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How am I able to check which devices I'm interfacing with?

I work at a microwave technology company and part of my job is developing software to interface with the devices we use using Python, specifically PyVISA. I'm currently trying to write a program that interfaces with several different types of devices that have different command structures, so before executing the code, I want to be able to check which type of device is connected (all use GPIB addresses). How can I go about doing this? Right now I've been trying to send identity commands using nested try/except blocks as shown below because the different devices have different identify commands:
import pyvisa as visa
address = "GPIB0::6::INSTR"
rm = visa.ResourceManager()
device = rm.open_resource(address)
try:
device.write("*IDN?")
identity = device.read()
except visa.errors.VisaIOError:
try:
device.write("I")
device.write("STB?")
identity = device.read()
except visa.errors.VisaIOError:
try:
device.write("ID?")
identity = device.read()
except visa.errors.VisaIOError:
identity = "Unknown"
print(identity)
The device I'm testing the code with requires the device.write("ID?") version of this command, however instead of returning the identity, it's returning the numerical error code. Is there a better way to implement this?

I would remove the try/except block and see exactly where the device is failing. Since you are getting a numerical error code, I'm betting the error flow is as follows:
The script sends *IDN?
The device doesn't recognize this command and goes into an error state.
The script sends I
The device is already in an error state and doesn't respond.
The script queries STB?
The device reports the error it logged earlier.
The script interprets this response as the device name, even though it's the answer to the Status Byte query.
I find it's often better to write the identity function specifically for each device. For example: def identity_dev1() for a device that needs *IDN? and def identity_dev2() for a device that needs I and so on.
If you want a monolithic function that can do all of the above, you'll have to change the way you handle the status byte. Here's an example:
import pyvisa as visa
address = "GPIB0::6::INSTR"
rm = visa.ResourceManager()
device = rm.open_resource(address)
identity = None
try:
device.write("*IDN?")
identity = device.read()
except visa.errors.VisaIOError:
device.write("*RST") # get rid of the error state and try something else
if not identity:
try:
device.write("ID?")
identity = device.read()
except visa.errors.VisaIOError:
device.write("*RST") # get rid of error state
if not identity:
identity = "Unknown"
In general it's better to not do extra try/except behavior over GPIB communication. Trying the wrong command takes extra time and can put the instrument in an error state. In the code above, I use the *RST command to leave the error state, but this isn't guaranteed to work on all tools.
print(identity)

Python pyserial one write delay

I'm having a weird issue with pyserial, using Python 3.6.9, running under WSL Ubuntu 18.4.2 LTS
I've set up a simple function to send GCODE commands to a serial port:
def gcode_send(data):
print("Sending: " + data.strip())
data = data.strip() + "\n" # Strip all EOL characters for consistency
s.write(data.encode()) # Send g-code block to grbl
grbl_out = s.readline().decode().strip()
print(grbl_out)
It sort of works, but every command I send is 'held' until the next is sent.
e.g.
I send G0 X0 > the device doesn't react
I send G0 X1 > the device reacts to G0 X0
I send G1 X0 > the device reacts to G0 X1
and so on...
My setup code is:
s = serial.Serial(com, 115200)
s.write("\r\n\r\n".encode()) # Wake up grbl
time.sleep(2) # Wait for grbl to initialize
s.flushInput() # Flush startup text in serial input
I can work around the delay for now, but it's quite annoying and I can't find anyone else experiencing the same. Any idea what could be causing this?

