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Configure with Ethernet Over USB

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On the RTK Facet mosaic, it is possible to configure the mosaic-X5 GNSS module using Ethernet-over-USB and the X5's internal web page.

However, because the ESP32 does considerable configuration of the mosaic-X5 and the Boot and Current receiver configurations at power on, you need to use a little care when modifying the settings of the X5 using the internal web page. Nothing will break, but your changes could be overwritten at the next power cycle or if you Factory Reset the settings.

Download and install Septentrio's RxTools before continuing. This will also install the USB drivers needed to communicate with the mosaic-X5 using Ethernet-over-USB.

Connect the RTK Facet mosaic to your computer using a USB-C cable. Power on the RTK and wait a few seconds for the mosaic-X5 to boot up. The OLED display will show the Satellites In View count and Horizontal Accuracy once the mosaic-X5 is running. Open a web browser and navigate to 192.168.3.1. You should see the mosaic-X5's internal web page.

The mosaic-X5 internal web page

The mosaic-X5 internal web page

RTK Facet mosaic Essentials

You can do SO much with the mosaic-X5's internal web page that it is difficult to know where to begin. In this section we summarise the essentials: how the mosaic-X5 is interfaced; how it is configured by the ESP32 processor and the RTK Everywhere firmware; and how it is possible to change and save that configuration using the internal web page.

The mosaic-X5's internal web page is (probably) the easiest way to view and change the X5's configuration. But it is far from the only way. The configuration can also be changed using Sepentrio's RxTools. Or, if you study the mosaic-X5 Firmware Reference Guide, you can also do all of the following manually by entering Commands over any COM (Serial) port.

mosaic-X5 Interfaces

The following is a summary of the mosaic-X5's interfaces and how they can be accessed on the RTK Facet mosaic:

  • Ethernet-over-USB:
    • If you have followed the instructions above, the X5's internal web page can be viewed at 192.168.3.1. This address is fixed and cannot be changed. If any of your computer's other interfaces (WiFi, Ethernet) also use the 192.168.3.nnn subnet, you will run into conflicts. You will need to change the configuration of the other device to use a different subnet.
  • USB COM (Serial) Ports:
    • When connected via USB, two additional COM ports will appear. Internally to the X5, these are named USB1 and USB2. RxTools can connect directly to these ports. Or, if you wish, you can open a serial console / terminal emulator and enter commands directly. We recommend using USB2 since USB1 may have been configured for GNSS Output.
  • RADIO Port:
    • The RTK Facet mosaic RADIO port is connected directly to the mosaic-X5 COM2 serial / UART port. Normally this port carries NMEA and/or RTCM data to/from an external radio module. But, if you wish, you can enter commands direct to this port too. The baud rate can be changed through the menu; the default baud rate is 57600 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit).
  • DATA Port:
    • The RTK Facet mosaic DATA port is connected to the mosaic-X5 COM3 serial / UART port via a hardware multiplexer. Please see Ports Menu for more details, and the section on the Mux Channel in particular. Set the multiplexer to GNSS TX Out/RX In to connect X5 COM3 to the DATA port. The baud rate can be changed through the menu; the default baud rate is 230400 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit). Commands can be entered over this port too.
  • ESP32 and RTK Everywhere Firmware:
    • The ESP32 processor is connected to the mosaic-X5 COM1 and COM4 serial / UART ports. Configuration is performed over COM4. COM1 is used to: provide RTCM correction data to the X5 in Rover mode; carry NMEA and / or RTCM data from the X5 in Base mode. If you have a mobile phone connected to the RTK Facet mosaic over Bluetooth, corrections received over Bluetooth are pushed to the X5 on COM1. If the ESP32 is connected directly to WiFi, TCP (NTRIP) corrections received over WiFi are also pushed over COM1. COM1 also carries the raw L-Band correction stream from the X5, when the X5 is configured to use u-blox L-Band PointPerfect corrections (only available in the contiguous USA).

mosaic-X5 microSD

If you are familiar with the other SparkFun RTK products, you will know that most provide data storage on microSD card. On the RTK Facet mosaic, the microSD card is connected directly to the mosaic-X5. It is not connected to the ESP32 processor. This provides many advantages and some disadvantages.

