ubxtool(1) GPSD Documentation ubxtool(1)
NAME
ubxtool - u-blox tool
SYNOPSIS
ubxtool [OPTIONS} [server[:port[:device]]]
ubxtool -h
ubxtool -V
DESCRIPTION
ubxtool is a tool for u-blox GPS. If you do not have a u-blox GPS then
you can stop reading now.
This tool operates with your u-blox GPS at a very low level. To
understand ubxtool you must first be familiar with your u-blox GPS and
the documentation for the u-blox binary protocol. The u-blox protocol
varies greatly depending on GPS model and firmware revision. Use the
u-blox documentation for your model and firmware.
ubxtool can decode common u-blox binary messages, poll the GPS status,
enable and disable GPS features, and send user generated commands to the
GPS. It can read binary messages from a file. It can read and write
directly through a serial device, or through a running gpsd instance.
ubxtool does not require root privileges, except maybe to access the
serial port in direct access mode (-f FILE). It will run fine as root.
Running under sudo will cause loss of functionality.
OPTIONS
The program accepts the following options:
-?, -h, --help
Makes ubxtool print a usage message and exit. Use with -v 2 to see
all enable/disable and preset values. Use with -v 3 to additionally
see all configuration items (long).
-c COMMAND, --command COMMAND
Send a command to the GPS. Accepts one parameter, COMMAND, a
comma-separated list of hexadecimal bytes specifying the class, the
ID, and any needed payload. The header, length, and checksum are
added automatically.
--device DEVICE
The DEVICE on the gpsd to connect to. Defaults to all.
-d OPTION, --disable OPTION
Disable an option in the GPS. Accepts one parameter, OPTION, the
option to disable. Run "ubxtool -h -v 2" to see all possible OPTIONs.
A few possible OPTIONs are:
BEIDOU
Disable use of the BeiDou (COMPASS) constellation.
BINARY
Disable sending of the basic binary messages.
ECEF
Disable sending of ECEF binary messages.
GALILEO
Disable use of the GALILEO constellation.
GLONASS
Disable use of the GLONASS constellation.
GPS
Disable use of the GPS and QZSS constellations.
NED
Disable sending of NED binary messages. UBX-NAV-VELNED and
UBX-NAV-RELPOSNED.
NMEA
Disable sending basic NMEA messages. The messages are GBS, GGA,
GSA, GGL, GST, GSV, RMC, VTG, and ZDA.
PPS
Disable TIMEPULSE 0.
RAWX
Disable sending of the UBX-RXM-RAWX messages.
SBAS
Disable use of the SBAS constellation.
SFRBX
Disable use of the SFRBX messages.
SURVEYIN
Disable survey-in mode with TMODE2.
TP
Disable sending UBX-TIM-TP.
-e OPTION, --enable OPTION
Enable an option in the GPS. Accepts one parameter, OPTION, the
option to enable. -e accepts the same OPTIONs as -d, except the
action is to enable the option.
-f FILE, --file FILE
Connect directly to a file or device. Accepts one parameter, FILE,
the file or device to open. Files are opened read-only. Character
devices are opened read/write, unless the -r parameter is given.
Requires the pyserial module.
-g ITEM,LAYER,POSITION,END, --getitem ITEM,LAYER,POSITION,END
Get the value of ITEM from LAYER, starting at POSITION, up to END
key/value pairs (UBX-CFG-VALGET). All parameters past ITEM are
optional and decimal. If LAYER is absent, then layers 0, 1, 2 and 7
are all requested. See the section on CONFIGURATION ITEMS
--host HOST
Connect to the gpsd on HOST (server). Defaults to localhost.
-i port, --portid port
Specifies port ID # (interface) for port-related commands such as
UBX_CFG-PRT.
-p PRESET, --preset PRESET
Send a preset command to the GPS. Usually accepts one parameter,
PRESET, the name of the command to send. A few PRESETS, like
LOG-FINDTIME, accept additional comma separated parameters. More than
one -p may be used.
Only the common PRESETS are shown here. To see the full list, including
optional parameters, run "ubxtool -h -v 2".
COLDBOOT
Coldboot the GPS (UBX-CFG-RST).
HOTBOOT
Hotboot the GPS (UBX-CFG-RST).
MODEL,model
Configure the Dynamic Platform Model to model. (UBX-CFG-NAV5). Model
is the decimal number of the desired mode.
PMS
Set power management settings (UBX-CFG-PMS). "PMS,pow" where pow is
powerSetupValue.
RATE
Set measurement and nav rate (UBX-CFG-RATE). "RATE,meas,nav" meas is
the measRate in milli seconds. The nav argument is the navRate in
cycles and defaults to 1.
