SparkFun GNSS Timing Breakout – ZED-F9T (Qwiic)

The SparkFun GNSS Timing Breakout offers a unique entry into SparkFun’s geospatial catalog featuring the ZED-F9T GNSS receiver from u-blox. The ZED-F9T provides up to five nanosecond timing accuracy under clear skies with no external GNSS correction making it perfect for applications where timing accuracy is imperative. Need an extremely accurate time reference to maximize the efficiency of your IoT network of 5G devices? The ZED-F9T GNSS Timing Breakout could be the perfect solution.

Features

• Concurrent reception of GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou constellations
• Receives L1/L2/E5b bands
• Voltage: 5V or 3.3V (all logic is 3.3V)
• Current: 68mA – 130mA (varies depending on operating conditions and constellations)
• Fix Acquisition: ~24s (Cold) / 2s (Hot)
• Time Pulse Signal Accuracy:
  • Absolute Timing Mode: 5ns
  • Differential Timing Mode (with correction data): 2.5ns
• Time Pulse Signal Frequency: 0.25Hz to 25MHz
• Time Pulse Signal Jitter: ±4ns
• Horizontal Position Accuracy: 2.0m
• Max Altitude: 80km (49.7 miles)
• Max Velocity: 500m.s (118mph)
• I²C Address: 0x42
• 2x Qwiic Connectors

The ZED-F9T is a multi-band GNSS module that supports L1/L2/E5b bands and operates on all major constellations (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou) concurrently making it extremely versatile and able to retain its timing precision even the module loses lock with one or more of the visible constellations.

This breakout shares a similar design as the SparkFun GPS-RTK-SMA Breakout to create a small but comprehensive development tool for the ZED-F9T. The design includes a USB-C connector for primary power and communication, two Qwiic connectors for communicating over I2C using the SparkFun Qwiic system, three SMA connectors for the antenna and timing pulse signals as well as a host of PTH pins allowing direct interaction with most of the ZED-F9T’s pinout. The GNSS Timing Breakout also includes an on-board rechargeable backup battery that provides power to the RTC on the ZED-F9T. This reduces the time-to-first fix from a cold start (~24s) to a hot start (~2s).

The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector. This reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong.

Resources

• Schematic
• Eagle Files
• Board Dimensions
• Hookup Guide
• Datasheet (ZED-F9T)
• Integration Manual (ZED-F9T)
• Interface Description Reference (ZED-F9T)
• u-center Software
• Building a GNSS System
• Qwiic Info Page
• SparkFun u-blox GNSS Arduino Library
• GitHub Hardware Repo