A GPS has not finished being set up by ArduPilot

What ArduPilot says:

• PreArm: GPS N still configuring this GPS

At start-up ArduPilot sends the receiver its settings (which messages to send, how often, which satellite systems) and waits for the receiver to confirm each. A configured GPS (GPSn_TYPE not 0) that has not confirmed everything, or was not found at all, blocks arming. Each time the message is shown, a second line says why: “GPS 1: was not found”, or for a u-blox receiver the setting it is stuck on (“GPS 1: u-blox … configuration 0x…”).

What to do, most likely first

1. It is the first seconds after power-on: the settings are still being sent.

   FixWait half a minute and try again.

2. The receiver was not detected at all.

   CheckThe second line is “GPS 1: was not found”.

   FixSee that message: it is a matter of wiring, the serial port's protocol or the GPS type.

3. The receiver refuses one of the settings: a clone, or an older module that does not support it.

   CheckThe second line names the setting, and stays the same minutes later.

   FixSee “GPS 1: u-blox … configuration 0x…” for what each setting is and what can be done.

4. A second GPS is configured that does not exist.

   CheckThe message says GPS 2.

   FixSet GPS2_TYPE to 0 and reboot.

GPS_AUTO_CONFIG 0 tells ArduPilot to leave the receiver alone, and a u-blox then counts as configured at once. That is a real choice only for a module you have set up yourself (5 Hz, the right messages, saved in its memory); otherwise it trades this message for a GPS that works badly.

Parameters to look at

Where to do it:Setup & Tuning GuideBoard & Wiring Planner