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16.0 x 12.2 x 2.4mm 
 
  
 
NEO-6 
u-blox 6 GPS Modules 
Data Sheet 
 
 
 
 
 
Abstract 
 
Technical data sheet describing the cost effective, high-performance  
u-blox 6 based NEO-6 series of GPS modules, that brings the high 
 
performance of the u-blox 6 positioning engine to the miniature 
NEO form factor. 
 
These receivers combine a high level of integration capability with 
flexible connectivity options in a small package. This makes them 
 
perfectly suited for mass-market end products with strict size and 
cost requirements. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
www.u-blox.com 
 
 
 
NEO-6 - Data Sheet 
 
Document Information 
Title 
Subtitle 
NEO-6 
u-blox 6 GPS Modules 
Document type 
Data Sheet 
Document number 
GPS.G6-HW-09005-C 
Document status 
Preliminary 
 
 
 
Document status information 
Objective 
Specification 
This document contains target values. Revised and supplementary data will be published 
later. 
Advance 
Information 
Preliminary  
This document contains data based on early testing. Revised and supplementary data will 
be published later. 
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 
NEO-6G 
NEO-6Q 
NEO-6M 
Type number 
ROM/FLASH version 
NEO-6G-0-001 
NEO-6Q-0-001 
NEO-6M-0-001 
ROM7.03 
ROM7.03 
ROM7.03 
PCN reference 
UBX-TM-11049 
UBX-TM-11049 
UBX-TM-11049 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties without 
express permission is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2011, u-blox AG. 
u-blox® is a registered trademark of u-blox Holding AG in the EU and other countries. ARM® is the registered trademark of ARM Limited in 
the EU and other countries. 
 
 
GPS.G6-HW-09005-C 
  
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NEO-6 - Data Sheet 
Contents 
Contents .............................................................................................................................. 3 
1  Functional description .................................................................................................. 5 
1.1  Overview .............................................................................................................................................. 5 
1.2 
Product features ................................................................................................................................... 5 
1.3  GPS performance .................................................................................................................................. 6 
Block diagram ....................................................................................................................................... 7 
1.4 
Assisted GPS (A-GPS) ............................................................................................................................ 7 
1.5 
1.6 
AssistNow™ Autonomous .................................................................................................................... 7 
1.7  Oscillators ............................................................................................................................................. 7 
Protocols and interfaces ........................................................................................................................ 8 
1.8 
UART ............................................................................................................................................. 8 
USB ............................................................................................................................................... 8 
Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) ....................................................................................................... 8 
Display Data Channel (DDC) .......................................................................................................... 8 
Antenna ............................................................................................................................................... 9 
Power Management ......................................................................................................................... 9 
1.10.1  Maximum Performance Mode ....................................................................................................... 9 
1.10.2  Eco Mode ...................................................................................................................................... 9 
1.10.3  Power Save Mode ......................................................................................................................... 9 
Configuration ................................................................................................................................... 9 
1.11.1  Boot-time configuration ................................................................................................................ 9 
Design-in ........................................................................................................................................ 10 
1.8.1 
1.8.2 
1.8.3 
1.8.4 
1.9 
1.10 
1.11 
1.12 
2  Pin Definition .............................................................................................................. 11 
Pin assignment ................................................................................................................................... 11 
2.1 
3  Electrical specifications .............................................................................................. 13 
3.1 
Absolute maximum ratings ................................................................................................................. 13 
3.2  Operating conditions .......................................................................................................................... 14 
Indicative power requirements ............................................................................................................ 15 
3.3 
SPI timing diagrams ............................................................................................................................ 16 
3.4 
Timing recommendations ............................................................................................................ 16 
3.4.1 
4  Mechanical specifications .......................................................................................... 17 
5  Qualification and certification ................................................................................... 18 
Reliability tests .................................................................................................................................... 18 
Approvals ........................................................................................................................................... 19 
5.1 
5.2 
6  Product handling & soldering .................................................................................... 19 
Packaging ........................................................................................................................................... 19 
6.1 
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NEO-6 - Data Sheet 
6.2 
6.1.1 
6.1.2 
Reels ........................................................................................................................................... 19 
Tapes .......................................................................................................................................... 20 
Shipment, storage and handling ......................................................................................................... 20 
6.2.1  Moisture Sensitivity Levels ........................................................................................................... 20 
Shipment ..................................................................................................................................... 20 
6.2.2 
6.2.3 
Storage and floor life ................................................................................................................... 22 
Drying ......................................................................................................................................... 22 
6.2.4 
Reflow soldering ......................................................................................................................... 22 
6.2.5 
6.2.6 
ESD handling precautions ............................................................................................................ 23 
7  Default settings .......................................................................................................... 24 
8  Labeling and ordering information ........................................................................... 25 
Product labeling .................................................................................................................................. 25 
8.1 
8.2 
Explanation of codes........................................................................................................................... 25 
8.3  Ordering information .......................................................................................................................... 25 
Related documents........................................................................................................... 26 
Revision history ................................................................................................................ 26 
Contact .............................................................................................................................. 27 
 
