Intuicom or Base N aBox

Here are links to a few threads you might find useful:

Using a cell modem for a base

Intuicom bridge setup

Intuicom RTK bridge

John Hamilton and Shelby Griggs both have experience with these, so with any luck one or both will chime in soon.

Good luck!

Posted by: Jim Frame

John Hamilton and Shelby Griggs both have experience with these, so with any luck one or both will chime in soon.

Good luck!

I only have experience with the Intuicom can't speak to the BnB. The Intuicom bridges are solid gear, no issues in the couple years I have used them, I am currently getting my older 3G model factory upgraded to 4GLTE, not because of the need for speed, BUT because newer modem covering more phone carrier frequencies and they had a deal going that seemed very good, so we jumped on it.

Range with 900MHz seems almost as good as UHF with much less battery requirements, I have reached out about six miles in wide open NV desert and less distance but still considerable in the forest when ridge top to ridge top.

We bought the second bridge to allow base-socket mode (and I know there are less expensive roll your own ways to do that), BUT plug and play here, one bridge at the base hosting to the web and you can use phone network to connect to second bridge which I usually just leave in the truck and that last short distance to the rover is on the 900 MHz radio. In that scenario as long as base and rover are in cell coverage, you are only limited on RTK by limits of single base RTK. Of course they work well for using a RTN too providing for multiple rovers on a job site too with a single internet connection. Really a kind of Swiss army knife solution including creating a hot spot for phones and laptops in the field where often the industrial modem in the bridge with external antenna will have signal when your phone doesn't.

Thank you Shelby,?ÿ

It may take a minute for this old guy to wrap his head around all of this.?ÿ

I operate mostly in farm areas. most of the range is 2 miles max.?ÿ ?ÿMy big concern is the ability to leave the "Bridge" in the truck at all times and?ÿ travel about the large jobsite without degrading precision.?ÿ Also, I am often asked to?ÿ "drive" a grid for the owner so he can get an idea of slopes for irrigating.?ÿ ?ÿvertical accuracy about .2feet is fine for this.?ÿ

If I have the Bridge in my truck, does it take a little while to "catch up" before dishing out good corrections ??ÿ (for control points)?ÿ ?ÿ My plan is to limit the use of a base station because they "walk away" or take time to set up.?ÿ ?ÿ

It sounds like these "Bridges" work pretty well?ÿ I trust actual users more than sales people.?ÿ Thank you for taking time to respond?ÿ (and thanks to Jim Frame)?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿIntuicom has returned my inquiry,?ÿ Base N Box has not.?ÿ Perhaps thats the first answer ??ÿ

Meanwhile it appears that I must search out a network to join PLUS an cell service ??ÿ

Happy New year?ÿ

DH

?ÿ

Yes if you want to use the cell features (you can use the Bridge as just a radio too), you must?ÿhave a data plan with a cell carrier, Intuicom sells both a CDMA version and a GSM version, so that is the first choice and then the carrier plan. Intuicom has both external antennas (optionally) for both the cell signal and for the radio signal, I would think if you don't have too much terrain, the low power radio in the bridge should reach out 2 miles from your truck. No VHF/UHF/900 MHz radios penetrate through a mountain or ridge, they are all pretty much line of sight, thus broadcast antenna type, height and placement is probably your most important decision for picking a location. Once the bridge is setup and receiving the RTN corrections, there is no wait time and no noticeable degradation of accuracy as long as your rover is relatively close to the location that the RTN thinks you are. All RTN's need to know within reason where you are with the rover within the network, this is done with the bridge, by telling it where you are located and can be automatic with the included GPS input, the correction obviously is going to be slightly different the further you roam from the bridge position, whereas with a rover directly connected to the RTN, this can be updated as you roam, but only a one way communication from the bridge to you rover, so no position updates are possible back to the RTN server.

I am partial to the Leica RTN, primarily because I believe they have the largest footprint in North America (assuming you are in NA). Not inexpensive, but a reasonable cost per year, in Oregon the DOT runs a free Leica network, but most locations don't have such luxury!