RESET
Reset configuration to defaults (UBX-CFG-CFG).
SAVE
Save current configuration (UBX-CFG-CFG).
MON-RESETODO
Reset the odometer (UBX-MON-RESETODO).
MON-VER
Poll GPS version (UBX-MON-VER).
WARMBOOT
Warmboot the GPS (UBX-CFG-RST).
Most PRESET parameters are simple poll commands. They merely poll the GPS
to respond with the associated message. For example "ubxtool -p CFG-GNSS"
asks the GPS to respond with a UBX-CFG-GNSS message describing the
current GNSS configuration. Increase the verbosity of the output by
adding the "-v 2" or "-v 3" options.
--port PORT
Use PORT to connect to gpsd. Defaults to 2947.
-P protver, --protver protver
Sets the protocol version to use for sending commands. Minimum 6
(Antaris 4). Use "ubxtool -p MON-VER" to see the version your
receiver supports. Many newer u-blox receivers will fail silently or
oddly if this is not set correctly. Default 10 (u-blox 5).
-r, -readonly
Read only. Do not send anything to the GPS.
-R RAW, --rawfile RAW
Save all raw serial data received from the GPS into the file RAW.
-s SPEED, --inspeed SPEED
Set local serial port speed to SPEED bps. Default 9,600 bps.
-S SPEED, --setspeed SPEED
Set the GPS serial port speed to SPEED bps.
-t, --timestamp
Timestamp decoded messages with seconds since the epoch. Use it twice
and also get UTC time.
-v VERBOSITY, --verbosity VERBOSITY
Set verbosity level to VERBOSITY. Verbosity can be from 0 (very
quiet), 2 (decode messages), to 4 (very noisy). Default 1.
-V, --version
Print ubxtool version and exit.
-w WAIT, --wait WAIT
Wait for WAIT seconds before exiting. Use 0 to wait forever. Default
2 seconds.
-x ITEM,LAYERS, --delitem ITEM,LAYERS
Delete the value of ITEM name from LAYERS. The bit map LAYERS is
optional. By default, delete in both the BBR and FLASH layers in the
receiver (UBX_CFG-VALDEL). Returning to the reciver default for that
item. See the section on CONFIGURATION ITEMS
-z ITEM,VAL,LAYERS, --setitem ITEM,VAL,LAYERS
Set the value of ITEM name to VAL in LAYERS in the GPS
(UBX-CFG-VALSET). VAL and the bit mask LAYERS are decimal. ",LAYERS"
is optional. The default LAYERS are RAM and FLASH. See the section on
CONFIGURATION ITEMS
ARGUMENTS
By default, clients collect data from the local gpsd daemon running on
localhost, using the default GPSD port 2947. The optional argument to any
client may override this behavior: [server[:port[:device]]]
For further explanation, and examples, see the ARGUMENTS section in the
gps(1) man page
CONFIGURATION ITEMS
Configuring u-blox GPS with the traditional configuration messages is
fraught with problems. Many configuration messages interact in odd ways.
Something as simple as changing the serial port speed requires you to
read the current configuration using UBX-CFG-PRT for the proper port,
merging in the change, the writing back the changed UBX-CFG-PRT message.
Or just guessing at the current configuration and overwriting it all.
The u-blox 9 series, protocol version 27+, tries, but does not completely
succeed, to solve the problem with Configuration Items. If your GPS does
not support protocol version 27+, then this section does not apply to
you.
Most of the configuration variables in the GPS have been assigned a
32-bit Key ID. Each Key references one specific value. A typical receiver
may have over 1,100 Key IDs. Each Key ID has been assigned a Key Name.
Most of the Key Names are documented by u-blox and supported by ubxtool.
To see all the Key Name understood by ubxtool run: "ubxtool -h -v 3".
To get the value related to an item, use "-g ITEM".
To reset the value related to an item to it default value, use "-x ITEM".
To set an ITEM name to a value, use "-z ITEM,VAL".
If you only want to set an ITEM in one layer, use "-z ITEM,VAL,LAYER".
See the EXAMPLES section for concrete examples.
EXAMPLES
All examples assume that UBXOPTS is set with the protocol version of your
receiver. Be sure to replace the "-P 18" with your correct prototype
version.
export UBXOPTS="-P 18"
Dump configuration and status of the GNSS recceiver. The "-w 4" is to
provide extra time for the operations to complete.
ubxtool -p CONFIG -p STATUS -w 4 -v 2
Decode raw log file:
ubxtool -r -f ublox-neo-m8n.log
Change GPS port speed of device on /dev/ttyAMA0 to 230,400 bps:
ubxtool -S 230400 -f /dev/ttyAMA0
Watch entire GPS reset cycle, include $GPTXT messages:
ubxtool -p COLDBOOT -w 20 -v 2
Poll Enabled Constellations:
ubxtool -p CFG-GNSS
Dump gpsd data from a remote server named x.example.com:
ubxtool -w 5 x.example.com
CFG-TP5
Some of the "-p" and "--preset" commands can take multiple options. One
of these is "--preset CFG-TP5".