 
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NEO-6 - Data Sheet 
1  Functional description 
1.1  Overview 
The  NEO-6  module  series  is  a  family  of  stand-alone  GPS  receivers  featuring  the  high  performance  u-blox  6 
positioning engine. These flexible and cost effective receivers offer numerous connectivity options in a miniature 
16 x 12.2 x 2.4 mm package. Their compact architecture and power and memory options make NEO-6 modules 
ideal for battery operated mobile devices with very strict cost and space constraints.  
The 50-channel u-blox  6 positioning engine boasts a Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF) of  under 1 second. The dedicated 
acquisition  engine,  with  2  million  correlators,  is  capable  of  massive  parallel  time/frequency  space  searches, 
enabling  it  to  find  satellites  instantly.  Innovative  design  and  technology  suppresses  jamming  sources  and 
mitigates  multipath  effects,  giving  NEO-6  GPS  receivers  excellent  navigation  performance  even  in  the  most 
challenging environments.  
1.2  Product features 
Table 1: Features of the NEO-6 Series  
 
 
All NEO-6 modules are based on AEC-Q100 qualified GPS chips. See Chapter 5.1 for further information. 
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NEO-6 - Data Sheet 
1.3  GPS performance 
Parameter 
Receiver type 
1
Time-To-First-Fix
 
3
 
Sensitivity
Specification 
50 Channels  
GPS L1 frequency, C/A Code 
SBAS: WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS 
 
Cold Start (Autonomous) 
Warm Start (Autonomous) 
Hot Start (Autonomous) 
2
Aided Starts
 
 
Tracking & Navigation 
Reacquisition4 
Cold Start (Autonomous) 
 
Maximum Navigation update rate 
Horizontal position accuracy5 
Configurable Timepulse frequency range 
Velocity accuracy 
Heading accuracy 
Operational Limits 
 
Table 2: NEO-6 GPS performance 
Hot Start 
 
Autonomous 
SBAS 
 
 
 
Dynamics 
Altitude6 
Velocity6 
NEO-6M 
27s 
27s 
1 s 
<3 s 
NEO-6M 
-161 dBm 
-160 dBm 
-147 dBm 
-156 dBm 
NEO-6G/Q 
26 s 
26 s 
1 s 
1 s 
NEO-6G/Q 
-162 dBm 
-160 dBm 
-148 dBm 
-157 dBm 
5Hz 
2.5 m 
2.0 m 
0.1 Hz to 1 kHz 
0.1m/s 
0.5 degrees 
 4 g  
50,000 m 
500 m/s 
                                                      
1  All satellites at -130 dBm 
2  Dependent on aiding data connection speed and latency 
3  Demonstrated with a good active antenna 
4 For an outage duration  10s 
5  Under good GPS signal conditions 
6  Assuming Airborne <4g platform 
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1.4  Block diagram 
NEO-6 - Data Sheet 
Figure 1: Block diagram (For available options refer to the product features table in section 1.2). 
 