There might be a lot of problems here, but rest assured that the pyserial is not causing it. It uses the underlying OS's API to communicate with the UART driver. That being said you first have to test your code with real Linux to see whether WSL is causing it. I.e. whether a Linux and Windows UART buffers are correctly synced.
I am sorry that I cannot tell whether a problem is in your code or not because I do not know the device you are using, so I cannot guess what is happening on its end of communication channel. Have in mind that Windows alone can act weirdly in best of circumstances, so, prepare yourself for some frustrations here. Check your motherboard or USB2Serial converter drivers or whatever hw you are using.
Next thing, you should know that sometimes, communication gets confusing if timeouts aren't set. Why? Nobody really knows. So try setting timeouts. Check whether you need software Xon/Xoff turned on or not, and other RS232 parameters that might be required by the device you are communicating with.
Also, see what is going on with s.readline(), I wouldn't personally use it. Timeouts might help or you can use s.read(1024) with timeouts. I do not remember right now, but see whether pyserial supports asynchronous communication. If it does, you can try using it instead of standard blocking mode.
Also, check whether you have to forcefully flush the serial buffer after s.write() or add a sleep after it. It might happen that the device doesn't get the message but the read request is activated. As the device didn't receive the command it doesn't respond. After you send another command, IO buffer is flushed and the previous one is delivered and so forth. Serial communication is fun, but when it hits a snag it can be a real P in the A, believe me.
Ow, a P.S. Check whether the device sends "\r\n\r\n" or "\r\n" only, or "\r" or "\n" in response. s.readline() might get confused. For a start, try putting there two s.readline()s one after another and print out each output. If the device sends double EOL then the one s.readline() is stopping on the empty line and your program receives an empty response, when you send another command s.readline() goes through the buffer and returns a full line that is already there but not read before.

Here it goes. The code promissed in the comment. Big portions of it removed and error checks too.
It is a typing terminal for using PyS60 Python console on Nokia smartphones in the Symbian series via bluetooth. Works fantastically.
from serial import *
from thread import start_new_thread as thread
from time import sleep
import sys, os
# Original code works on Linux too
# The following code for gettin one character from stdin without echoing it on terminal
# has its Linux complement using tricks from Python's stdlib getpass.py module
# I.e. put the terminal in non-blocking mode, turn off echoing and use sys.stdin.read(1)
# Here is Win code only (for brevity):
import msvcrt
def getchar ():
return msvcrt.getch()
def pause ():
raw_input("\nPress enter to continue . . .")
port = raw_input("Portname: ")
if os.name=="nt":
nport = ""
for x in port:
if x.isdigit(): nport += x
port = int(nport)-1
try:
s = Serial(port, 9600)
except:
print >> sys.stderr, "Cannot open the port!\nThe program will be closed."
pause()
sys.exit(1)
print "Port ready!"
running = 1
def reader():
while running:
try:
msg = s.read()
# If timeout is set
while msg=="":
msg = s.read()
sys.stdout.write(msg)
except: sleep(0.001)
thread(reader,())
while 1:
try: c = getchar()
except Exception, e:
running = 0
print >> sys.stderr, e
s.write('\r\n\x04')
break
if c=='\003' or c=='\x04':
running = 0
s.write('\r\n\x04')
break
s.write(c)
s.close()
pause()

