Which NMEA sentence should I use

Question

The GPS I am using outputs multiple NMEA sentences which I can use for positional data. (GPGGA and GPRMC). Is there a reason I should use one over the other? Should I check them both and compare the data? Can I just pick one to use arbitrarily?

At this point I am only interested in lat/lon and time.

If it's not clear what I'm asking, let me know and I'll try to clarify.

Answer 1

The data in both will be the same. If they aren't, it has to do with the timing of sending the messages.

The reason they are both sent is for compatibility, and because they do contain different data for some fields. If you just need lat/lon and time, then either sentence is fine. I would go with GPRMC, as all NMEA GPS units should send this sentence.