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Configure with Serial

Torch: Feature Supported / EVK: Feature Supported

Note: Any serial menu that is shown below can also be accessed over Bluetooth. This makes any configuration of a device much easier in the field. Please see Configure With Bluetooth for more information.

To configure an RTK device using serial attach a USB C cable to the device.

RTK Torch

The USB Connector on the RTK Torch

The USB Connector on the RTK Torch

Pull back the silicone cover and insert a USB C and power on the device. Once the device is powered on, open the Device Manager in Windows and look under the Ports branch to see what COM port the device is assigned to.

SparkFun RTK Torch Two Enumerated Ports

SparkFun RTK Torch Two Enumerated Ports

Configuring the RTK device is done over the USB-Enhanced-SERIAL-B CH342 COM port via the serial text menu. Various debug messages are printed to this port at 115200bps and a serial menu can be opened to configure advanced settings.

Don't See 'USB-Enhanced-SERIAL-B CH342'? If you've never connected a CH34x device to your computer before, you may need to install drivers for the USB-to-serial converter. Check out our section on "How to Install CH340 Drivers" for help with the installation.

Terminal Window

Open a terminal window at 115200bps; you should see various status messages every second. Press any key to open the configuration menu. Not sure how to use a terminal? Check out our Serial Terminal Basics tutorial.

Note that some Windows terminal programs (e.g. Tera Term) may reboot the RTK device when the terminal connection is closed. You can disconnect the USB cable first to prevent this from happening.

Terminal showing the main menu

The Main Menu

Pressing any button will display the Main menu. The Main menu will display the current firmware version and the Bluetooth broadcast name. Note: When powered on, the RTK device will broadcast itself as either [Platform] Rover-XXXX or [Platform] Base-XXXX depending on which state it is in. The Platform is 'Torch', 'EVK', etc.

Pressing '1' or 's' for example, will open those submenus.

The menus will timeout after 10 minutes of inactivity, so if you do not press a key the device will exit the menu and return to reporting status messages.

Configuration menu open over Bluetooth

Configuration menu via Bluetooth

Note: Bluetooth-based configuration is supported. Please see Configure With Bluetooth for more information.

System Report

Sending the ~ character to the device over the serial port will trigger a system status report. This is a custom NMEA-style sentence, complete with CRC.

System status NMEA outputted to terminal

Terminal showing System Status

Below is an example system status report sentence:

$GNTXT,01,01,05,202447.00,270522,0.380,29,40.090355193,-105.184764700,1560.56,3,0,86*71

  • $GNTXT : Start of custom NMEA sentence
  • 01 : Number of sentences
  • 01 : Sentence number
  • 05 : Sentence type ID (5 is for System Status messages)
  • 202447.00 : Current hour, minute, second, milliseconds
  • 270522 : Current day, month, year
  • 0.380 : Current horizontal positional accuracy (m)
  • 29 : Satellites in view
  • 40.090355193 : Latitude
  • -105.184764700 : Longitude
  • 1560.56 : Altitude
  • 3 : Fix type (0 = no fix, 2 = 2D fix, 3 = 3D fix, 4 = 3D + Dead Reackoning, 5 = Time)
  • 0 : Carrier solution (0 = No RTK, 1 = RTK Float, 2 = RTK Fix)
  • 86 : Battery level (% remaining)
  • *71 : The completion of the sentence and a CRC

Note: This is a custom NMEA sentence, can vary in length, and may exceed the maximum permitted sentence length of 61 characters.