pySerial Capturing a long response

Hi guys I'm working a on script that will get data from a host using the Data Communications Standard (Developed by: Data Communication Standard Committee Lens Processing Division of The Vision Council), by serial port and pass the data into ModBus Protocol for the device to perform it's operations.
Since I don't fiscally have access to the host machine I'm trying to develop a secondary script to emulate the host. I am currently on the stage where I need to read a lot of information from the serial port and I get only part of the data. I was hoping to get the whole string sent on the send_job() function on my host emulator script.
Guys also can any of you tell me if this would be a good approach? the only thing the machine is supposed to do is grab 2 values from the host response and assign them to two modbus holding registers.
NOTE: the initialization function is hard coded because it will always be the same and the actual response data will not matter except for status. Also the job request is hard coded i only pass the job # that i get from a modbus holding register, the exact logic on how the host resolved this should not matter i only need to send the job number scanned from the device in this format.
main script:
def request_job_modbus(job):
data = F'[06][1c]req=33[0d][0a]job={job}[0d][0a][1e][1d]'.encode('ascii')
writer(data)
def get_job_from_serial():
response = serial_client.read_all()
resp = response.decode()
return resp
# TODO : SEND INIT SEQUENCE ONCE AND VERIFY IF REQUEST status=0
initiation_request()
init_response_status = get_init_status()
print('init method being active')
print(get_init_status())
while True:
# TODO: get job request data
job_serial = get_job_from_serial()
print(job_serial)
host emulation script:
def send_job():
job_response = '''[06][1c]ans=33[0d]job=30925[0d]status=0;"ok"[0d]do=l[0d]add=;2.50[0d]ar=1[0d]
bcerin=;3.93[0d]bcerup=;-2.97[0d]crib=;64.00[0d]do=l[0d]ellh=;64.00[0d]engmask=;613l[0d]
erdrin=;0.00[0d]erdrup=;10.00[0d]ernrin=;2.00[0d]ernrup=;-8.00[0d]ersgin=;0.00[0d]
ersgup=;4.00[0d]gax=;0.00[0d]gbasex=;-5.30[0d]gcrosx=;-7.96[0d]kprva=;275[0d]kprvm=;0.55[0d]
ldpath=\\uscqx-tcpmain-at\lds\iot\do\800468.sdf[0d]lmatid=;151[0d]lmatname=;f50[0d]
lnam=;vsp_basic_fh15[0d]sgerin=;0.00[0d]sgerup=;0.00[0d]sval=;5.18[0d]text_11=;[0d]
text_12=;[0d]tind=;1.53[0d][1e][1d]'''.encode('ascii')
writer(job_response)
def get_init_request():
req = p.readline()
print(req)
request = req.decode()[4:11]
# print(request)
if request == 'req=ini':
print('request == req=ini??? <<<<<<< cumple condicion y enviala respuesta')
send_init_response()
send_job()
while True:
# print(get_init_request())
get_init_request()
what I get in screen: main script
init method being active
bce
erd
condition was met init status=0
outside loop
ers
condition was met init status=0
inside while loop
trigger reset <<<--------------------
5782
`:lmatid=;151[0d]lmatname=;f50[0d]
lnam=;vsp_basic_fh15[0d]sgerin=;0.00[0d]sgerup=;0.00[0d]sval=;5.18[0d]text_11=;[0d]
text_12=;[0d]tind=;1.53[0d][1e][1d]
outside loop
condition was met init status=0
outside loop
what I get in screen: host emulation script
b'[1c]req=ini[0d][0a][1e][1d]'
request == req=ini??? <<<<<<< cumple condicion y enviala respuesta
b''
b'[06][1c]req=33[0d][0a]job=5782[0d][0a][1e][1d]'
b''
b''
b''
b''
b''
b''

I'm suspect you're trying to write too much at once to a hardware buffer that is fairly small. Especially when dealing with low power hardware, assuming you can stuff an entire message into a buffer is not often correct. Even full modern PC's sometimes have very small buffers for legacy hardware like serial ports. You may find when you switch from development to actual hardware, that the RTS and DTR lines need to be used to determine when to send or receive data. This will be up to whoever designed the hardware unfortunately, as they are often also ignored.
I would try chunking your data transfer into smaller bits as a test to see if the whole message gets through. This is a quick and dirty first attempt that may have bugs, but it should get you down the right path:
def get_job_from_serial():
response = b'' #buffer for response
while True:
try:
response += serial_client.read() #read any available data or wait for timeout
#this technically could only be reading 1 char at a time, but any
#remotely modern pc should easily keep up with 9600 baud
except serial.SerialTimeoutException: #timeout probably means end of data
#you could also presumably check the length of the buffer if it's always
#a fixed length to determine if the entire message has been sent yet.
break
return response
def writer(command):
written = 0 #how many bytes have we actually written
chunksize = 128 #the smaller you go, the less likely to overflow
# a buffer, but the slower you go.
while written < len(command):
#you presumably might have to wait for p.dtr() == True or similar
#though it's just as likely to not have been implemented.
written += p.write(command[written:written+chunksize])
p.flush() #probably don't actually need this
P.S. I had to go to the source code for p.read_all (for some reason I couldn't find it online), and it does not do what I think you expect it does. The exact code for it is:
def read_all(self):
"""\
Read all bytes currently available in the buffer of the OS.
"""
return self.read(self.in_waiting)
There is no concept of waiting for a complete message, it just a shorthand for grab everything currently available.

