In this article we are going to see how to retrieve NMEA sentences from a GPS module NEO-6M connected to an ESP32.


Connect the NEO-6M GPS module to the ESP32
Then create an Arduino program and deploy it to the ESP-wroom-32.

arduino-cli sketch new arduino-gps
cd arduino-gps/


Edit the arduino-gps.ino file and add the following content:

#define RXD2 16
#define TXD2 17

#define GPS_BAUD 9600

// Create an instance of the HardwareSerial class for Serial 2
HardwareSerial gpsSerial(2);

void setup(){
  // Serial Monitor
  Serial.begin(115200);

  // Start Serial 2 with the defined RX and TX pins and a baud rate of 9600
  gpsSerial.begin(GPS_BAUD, SERIAL_8N1, RXD2, TXD2);
  Serial.println("Serial 2 started at 9600 baud rate");
}

void loop(){
  while (gpsSerial.available() > 0){
    // get the byte data from the GPS
    char gpsData = gpsSerial.read();
    Serial.print(gpsData);
  }
  delay(1000);
  Serial.println("-------------------------------");
}


Compile and deploy:

arduino-cli compile --fqbn esp32:esp32:esp32 arduino-gps.ino
arduino-cli upload -p /dev/ttyUSB0 --fqbn esp32:esp32:esp32 arduino-gps.ino
arduino-cli monitor -p /dev/ttyUSB0 -c baudrate=115200

Put the GPS module outside your house and once it starts to blink it means he starts to get a precise position.

The important line is the one that starts with $GPGGA. Ask chatgpt to explain you how it’s structure. It’s very simple and you have all kinds of information.