Auto steer for tractor

Other
1

What is the best options for a permeant base to use with auto steer for farm and a rtk facet that I have already purchased.

2

You’ll want something with ‘dead reckoning’, I usually recommend this F9R kit SparkFun GPS-RTK Dead Reckoning Kit (SMA) - SparkFun Electronics

Be sure to use the hookup guide SparkFun GPS-RTK Dead Reckoning ZED-F9R Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn to get it going (calibration is required)

3

I have both a reference station and rtk facet. I need to help getting to rtk fix.

I configured the reference and added the rtk2go information. When I use SW maps I cannot get the facet as rover to get rtk fix.

4

Try using one item at a time, then combine them.

Here’s the guide for the facet Quick Start - SparkFun RTK Product Manual (we also have this older one SparkFun RTK Facet Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn) - these should walk you through most aspects of getting a fix, let me know if you have any issues

Here’s the Reference station guide SparkFun RTK Reference Station Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn

5

I have tried to connect individually using SW Maps to NTrip. Each attempt SW maps instantly disconnects from NTRIP.

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

6

Are you using bluetooth or wifi? iOS or android?

7

I have tried Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet cable. I’m using and android device

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

8

What is shown on the display? Does your network require MAC white-listing?

9

I can connect via Bluetooth .
I also got a point perfect account and got the rover to connect to NTRIP.

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

1 Like
10

The reference station wifi symbol is blinking. it does not show casting or fixed.

When I Bluetooth to the rover with SW maps they connect. Then when I try to connect NTRIP through point perfect it connects but it will not go into rtk fix. The status icon stays orange in color.

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

11

gmail_images20260109_234113.jpg3072×4096 2.73 MB

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

12

To be clear: is the reference station antenna outdoors? Are you testing the facet outside with a clear view of the sky?

13

The reference antenna is outside. The facet is outside. The facet on SW maps is at about 5 inch.

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

14

This is a pic of reference after 8 hours of run time. Transmitting RTCM.

gmail_images20260110_101548.jpg3072×4096 2.82 MB

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

15

Thanks for the pics. Hang tight a couple more days; I’ve sent this up the chain-of-command and this thread should have an update ASAP!

16

Hi @J_Brent_Hall ,

Apologies for the slow response on this.

You’ve tried a couple of different approaches to try and get RTK Fixed on your Facet. For now, I’m going to ignore PointPerfect. I am going to try and get you up and running with the Reference Station providing corrections to the Facet through SW Maps on your cell phone.

Just to make you aware, both the Reference Station and the Facet use older ESP32 chips without extra RAM (PSRAM). If you have both Bluetooth and WiFi running simultaneously, you may be running out of RAM. Unfortunately, it is a known issue with these older products running the older RTK Firmware. I will try to guide you to a solution which avoids these RAM problems by avoiding having both running. Bluetooth uses the most RAM, WiFi uses less. The Reference Station Ethernet uses only a little.

Focussing on the Reference Station Base first:

Your initial goal is to get the Reference Station into “temporary base” mode, and sending corrections to RTK2go.

If you don’t need Bluetooth on the Reference Station, please turn it off by setting Bluetooth Protocol to “Off” via the System Menu.

In this screenshot, I see the antenna cable broken / disconnected icon (in the bottom-left corner of the display):

image

You need to investigate that. I suggest going back into Rover mode, check the antenna is connected and that you are receiving signal from multiple satellites.

Once you’ve resolved that, go back into “temporary base” mode using survey-in. When the survey-in completes, the Reference Station will send corrections to RTK2go. When this is successful, you will see “Casting” on the OLED display. “Xmitting” means the survey-in is complete, but no corrections are being sent to RTK2go. We need to figure out why that is happening. Please check you have configured NTRIP Server correctly. When everything is working, you will be able to view your caster details at:

http://rtk2go.com:2101/SNIP::MOUNTPT?baseName=YOURMOUNTPOINT

(Replace YOURMOUNTPOINT with your mount point)

You should see information about which RTCM messages are being sent by the Base and how often.

Now focussing on the Facet:

The objective is to get the Facet in Rover mode, get it connected to SW Maps (over Bluetooth), and get SW Maps connected to RTK2go so it can push corrections to the Facet.

I suspect SW Maps was disconnecting from RTK2go because no corrections were being sent by the Base. If you’ve confirmed that the Base is sending (“Casting”) corrections and that RTK2go is receiving them (from the MOUNTPOINT web page), then SW Maps should be able to connect and push those corrections to the Facet.

Please give all of the above a try and let us know how it goes, then we can give you pointers on where to head next.

Best wishes,
Paul

1 Like
17

Should I be able to see the mount point on rtk2go that I created.

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

18

I updated firmware on base and it restarted. After a quick survey in it is now showing casting on the OLED for the first time. I then started the facet rover in a clear area 34 sat 27 used. Connected Bluetooth on SW maps to facet. Then connected to NTRIP. Im currently at 6.69 in with an orange status on NTRIP. It’s been 5 minutes since connected to NTRIP do I continue to wait for rtk fix.

Thanks
J. Brent Hall

19

Hi @J_Brent_Hall ,

Thanks for the update.

You should be able to see what corrections your Base is sending to RTK2go if you open the web page:

http://rtk2go.com:2101/SNIP::MOUNTPT?baseName=YOURMOUNTPOINT

(Replace YOURMOUNTPOINT with your mount point)

If all is well, you should see something like:

image
image1260×406 34 KB

It sounds like the Facet has RTK Float, but not RTK Fix. That’s good. It means corrections are coming through. Let’s see if we can get you to RTK Fix.

Have you checked the NTRIP details in SW Maps? Please make sure you are connecting to your RTK2go NTRIP Caster, not PointPerfect.

I hope this helps,
Paul

20

Just so you know when I stated the reference base back on after the firmware update I did not change to rtk2go. So I’m still using point perfect on base and rover. I have try to go back into to config mode on the base but it will not allow me.

Thanks
J. Brent Hall