pyubxutils

Current Status | Installation | ubxsimulator | ubxsave CLI | ubxload CLI | ubxbase CLI | ubxsetrate CLI | ubxcompare CLI | Graphical Client | Author & License

pyubxutils is an original series of Python u-blox ™ UBX © protocol utility classes and CLI tools built around the following core libraries from the same stable:

• pyubx2 - UBX parsing and generation library

1. ubxsimulator utility. This provides a basic simulation of a GNSS receiver serial stream by generating synthetic UBX or NMEA messages based on parameters defined in a json configuration file.
2. ubxsave CLI utility. This saves a complete set of configuration data from any Generation 9+ u-blox device (e.g. NEO-M9N or ZED-F9P) to a file. The file can then be reloaded to any compatible device using the ubxload utility.
3. ubxload CLI utility. This reads a file containing binary configuration data and loads it into any compatible Generation 9+ u-blox device (e.g. NEO-M9N or ZED-F9P).
4. ubxbase CLI utility. A utility which configures compatible u-blox GNSS receivers (e.g. ZED-F9P) as RTK base stations, using either Fixed or Survey-In timing modes.
5. ubxsetrate CLI utility. A simple utility which sets NMEA or UBX message rates on u-blox GNSS receivers.
6. ubxcompare CLI utility. Utility for comparing two or more u-blox config files in either text (*.txt) or binary (*.ubx) format. Output files from the ubxsave utility can be used as input files.

The pyubxutils homepage is located at https://github.com/semuconsulting/pyubxutils.

This is an independent project and we have no affiliation whatsoever with u-blox.

Current Status

Sphinx API Documentation in HTML format is available at https://www.semuconsulting.com/pyubxutils.

Contributions welcome - please refer to CONTRIBUTING.MD.

Bug reports and Feature requests - please use the templates provided. For general queries and advice, post a message to one of the pyubxutils Discussions channels.

---

Installation

pyubxutils is compatible with Python >= 3.10. In the following, python3 & pip refer to the Python 3 executables. You may need to substitute python for python3, depending on your particular environment (on Windows it's generally python). It is strongly recommended that the Python 3 binaries (\Scripts or /bin) and site_packages directories are included in your PATH (most standard Python 3 installation packages will do this automatically if you select the 'Add to PATH' option during installation).

The recommended way to install the latest version of pyubxutils is with pip:

python3 -m pip install --upgrade pyubxutils

If required, pyubxutils can also be installed into a virtual environment, e.g.:

python3 -m pip install --user --upgrade virtualenv
python3 -m virtualenv env
source env/bin/activate (or env\Scripts\activate on Windows)
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pyubxutils
...
deactivate

For Conda users, pyubxutils is also available from conda forge:

conda install -c conda-forge pyubxutils

---

ubxsimulator utility

EXPERIMENTAL

Provides a simple simulation of a GNSS serial stream by generating synthetic UBX or NMEA messages based on parameters defined in a json configuration file. Can simulate a motion vector based on a specified course over ground and speed. Location of configuration file can be set via environment variable UBXSIMULATOR.

Example usage:

ubxsimulator --simconfigfile "/home/myuser/ubxsimulator.json" --interval 1000 --timeout 3 --verbosity 3

from os import getenv
from pyubxutils import UBXSimulator, UBXSIMULATOR
from pyubx2 import UBXReader

with UBXSimulator(
    configfile=getenv(UBXSIMULATOR, "/home/myuser/ubxsimulator.json"),
    interval=1000,
    timeout=3,
) as stream:
    ubr = UBXReader(stream)
    for raw, parsed in ubr:
        print(parsed)

Generates mock acknowledgements (ACK-ACK) for valid incoming UBX or TTY (AT+) commands and polls.

See sample ubxsimulator.json configuration file in the \examples folder, and the Sphinx API documentation.

NB: Principally intended for testing Python GNSS application functionality. There is currently no attempt to simulate real-world satellite geodetics, though this could be done using e.g. the Python skyfield library and the relevant satellite TLE (orbital elements) data. We may look into adding such functionality as and when time permits. Contributions welcome.

Command line arguments can be stored in a configuration file and invoked using the -C or --config argument. The location of the configuration file can be set in environment variable UBXSIMULATOR_CONF.

---

ubxsave CLI

GENERATION 9+ DEVICES ONLY (e.g. NEO-M9N or ZED-F9P)

class pyubxutils.ubxsave.UBXSaver(file, stream, **kwargs)

CLI utility which saves Generation 9+ UBX device configuration data to a file. ubxsave polls configuration data via the device's serial port using a series of CFG-VALGET poll messages. It parses the responses to these polls, converts them to CFG-VALSET command messages and saves these to a binary file. This binary file can then be loaded into any compatible UBX device (e.g. via the ubxload utility) to restore the saved configuration.

The CFG-VALSET commands are stored as a single transaction. If one or more fails on reload, the entire set will be rejected.