Connecting via USB/Serial port to Newport CONEX-PP Motion Controller in Python

I'm having trouble getting my Windows 7 laptop to talk to a Newport CONEX-PP motion controller. I've tried python (Spyder/Anaconda) and a serial port streaming program called Termite and in either case the results are the same: no response from the device. The end goal is to communicate with the controller using python.
The controller connects to my computer via a USB cable they sold me that is explicitly for use with this device. The connector has a pair of lights that blink when the device receives data (red) or sends data (green). There is also a packaged GUI program that comes with the device that seems to work fine. I haven't tried every button, the ones I have tried have the expected result.
The documentation for accessing this device is next to non-existant. The CD in the box has one way to connect to it and the webpage linked above has a different way. The first way (CD from the box) creates a hierarchy of modules that ends in a module it does not recognize (this is a code snippet provided by Newport):
import sys
sys.path.append(r'C:\Newport\MotionControl\CONEX-PP\Bin')
import clr
clr.AddReference("Newport.CONEXPP.CommandInterface")
from CommandInterfaceConexPP import *
import System
instrument="COM5"
print 'Instrument Key=>', instrument
myPP = ConexPP()
ret = myPP.OpenInstrument(instrument)
print 'OpenInstrument => ', ret
result, response, errString = myPP.SR_Get(1)
That last line returns:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "< ipython-input-2-5d824f156d8f >", line 2, in
result, response, errString = myPP.SR_Get(1)
TypeError: No method matches given arguments
I'm guessing this is because the various module references are screwy in some way. But I don't know, I'm relatively new to python and the only time I have used it for serial communication the example files provided by the vendor simply worked.
The second way to communicate with the controller is via the visa module (the CONEX_SMC_common module imports the visa module):
import sys
sys.path.append(r'C:\Newport\NewportPython')
class CONEX(CONEXSMC): def __init__(self):
super(CONEX,self).__init__() device_key = 'com5'
self.connect=self.rm.open_resource(device_key, baud_rate=57600, timeout=2000, data_bits=8, write_termination='\r\n',read_termination='\r\n')
mine.connect.read()
That last mine.connect.read() command returns:
VisaIOError: VI_ERROR_TMO (-1073807339): Timeout expired before operation completed.
If, instead, I write to the port mine.connect.write('VE') the light on the connector flashes red as if it received some data and returns:
(4L, < StatusCode.success: 0 >)
If I ask for the dictionary of the "mine" object mine.__dict__, I get:
{'connect': <'SerialInstrument'(u'ASRL5::INSTR')>,
'device_key': u'ASRL5::INSTR',
'list_of_devices': (u'ASRL5::INSTR',),
'rm': )>}
The ASRL5::INSTR resource for VISA is at least related to the controller, because when I unplug the device from the laptop it disappears and the GUI program will stop working.
Maybe there is something simple I'm missing here. I have NI VISA installed and I'm not just running with the DLL that comes from the website. Oh, I found a Github question / answer with this exact problem but the end result makes no sense, the thread is closed after hgrecco tells him to use "open_resource" which is precisely what I am using.
Results with Termite are the same, I can apparently connect to the controller and get the light to flash red, but it never responds, either through Termite or by performing the requested action.
I've tried pySerial too:
import serial
ser = serial.Serial('com5')
ser.write('VE\r\n')
ser.read()
Python just waits there forever, I assume because I haven't set a timeout limit.
So, if anyone has any experience with this particular motion controller, Newport devices or with serial port communication in general and can shed some light on this problem I'd much appreciate it. After about 7 hours on this I'm out of ideas.