The mosaic-X5 can be configured to log NMEA messages direct to SD card. It also supports data logging in RINEX format, opening a new log file every 15 mins / 1 hour / 6 hours / 24 hours automatically if desired.

Because the SD card is connected directly to the mosaic-X5 using SDIO, the X5 is able to log data at much higher rates than our other RTK products. The data does not need to be passed to the ESP32 via UART for logging via SPI.

But, because the SD card is connected directly to the mosaic-X5, it cannot be read easily by the ESP32 and so can not be used for RTK Everywhere ESP32 firmware updates.

The RTK Everywhere Firmware Data Logging Menu can be used to enable logging to microSD. The NMEA messages to be logged are defined via the Configure GNSS Messages menu. RINEX data can be logged too for PPP. Additionally, the mosaic-X5 supports a huge list of SBF binary-format "blocks". It is not possible to select SBF blocks for logging through the RTK Everywhere Firmware, but you can do it manually. We have provided details below.

The mosaic-X5 SD card must be mounted for data logging. But it can also be unmounted, causing it to appear as a mass-storage device ("thumb drive"). Files can be downloaded or uploaded very quickly over the USB interface. The RTK Everywhere Firmware does not currently support mounting / unmounting, but it is something we will add in the near future. However, you can unmount the SD card manually. We have described how to do this below.

Receiver Configuration

The mosaic-X5 supports five Receiver Configurations:

  • RxDefault
  • Boot
  • Current
  • User1
  • User2

RxDefault is read-only. During a Factory Reset, RxDefault is copied into both Current and Boot.

Boot contains the configuration which is loaded when the mosaic-X5 boots up. The RTK Everywhere Firmware modifies the Boot configuration to (e.g.): change the COM port settings; enable a stream of NMEA and RTCM messages.

Current is the current configuration. Commands can be used to alter the current configuration. Current can be copied to Boot if desired. During a Factory Reset the RTK Everywhere Firmware: copies RxDefault into both Current and Boot; makes changes to Current; and then copies Current to Boot.

If you want to save the X5 configuration after you have changed it, we recommend using either of the User1 or User2 Receiver Configurations. The RTK Everywhere firmware will modify the Current and Boot Receiver Configurations, but it leaves User1 and User2 for your use. Copy the Current configuration into (e.g.) User1 to save the modified configuration. You can restore it later by copying User1 into Current.

The Admin / Configurations tab can be used to view and copy the receiver configurations:

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page

Clicking on the small + icon next to Current will show how the current configuration differs from the RxDefault.

Expert Control

The Admin / Expert Control / Expert Console option can be very useful when modifying the mosaic-X5 configuration. It provides full access to configuration and makes it possible to use script files.

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page expert console

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page - Expert Console

Expert Control is so powerful, you may wish to use the Admin / User Administration settings to limit access to the X5's configuration. But be careful that you do not prevent the firmware on the ESP32 from accessing the COM ports!

The mosaic-X5 Firmware Reference Guide provides more details.

Streams

On the mosaic-X5, NMEA and SBF binary messages need to be allocated to Streams. Each stream can then be directed to one or more "Connector Descriptors (Cd)". Connector descriptors include: COM1-4 (the UART ports), USB1-2 (additional COM ports on USB), DSK1 (the "internal disk" which is the SD card), etc..

Each stream has one fixed interval. So, to output NMEA messages at two different rates, two streams are required. This is why Menu Messages is arranged the way it is.

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page current configuration

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page - Current Configuration

The RTK Everywhere firmware uses the following streams:

  • NMEA Streams:
    • 1: COM1 (ESP32)
    • 2: COM1 (ESP32)
    • 3: COM2 (RADIO port)
    • 4: COM2 (RADIO port)
    • 5: USB1 (USB COM)
    • 6: USB1 (USB COM)
    • 7: DSK1 (SD card)
    • 8: DSK1 (SD card)
  • By default:
    • NMEA GGA + GSA + GST + RMC are output on Streams 1,3,5,7 with an interval of 500ms
    • NMEA GSV is output on Streams 2,4,6,8 with an interval of 1s

NMEA Streams 9 & 10 are available for your own use. You could use them to log or output additional NMEA messages at alternate rates.

