Source code for mth5.io.nims.gps

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""
NIMS GPS data parser for magnetotelluric surveys.

This module provides functionality to parse GPS stamps from NIMS (North Island
Magnetotelluric Survey) data files. It handles both GPRMC and GPGGA GPS message
formats, extracting location, time, and other GPS-related information.

Classes
-------
GPSError : Exception
    Custom exception for GPS parsing errors.
GPS : object
    Main class for parsing and validating GPS stamp data.

Notes
-----
The GPS parser handles two main GPS message types:
- GPRMC: Provides full date/time information and magnetic declination
- GPGGA: Provides elevation data and fix quality information

Binary data contamination is automatically cleaned during parsing.

Examples
--------
>>> from mth5.io.nims.gps import GPS
>>> gps_string = "GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*"
>>> gps = GPS(gps_string)
>>> print(f"Latitude: {gps.latitude}, Longitude: {gps.longitude}")

Author
------
jpeacock

Created
-------
Thu Sep  1 11:43:56 2022
"""
# =============================================================================
# Imports
# =============================================================================
from __future__ import annotations

import datetime

import dateutil
from loguru import logger


# =============================================================================
[docs] class GPSError(Exception): """ Custom exception for GPS parsing and validation errors. Raised when GPS string parsing fails or when GPS data validation encounters invalid values. """
[docs] class GPS: """ Parser for GPS stamps from NIMS magnetotelluric data. Handles parsing and validation of GPS strings from NIMS data files. Supports both GPRMC and GPGGA message formats, automatically detecting the type and extracting relevant geographic and temporal information. Parameters ---------- gps_string : str or bytes Raw GPS string to be parsed. Can contain binary contamination which will be automatically cleaned. index : int, default 0 Index or sequence number for this GPS record. Attributes ---------- gps_string : str The original GPS string provided for parsing. index : int Index or sequence number for this GPS record. valid : bool Whether the GPS string was successfully parsed and validated. elevation_units : str Units for elevation measurements, typically "meters". logger : loguru.Logger Logger instance for debugging and error reporting. Notes ----- GPS message format differences: **GPRMC (Recommended Minimum Course)** Contains: date, time, coordinates, speed, course, magnetic declination Date: Full date information (year, month, day) **GPGGA (Global Positioning System Fix Data)** Contains: time, coordinates, fix quality, elevation Date: Defaults to 1980-01-01 for time estimation only The parser automatically handles: - Binary contamination in GPS strings - Missing comma delimiters - GPS type auto-detection and correction - Coordinate conversion from degrees-minutes to decimal degrees Examples -------- Parse a GPRMC string: >>> gps_string = "GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*" >>> gps = GPS(gps_string) >>> print(f"Position: {gps.latitude:.5f}, {gps.longitude:.5f}") Position: 34.72683, -115.73501 Parse a GPGGA string: >>> gps_string = "GPGGA,183511,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,1,04,2.6,937.2,M,-28.1,M,*" >>> gps = GPS(gps_string) >>> print(f"Elevation: {gps.elevation} {gps.elevation_units}") Elevation: 937.2 meters Handle invalid GPS data: >>> gps = GPS("invalid_string") >>> print(f"Valid: {gps.valid}") Valid: False """ def __init__(self, gps_string: str | bytes, index: int = 0) -> None:
[docs] self.logger = logger
[docs] self.gps_string = gps_string
[docs] self.index = index
self._type = None self._time = None self._date = "010180" self._latitude = None self._latitude_hemisphere = None self._longitude = None self._longitude_hemisphere = None self._declination = None self._declination_hemisphere = None self._elevation = None
[docs] self.valid = False
[docs] self.elevation_units = "meters"
