tried to copy/paste the gps logger code over to an esp12-e an 8266 no luck

@madmike970 Is that sketch one of the examples? It woulod be easier to read if you posted it as code. Instructions for that are somewhere, but I don't remember where. You can also experiment on the 'Test Forum' it's the last one.

In the IDE under Edit is 'Copy For Forum' I just did that now I will click the <> code icon above

[code]
#include <TinyGPS++.h>
/* 
   This sample sketch should be the first you try out when you are testing a TinyGPS++
   (TinyGPSPlus) installation.  In normal use, you feed TinyGPS++ objects characters from
   a serial NMEA GPS device, but this example uses static strings for simplicity.
*/

// A sample NMEA stream.
const char *gpsStream =
  "$GPRMC,045103.000,A,3014.1984,N,09749.2872,W,0.67,161.46,030913,,,A*7C\r\n"
  "$GPGGA,045104.000,3014.1985,N,09749.2873,W,1,09,1.2,211.6,M,-22.5,M,,0000*62\r\n"
  "$GPRMC,045200.000,A,3014.3820,N,09748.9514,W,36.88,65.02,030913,,,A*77\r\n"
  "$GPGGA,045201.000,3014.3864,N,09748.9411,W,1,10,1.2,200.8,M,-22.5,M,,0000*6C\r\n"
  "$GPRMC,045251.000,A,3014.4275,N,09749.0626,W,0.51,217.94,030913,,,A*7D\r\n"
  "$GPGGA,045252.000,3014.4273,N,09749.0628,W,1,09,1.3,206.9,M,-22.5,M,,0000*6F\r\n";

// The TinyGPS++ object
TinyGPSPlus gps;

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

  Serial.println(F("BasicExample.ino"));
  Serial.println(F("Basic demonstration of TinyGPS++ (no device needed)"));
  Serial.print(F("Testing TinyGPS++ library v. ")); Serial.println(TinyGPSPlus::libraryVersion());
  Serial.println(F("by Mikal Hart"));
  Serial.println();

  while (*gpsStream)
    if (gps.encode(*gpsStream++))
      displayInfo();

  Serial.println();
  Serial.println(F("Done."));
}

void loop()
{
}

void displayInfo()
{
  Serial.print(F("Location: ")); 
  if (gps.location.isValid())
  {
    Serial.print(gps.location.lat(), 6);
    Serial.print(F(","));
    Serial.print(gps.location.lng(), 6);
  }
  else
  {
    Serial.print(F("INVALID"));
  }

  Serial.print(F("  Date/Time: "));
  if (gps.date.isValid())
  {
    Serial.print(gps.date.month());
    Serial.print(F("/"));
    Serial.print(gps.date.day());
    Serial.print(F("/"));
    Serial.print(gps.date.year());
  }
  else
  {
    Serial.print(F("INVALID"));
  }

  Serial.print(F(" "));
  if (gps.time.isValid())
  {
    if (gps.time.hour() < 10) Serial.print(F("0"));
    Serial.print(gps.time.hour());
    Serial.print(F(":"));
    if (gps.time.minute() < 10) Serial.print(F("0"));
    Serial.print(gps.time.minute());
    Serial.print(F(":"));
    if (gps.time.second() < 10) Serial.print(F("0"));
    Serial.print(gps.time.second());
    Serial.print(F("."));
    if (gps.time.centisecond() < 10) Serial.print(F("0"));
    Serial.print(gps.time.centisecond());
  }
  else
  {
    Serial.print(F("INVALID"));
  }

  Serial.println();
}
[/code]

I just used the Test Forum to experiment. There is a second source code paste, check it out at

https://forum.dronebotworkshop.com/postid/27560/

ok here's an improved version of my code

/*
  GPS Position Logger
  gps-position-logger.ino
  Read GPS data from BN-220 or any serial GPS sensor
  Requires TinyGPS++ Library
  Save to SD or microSD card

  DroneBot Workshop 2021
  
*/

// Include required libraries
#include <TinyGPS++.h>
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include <SPI.h>
#include <SD.h>

// GPS Connections
static const int RXPin = 4, TXPin = 3;

// GPS Baud rate (change if required)
static const uint32_t GPSBaud = 9600;

// SD Card Select pin
const int chipSelect = 8;

// Write LED
//const int recLED = 7;

// String to hold GPS data
String gpstext;

// GPS write delay counter variables
// Change gpsttlcount as required
int gpscount = 0;
int gpsttlcount = 30;

// TinyGPS++ object
TinyGPSPlus gps;

// SoftwareSerial connection to the GPS device
SoftwareSerial ss(RXPin, TXPin);

void setup()
{
  // Set LED pin as output
  //pinMode(recLED, OUTPUT);

  // Start Serial Monitor for debugging
  Serial.begin(115200);

  // Start SoftwareSerial
  ss.begin(GPSBaud);

  // Initialize SD card
  if (!SD.begin(chipSelect)) {
    Serial.println("Card failed, or not present");
    //don't do anything more:
    while (1);
  }
  Serial.println("card initialized.");

  // Blink LED so we know we are ready
//  digitalWrite(recLED, HIGH);
 // delay(500);
//  digitalWrite(recLED, LOW);
//  delay(500);
//  digitalWrite(recLED, HIGH);
//  delay(500);
//  digitalWrite(recLED, LOW);
//  delay(500);
//  digitalWrite(recLED, HIGH);
//  delay(500);
//  digitalWrite(recLED, LOW);

