Waveshare has launched a low-cost LG290P breakout board priced at about half the competing options. It supports L1/L2/L5/E6 quad-band GNSS with centimeter-level RTK positioning for robotics, surveying, precision agriculture, and other high-accuracy applications.
The board supports GPS, BDS, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS, and NavIC reception, along with SBAS systems such as WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, BDSBAS, GAGAN, and SDCM. It offers RTK rover/base functionality with <5-second convergence, raw observation output, 10–20 Hz navigation rates, and strong anti-interference performance thanks to its integrated narrow-band jamming detection and cancellation. The module features a USB-C port for power and UART-to-USB communication, castellated pads for easy integration, an RTC battery connector for faster TTFF, and onboard status LEDs.
Waveshare LG290P breakout board specifications:
- GNSS module – Quectel LG290P
- GNSS Frequency bands
- GPS – L1 C/A, L1C, L5, L2C
- GLONASS – L1, L2
- Galileo – E1, E5a, E5b, E6
- BDS – B1I, B1C, B2a, B2b, B2I, B3I
- QZSS – L1 C/A, L1C, L5, L2C
- NavIC – L5
- SBAS – L1 C/A
- L-band PPP
- PPP – B2b
- QZSS – L6
- Galileo HAS – E6
- GNSS Constellations – GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (EU), BDS (China), QZSS (Japan), NavIC (India)
- SBAS Systems – WAAS (USA), SDCM (Russia), EGNOS (EU), BDSBAS (China), MSAS (Japan), GAGAN (India
- Tracking Channels – 1040
- Horizontal Position Accuracy
- Autonomous: 0.7m
- RTK: 0.8cm + 1ppm
- Vertical Accuracy
- Autonomous: 2.5m
- RTK: 1.5cm + 1ppm
- Time to First Fix (without AGNSS)
- Cold Start: 28s
- Warm Start: 28s
- Hot Start: 1.7s
- Sensitivity
- Acquisition: -146dBm
- Tracking: -160dBm
- Reacquisition: -155dBm
- GNSS Frequency bands
- USB – USB Type-C connector for power and communication with the LG290P GNSS receiver
- Expansion
- 18x PTH pins with I2C, UART, RTK, PPS, +5V, +3.3V, and GND
- 2x 4-pin JST Qwiic connectors for I2C and UART
- Misc
- SMA antenna connector
- 3x LED indicators (GPS, RTK, and power)
- Reset button
- 2-pin JST for RTC backup battery (reduces TTFF)
- PPS (1PPS) output Pin and Event output for time-tag/triggering
- Event Pin (used for position/time-tag triggers)
- RTK status output
- Anti-Jamming – Built-in professional-grade NIC
- RTC battery connector
- Power supply
- 5V input via Type-C USB (also exposes 3.3 V pins)
- Current: <100 mA @ 5 V (continuous mode; varies by variant)
- Module power control pin
- Dimensions
- 33 mm × 33 mm (board only)
- 49.5 mm × 33 mm (with SMA antenna connector)
- Operating temperature – −40 °C to +85 °C
In terms of software support, the LG290P comes with a complete set of tools for configuration and testing. It works with Quectel’s QGNSS Windows utility; on top of that, there are example codes for Raspberry Pi (Python), ESP32 (Arduino), and Raspberry Pi Pico (MicroPython) on the wiki. With native NMEA 0183 and RTCM 3.x output, it works seamlessly with RTKLIB, RTKBASE, STRSVR, and other GNSS processing tools. The full command set and examples are also included in the wiki.
The LG290P was first introduced as the world’s first quad-band GNSS module in July 2024, and shortly after that, SparkFun released its Quad-Band GNSS RTK Breakout priced at around $149.95; now it costs even more at $189.95. In comparison, Waveshare’s LG290P breakout board costs roughly half as much while offering multiple quick-connect interfaces and a more compact form factor.
The LG290P GNSS RTK low-cost breakout board is available on AliExpress for $103.99. on Amazon for $108.99 (Limited Stock), as well as on the Waveshare store for $89.99. While searching AliExpress, I found similar boards where the EM290PD1 RTK GNSS module is listed for around $66.27, and a similar kit with an included USB cable and GNSS antenna goes for about $93.83 during the Black Friday sale. You can also use coupon codes like CNX15USA (US only) or CNX15W (some countries) to get $15 for orders over $89 until December 4.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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