Rover options

This topic describes any field that may appear in the Rover options screen.

The fields available in the Rover options screen are similar for any survey type selected in the Survey type field, but the fields available will change depending on the GNSS receiver selected from the Type field in the Antenna settings group box.

For best results and simpler configuration, use the same type of receiver at the rover and at the base.

Select the type of survey you want to use. The rest of the fields in the screen update to reflect the survey type selected.

Generally, when a GNSS surveying system setup consists of one base and one rover receiver, make sure that the survey type selected in the Rover options field and the Base options field is the same. However, when there are multiple rovers, you can have various configurations but make sure that if the rover is logging raw data your base station is also logging raw data.

If the software is not connected to a GNSS receiver, select the antenna from the list of antennas in the Type field. The Part number field automatically displays the part number.

Select the correct measurement method for the equipment and type of survey. To set the default antenna height, enter a value in the Antenna height field. The Part number field automatically displays the part number.

Enter the serial number.

When using a GNSS receiver with a built-in inertial measurement unit (IMU):

  • Select the IMU tilt compensation check box to enable "always on" tilt compensation using the internal IMU sensors. For more information, see IMU tilt compensation.

  • Select the AR viewer check box to enable the Augmented reality viewer. This check box cannot be enabled if the IMU tilt compensation check box is not enabled. For more information, see Augmented reality viewer.

  • Select the eBubble functions check box to enable use of the GNSS eBubble when using GNSS-only mode such as when measuring an observed control point, or when the IMU is not aligned or IMU tilt compensation is disabled.

The Tilt group is shown only when the Survey type field is set to RTK or RTK & infill.

When using a Spectra Geospatial SP80 or SP85 receiver, select the Tilt functions check box so that the Tilt warnings and Auto‑measure options are available in the appropriate point style settings. Enabling this check box also makes the Compensated point measurement method available in the Measure screen.

You must define an elevation mask below which satellites are not considered. For kinematic applications, the default of 10° is ideal for both the base and rover.

For differential surveys where the base and rover are separated by more than 100 kilometers, Spectra Geospatial recommends that the base elevation mask be lower than the rover setting by 1° per 100 kilometers of separation between the base and rover. Generally, the base elevation mask should be no lower than 10°.

Define a PDOP mask for the rover. When the satellite geometry goes above the set PDOP mask, the software issues high PDOP warnings, pauses the time to initialize counter (PPK surveys), and suspends the measurement of a FastStatic point. Initialization and measurement resumes when the PDOP drops below the mask. The default value is 6.

The broadcast message format generated by the rover depends on the selected survey type.

  • For real‑time kinematic surveys, the format of the broadcast message can be CMR, CMR+, CMRx, or RTCM RTK.

    The default is CMRx. It is a compressed data format designed to handle the extra load of additional GNSS signals from modernized GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou. Only use CMRx if all receivers have the CMRx option installed. To check if this option is installed in the receiver, select Instrument / Receiver settings on the controller that is connected to the receiver, see Operating several base stations on one radio frequency.

    To operate several base stations on one frequency, use CMR+ or CMRx.

    Some receiver firmware produced after 2018 obsoleted the use of RTCM RTK v2.X messages. If you attempt to use such firmware in the rover receiver, then the RTK survey will not start in Origin because the receiver cannot decode incoming RTCM v2.x RTK messages. For more information, refer to the release notes for your receiver firmware.

  • For network RTK surveys, the broadcast message format can be from the following network RTK solutions: FKP (RTCM), VRS (CMR), VRS (RTCM).
  • Networked single base RTK is also supported in the form of "multi station" surveys with both CMR and RTCM formats. These surveys enable you to connect to a network service provider through the internet, and receive CMR or RTCM data from the nearest physical reference station in the network.

  • For RTX surveys, the Survey type must be RTK and the Broadcast format must be RTX (SV) or RTX (internet).

    If you select RTX (internet) as the Survey type, in the Rover data link screen of the survey style you must create a GNSS correction source for the RTX internet service, with the appropriate Mountpoint name selected. See To configure a rover internet data link.

