diff --git a/adafruit_gps.py b/adafruit_gps.py
index a28a065..36a17d2 100644
--- a/adafruit_gps.py
+++ b/adafruit_gps.py
@@ -546,7 +546,7 @@ def _parse_gsa(self, talker, data):
             self.fix_quality_3d = 0
             return False  # Params didn't parse
 
-        talker = talker.decode("ascii")
+        talker = str(talker, "ascii")
 
         # Selection mode: 'M' - manual, 'A' - automatic
         self.sel_mode = data[0]
@@ -585,7 +585,7 @@ def _parse_gsv(self, talker, data):
         if data is None:
             return False  # Params didn't parse
 
-        talker = talker.decode("ascii")
+        talker = str(talker, "ascii")
 
         # Number of messages
         self.total_mess_num = data[0]