Getting Started With the GP-02 GPS/BDS GNSS Grove Sensor on ESP32 (Arduino IDE)

by pandabyte in Circuits > Arduino

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Getting Started With the GP-02 GPS/BDS GNSS Grove Sensor on ESP32 (Arduino IDE)

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The PandaByte GP-02 GPS BDS GNSS Grove Sensor is a compact multi-constellation positioning module supporting GPS + BeiDou (BDS). By tracking multiple satellite systems simultaneously, it provides faster fixes and better positional accuracy than GPS-only modules.

This tutorial explains how to:

  1. Interface the GP-02 GNSS sensor with a standard ESP32 board
  2. Read live latitude and longitude data using Arduino
  3. Verify correct wiring and serial communication

Supplies

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Hardware

  1. PandaByte GP-02 GPS BDS GNSS Grove Sensor
  2. Standard ESP32 Dev Board (ESP32-WROOM-32E)
  3. Grove cable or jumper wires
  4. USB cable

Software

  1. Arduino IDE
  2. TinyGPSPlus library (via Arduino Library Manager)

Wiring the GP-02 to ESP32

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GNSS Communication Overview

The GP-02 GPS GNSS module communicates via UART and outputs standard NMEA sentences at 9600 baud.

GPS Signal Flow

  1. GPS TX → ESP32 RX
  2. GPS RX → ESP32 TX

You can use any free UART-capable GPIO pins on ESP32.

Recommended Pin Selection

GP-02 GNSS ESP32 GPIO

  1. VCC → → 3.3V
  2. GND → → GND
  3. TX → → GPIO 16
  4. RX → → GPIO 17

GPIO 16 & 17 are the Serial2 pins to which GP02 will be connected.

Install Required Library

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  1. Open Arduino IDE
  2. Go to Sketch → Include Library → Manage Libraries
  3. Search for TinyGPSPlus
  4. Install the latest version

Arduino Example Code (ESP32 + GP-02 GNSS)

This example uses Serial2 on GPIO 16/17.

#include <TinyGPSPlus.h>
TinyGPSPlus gps;

#define rxPin 16 // RX PIN of the Arduino. Change this according to your board
#define txPin 17 // TX PIN of the Arduino. Change this according to your board

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(115200);
Serial2.begin(9600, SERIAL_8N1, rxPin, txPin);
}

void loop()
{
// This sketch displays information every time a new sentence is correctly encoded.
while (Serial2.available() > 0)
if (gps.encode(Serial2.read()))
displayInfo();

if (millis() > 5000 && gps.charsProcessed() < 10)
{
Serial.println(F("No GPS detected: check wiring."));
while(true);
}
}

void displayInfo()
{
if (gps.time.isValid()){
Serial.print("TIME="); Serial.println(gps.time.value());
Serial.print("LAT="); Serial.println(gps.location.lat(), 6);
Serial.print("LONG="); Serial.println(gps.location.lng(), 6);
Serial.print("ALT="); Serial.println(gps.altitude.meters());
Serial.println();
}
else{
Serial.println("Invalid Location");
}
}

Downloads

Hardware_Serial_GPS.ino

Upload and Test

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  1. Select board: ESP32 Dev Module
  2. Select correct COM port
  3. Upload the code
  4. Open Serial Monitor at 115200 baud
  5. Place the GNSS antenna outdoors with clear sky view

First satellite fix may take 30–90 seconds.

Troubleshooting Tips

No output:

  1. Double-check TX/RX connections
  2. Ensure GNSS baud rate is 9600

Zero satellites:

  1. Test outdoors

Random characters:

  1. Wrong baud rate or swapped TX/RX