm.dddd,<E|W>,v,ss,d.d,h.h,M,g.g,M,a.a,xxxx*hh<CR><LF>
Type Description
hhmmss.dd UTC time of the fix.
hh=hours; mm=minutes; ss=seconds; dd=decimal part of seconds
xxmm.dddd Latitude coordinate.
xx=degrees; mm=minutes; dddd=decimal part of minutes
<N/S> Character denoting either N=North or S=South.
yyymm.dddd Longitude coordinate.
yyy=degrees; mm=minutes; dddd=decimal part of minutes
<E/W> Character denoting either E=East or W=West.
v Fix valid indicator
1 = GPS fix (SPS)
2 = DGPS fix
3 = PPS fix
4 = Real Time Kinematic
5 = Float RTK
6 = estimated (dead reckoning) (2.3 feature)
7 = Manual input mode
8 = Simulation mode
ss Number of satellites used in position fix, 00-12. Notice: Fixed length field of two letters.
d.d HDOP - Horizontal Dilution Of Precision.
h.h Altitude (mean-sea-level, geoid)
MLetter M.
g.g Difference between the WGS-84 reference ellipsoid surface and the mean-sea-level altitude.
MLetter M.
a.a -
xxxx -
1.2 GLL – Geographic Position – Latitude/Longitude
Latitude and Longitude, UTC time of fix and status.
Example:
$GPGLL,6012.5674,N,02449.6545,E,072022.000,A,A*50
Format:
$GPGLL,xxmm.dddd,<N|S>,yyymm.dddd,<E|W>,hhmmss.ddd,S,M*hh<CR><LF>

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Type Description
xxmm.dddd Latitude coordinate.
xx=degrees; mm=minutes; dddd=decimal part of minutes
<N|S> Character denoting either N=North or S=South.
yyymm.dddd Longitude coordinate.
yyy=degrees; mm=minutes; dddd=decimal part of minutes
<E|W> Character denoting either E=East or W=West.
hhmmss.ddd UTC time of the fix.
hh=hours; mm=minutes; ss=seconds; ddd=decimal part of seconds
S Status indicator.
A=valid; V=invalid
M Mode indicator.
A=autonomous; N=data not valid
1.5 RMC - Recommended Minimum Specific GNSS Data.
Time, date, position, course and speed data.
Message start as “$GNRMC” in IT530M default mode both GPS and Glonass constellation.
Example:
$GPRMC,114353.000,A,6016.3245,N,02458.3270,E,0.01,0.00,121009,,,A*69
Example IT530M hybrid mode:
$GNRMC,105440.000,A,6012.5669,N,02449.6536,E,0.00,0.00,061112,,,D*70
Format:
$GPRMC,hhmmss.dd,S,xxmm.dddd,<N|S>,yyymm.dddd,<E|W>,s.s,h.h,ddmmyy,d.d, <E|W>,M*hh<CR><LF>
Type Description
hhmmss.dd UTC time of the fix.
hh=hours; mm=minutes; ss=seconds; dd=decimal part of seconds
S Status indicator.
A=valid; V=invalid
xxmm.dddd Latitude coordinate.
xx=degrees; mm=minutes; dddd=decimal part of minutes
<N|S> Character denoting either N=North or S=South.
yyymm.dddd Longitude coordinate.
yyy=degrees; mm=minutes; dddd=decimal part of minutes
<E|W> Character denoting either E=East or W=West.
s.s
Speed in knots.
h.h
Heading
ddmmyy UTC Date of the fix.
dd=day of month; mm=month; yy=year
d.d
Magnetic variation in degrees, not supported
<E|W>
Letter denoting direction of magnetic variation. Either E=East or W=West. Not supported
M Mode indicator
A=autonomous; N=data not valid
1.6 GSV - Satellites in view
Number of satellites in view, satellite ID (PRN) numbers, elevation, azimuth and SNR value. The information for
four satellites is a maximum per one message, additional messages up to maximum of eight are sent if needed.
The satellites are in PRN number order.