After coming back at this with fresh eyes and finding this GitHub discussion I decided to give pySerial another shot because neither of the other methods in my question are yet working. The following code works:
import serial
ser = serial.Serial('com5',baudrate=115200,timeout=1.0,parity=serial.PARITY_NONE, stopbits=serial.STOPBITS_ONE, bytesize=serial.EIGHTBITS)
ser.write('1TS?\r\n')
ser.read(10)
and returns
'1TS000033\r'
The string is 9 characters long, so my arbitrarily chosen 10 character read ended up picking up one of the termination characters.
The problem is that python files that come with the device, or available on the website are at best incomplete and shouldn't be trusted for anything. The GUI manual has the baud rate required. I used Termite to figure out the stop bit settings - or at least one that works.

3.5 years later...
Here is a gist with a class that supports Conex-CC
It took me hours to solve this!
My device is Conex-CC, not PP, but it's seem to be the same idea.
For me, the serial solution didn't work because there was absolutely no response from the serial port, either through the code nor by direct TeraTerm access.
So I was trying to adapt your code to my device (because for Conex-CC, even the code you were trying was not given!).
It is important to say that import clr is based on pip install pythonnet and not pip install clr which will bring something related to colors.
After getting your error, I was looking for this Pythonnet error and have found this answer, which led me to the final solution:
import clr
# We assume Newport.CONEXCC.CommandInterface.dll is copied to our folder
clr.AddReference("Newport.CONEXCC.CommandInterface")
from CommandInterfaceConexCC import *
instrument="COM4"
print('Instrument Key=>', instrument)
myCC = ConexCC()
ret = myCC.OpenInstrument(instrument)
print('OpenInstrument => ', ret)
response = 0
errString = ''
result, response, errString = myCC.SR_Get(1, response, errString)
print('Positive SW Limit: result=%d,response=%.2f,errString=\'%s\''%(result,response,errString))
myCC.CloseInstrument()
And here is the result I've got:
Instrument Key=> COM4
OpenInstrument => 0
Positive SW Limit: result=0,response=25.00,errString=''�

For Conex-CC serial connections are possible using both pyvisa
import pyvisa
rm = pyvisa.ResourceManager()
inst = rm.open_resource('ASRL6::INSTR',baud_rate=921600, write_termination='\r\n',read_termination='\r\n')
pos = inst.query('01PA?').strip()
and serial
import serial
serial = serial.Serial(port='com6',baudrate=921600,bytesize=8,parity='N',stopbits=1,xonxoff=True)
serial.write('01PA?'.encode('ascii'))
serial.read_until(b'\r\n')
All the commands are according to the manual

Python GPS Module: Reading latest GPS Data

I have been trying to work with the standard GPS (gps.py) module in python 2.6. This is supposed to act as a client and read GPS Data from gpsd running in Ubuntu.
According to the documentation from GPSD webpage on client design (GPSD Client Howto), I should be able to use the following code (slightly modified from the example) for getting latest GPS Readings (lat long is what I am mainly interested in)
from gps import *
session = gps() # assuming gpsd running with default options on port 2947
session.stream(WATCH_ENABLE|WATCH_NEWSTYLE)
report = session.next()
print report
If I repeatedly use the next() it gives me buffered values from the bottom of the queue (from when the session was started), and not the LATEST Gps reading. Is there a way to get more recent values using this library? In a Way, seek the Stream to the latest values?
Has anyone got a code example using this library to poll the gps and get the value i am looking for ?
Here is what I am trying to do:
start the session
Wait for user to call the gps_poll() method in my code
Inside this method read the latest TPV (Time Position Velocity) report and return lat long
Go back to waiting for user to call gps_poll()