Edit after seeing you are in CA, there may be other choices besides Leica, I believe Topcon and Trimble both also offer a subscription network and there might be PBO stations in your work area, some of which stream 1" data for free with an account and California Spatial Reference Center (CSRC)also has some streaming data, BOTH the PBO and CSRC data streams are single baseline ONLY as far as I know and PBO especially almost never streams current epoch of NAD83, not to say they can't be used, just be aware of the limitations.

SHG

SHG

?ÿ

I am hoping to keep the intuicom bridge in my truck as I move around the property.?ÿ Leaving it static kinda defeats the purpose and I'll be stuck in the same old limited range issue, but with added costs.?ÿ

Looks like the first thing to do is check on cell account pricing and network pricing. Leica pit their network at $5000 per year.?ÿ Trimble looks like $3600 per year?ÿ But I may be wrong.?ÿ

?ÿ

Thanks again?ÿ?ÿ

DLH

?ÿ

?ÿ

On the Leica SmartNet network, State of California is $2400/year for the state only and $4400/year for a nationwide subscription. This is price per rover.

SHG

Utah is $600 per year from state AGRC.

I finally had to get some modern equipment, had about got all the work from my Trimble 4700's possible.?ÿ Instead of going to some expensive radio equipment to "make the old stuff work" maybe you should consider upgrading to some equipment that uses the current technology.?ÿ I run my network gps from a hotspot WiFi from my cell phone.?ÿ Works great as long as you have cell service.?ÿ I had to make an investment to extend my carreer as a surveyor.?ÿ The new gps stuff really works well, I was amazed at the improvement.

Utah is $600 per year from state AGRC.

I finally had to get some modern equipment, had about got all the work from my Trimble 4700's possible.?ÿ Instead of going to some expensive radio equipment to "make the old stuff work" maybe you should consider upgrading to some equipment that uses the current technology.?ÿ I run my network gps from a hotspot WiFi from my cell phone.?ÿ Works great as long as you have cell service.?ÿ I had to make an investment to extend my carreer as a surveyor.?ÿ The new gps stuff really works well, I was amazed at the improvement.

Leon makes a fair point, however the Bridge does also allow comms when there is no cell coverage at least for a few miles if terrain allows, my GNSS gear is also getting a bit dated 10+ years, BUT was pretty cutting edge at the time with both GPS and GLONASS so it is still working well. One thing to consider is you need a rover receive only radio with the bridge too, so that adds to cost. while the bridge isn't magic, it will pull a cell signal out where a phone simply will not, so I find my cell coverage footprint to be better than with a phone or I suppose a "jetpack" device unless equipped with some sort of external antenna arrangements. In full disclosure, I have cell modems I can and do use sans the bridge in strong cell coverage areas, the bridge is my tool for at the fringes or out of cell coverage areas and in the western USA there are 1000's of square miles in that category.

SHG

I have been told by many (and now Leon) to upgrade equipment.?ÿ ?ÿBasically my old stuff has absolutely no market value.?ÿ I am also attempting to ease into retirement between now and ten years. Hopefully sooner.?ÿ So a big new investment seems overkill.?ÿ In central California there are three networks available.?ÿ There are two "free" so-called networks, however, they operate on closest base only.?ÿ Not sure how accurate these solutions may be.?ÿ ?ÿSince I still don't know if the "bridge" unit will travel along with me as I move about the job, it may be in my best interest to purchase some longer range legal UHF radios and continue as normal.?ÿ The trimtalk 900 spread spectrum radios have about a half mile range with line of sight.?ÿ I does get to be a pain setting out repeaters all over the place.?ÿ ?ÿThe intuicom seemed like a great option, but no guarantee it will operate the way I think it will.?ÿ

It is kinda difficult to get a demonstration, I think the reps at intuicom are very busy .

Thank you for the input.?ÿ

DLH

See if a local survey equipment dealer is also an Intuicom reseller, might be able to demo one locally. I have bought some stuff direct from Intuicom and also gone through a dealer, really unclear on how their dealer network is setup or if they are moving more to a direct model. I will say that support seems to be good direct and I have got excellent support on the products also from a dealer.