1.5  Assisted GPS (A-GPS) 
Supply of  aiding  information like ephemeris, almanac,  rough  last  position and time and satellite status and an 
optional  time  synchronization  signal  will  reduce  time  to  first  fix  significantly  and  improve  the  acquisition 
sensitivity.  All  NEO-6  modules  support  the  u-blox  AssistNow  Online  and  AssistNow  Offline  A-GPS  services7  and 
are OMA SUPL compliant.  
1.6  AssistNow™ Autonomous  
AssistNow Autonomous provides functionality similar to Assisted-GPS without the need for a host or external 
network connection. Based on previously broadcast satellite ephemeris data downloaded to and stored by the 
GPS receiver, AssistNow Autonomous automatically generates accurate satellite orbital data (“AssistNow 
Autonomous data”) that is usable for future GPS position fixes. AssistNow Autonomous data is reliable for up to 
3 days after initial capture.  
u-blox’ AssistNow Autonomous benefits are:  
 
Faster position fix 
  No connectivity required 
  Complementary with AssistNow Online and Offline services 
  No integration effort, calculations are done in the background 
 
For more details see the u-blox 6 Receiver Description including Protocol Specification [2]. 
1.7  Oscillators 
NEO-6  GPS  modules  are  available  in  Crystal  and  TCXO  versions.  The  TCXO  allows  accelerated  weak  signal 
acquisition, enabling faster start and reacquisition times. 
                                                      
7 Requires external memory. 
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NEO-6 - Data Sheet 
1.8  Protocols and interfaces 
Protocol 
NMEA 
UBX 
RTCM 
Table 3: Available protocols 
Type 
Input/output, ASCII, 0183, 2.3 (compatible to 3.0) 
Input/output, binary, u-blox proprietary 
Input, 2.3 
Both protocols are available on UART, USB, and DDC. For specification of the various protocols see the u-blox 6 
Receiver Description including Protocol Specification [2]. 
NEO-6  modules  support  a  number  of  peripheral  interfaces  for  serial  communication.  The  embedded  firmware 
uses these interfaces according to their respective protocol specifications. For specific applications, the firmware 
also supports the connection of external memories. 
1.8.1  UART 
NEO-6  modules  include  one  configurable  UART  interface  for  serial  communication  (for  information  about 
configuration see section 1.10).  
1.8.2  USB  
NEO-6 modules provide a USB version 2.0 FS (Full Speed, 12Mbit/s) interface as an alternative to the UART. The 
pull-up resistor on USB_DP is integrated to signal a full-speed device to the host. The VDDUSB pin supplies the 
USB interface. 
u-blox  provides  a  Microsoft®  certified  USB  driver  for  Windows  XP,  Windows  Vista  and  Windows  7  operating 
systems.  
Operating System 
Support level 
Windows XP 
Windows Vista 
Windows 7 
Certified 
Certified 
Certified 
Table 4: Operating systems supported by USB driver 
1.8.3  Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) 
The  SPI  interface  allows  for  the  connection  of  external  devices  with  a  serial  interface,  e.g.  serial  flash  to  save 
configuration and AssistNow Offline A-GPS data or to interface to a host CPU. The interface can be operated in 
master or slave mode. In master mode, one chip select signal is available to select external slaves. In slave mode a 
single chip select signal enables communication with the host.  
 
The maximum bandwidth is 100kbit/s. 
1.8.4  Display Data Channel (DDC) 
The I2C compatible DDC interface can be used either to access external devices with a serial interface EEPROM or 
to interface with a host CPU. It is capable of master and slave operation. The DDC interface is I2C Standard Mode 
compliant. For timing parameters consult the I2C standard. 
The DDC Interface is compatible with LEON DDC from version LEON-G100-05S/ LEON-G200-05S and above. 
 
The maximum bandwidth is 100kbit/s. 
1.8.4.1  External serial EEPROM 
NEO-6  modules  allow  an  optional  external  serial  EEPROM  to  be  connected  to  the  DDC  interface.  This  can  be 
used to store Configurations permanently. 
For more information see the LEA-6/NEO-6/MAX-6 Hardware Integration Manual [1]. 
 
 
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