    When configured to use RTX (internet) the software automatically switches to using RTX (SV) if the software cannot connect to the internet or if the internet connection is interrupted. Once the internet connection is restored, the software resumes using RTX (internet).

    For the survey style to automatically switch from RTX (internet) to RTX (SV), the firmware in the connected GNSS receiver must be version 6.28 or later for receivers that have Trimble ProPoint technology or version 5.68 or later if the receiver does not have Trimble ProPoint technology.

  • For real-time differential surveys, the Broadcast format must be RTCM for land‑based transmissions. For satellite‑based transmissions, select SBAS or OmniSTAR.

To use multiple base stations on one radio frequency, enter the first station index number you want to use in the Use station index field. For information about using multiple bases, see Operating several base stations on one radio frequency.

If you do not want to use multiple base stations on one frequency, enter the same station index number that you entered in the Base options screen.

To use any base station operating on the frequency set in the rover radio, tap Any.

If you tap Any and there are other base stations operating on the frequency, your rover survey could receive corrections from the wrong base.

When you use a receiver that supports multiple base stations on one radio frequency, the software asks you to specify the base to use when you start the rover survey. You can stop this question from appearing by clearing the Prompt for station index check box. The station index number in the Use station index field is used.

In a GNSS survey style, you can set the Station index for the base receiver to a number between 0 and 31, and you can set the Use station index for the rover receiver to Any or to the same number that the base is transmitting. When the rover station index is set to Any, the rover receiver will accept base data from any base. If you set the rover station index to match the same number as the base station index, the rover will accept data only from a base with the same station index.

The rover station default index value is Any. If you know your base station index, and you want to connect to only that base, make sure that you set the appropriate station index for the rover.

If the Prompt for station check box is selected, a list of base stations on your radio frequency appears when you start the survey.

When the radio link is down in a real‑time survey, the receiver can track and use signals from SBAS or OmniSTAR.

In an RTK survey, set the Auto tolerance switch to Yes to enable the software to calculate horizontal and vertical precision tolerances that meet the GNSS receiver's RTK specifications for the baseline length you are measuring. To change the precision level at which point storage is acceptable, set the Auto tolerance switch to No and then enter the required Horizontal tolerance and Vertical tolerance.

Enable Store RTK initialized only to store only initialized RTK solutions that meet the precision tolerances. Uninitialized solutions that meet the precision tolerances cannot be stored.

Disable Store RTK initialized only to store both RTK initialized and uninitialized solutions that meet the precision tolerances.

With survey types that involve postprocessing, if you are using:

  • an SP100 receiver, you can set the Logging device to the receiver or the controller.

  • any other Spectra Geospatial receiver, the logging device is set to the receiver.

IMU tilt compensation is available during RTK & infill surveys only when logging to the controller, not to the receiver.

To define the logging interval, enter a value in the Logging interval field. The base and rover logging intervals must correspond to (or be multiples of) each other.

When using an RTK and Infill survey type, the Logging interval is for the infill session only.

When using an RTK and data logging survey type, the Logging interval should be the same for each receiver – typically 1 second. The RTK interval remains at 1 second, regardless of the interval selected in the Logging interval field.

When using the SP100 GNSS receiver, Trimble recommends using a logging interval of 1s. There are many benefits in using this interval: more measurements enable faster convergence, better Ionoguard™ performance, increased redundancy for validation and more robust outlier detection (including cycle slip detection). This is especially important in challenging environments. Even with base data logging at a slower rate, rover data at a faster divisor of that base interval is beneficial.

To define the logging file name, clear the Auto file names check box and then enter the file name in the Logging file name field.

Select this option to log raw data in the RTK part of an RTK & infill survey type. Use this option if you want postprocessed data stored as a backup to your RTK survey. When this option is selected, switching between Infill and RTK modes does not suspend logging.

The Log data in RTK mode option is not available when using IMU tilt compensation in the RTK part of an RTK & infill survey.

To use observations from a GNSS constellation in a real-time or postprocessed survey, you must enable tracking for each signal type you want to use in both the Rover options and the Base options screens. See GNSS signal tracking options.