What you need to do is regularly poll 'session.next()' - the issue here is that you're dealing with a serial interface - you get results in the order they were received. Its up to you to maintain a 'current_value' that has the latest retrieved value.
If you don't poll the session object, eventually your UART FIFO will fill up and you won't get any new values anyway.
Consider using a thread for this, don't wait for the user to call gps_poll(), you should be polling and when the user wants a new value they use 'get_current_value()' which returns current_value.
Off the top of my head it could be something as simple as this:
import threading
import time
from gps import *
class GpsPoller(threading.Thread):
def __init__(self):
threading.Thread.__init__(self)
self.session = gps(mode=WATCH_ENABLE)
self.current_value = None
def get_current_value(self):
return self.current_value
def run(self):
try:
while True:
self.current_value = self.session.next()
time.sleep(0.2) # tune this, you might not get values that quickly
except StopIteration:
pass
if __name__ == '__main__':
gpsp = GpsPoller()
gpsp.start()
# gpsp now polls every .2 seconds for new data, storing it in self.current_value
while 1:
# In the main thread, every 5 seconds print the current value
time.sleep(5)
print gpsp.get_current_value()

The above answers are very inefficient and overly complex for anyone using modern versions of gpsd and needing data at only specific times, instead of streaming.
Most GPSes send their position information at least once per second. Presumably since many GPS-based applications desire real-time updates, the vast majority of gpsd client examples I've seen use the above method of watching a stream from gpsd and receiving realtime updates (more or less as often as the gps sends them).
However, if (as in the OP's case) you don't need streaming information but just need the last-reported position whenever it's requested (i.e. via user interaction or some other event), there's a much more efficient and simpler method: let gpsd cache the latest position information, and query it when needed.
The gpsd JSON protocol has a ?POLL; request, which returns the most recent GPS information that gpsd has seen. Instead of having to iterate over the backlog of gps messages, and continually read new messages to avoid full buffers, you can send a ?WATCH={"enable":true} message at the start of the gpsd session, and then query the latest position information whenever you need it with ?POLL;. The response is a single JSON object containing the most recent information that gpsd has seen from the GPS.
If you're using Python3, the easiest way I've found is to use the gpsd-py3 package available on pypi. To connect to gpsd, get the latest position information, and print the current position:
import gpsd
gpsd.connect()
packet = gpsd.get_current()
print(packet.position())
You can repeat the gpsd.get_current() call whenever you want new position information, and behind the scenes the gpsd package will execute the ?POLL; call to gpsd and return an object representing the response.
Doing this with the built-in gps module isn't terribly straightforward, but there are a number of other Python clients available, and it's also rather trivial to do with anything that can perform socket communication, including this example using telnet:
$ telnet localhost 2947
Trying ::1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
{"class":"VERSION","release":"3.16","rev":"3.16","proto_major":3,"proto_minor":11}
?WATCH={"enable":true}
{"class":"DEVICES","devices":[{"class":"DEVICE","path":"/dev/pts/10","driver":"SiRF","activated":"2018-03-02T21:14:52.687Z","flags":1,"native":1,"bps":4800,"parity":"N","stopbits":1,"cycle":1.00}]}
{"class":"WATCH","enable":true,"json":false,"nmea":false,"raw":0,"scaled":false,"timing":false,"split24":false,"pps":false}
?POLL;
{"class":"POLL","time":"2018-03-02T21:14:54.873Z","active":1,"tpv":[{"class":"TPV","device":"/dev/pts/10","mode":3,"time":"2005-06-09T14:34:53.280Z","ept":0.005,"lat":46.498332203,"lon":7.567403907,"alt":1343.165,"epx":24.829,"epy":25.326,"epv":78.615,"track":10.3788,"speed":0.091,"climb":-0.085,"eps":50.65,"epc":157.23}],"gst":[{"class":"GST","device":"/dev/pts/10","time":"1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","rms":0.000,"major":0.000,"minor":0.000,"orient":0.000,"lat":0.000,"lon":0.000,"alt":0.000}],"sky":[{"class":"SKY","device":"/dev/pts/10","time":"2005-06-09T14:34:53.280Z","xdop":1.66,"ydop":1.69,"vdop":3.42,"tdop":3.05,"hdop":2.40,"gdop":5.15,"pdop":4.16,"satellites":[{"PRN":23,"el":6,"az":84,"ss":0,"used":false},{"PRN":28,"el":7,"az":160,"ss":0,"used":false},{"PRN":8,"el":66,"az":189,"ss":45,"used":true},{"PRN":29,"el":13,"az":273,"ss":0,"used":false},{"PRN":10,"el":51,"az":304,"ss":29,"used":true},{"PRN":4,"el":15,"az":199,"ss":36,"used":true},{"PRN":2,"el":34,"az":241,"ss":41,"used":true},{"PRN":27,"el":71,"az":76,"ss":42,"used":true}]}]}
?POLL;
{"class":"POLL","time":"2018-03-02T21:14:58.856Z","active":1,"tpv":[{"class":"TPV","device":"/dev/pts/10","mode":3,"time":"2005-06-09T14:34:53.280Z","ept":0.005,"lat":46.498332203,"lon":7.567403907,"alt":1343.165,"epx":24.829,"epy":25.326,"epv":78.615,"track":10.3788,"speed":0.091,"climb":-0.085,"eps":50.65,"epc":157.23}],"gst":[{"class":"GST","device":"/dev/pts/10","time":"1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","rms":0.000,"major":0.000,"minor":0.000,"orient":0.000,"lat":0.000,"lon":0.000,"alt":0.000}],"sky":[{"class":"SKY","device":"/dev/pts/10","time":"2005-06-09T14:34:53.280Z","xdop":1.66,"ydop":1.69,"vdop":3.42,"tdop":3.05,"hdop":2.40,"gdop":5.15,"pdop":4.16,"satellites":[{"PRN":23,"el":6,"az":84,"ss":0,"used":false},{"PRN":28,"el":7,"az":160,"ss":0,"used":false},{"PRN":8,"el":66,"az":189,"ss":45,"used":true},{"PRN":29,"el":13,"az":273,"ss":0,"used":false},{"PRN":10,"el":51,"az":304,"ss":29,"used":true},{"PRN":4,"el":15,"az":199,"ss":36,"used":true},{"PRN":2,"el":34,"az":241,"ss":41,"used":true},{"PRN":27,"el":71,"az":76,"ss":42,"used":true}]}]}

