Here's the scenario:
I have a Spectra SP80 dish (w/o internal radio, although it does have a SIM card) that I want to use as a base. I have a Pacific Crest ADL Vantage Pro radio and the kit that goes with it (antenna, cables, etc.). I ordered a special y-cable for this to connect the ADL to the SP80 via lemo connectors and power to both via sae and a 12v car battery. Both units power up and I can obtain a position on the SP80 display.?ÿ
I want to use my Carlson BRx7 as a rover. This is where I falter and I believe it's due to my own lack of experience with any of these brands. I am using a Carlson Ranger 7 data collector (the one that looks like a TSC7) with SurvCE. I can't seem to get anywhere through the base or rover options within the data collector and my sales rep is rather awol. I don't blame him, we are between Christmas and New Year's.?ÿ
Where do I start with this? Can I make this work? Am I simply missing a radio frequency setting, baud rate, or am I going about this the wrong way? At this point I am unsure where to begin.
If you have always run the SP-80 (or BRx7 for that matter) as a network rover, then perhaps you're unfamiliar with the radio settings in SurvPC.?ÿ In your receiver settings, when you define the base as the SP-80, under the settings found on the RTK tab in the GPS Base settings, the ADL Vantage is an option.?ÿ i notice the baud rate and port are unalterable so be certain the ADL is set to the 19,200 baud rate specified in SurvPC.?ÿ The port specified is the COM port on the receiver, and is always port A.?ÿ The default message type is ATOM which is a Spectra Precision protocol, which is likely unavailable on the BRx7.?ÿ Therefore you'd need to select some other protocol, which is the language or message definition that the corrections are formatted to.
There is a "Tools button" at the right side of the Device specification field that allows you to define the system further.?ÿ The default is Trimtalk (a Trimble protocol), which I suppose you could use.?ÿ I would recommend that you use Satel protocols.?ÿ You need to know how your ADL is set up, which it conveniently shows on the display.?ÿ Everything must match.?ÿ Both need to be set to the same channel or frequency, the correction format (RTCMv3.0, for example) and the boxes for Forward Error Correction and Scrambling must be set the same.?ÿ does not particularly matter whether they are checked or not to work, but they MUST be set the same.
The other thing I see that is a bit perplexing to me is that there appears to be no provision in SurvPC for the RTCMv3.0MSM correction format, which is necessary to include the corrections for Galileo and BeiDou, which both of your units should track.?ÿ Doesn't mean it won't work, but it does mean you likely won't be using the extra birds.?ÿ This may be just enough to throw you off further, but the salient point is that the settings on both ends of the equation must be the same, with the exception of the fact that the ADL will broadcast and the BRx7 modem will receive.
i checked with someone more familiar with the SP-80 workings that I am.?ÿ I learned the the RCTMv3.0 protocol does support the corrections for Galileo and BeiDou satellites, which both receivers should track.?ÿ So, that is the correction format I would recommend.
If the modems in your receivers are compliant for the FCC regulations that went into full effect in 2013, mandating 12.5 KHz channel spacing for UHF radio modems, which may be presumed to be what your receivers are equipped with, then I suggest that you select 4FSK instead of GMSK as the modulation setting in the radio setup in Carlson.?ÿ The other important thing is to make certain that your receivers are set to the same frequency.?ÿ Can be displayed in Carlson as either "channel #" or frequency.?ÿ The channel number assignment may not match from the SP-80 to the BRx7, so go by the frequency instead of channel number.
One last point: you'll be tempted to set the ADL base radio to the highest power output to get more range.?ÿ We often see as much as 4 miles from the 1-watt internal modems in the newer Topcon receivers, therefore the range limitations is typically more about terrain obstructions than it is the broadcast power of the base radio.?ÿ Therefore, run at a lower power setting most of the time.?ÿ It will protect the longevity of your ADL radio and, particularly in hot weather times, make it run much cooler.
@jerrys Wow. Thanks for the well-thought reply. I was in the process of replying to the first one when the site logged me out ?????ÿ
I was with you through most of this and you are confirming some of this with your latest comments. Trouble is when I go to configure my radio my entire channel list is chan 0, freq. 0.0000. My ADL is set to 6: 462.40000. Why would I not have any values in my pulldown menu?
Hi, I got a new gps similar to BRx7 with internal 410-470 Mhz Uhf modem that I want to use as a base station.
The antenna that came with is 430-450Mhz but I want to set the base at 450-470 Mhz range because my rover works at that range. Should I get a new 450-470 Mhz antenna for the base station? Will it work if i use the current antenna?
Well I'm happy to say that I got this working this morning. It turned out to be my own unfamiliarity with this configuration and equipment, I had never used PC's radios and I had to go through all the settings in the radio side by side with my base setup in the Ranger 7. Now I'm getting a position from the SP80 as a base and it transmits to the BRx7. I know have Fixed+ and my surveyor in the field is happier! If anyone needs help with this setup I would be glad to run through data collector settings when I have the equipment in the office.
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Now I want to find a good deal on a TSC3 collector so that I can use the SP80 as a spare rover when my crew doesn't need it. CRTN is a good enough option if I'm just doing some recon.?ÿ
Hello Drew
Could you please post the radio setting that got you up and running?
Thank you!
@rtkinit The key was the data protocol: in this case Trans EOT. Forward Error Correction (FEC) was on and I have channel 6 set on the radio. Frequency is 462.40000MHz.
Are you running this setup? It has been patchy at best for us; as a matter of fact, I purchased a BRx6 today to replace the SP80.?ÿ
