Windows

EVK:
Facet mosaic:
Postcard:
Torch:

There are a variety of 3rd party apps available for GIS and surveying for Android, iOS, and Windows. We will cover a few examples below that should give you an idea of how to get the incoming NMEA data into the software of your choice.

SurvPC

Be sure your device is paired over Bluetooth.

Select the Equip sub menu then GPS Rover

From the drop down, select NMEA GPS Receiver.

Select DGPS if you'd like to connect to an NTRIP Caster. If you are using the RTK Facet L-Band, or do not need RTK fix type precision, leave the model as Generic.

From the Comms submenu, click the Blueooth settings button.

Click Find Device.

You will be shown a list of devices that have been paired. Select the RTK device you want to connect to.

Click the Connect Bluetooth button, shown in red in the top right corner. The software will begin a connection to the RTK device. You'll see the MAC address on the RTK device changes to the Bluetooth icon indicating it's connected.

If SurvPC detects NMEA, it will report a successful connection.

You are welcome to enter the ARP (antenna reference point) and surveying stick length for your particular setup.

NTRIP Client

Note

If you are using a radio to connect Base to Rover, or if you are using the RTK Facet L-Band you do not need to set up NTRIP; the device will achieve RTK fixes and output extremely accurate location data by itself. But if L-Band corrections are not available, or you are not using a radio link, the NTRIP Client can provide corrections to this Rover.

If you selected 'DGPS' as the Model type, the RTK submenu will be shown. This is where you give the details about your NTRIP Caster such as your mount point, user name/pw, etc. For more information about creating your own NTRIP mount point please see Creating a Permanent Base

Enter your NTRIP Caster credentials and click connect. You will see bytes begin to transfer from your phone to the RTK device. Within a few seconds, the RTK device will go from ~300mm accuracy to 14mm. Pretty nifty, no?

What's an NTRIP Caster? In a nutshell, it's a server that is sending out correction data every second. There are thousands of sites around the globe that calculate the perturbations in the ionosphere and troposphere that decrease the accuracy of GNSS accuracy. Once the inaccuracies are known, correction values are encoded into data packets in the RTCM format. You, the user, don't need to know how to decode or deal with RTCM, you simply need to get RTCM from a source within 10km of your location into the RTK device. The NTRIP client logs into the server (also known as the NTRIP caster) and grabs that data, every second, and sends it over Bluetooth to the RTK device.

Don't have access to an NTRIP Caster? You can use a 2nd RTK product operating in Base mode to provide the correction data. Check out Creating a Permanent Base. If you're the DIY sort, you can create your own low-cost base station using an ESP32 and a ZED-F9P breakout board. Check out How to Build a DIY GNSS Reference Station](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-build-a-diy-gnss-reference-station). If you'd just like a service, Syklark provides RTCM coverage for $49 a month (as of writing) and is extremely easy to set up and use. Remember, you can always use a 2nd RTK device in Base mode to provide RTCM correction data but it will be less accurate than a fixed position caster.

Once everything is connected up, click the Green check in the top right corner.

Now that we have a connection, you can use the device, as usual, storing points and calculating distances.

Opening the Skyplot will allow you to see your GNSS details in real-time.

If you are a big fan of SurvPC please contact your sales rep and ask them to include SparkFun products in their Manufacturer drop-down list.

QGIS

QGIS is a free and open-source geographic information system software for desktops. It's available here.

Once the software is installed open QGIS Desktop.

Open the View Menu, then look for the 'Panels' submenu.

From the Panels submenu, enable 'GPS Information'. This will show a new panel on the left side.

At this point, you will need to enable TCP Server mode on your RTK device from the WiFi Config menu. Once the RTK device is connected to local WiFi QGIS will be able to connect to the given IP address and TCP port.

Above: From the subpanel, select 'gpsd'.

Enter the IP address of your RTK device. This can be found by opening a serial connection to the device. The IP address will be displayed every few seconds. Enter the TCP port to use. By default an RTK device uses 2947.

Press 'Connect'.

The device location will be shown on the map. To see a map, be sure to enable OpenStreetMap under the XYZ Tiles on the Browser.

Alternatively, a direct serial connection to the RTK device can be obtained. Use a USB cable to connect to the RTK device. See Output GNSS Data over USB for more information.

Other GIS Packages

Hopefully, these examples give you an idea of how to connect the RTK product line to most any GIS software. If there is other GIS software that you'd like to see configuration information about, please open an issue on the RTK Firmware repo and we'll add it.

What's an NTRIP Caster?

In a nutshell, it's a server that is sending out correction data every second. There are thousands of sites around the globe that calculate the perturbations in the ionosphere and troposphere that decrease the accuracy of GNSS accuracy. Once the inaccuracies are known, correction values are encoded into data packets in the RTCM format. You, the user, don't need to know how to decode or deal with RTCM, you simply need to get RTCM from a source within 10km of your location into the RTK device. The NTRIP client logs into the server (also known as the NTRIP caster) and grabs that data, every second, and sends it over Bluetooth to the RTK device.

Where do I get RTK Corrections?

Be sure to see Correction Sources.

Don't have access to an NTRIP Caster or other RTCM correction source? There are a few options.

The SparkFun RTK Facet L-Band gets corrections via an encrypted signal from geosynchronous satellites. This device gets RTK Fix without the need for a WiFi or cellular connection.

Also, you can use a 2nd RTK product operating in Base mode to provide the correction data. Check out Creating a Permanent Base.

If you're the DIY sort, you can create your own low-cost base station using an ESP32 and a ZED-F9P breakout board. Check out How to Build a DIY GNSS Reference Station.

There are services available as well. Syklark provides RTCM coverage for $49 a month (as of writing) and is extremely easy to set up and use. Point One also offers RTK NTRIP service with a free 14 day trial and easy to use front end.