[docs] self.type_dict = { "gprmc": { 0: "type", 1: "time", 2: "fix", 3: "latitude", 4: "latitude_hemisphere", 5: "longitude", 6: "longitude_hemisphere", 7: "skip", 8: "skip", 9: "date", 10: "declination", 11: "declination_hemisphere", "length": [12], "type": 0, "time": 1, "fix": 2, "latitude": 3, "latitude_hemisphere": 4, "longitude": 5, "longitude_hemisphere": 6, "date": 9, "declination": 10, }, "gpgga": { 0: "type", 1: "time", 2: "latitude", 3: "latitude_hemisphere", 4: "longitude", 5: "longitude_hemisphere", 6: "var_01", 7: "var_02", 8: "var_03", 9: "elevation", 10: "elevation_units", 11: "elevation_error", 12: "elevation_error_units", 13: "null_01", 14: "null_02", "length": [14, 15], "type": 0, "time": 1, "latitude": 2, "latitude_hemisphere": 3, "longitude": 4, "longitude_hemisphere": 5, "elevation": 9, "elevation_units": 10, "elevation_error": 11, "elevation_error_units": 12, }, }
self.parse_gps_string(self.gps_string) def __str__(self) -> str: """ String representation of GPS object. Returns ------- str Formatted string containing GPS type, coordinates, elevation, declination, and other key properties. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> print(gps) type = GPRMC index = 0 fix = A time_stamp = 2019-09-26T18:35:11 latitude = 34.72683 longitude = -115.73501166666667 elevation = 0.0 declination = 13.1 """ msg = [ f"type = {self.gps_type}", f"index = {self.index}", f"fix = {self.fix}", f"time_stamp = {self.time_stamp}", f"latitude = {self.latitude}", f"longitude = {self.longitude}", f"elevation = {self.elevation}", f"declination = {self.declination}", ] return "\n".join(msg) def __repr__(self) -> str: """Return string representation of GPS object.""" return self.__str__()
[docs] def validate_gps_string(self, gps_string: str | bytes) -> str | None: """ Validate and clean GPS string. Removes binary contamination, finds string terminator, and validates format. Handles both string and bytes input. Parameters ---------- gps_string : str or bytes Raw GPS string to validate. May contain binary contamination that will be automatically removed. Returns ------- str or None Cleaned GPS string with terminator removed, or None if validation fails due to missing terminator or decode errors. Raises ------ TypeError If input is not string or bytes. Notes ----- Binary contamination bytes that are automatically removed: - ``\\xd9``, ``\\xc7``, ``\\xcc`` - ``\\x00`` (null byte, replaced with '*' terminator) The GPS string must end with '*' character to be considered valid. Examples -------- Clean a contaminated binary GPS string: >>> gps = GPS("") >>> contaminated = b"GPRMC,183511,A\\xd9,3443.6098,N*" >>> clean = gps.validate_gps_string(contaminated) >>> print(clean) GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N Handle missing terminator: >>> invalid = "GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N" # No '*' >>> result = gps.validate_gps_string(invalid) >>> print(result) None """ if isinstance(gps_string, bytes): for replace_str in [b"\xd9", b"\xc7", b"\xcc"]: gps_string = gps_string.replace(replace_str, b"") ### sometimes the end is set with a zero for some reason gps_string = gps_string.replace(b"\x00", b"*") if gps_string.find(b"*") < 0: logger.debug(f"GPSError: No end to stamp {gps_string}") return None else: try: gps_string = gps_string[0 : gps_string.find(b"*")].decode() return gps_string except UnicodeDecodeError: logger.debug(f"GPSError: stamp not correct format, {gps_string}") return None elif isinstance(gps_string, str): if "*" not in gps_string: logger.debug(f"GPSError: No end to stamp {gps_string}") return None return gps_string[0 : gps_string.find("*")] else: raise TypeError( f"input must be a string or bytes object, not {type(gps_string)}" )
def _split_gps_string( self, gps_string: str | bytes, delimiter: str = "," ) -> list[str]: """ Split GPS string into components after validation. Parameters ---------- gps_string : str or bytes GPS string to split. delimiter : str, default "," Character to split on (typically comma). Returns ------- list of str GPS string components, or empty list if validation fails. Notes ----- The delimiter parameter is provided for flexibility but validation always occurs first, which may affect the final splitting behavior. """ gps_string = self.validate_gps_string(gps_string) if gps_string is None: self.valid = False return [] return gps_string.strip().split(",")