NB: The utility relies on receiving a complete set of poll responses within a specified waittime. If the device is exceptionally busy or the transmit buffer is full, poll responses may be delayed or dropped altogether. If the utility reports errors, try increasing the waittime.

CLI Usage:

ubxsave --port /dev/ttyACM1 --baudrate 9600 --timeout 0.02 --outfile ubxconfig.ubx --verbosity 1

For help and full list of optional arguments, type:

ubxsave -h

---

ubxload CLI

GENERATION 9+ DEVICES ONLY (e.g. NEO-M9N or ZED-F9P)

class pyubxutils.ubxload.UBXLoader(file, stream, **kwargs)

CLI utility which loads UBX configuration (CFG-VALSET) data from a binary file (e.g. one created by the ubxsave utility) and loads it into the volatile memory (RAM) of a compatible Generation 9+ UBX device via its serial port. It then awaits acknowledgements to this data and reports any errors.

CLI Usage:

ubxload --port /dev/ttyACM1 --baudrate 9600 --timeout 0.05 --infile ubxconfig.ubx --verbosity 1

For help and full list of optional arguments, type:

ubxload -h

---

ubxbase CLI

RTK-COMPATIBLE GENERATION 9+ DEVICES ONLY (e.g. ZED-F9P)

class pyubxutils.ubxbase.UBXBase(file, stream, **kwargs)

CLI utility which configures a compatible u-blox receiver to RTK base station mode, using either Fixed or Survey-In timing modes.

CLI Usage:

ubxbase -P /dev/ttyACM0 --timemode 2 --fixedpos 37.2334512,-115.8151357,18226.4 --postype 1 --acclimit 10 --waittime 5

For help and full list of optional arguments, type:

ubxbase -h

---

ubxsetrate CLI

class pyubxutils.ubxsetrate.UBXSetRate(**kwargs)

A simple CLI utility to set NMEA or UBX message rates on u-blox receivers via a serial port.

CLI Usage:

Assuming the Python 3 scripts (bin) directory is in your PATH, the CLI utility may be invoked from the shell thus:

This example sets the UBX NAV-HPPOSLLH message rate to 1:

ubxsetrate --port /dev/ttyACM0 --baudrate 38400 --msgClass 0x01 --msgID 0x14 --rate 1

Opening serial port /dev/ttyACM0 @ 38400 baud...

Sending configuration message <UBX(CFG-MSG, msgClass=NAV, msgID=NAV-HPPOSLLH, rateDDC=1, rateUART1=1, rateUART2=1, rateUSB=1, rateSPI=1, reserved=0)>...

Configuration message sent.

Refer to pyubx2 documentation for available msgClass and msgID values. msgClass and msgID can be specified in either integer or hexadecimal formats.

Alternatively, the msgClass keyword can be set to one of the following group values (in which case the msgID keyword can be omitted):

• "allubx" - set rate for all available UBX NAV messages
• "minubx" - set rate for a minimum set of UBX NAV messages (NAV-PVT, NAV-SAT)
• "allnmea" - set rate for all available NMEA messages
• "minnmea" - set rate for a minimum set of NMEA messages (GGA, GSA, GSV, RMC, VTG)

For help and full list of optional arguments, type:

ubxsetrate -h

---

ubxcompare CLI

class pyubxutils.ubxcompare.UBXCompare(infiles, form, diffsonly)

A simple CLI utility for comparing the contents of two or more u-blox configuration files. Files can be in text (*.txt) format (as used by u-center or ArduSimple) or binary (*.ubx) format (as used by PyGPSClient or ubxsave). If the format argument --format or -F is set to 2 (FORMAT_ALL), the file format will be derived from the file suffix i.e. *.txt for text or *.ubx for binary.

e.g.

ubxcompare --infiles "simpleRTK2B_FW132_Rover_1Hz-00.txt, simpleRTK2B_FW132_Rover_10Hz-00.txt" --format 0 --diffsonly 1

24 configuration commands processed in simpleRTK2B_FW132_Rover_1Hz-00.txt

24 configuration commands processed in simpleRTK2B_FW132_Rover_10Hz-00.txt

2 files processed, list of differences in config keys and their values follows:

CFG_MSGOUT_NMEA_ID_GSA_UART1 (DIFFS!): {1: '1', 2: '0'}
CFG_MSGOUT_NMEA_ID_GSA_UART2 (DIFFS!): {1: '1', 2: '0'}
CFG_MSGOUT_NMEA_ID_GSV_UART1 (DIFFS!): {1: '1', 2: '0'}
CFG_MSGOUT_NMEA_ID_GSV_UART2 (DIFFS!): {1: '1', 2: '0'}
CFG_RATE_MEAS (DIFFS!): {1: '1000', 2: '100'}

Total config keys: 1475. Total differences: 5.

For help and full list of optional arguments, type:

ubxcompare -h

---

Author & License Information

semuadmin@semuconsulting.com

pyubxutils is maintained entirely by unpaid volunteers. It receives no funding from advertising or corporate sponsorship. If you find the utility useful, please consider sponsoring the project with the price of a coffee...