As far as your other concerns, the bridge works and works in multiple ways, if you however are always in cell coverage, then I would look at how your current rover could be used on a real time network via a cell connection. Maybe a little background on current gear and what type of work you typically perform would generate some ideas outside the "bridge" box thinking? I have definitely got way more than 1/2 mile from the Intuicom 900 Mhz SS radios built into the bridge, line of sight is 3-5 miles in my real world experience, BUT that means line of sight, setup on a high point with visual to rover. I believe in true line of sight from say mountain peak to mountain peak, 60 miles is achievable with 1w of RF with 900 Mhz spread spectrum radios. Probably isn't going to be practical for most surveyors, but height of antenna and using a directional antenna gets you way out there. In the VHF/UHF bands, 100 miles on 5w portable radios is possible too with line of sight and a directional antenna, mostly as surveyors we typically use an omni directional antenna of low height and just crank the power to 35w and hope for best, reality is terrain and obstructions are?ÿ going to limit the effectiveness of that solution.

SHG

as surveyors we typically use an omni directional antenna of low height and just crank the power to 35w

FWIW, my license allows me up to 70w of Effective Radiated Power (ERP), but with my groundplane antenna I hit that at around 22w coming out of the radio.

Thank you for the generous input.?ÿ ?ÿAfter all things considered, ie cost of intuition, network fees and cellular fees,?ÿ I've decided to seek out a Satel or Pacific Crest dealer.?ÿ But a rack for my survey truck. Buy a portable?ÿ lockable dog cage and use my old base.?ÿ?ÿ

If I work had and make enough money by summer's end, perhaps upgrading to a more user friendly system will be the best answer.?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿ The intuicom seemed like a great way to go until limitations and costs became apparent.?ÿ ?ÿIn essence,?ÿ I'm putting together "all y'alls" advice (as my Alabama daughter in law would say)?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿTrimble says I was the second gps rtk user in our northernCalifornia central region.?ÿ 1995.?ÿ It's been a wonderful tool. But like a worn out lenker rod, that can hardly be read,?ÿ it's probably time to move up.?ÿ?ÿ

I trust the radio dealers will hook me up with a system that can follow along with an upgrade ??ÿ

Thank you all again !!!!

If you are running Trimble gear, I would probably stick to Pacific Crest, Trimble owned subsidiary these days, I would expect the interface may be easier? While the Satel should work too, dealer support isn't as strong in my opinion and being in CA where both Trimble and Pac Crest reside there tends to be many more dealers.

SHG

SHG?ÿ

After engaging my brain, it was discovered that the 4700 internal radio can be configured to 12.5 KHz making it FCC legal.?ÿ ?ÿAll I need is a legal base radio and FCC liscense?ÿ

Indeed, I've contacted Trimble.?ÿ Hope to hear from them soon.?ÿ Thank you for the advice?ÿ

Dlh

Well , my attempts to move to UHF radio link with Trimble 4000 base and 4700 rover, have failed. Now I'm back to determining whether the intuicom will work the way I want it to.

I wish to use the unit in my truck on the fly as I move from point to point.?ÿ In other words, keep the rover AND the intuicom moving Together with me. I'll attach a gps antenna to the truck roof.?ÿ ?ÿThe rover will ride with me and I'll take it out to shoot my control etc.?ÿ

Does the intuicom unit work this way ? Or must the intuicom unit stay stationary like a base station ??ÿ

That is exactly the way the intuicom is meant to be used.?ÿ

Uh.?ÿ

Stationary or moving John ??ÿ?ÿ

I guess I left my question open ended sorry

?ÿ

D Harris?ÿ

If you are using a real time network, yes the Bridge can move along with you, if you are using it as the RF link between your own base and rover, then it would have to stay connected to your own base. The ONLY way it can roam with your rover is if you subscribe to a network AND of course also have a receive only radio hooked to your 4700. If you have a working rover radio for your 4700, then purchase the compatible model of Bridge which is probably going to be the version with UHF transmitter built in and of course you also have to decide if internet link will be via CDMA or GSM.

Unless you have a good knowledgeable Intuicom rep locally, I would highly suggest calling Florida Level and Transit and talking to Robert Asher, formerly he worked at Intuicom and is very knowledgeable about the ins and outs and he can sell you too, even in California as far as I know anyway.

SHG