[docs] def parse_gps_string(self, gps_string: str | bytes) -> None: """ Parse GPS string and populate object attributes. Main parsing method that validates the GPS string, identifies the message type (GPRMC/GPGGA), and extracts all relevant information into object attributes. Parameters ---------- gps_string : str or bytes Raw GPS string from NIMS data file. Notes ----- This method performs the following operations: 1. Splits and validates the GPS string 2. Handles missing comma delimiter between time and coordinates 3. Validates each GPS field according to message type 4. Sets object attributes based on parsed values 5. Sets ``valid`` flag based on parsing success If any validation errors occur, they are logged but parsing continues with ``None`` values for invalid fields. The method automatically detects GPS message type and applies appropriate field validation rules. Examples -------- Parse a valid GPS string: >>> gps = GPS("") >>> gps.parse_gps_string("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> print(f"Valid: {gps.valid}, Type: {gps.gps_type}") Valid: True, Type: GPRMC Handle invalid GPS string: >>> gps.parse_gps_string("invalid_gps_data") >>> print(f"Valid: {gps.valid}") Valid: False """ gps_list = self._split_gps_string(gps_string) if gps_list == []: self.logger.debug(f"GPS string is invalid, {gps_string}") return if len(gps_list) > 1: if len(gps_list[1]) > 6: self.logger.debug( "GPS time and lat missing a comma adding one, check time" ) gps_list = ( gps_list[0:1] + [gps_list[1][0:6], gps_list[1][6:]] + gps_list[2:] ) ### validate the gps list to make sure it is usable gps_list, error_list = self.validate_gps_list(gps_list) if len(error_list) > 0: for error in error_list: logger.debug("GPSError: " + error) if gps_list is None: return attr_dict = self.type_dict[gps_list[0].lower()] for index, value in enumerate(gps_list): setattr(self, "_" + attr_dict[index], value) if None not in gps_list: self.valid = True self.gps_string = gps_string
[docs] def validate_gps_list( self, gps_list: list[str] ) -> tuple[list[str] | None, list[str]]: """ Validate GPS field list and check format compliance. Performs comprehensive validation of GPS message components including type checking, length validation, and field-specific validation. Parameters ---------- gps_list : list of str GPS message components split by delimiter. Returns ------- gps_list : list of str or None Validated GPS list with corrected values, or None if critical validation fails. error_list : list of str List of validation error messages encountered during processing. Notes ----- Validation steps performed: 1. GPS message type validation and correction 2. Message length validation based on type 3. Time format validation (6 digits) 4. Coordinate validation (latitude/longitude + hemisphere) 5. Date validation for GPRMC messages 6. Elevation validation for GPGGA messages Non-critical validation errors are collected but don't halt processing. Critical errors (type or length) return None and stop validation. Examples -------- Validate a correct GPS list: >>> gps = GPS("") >>> gps_data = ["GPRMC", "183511", "A", "3443.6098", "N", "11544.1007", "W", ... "000.0", "000.0", "260919", "013.1", "E"] >>> validated, errors = gps.validate_gps_list(gps_data) >>> print(f"Errors: {len(errors)}") Errors: 0 Handle validation errors: >>> bad_data = ["INVALID", "time", "fix"] >>> validated, errors = gps.validate_gps_list(bad_data) >>> print(f"Result: {validated}, Errors: {len(errors)}") Result: None, Errors: 1 """ error_list = [] try: gps_list = self._validate_gps_type(gps_list) except GPSError as error: error_list.append(error.args[0]) return None, error_list ### get the string type g_type = gps_list[0].lower() ### first check the length, if it is not the proper length then ### return, cause you never know if everything else is correct try: self._validate_list_length(gps_list) except GPSError as error: error_list.append(error.args[0]) return None, error_list try: gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["time"]] = self._validate_time( gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["time"]] ) except GPSError as error: error_list.append(error.args[0]) gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["time"]] = None try: gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["latitude"]] = self._validate_latitude( gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["latitude"]], gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["latitude_hemisphere"]], ) except GPSError as error: error_list.append(error.args[0]) gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["latitude"]] = None try: gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["longitude"]] = self._validate_longitude( gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["longitude"]], gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["longitude_hemisphere"]], ) except GPSError as error: error_list.append(error.args[0]) gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["longitude"]] = None if g_type == "gprmc": try: gps_list[self.type_dict["gprmc"]["date"]] = self._validate_date( gps_list[self.type_dict["gprmc"]["date"]] ) except GPSError as error: error_list.append(error.args[0]) gps_list[self.type_dict[g_type]["date"]] = None elif g_type == "gpgga": try: gps_list[ self.type_dict["gpgga"]["elevation"] ] = self._validate_elevation( gps_list[self.type_dict["gpgga"]["elevation"]] ) except GPSError as error: error_list.append(error.args[0]) gps_list[self.type_dict["gpgga"]["elevation"]] = None return gps_list, error_list
def _validate_gps_type(self, gps_list: list[str]) -> list[str]: """ Validate and auto-correct GPS message type. Parameters ---------- gps_list : list of str GPS message components with type as first element. Returns ------- list of str GPS list with corrected type and possibly extracted time data. Raises ------ GPSError If GPS type cannot be identified as GPGGA or GPRMC variant. Notes ----- Auto-correction rules: - "GPG*" patterns → "GPGGA" - "GPR*" patterns → "GPRMC" - Handles concatenated type+time strings - Validates final type is "gpgga" or "gprmc" """ gps_type = gps_list[0].lower() if "gpg" in gps_type: if len(gps_type) > 5: gps_list = ["GPGGA", gps_type[-6:]] + gps_list[1:] elif len(gps_type) < 5: gps_list[0] = "GPGGA" elif "gpr" in gps_type: if len(gps_type) > 5: gps_list = ["GPRMC", gps_type[-6:]] + gps_list[1:] elif len(gps_type) < 5: gps_list[0] = "GPRMC" gps_type = gps_list[0].lower() if gps_type not in ["gpgga", "gprmc"]: raise GPSError( "GPS String type not correct. " f"Expect GPGGA or GPRMC, got {gps_type.upper()}" ) return gps_list def _validate_list_length(self, gps_list: list[str]) -> None: """ Validate GPS message length based on message type. Parameters ---------- gps_list : list of str GPS message components. Raises ------ GPSError If message length doesn't match expected length for the GPS type. Notes ----- Expected lengths: - GPRMC: 12 components - GPGGA: 14 or 15 components """ gps_list_type = gps_list[0].lower() expected_len = self.type_dict[gps_list_type]["length"] if len(gps_list) not in expected_len: raise GPSError( f"GPS string not correct length for {gps_list_type.upper()}. " f"Expected {expected_len}, got {len(gps_list)} " f"{','.join(gps_list)}" ) def _validate_time(self, time_str: str) -> str: """ Validate GPS time string format. Parameters ---------- time_str : str Time string in HHMMSS format. Returns ------- str Validated time string. Raises ------ GPSError If time string is not 6 characters or not numeric. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("") >>> gps._validate_time("183511") '183511' """ if len(time_str) != 6: raise GPSError( f"Length of time string {time_str} not correct. " f"Expected 6 got {len(time_str)}. string = {time_str}" ) try: int(time_str) except ValueError: raise GPSError(f"Could not convert time string {time_str}") return time_str def _validate_date(self, date_str: str) -> str: """ Validate GPS date string format. Parameters ---------- date_str : str Date string in DDMMYY format. Returns ------- str Validated date string. Raises ------ GPSError If date string is not 6 characters or not numeric. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("") >>> gps._validate_date("260919") '260919' """ if len(date_str) != 6: raise GPSError( f"Length of date string not correct {date_str}. " f"Expected 6 got {len(date_str)}. string = {date_str}" ) try: int(date_str) except ValueError: raise GPSError(f"Could not convert date string {date_str}") return date_str def _validate_latitude(self, latitude_str: str, hemisphere_str: str) -> str: """ Validate latitude coordinate and hemisphere. Parameters ---------- latitude_str : str Latitude in DDMM.MMMM format (degrees and decimal minutes). hemisphere_str : str Hemisphere indicator, must be 'N' or 'S'. Returns ------- str Validated latitude string. Raises ------ GPSError If latitude format is invalid, hemisphere is wrong length/value, or coordinate cannot be converted to float. Notes ----- Latitude format: DDMM.MMMM where DD=degrees, MM.MMMM=minutes Valid hemispheres: 'N' (North), 'S' (South) Minimum expected length: 8 characters Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("") >>> gps._validate_latitude("3443.6098", "N") '3443.6098' """ if len(latitude_str) < 8: raise GPSError( f"Latitude string should be larger than 7 characters. " f"Got {len(latitude_str)}. string = {latitude_str}" ) if len(hemisphere_str) != 1: raise GPSError( "Latitude hemisphere should be 1 character. " f"Got {len(hemisphere_str)}. string = {hemisphere_str}" ) if hemisphere_str.lower() not in ["n", "s"]: raise GPSError( f"Latitude hemisphere {hemisphere_str.upper()} not understood" ) try: float(latitude_str) except ValueError: raise GPSError(f"Could not convert latitude string {latitude_str}") return latitude_str def _validate_longitude(self, longitude_str: str, hemisphere_str: str) -> str: """ Validate longitude coordinate and hemisphere. Parameters ---------- longitude_str : str Longitude in DDDMM.MMMM format (degrees and decimal minutes). hemisphere_str : str Hemisphere indicator, must be 'E' or 'W'. Returns ------- str Validated longitude string. Raises ------ GPSError If longitude format is invalid, hemisphere is wrong length/value, or coordinate cannot be converted to float. Notes ----- Longitude format: DDDMM.MMMM where DDD=degrees, MM.MMMM=minutes Valid hemispheres: 'E' (East), 'W' (West) Minimum expected length: 8 characters Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("") >>> gps._validate_longitude("11544.1007", "W") '11544.1007' """ if len(longitude_str) < 8: raise GPSError( "Longitude string should be larger than 7 characters. " f"Got {len(longitude_str)}. string = {longitude_str}" ) if len(hemisphere_str) != 1: raise GPSError( "Longitude hemisphere should be 1 character. " f"Got {len(hemisphere_str)}. string = {hemisphere_str}" ) if hemisphere_str.lower() not in ["e", "w"]: raise GPSError( f"Longitude hemisphere {hemisphere_str.upper()} not understood" ) try: float(longitude_str) except ValueError: raise GPSError(f"Could not convert longitude string {longitude_str}") return longitude_str def _validate_elevation(self, elevation_str: str) -> str: """ Validate elevation value and convert to standard format. Parameters ---------- elevation_str : str Elevation string, may include 'M' or 'm' unit suffix. Returns ------- str Validated elevation as string representation of float. Raises ------ GPSError If elevation cannot be converted to float. Notes ----- - Automatically removes 'M' or 'm' unit suffixes - Empty string is converted to "0.0" - Result is always a string representation of a float Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("") >>> gps._validate_elevation("937.2") '937.2' >>> gps._validate_elevation("937.2M") '937.2' >>> gps._validate_elevation("") '0.0' """ elevation_str = elevation_str.lower().replace("m", "") if elevation_str == "": elevation_str = "0" try: elevation_str = f"{float(elevation_str)}" except ValueError: raise GPSError(f"Elevation could not be converted {elevation_str}") return elevation_str @property
[docs] def latitude(self) -> float: """ Latitude in decimal degrees (WGS84). Returns ------- float Latitude in decimal degrees. Negative values indicate Southern hemisphere. Returns 0.0 if coordinate data is invalid. Notes ----- Converts from GPS format (DDMM.MMMM) to decimal degrees: decimal_degrees = degrees + minutes/60 Southern hemisphere coordinates are automatically converted to negative values. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> gps.latitude 34.72683 """ if self._latitude is not None and self._latitude_hemisphere is not None: index = len(self._latitude) - 7 lat = float(self._latitude[0:index]) + float(self._latitude[index:]) / 60 if "s" in self._latitude_hemisphere.lower(): lat *= -1 return lat return 0.0