}

void loop()
{

  // Turn off LED
//  digitalWrite(recLED, LOW);


  // See if data available
  while (ss.available() > 0)
    if (gps.encode(ss.read()))

      // See if we have a complete GPS data string
      if (displayInfo() != "0")
      {

        // Get GPS string
        gpstext = displayInfo();


        // Check GPS Count
        Serial.println(gpscount);
        if (gpscount == gpsttlcount) {

          // LED On to indicate data to write to SD card
//          digitalWrite(recLED, HIGH);

          //Open the file on card for writing
          File dataFile = SD.open("gpslog.csv", FILE_WRITE);

          if (dataFile) {

            // If the file is available, write to it and close the file
            dataFile.println(gpstext);
            dataFile.close();

            // Serial print GPS string for debugging
            Serial.println(gpstext);
          }
          // If the file isn't open print an error message for debugging
          else {
            Serial.println("error opening datalog.txt");
          }

        }
        // Increment GPS Count
        gpscount = gpscount + 1;
        if (gpscount > gpsttlcount) {
          gpscount = 0;
        }

      }


}

// Function to return GPS string
String displayInfo()
{
  // Define empty string to hold output
  String gpsdata = "";

  // Get latitude and longitude
  if (gps.location.isValid())
  {
    gpsdata = String(gps.location.lat(), 6);
    gpsdata += (",");
    gpsdata += String(gps.location.lng(), 6);
    gpsdata += (",");
  }
  else
  {
    return "0";
  }

  // Get Date
  if (gps.date.isValid())
  {
    gpsdata += String(gps.date.year());
    gpsdata += ("-");
    if (gps.date.month() < 10) gpsdata += ("0");
    gpsdata += String(gps.date.month());
    gpsdata += ("-");
    if (gps.date.day() < 10) gpsdata += ("0");
    gpsdata += String(gps.date.day());
  }
  else
  {
    return "0";
  }

  // Space between date and time
  gpsdata += (" ");

  // Get time
  if (gps.time.isValid())
  {
    if (gps.time.hour() < 10) gpsdata += ("0");
    gpsdata += String(gps.time.hour());
    gpsdata += (":");
    if (gps.time.minute() < 10) gpsdata += ("0");
    gpsdata += String(gps.time.minute());
    gpsdata += (":");
    if (gps.time.second() < 10) gpsdata += ("0");
    gpsdata += String(gps.time.second());
  }
  else
  {
    return "0";
  }

  // Return completed string
  return gpsdata;
}

@madmike970 Ok. Is that DroneBot's code? Now remind me what the problem is.

wasnt sure about the LED's being compatible so i just disabled all the led blinks. i get this from the serial monitor after i upload to esp12-e:

gps pins:

rx-d4

tx-d3

sd pins:

cs-d8

sck-d5

mosi-d7

miso-d6.

@madmike970 Ok, so it compiles clean then you upload to the board. I don't have that board in my board manager, so I have no idea what is happening. I have loaded those type of sketches onto my GPS board and it works.

@madmike970 There is nowhere in that sketch where that stuff is printed, it's just normal GPS stuff. Those are pins. Has the GPS had time to discover where it's located yet, if it's a new GPS from China, it will takle many hours becasue it has to start searching from it's last known position in China before it finds where you are at. I am talking hours, maybe a good part of the day.

@madmike970 You may want to read the following for a better explanation of what I was giving you. I think I left mine on overnight but not sure how long before or after before I got 'synched'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_to_first_fix

ive already gotten some successful results from the gps using an arduino uno.... i wanted to use a nano but the code and libraries wont fit... im trying to make a collar to track where my cat goes when she goes on adventure.. so an uno isnt really gonna work... i read some stuff about the pins not being the same label to the pin numbers in the code but like i said im a construction worker.... this is my maiden voyage and im not all that bright anyways 😛

@madmike970 What do you mean "won't fit", the information I am looking at basically says it should work. Just wire it the same using the same pin numbers.

@madmike970 Ok, that starts to make sense. 

Yes, you will need to understand what pins the original used then figure out what pins on the Nano to use. If I am right, it means reading the silk screen labels on the UNO then finding the same label on the NANO. Now adjust the code where it assigns pin numbers. 

Going back to your original post, what do you mean by copy paste etc, if you had it working on the uno, just go into the Tools menu select Board Manager then click on your ESP board or whichever one you choose, compile and then upload to that board after wiring it the same of course. There is no need to copy paste in this case. Very confusing.

Posted by: @madmike970

ive already gotten some successful results from the gps using an arduino uno.... i wanted to use a nano but the code and libraries wont fit... im trying to make a collar to track where my cat goes when she goes on adventure.

Both the Arduino Uno and Arduino Nano have 32K of SRAM. What made you think the code and libraries wouldn't fit on the Nano ?

@madmike970 AFAIK this is what you need in terms of wiring on the NANO. I am leaving out Grounds and +5V as they should be obvious.

LED

Pin 7 to a Led thru a 200ish ohm Resistor

GPS

Pin 3 to the GPS TX

Pin 4 to the GPS RX

SD Card adapter

Pin 5 to CS

Pin 11 to MOSI

Pin 12 to MISO

Pin 13 to SCK

Other than G and +5V that's it.