Adding my two cents.
For whatever reason my raspberry pi would continue to execute a thread and I'd have to hard reset the pi.
So I've combined sysnthesizerpatel and an answer I found on Dan Mandel's blog here.
My gps_poller class looks like this:
import os
from gps import *
from time import *
import time
import threading
class GpsPoller(threading.Thread):
def __init__(self):
threading.Thread.__init__(self)
self.session = gps(mode=WATCH_ENABLE)
self.current_value = None
self.running = True
def get_current_value(self):
return self.current_value
def run(self):
try:
while self.running:
self.current_value = self.session.next()
except StopIteration:
pass
And the code in use looks like this:
from gps_poll import *
if __name__ == '__main__':
gpsp = GpsPoller()
try:
gpsp.start()
while True:
os.system('clear')
report = gpsp.get_current_value()
# print report
try:
if report.keys()[0] == 'epx':
print report['lat']
print report['lon']
time.sleep(.5)
except(AttributeError, KeyError):
pass
time.sleep(0.5)
except(KeyboardInterrupt, SystemExit):
print "\nKilling Thread.."
gpsp.running = False
gpsp.join()
print "Done.\nExiting."
You can also find the code here: Here and Here

I know its an old thread but just for everyone understanding, you can also use pyembedded python library for this.
pip install pyembedded
from pyembedded.gps_module.gps import GPS
import time
gps = GPS(port='COM3', baud_rate=9600)
while True:
print(gps.get_lat_long())
time.sleep(1)
https://pypi.org/project/pyembedded/