@property
[docs] def longitude(self) -> float: """ Longitude in decimal degrees (WGS84). Returns ------- float Longitude in decimal degrees. Negative values indicate Western hemisphere. Returns 0.0 if coordinate data is invalid. Notes ----- Converts from GPS format (DDDMM.MMMM) to decimal degrees: decimal_degrees = degrees + minutes/60 Western hemisphere coordinates are automatically converted to negative values. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> gps.longitude -115.73501166666667 """ if self._longitude is not None and self._longitude_hemisphere is not None: index = len(self._longitude) - 7 lon = float(self._longitude[0:index]) + float(self._longitude[index:]) / 60 if "w" in self._longitude_hemisphere.lower(): lon *= -1 return lon return 0.0
@property
[docs] def elevation(self) -> float: """ Elevation above sea level in meters. Returns ------- float Elevation in meters. Returns 0.0 if elevation data is not available or cannot be converted. Notes ----- Elevation is typically only available in GPGGA messages. GPRMC messages will return 0.0 as they don't contain elevation data. Conversion errors are logged but don't raise exceptions. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPGGA,183511,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,1,04,2.6,937.2,M,-28.1,M,*") >>> gps.elevation 937.2 """ if self._elevation is not None: try: return float(self._elevation) except ValueError: self.logger.error( "GPSError: Could not get elevation GPS string" f"not complete {self.gps_string}" ) return 0.0
@property
[docs] def time_stamp(self) -> datetime.datetime | None: """ GPS timestamp as datetime object. Returns ------- datetime.datetime or None Timestamp parsed from GPS data, or None if time data is invalid. Notes ----- For GPRMC messages: Uses full date and time information For GPGGA messages: Uses time with default date of 1980-01-01 Time format: HHMMSS (hours, minutes, seconds) Date format: DDMMYY (day, month, 2-digit year) Invalid date strings are logged but return None rather than raising exceptions. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> gps.time_stamp datetime.datetime(2019, 9, 26, 18, 35, 11) """ if self._time is None: return None if self._date is None: self._date = "010180" try: return dateutil.parser.parse( "{0} {1}".format(self._date, self._time), dayfirst=True ) except ValueError: self.logger.error(f"GPSError: bad date string {self.gps_string}") return None
@property
[docs] def declination(self) -> float | None: """ Magnetic declination in degrees from true north. Returns ------- float or None Magnetic declination in degrees. Positive values indicate eastward declination, negative values indicate westward declination. Returns None if declination data is not available. Notes ----- Magnetic declination is only available in GPRMC messages. GPGGA messages will return None as they don't contain declination data. Western declination values are automatically converted to negative. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> gps.declination 13.1 """ if self._declination is None or self._declination_hemisphere is None: return None dec = float(self._declination) if "w" in self._declination_hemisphere.lower(): dec *= -1 return dec
@property
[docs] def gps_type(self) -> str | None: """ GPS message type. Returns ------- str or None GPS message type: "GPRMC" or "GPGGA", or None if not set. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> gps.gps_type 'GPRMC' """ return self._type
@property
[docs] def fix(self) -> str | None: """ GPS fix status. Returns ------- str or None GPS fix status (typically "A" for valid fix), or None if fix information is not available or not applicable for the message type. Notes ----- Fix status is typically available in GPRMC messages: - "A": Valid fix - "V": Invalid fix GPGGA messages use different fix quality indicators. Examples -------- >>> gps = GPS("GPRMC,183511,A,3443.6098,N,11544.1007,W,000.0,000.0,260919,013.1,E*") >>> gps.fix 'A' """ if hasattr(self, "_fix"): return self._fix return None