Postcard RTK. Display the number of satellites used with corrections (used/total)?

GPS/GNSS
1

Postcard RTK. Display the number of satellites used with corrections (used/total)

I would like to see on the postcard display the number of satellites used with the different corrections vs. the total number of satellites.
Is this possible? Can SAPKFun program it to display this data?
This data is very useful to me in my daily work, and I only see it in professional surveying apps.
This data is not displayed in SWmaps.
Regards.

2

Try surpad for real surveying activities it’s not too shabby and provides a ton more options than like swmaps

3

Thank you for the comment. I actually use Landstar 8 as a work app, and it’s similar to Surpad. Very comprehensive.
I’d like to see the satellites used with the correction vs. the satellites seen.
My comment about SWmaps was because it seems most users use it.
Regards

4

That sound’s simple, but remember RTK Everywhere Firmware is used for several GNSS chipsets today, and more to come.

Adding features like this (that are typically the responsibility of the user’s Software/App) can quickly cause problems with other SparkFun GNSS devices, as many GNSS chip manufacturers are represented in the SFE Firmware.

For Instance, Google says:

In Summary:

To determine which satellites were used with RTK corrections, you’ll need to:

  1. Check the fix type in $GNGGA (or similar) to confirm you have an RTK fix (Fixed or Float).
  2. Read the relevant GSA messages ($GPGSA, $GLGSA, $GAGSA, $GBGSA or $BDGSA) to see which satellites were used for the position fix.
  3. Use the GSV messages ($GPGSV, $GLGSV, $GAGSV, $GBGSV or $BDGSV) to confirm the satellites are in view and check their signal strength.

Sounds easy enough, until you consider the LG290P, F9P, Mosaic, UM980, X20, etc, and the fact that many of us “monkey” with our configs, constellations, etc. :slight_smile:

I’m a little surprised that we haven’t seen a FW clone on GitHub for a PostCard specific Branch. We could really drill down into the PostCard then.
It would have to be maintained by the Community, as this doesn’t align with the main concept of RTK Everywhere firmware…but everyone with a PostCard could benefit.

1 Like
5

SparkFun RTK devices are designed to get high precision location into a GIS app or data collector, easily, and with a low cost. While what you request might be technically possible (unknown, and as @rftop points out, very difficult across the platforms), the display is dedicated to indicating the status of the device, not of the data flowing through it. For quality indicators of the data, we really have to rely on the GIS app to parse that.

6

Thanks, Sparky. No problem. I was wondering if it was possible. I’ll keep checking my surveying apps for that data. I’m liking Postcard RTK more and more. It’s great to have a pocket-sized RTK device.
Regards