Today I am going to do some recon for some existing monuments. I just realized, though, that I do not have a data collector here, both are out in the field. I do have an R10 that has a cell modem and a VRS account. I just want to be able to navigate to the coordinates, don't need to measure anything...So, I had an idea for an app (android), maybe it already exists....
My idea is...connect the R10 to the VRS via the internal modem (this I do all the time). Set the R10 to output NMEA strings over BT. The phone would connect to the R10 by BT, and receive the NMEA strings (GGA) and use this to navigate to the point with cm accuracy (rather than using the internal GPS on the phone. There are navigation apps that you can use to navigate, but I have not found one that will let you use external NMEA inputs. All of this is easy to configure on the R10 via the webUI over wifi.?ÿ
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If anyone knows of an app that will do this, I would be interested...
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Trimble DL would allow you to start and stop static or fast-static observations on your R10, but I don't know if it will give real time positions.
For reconn all that is needed is a handheld, which is what I used in he early 2000's. I can recall entering coordinates at the office and watching the screen as I drove to the locations. I did not believe it as I?ÿwalked in a circle looking at the arrow, but darn as the circle got smaller there it was. No need for VRS or anything sophisticated. I still carry a Magellan Map 330 in the vehicle all the time.
Paul in PA
SuperSurv might fit your application. Here is a link:?ÿ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.supergeo.asd.supersurvlite.SuperSurv10
I have not used this in the past, but states that it has a stakeout feature.
I found others like that, but it uses the internal GPS as far as I can tell, although apparently you can get NTRIP corrections. I want it to use the external survey grade receiver (with NTRIP corrections on that unit).?ÿ
I can use the external GPS the way I want with my laptop and global mapper, but I want to just be able to navigate accurately (cm level) with my phone and external survey grade receiver.?ÿ
I do a lot of programming (on the PC), and I think it would be fairly easy to implement, but I have not done any android or mobile device programming.?ÿ
If I had some spare time....
Would it be possible that the R10 BT is "locked" to only Trimble devices? I saw this a couple of years ago on an albeit old ACU DC that only BT talked to Trimble devices, like a Nomad, and certainly not a current phone. However, I have seen this recently on a state-of-the-art multi-function sonar/chartplotter where the BT was locked to only the manufacturer's peripheral devices, whereas WiFi was "free" and indeed allowed an iPAD to parallel and control the sonar/chartplotter. (Generally, device to device BT seems to be a dog compared to WiFi).
Search for "ntrip client" on Google Play.
NTrip client is NOT what I am trying to do. That would mean getting corrections from a base or network and applying them to the GPS observations on the phone. I have the lefebure Ntrip client on my phone, works great. As I said I want positions from the external GPS.?ÿ
Paul: I challenge you to find a buried pin (without a metal locator, it is also out in the field) under 1 foot of earth using a handheld GPS without digging a large hole several feet in diameter in someone's yard. If I use a VRS I can quickly get within 0.1 feet and probe down and find the point easily, or determine that it is not there. I always have a small Garmin handheld in my vest pocket that I use in the field, and it will definitely help when the mon is flush or easily found. As it turns out all of the mons I looked for yesterday were flush and easily found with the handheld. In fact, I used the handheld in Ecuador to roughly locate several potential water line routes we wanted to use, and then we went back with the R10 to survey the profile of the route we decided to use.?ÿ
I have not tried to connect the receiver to the phone, but there is a BT I/O configuration screen...I will post that screen later when the unit gets back in the office, and I will see if it will connect to at least my laptop, which I have never tried. I use a small?ÿ external BT GPS receiver with the laptop, streaming NMEA strings to Global Mapper. The same SHOULD work from the R10, but then again it is Trimble, they can get somewhat proprietary...
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The benefit of Android is that positioning can be provided to the location manager, which is what most apps would utilize for positioning. If Trimble has an Android app for the R10, it could also send the corrected positioning data to the location manager.?ÿ
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Here is the BT NMEA output config page...
I just tried connecting my laptop to the R10 via BT, it created a bunch of COM ports but I don't see any "services".
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When I have some time I will try to get it working in my workshop, just not enough time today.?ÿ
That looks interesting, I will have a closer look
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