This guide will walk you through the setup process for your Navcom units. It covers individual unit setup as well as base/rover setup under the simplest possible configuration. If you want to customize the configuration, consult the reference manual
A) Preliminary setup steps
Perform the following preliminary steps to initialize your computer for communication with
your Navcom units:
1) Startup the Carlson product you intend to use.
2) Select CONFIGURE FIELD, from the FIELD Menu.
3) Select NAVCOM from the EQUIPMENT TYPE dropdown
4) Click the COMMUNICATION SETTINGS button. Verify that the SERIAL COM PORT is set to the port
you intend to use to communicate with your Navcom unit. (usually COM1).
5) In the COM PORT SETTINGS box, click DEFAULT, and verify that baud rate=19200,
parity=NONE, char length=8, and stop bits=1.
6) Click OK, and then click the GPS SETTINGS button.
7) Under GPS SETTINGS, set your HRMS and VRMS tolerance. For single-unit setup,
these numbers should be at least 10. For base/rover configuration, they should be around 0.01.
8) Under PROJECTION TYPE, select the coordinate plane you wish to use. For state plane,
make sure you choose the proper ZONE.
9) Click OK and then click EXIT
B) Single-unit setup (no corrections)
Before attempting a multi-unit setup, it is recommended that you first try setting up your Navcom unit to output an uncorrected position. The steps to do so are explained here:
1) Mount your GPS Antenna on a tripod in a place where its view of the sky is not obstructed.
2) If your antenna is separate from your receiver, connect your antenna to your receiver's AN
TENNA port. (This step can be skipped for the RT-3010S, and other all-in-one models)
3) Plug your receiver into a power supply, or insert fully charged
batteries into the battery ports. (Not all units have battery ports).
4) Turn your receiver on by holding down the power button for a few seconds, or until the status lights flash on.
5) Use the serial port cable to connect your computer to port A of your
Navcom unit. Make sure the port on your computer that you use
corresponds to the one you chose during preliminary setup.
6) Under the FIELD menu, choose EQUIPMENT SETUP.
7) If a PORT SETUP window pops up, set CONTROL PORT to PORT A, and RTK DATA PORT to RADIO PORT.
8) Setup is now complete. Steps that follow are optional.
9) Click the NAVIGATION STATUS button. From here you can monitor the
progress of your Navcom unit as it calculates its position. Click
AUTOREFRESH to view continuously updated status reports.
10) It may take a few minutes for the unit to calculate its position,
if the unit was reset, or recently turned on. When the calculation is
complete, VALID NAVIGATION will read YES. When this occurs, the Navcom
unit is ready for use. Click CLOSE, then click CANCEL WITHOUT SAVING.
11) To monitor your position, choose MONITOR GPS POSITION from the FIELD menu,
and you will see your current position. All Carlson Field GPS functions should now work.
C) Multi-unit setup (using corrections from a base)
1) Base Setup
a) Perform the preliminary and single-unit setup steps described above.
b) Attach the radio antenna to the radio port of your base unit.
c) Select EQUIPMENT SETUP from the FIELD menu.
d) Select a CORRECTION TYPE. We recommend NCT RTK.
e) CLICK the CONFIGURE BASE button.
f) When prompted to enter a position, enter the exact position of the base
unit. Note that the accuracy of your rover's calculation depends on this position
being completely accurate.
g) Enter a station ID of 0. The station ID is only used in RTCM mode.
h) Verify that STATION TYPE now reads BASE.
i) Base station setup is complete. Click SAVE SETTINGS AND EXIT.
2) Switch the device you're plugged in to:
After configuring the base, unplug your serial cable from your base's port A, and plug it
into your rover's port A.
Note: Whenever you switch the device you're plugged into be sure to close the Equipment Setup window first.
3) Rover Setup
a) Perform the preliminary and single-unit setup steps described above.
b) Attach the radio antenna to the radio port of your rover unit.
c) Select EQUIPMENT SETUP from the FIELD menu.
d) Select a CORRECTION TYPE. We recommend NCT RTK. Note that
this selection must match the selection made during base setup.
e) CLICK the CONFIGURE ROVER button.
f) Verify that STATION TYPE now reads ROVER.
g) Rover setup is complete. Steps that follow are optional.
h) You can verify that the rover is receiving correction by clicking the
MONITOR INCOMING CONNECTION, and then clicking AUTOREFRESH. The
open window shows the time since each correction type was last received (delta
time). In NCT RTK mode, the delta time of 5b, should stay around 1 second, and
the delta time of message 5c should not go above 30 seconds. If these numbers
are high, or if they read NEVER, try repeating the setup process or calling
Carlson Software technical support.
i) Click SAVE SETTINGS AND EXIT, and then choose MONITOR GPS
POSITION from the FIELD menu. The STATUS display should eventually go to LOCK.
Troubleshooting Base/Rover Configuration:
If you've configured a base to output corrections, and you're rover does not appear to be receiving the corrections, try each of the following in order:
1) Verify that your BASE and ROVER are both set to the same correction type.
2) Under Configure Radio, check that your ROVER is set to slave, and that your BASE is set
to master.
3) Under Configure Ports, check that both your base and your rover's RTK Data Ports are set
to the proper value (Usually Radio Port).
4) Under the Edit Base Position, check that your BASE is set to a valid position. Note that if
the given position is too far away from the position the BASE is reading, the BASE will not
send corrections.
5) If you're trying to use RTCM, make sure the BASE and ROVER have the same station ID's.
6) Try increase the RTK Max Age constraint.
7) Under Navigation Status, verify that the Navigation is valid on both units. If either unit does
not have a valid position solution, correction wills not work.
8) Under Monitor Corrections, verify that the corrections you're using are arriving regularly.
If they aren't you may need to reset both units.
9) Try configuring the BASE and ROVER again.
10) If all else fails, Soft Reset both units through the
Reset Unit menu. After doing so, you will
have to reconfigure the port settings of each device through the
Configure Ports menu, and wait a few minutes for the devices to recalculate their position.
11) If none of these steps work, contact Carlson Software Technical Support.