Synopsis:
-p CFG-TP5,[tpIdx = 0],[antCableDelay = 2],[rfGroupDelay = 0],[freqPeriod = 1000000],[freqPeriodLock = 1000000],[pulseLenRatio = 0],[pulseLenRatioLock = 100000],[userConfigDelay = 0],[flags = 0x77]
Leave a positional parameter empty for it to take the default value.
To set the pulse period to 0.25 s and its length to 0.1 s:
$ ubxtool -p CFG-TP5,,,,250000,250000,100000,100000
To set the pulse period to 0.1 s and length to 0.1 s in the presence of
lock:
$ ubxtool -p CFG-TP5,,,,,100000,,50000
Version 27+ examples
The following examples require a GPS supporting protocol 27 or greater.
Be sure to set your protocol version first:
export UBXOPTS="-P 32"
To check the current dynamic model, change it to 6 (AIR1, Airborne with
<1g acceleration), revert to the default setting, and verify the faults
was restored.
$ ubxtool -g CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL
[...]
UBX-CFG-VALGET:
version 1 layer 0 reserved 0,0
layers (ram)
item CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL/0x20110021 val 2
[...]
$ ubxtool -z CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL,6
[...]
UBX-ACK-ACK:
ACK to Class x6 (CFG) ID x8a (VALSET)
[...]
$ ubxtool -g CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL
[...]
UBX-CFG-VALGET:
version 1 layer 0 reserved 0,0
layers (ram)
item CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL/0x20110021 val 6
[...]
$ ubxtool -x CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL
[...]
UBX-ACK-ACK:
ACK to Class x6 (CFG) ID x8c (VALDEL)
[...]
$ ubxtool -g CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL
[...]
UBX-CFG-VALGET:
version 1 layer 0 reserved 0,0
layers (ram)
item CFG-NAVSPG-DYNMODEL/0x20110021 val 6
Notice that the current DYNMODEL stayed at 6 (AIR1). The "-x" only
affects the saved setting, not the current setting. To change the current
setting you must set it with "-z".
Getting all the Configuration Items in a group one by one could be very
tedious. VAL-GET allows you to wild card the item number and dump all the
items in a group. To get all the CFG-TP items in ram, the currently
active ones, you can do this:
$ ubxtool -g CFG-TP,0
[...]
UBX-CFG-VALGET:
version 1 layer 0 position 0
layers (ram)
item CFG-TP-TP1_ENA/0x10050007 val 1
item CFG-TP-SYNC_GNSS_TP1/0x10050008 val 1
item CFG-TP-USE_LOCKED_TP1/0x10050009 val 1
[...]
The truly masochistic can dump all the Configuration Items by wildcarding
the group. Dumping all 1,000+ of them, 64 at a time, could still be
tedious. The -g parameter optionally allows you to specify the starting
position to get from, as well as the ending position. To get all the
known, and unknown, items supported by the receiver that are currently in
ram:
$ ubxtool -g CFG,0,0,1200 | fgrep "item CFG-"
item CFG-1-1/0x10010001 val 0
item CFG-1-1/0x10010101 val 0
item CFG-4-1/0x10040001 val 1
item CFG-4-2/0x10040002 val 0
item CFG-4-3/0x10040003 val 0
item CFG-4-4/0x10040004 val 0
item CFG-4-9/0x10040009 val 0
item CFG-TP-TP1_ENA/0x10050007 val 1
item CFG-TP-SYNC_GNSS_TP1/0x10050008 val 1
[...]
Changing CFG,0,0,1200 to CFG,7,0,1200 would instead dump all the
configuration defaults, from the Default layer (7).
ENVIRONMENT
Options can be placed in the UBXOPTS environment variable. UBXOPTS is
processed before the CLI options.
RETURN VALUES
0
on success.
1
on failure
SEE ALSO
ubxtool is written to conform to the official u-blox documentation for
the u-blox binary protocol.
<https://www.u-blox.com/en/product-resources>
gpsd(8), gpsctl(1), gps(1)
RESOURCES
Project web site: <https://gpsd.io/>
COPYING
This file is Copyright 2013 by the GPSD project
SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-clause
AUTHOR
Gary E. Miller
GPSD, Version 3.25 2023-01-10 ubxtool(1)
gpsd 3.25 - Generated Thu Feb 2 15:11:15 CST 2023