  • SBF Streams:
    • 1: COM1 (ESP32) - PVTGeodetic (position) + ReceiverTime (time) with an interval of 500ms
    • 2: DSK1 (SD card) - EXTEvent + ExtEventPVTCartesian (external events / triggers) on change
    • 3: COM1 (ESP32) - InputLink (incoming RTCM byte count) with an interval of 1s
    • 4: COM1 (ESP32) - ChannelStatus (SIV) + DiskStatus (SD free space) with an interval of 2s

SBF Streams 5-10 are available for your own use. You could use them to log or output additional SBF blocks at any desired rate.

RxTools can read and analyse SBF log files, and convert the data into other formats.

Custom Configuration

The RTK Everywhere Firmware does not currently provide a way of configuring (e.g.) the logging of additional SBF binary blocks. There are just so many, managing the menu choices alone would be quite a task.

However, it is straightforward to define your own SBF Stream and point it at DSK1 for logging.

The abbreviated steps are:

  • Select the Logging tab
  • In the General window, select "New SBF stream"
  • Select the interval (e.g. 1 sec)
  • Click the "Detailed selection" button to reveal the vast list of SBF blocks
  • Select (e.g.) PVTCart / PVTCartesian
  • Click OK
  • Click OK again to apply the changes

The PVTCartesian SBF block will now be logged to DSK1 (SD card) with an interval of 1 second. The firmware automatically selects SBF Stream 5, knowing it to be free.

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page custom configuration

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page - Custom Configuration

To save this new configuration:

  • Select the Admin / Configurations tab
  • In the Copy Configuration File window:
    • Select Current as the Source
    • Select User1 as the Target
  • Click OK to apply the changes

To 'load' or 'restore' your modified configuration later, copy User1 into Current.

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page

The mosaic-X5 configurations web page

If you are confident that the configuration meets your needs, you can copy Current into Boot so that your modified configuration is loaded at power-on.

Please note that a Factory Reset will overwrite the Boot configuration with the RTK Everywhere Firmware defaults. If you saved your configuration in User1 or User2, you can restore it from there later.

Please also note that changing from Rover Mode to Base Mode, or vice versa, will make small changes to the GNSS configuration too - predominantly the number of RTCM messages generated. You may notice issues if you save the configuration in Rover mode, and later restore it while in Base mode.

RxTools can read and analyse SBF log files, and convert the data into other formats.

Geodetic Datums

The mosaic-X5 supports multiple Geodetic Datums, including:

  • WGS84
  • ETRS89
  • NAD83
  • NAD83_PA
  • NAD83_MA
  • GDA94
  • GDA2020
  • User1 and User2

If you need to take measurements using datums other than WGS84, consider saving your modified configuration in User1 or User2, as described above.

Accessing the SD Card as Mass-Storage

As described above, the RTK Facet mosaic SD card is connected directly to the mosaic-X5. The SD card needs to be "mounted" to allow the X5 to log data to it. When "unmounted", the SD card is accessible as a mass-storage device ("thumb drive"). The RTK Everywhere Firmware does not yet support unmounting the SD card. But you can do this manually if desired:

  • Connect via USB
  • Facet mosaic is in Rover mode and logging NMEA to DSK1 by default
  • Open a web browser, navigate to 192.168.3.1
  • Select the Logging tab
  • Note NMEA is being logged at about 140MB/day
  • Click Unmount and confirm with Unmount
  • Note that the Internal Disk is not mounted and logging has stopped
  • On the OLED, the logging icon disappears. The pulse circle is displayed instead
  • The SD card pops up as mass-storage on USB. You can now transfer and delete files
  • Click Mount
  • Wait a few seconds
  • Logging resumes and the logging icon reappears on the OLED

The X5 is so clever, you don't even need to pause the DSK1 logging. It just figures it out itself, and resumes logging again when DSK1 is remounted.

You can also do it with commands:

  • Open Admin / Expert Control
  • In the Expert Console, enter emd,DSK1,Unmount
  • Go back to the Overview tab, note that the Internal Disk is not mounted
  • On the OLED, the logging icon disappears. The pulse circle is displayed
  • The SD card pops up as mass-storage on USB. You can now transfer and delete files
  • Return to the Expert Console, enter emd,DSK1,Mount
  • Wait a few seconds
  • Logging resumes and the logging icon reappears on the OLED