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Message starting with “$GNGSV” will be output in IT530M default mode, including both GPS and
Glonass constellation satellite data.
Example:
$GPGSV,3,1,11,29,68,228,47,30,59,151,47,31,44,284,45,02,38,062,44*7C
$GPGSV,3,2,11,12,28,130,41,10,14,102,35,05,12,110,35,04,11,040,34*70
$GPGSV,3,3,11,21,05,196,29,16,05,297,28,13,02,021,30*4E
Format:
$GPGSV,n,m,ss,xx,ee,aaa,cn,…………. ,xx,ee,aaa,cn*hh<CR><LF>
Type Description
n
Total number of messages, 1 to 9
m
Message number, 1 to 9
ss
Total number of satellites in view
xx
Satellite ID (PRN) number
ee
Satellite elevation, degrees 90 max
aaa
Satellite azimuth, degrees True, 000 to 359
ch Signal-to-noise ration (C/No) 00-99 dB-Hz. Value of zero means that the satellite is predicted to
be on the visible sky but it isn't being tracked.
1.7 GSA - DOP and Active Satellites
GPS receiver operating mode, satellites used in the navigation solution reported by the GGA sentence, and DOP
values.
Message starting with “$GNGSA” will be output in IT530M default mode including both GPS and
Glonass constellation satellite data.
Example:
$GPGSA,A,3,02,21,30,04,16,05,10,12,31,29,,,1.33,0.81,1.06*02
Example IT530M hybrid mode:
$GNGSA,A,3,26,21,16,22,18,06,19,15,30,03,07,08,1.03,0.55,0.87*1D
$GNGSA,A,3,78,71,80,86,65,79,88,87,72,,,,1.03,0.55,0.87*19
Format:
$GPGSA,a,b,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,xx,p.p,h.h,v.v*hh<CR><LF>
Type
Description
a
Mode:
M = Manual, forced to operate in 2D or 3D mode.
A = Automatic, allowed to automatically switch 2D/3D.
b
Mode:
1 = Fix not available,
2 = 2D,
3 = 3D
xx
ID (PRN) numbers of GPS satellites used in solution
p.p
PDOP
h.h
HDOP
v.v VDOP

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1.8 VTG – Course Over Ground and Ground Speed
Course and speed.
Example:
$GPVTG,0.00,T,,M,0.00,N,0.00,K,A*3D
Format:
$GPVTG,h.hh,T,m.m,M,s.ss,N,s.ss,K,M*hh<CR><LF>
Type Description
h.hh
Heading in degrees.
T
Letter 'T' denoting True heading in degrees.
m.m
Magnetic heading in degrees.
M
Letter 'M' denoting Magnetic heading in degrees.
s.ss
Speed in knots.
N
Letter 'N' denoting speed in knots.
s.ss
Speed, km/h.
K
Letter 'K' denoting speed in km/h.
M Mode indicator.
A=autonomous; N=data not valid
1.9 ZDA – Time and Date
Current UTC time and date.
Example:
$GPZDA,071850.000,31,08,2011,,*55
Format:
$GPZDA,hhmmss.ddd,dd,mm,yyyy,xx,yy*hh
Type Description
hhmmss.ddd
UTC time in hours, minutes, seconds and fractions of a second.
dd
UTC day of month
mm
UTC month
yyyy
UTC year
xx
Local zone hours. Not implemented
yy
Local zone minutes. Not implemented

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2NMEA commands
NMEA commands are used to change or query settings of the module.
Command Length:
The maximum length of each packet is restricted to 255 bytes.
Command Contents:
Preamble: One byte character. ‘$’
NMEA ID: This will identify for the NMEA parser that it will receive commands for MediaTek.
Four bytes character string. “PMTK”
Command Number: Three-byte character string.
An identifier, from “000” to “999”, is used to tell the decoder how to decode the command.
DataField:
The DataField has a variable length depending on the command type.
A comma symbol ‘,’ must be inserted before each data field to help the decoder process the DataField.
*: 1 byte character.
The star symbol is used to mark the end of DataField.
CHK1, CHK2: Two-byte character string.
CHK1 and CHK2 are the checksum of the data between Preamble and ‘*’.
CR, LF: Two bytes binary data.
The two bytes are used to identify the end of a command.
Sample Command:
$PMTK000*32<CR><LF>
You can use your preferred terminal emulator to enter commands. For example, you can use TeraTerm,
whichcan be downloaded from here: http://en.sourceforge.jp/projects/ttssh2/releases/
Remember to set the CR+LF for sending the command from the terminal program.
Figure 1: Tera Term terminal setup
Other possible terminal emulators to use include Putty and HyperTerminal.

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Figure 2: HyperTerminal setup
2.1 PMTK000 TEST
Command purpose:
Test the communication between the receiver and host.
Command number:000
DataField: None
Example:
$PMTK000*32<CR><LF>
Reply: see next chapter.
2.2 PMTK001 ACK
Command purpose:
Acknowledge a PMTK000 command.
Command number:001
DataField:
PMTK001,Cmd,Flag
Cmd: The command / packet type to be acknowledged.
Flag: 0 = Invalid command / packet.
1= Unsupported command / packet type
2= Valid command / packet, but action failed
3= Valid command / packet, and action succeeded
Example:
$PMTK001,604,3*32<CR><LF>