The SparkFun SARA-R5 LTE GNSS Breakout is a robust development tool for u-blox's impressive SARA-R510M8S module. The SARA-R510M8S combines u-blox's UBX-R5 cellular chipset with their M8 GNSS receiver chipset to provide a 5G-Ready wireless IoT device complete with positioning data all on a single chip. As an asset tracker, the LTE GNSS Breakout offers Secure Cloud LTE-M communication for multi-regional use and has an integrated u-blox M8 GNSS receiver for accurate positioning information.
The UBX-R5 chipset supports many different forms of data communication from full TCP/IP sockets and packet switched data, through HTTP Get/Put/Post, FTP (the SARA has a built-in file system), Ping, to good old SMS text messaging! The built-in u‑blox M8 GNSS receiver provides accurate and reliable positioning with a separate GNSS antenna interface for an external antenna. Both the GNSS antenna and LTE connections are made via a pair of SMA connectors.
This breakout routes nearly all of the functional pins on the SARA-R510M8S module to user interfaces (USB or plated-through hole) so you can take full advantage of all of the features available on this impressive LTE/GNSS module. The SARA-R5's UART interface can be configured into one of five variants, providing connectivity over one or two UARTs. A separate USB port provides access to the SARA's trace log for diagnostic purposes. This breakout provides access to all three interfaces (UART1, UART2 and SARA Diag) via three separate USB-C connections. All eight 3.3V serial signals are available on a 0.1"-pitch breakout header. Separate 0.1"-pitch headers break out the SARA's I2C bus, power pins as well as GPIO pins for various functionalities.