I have some logistical questions on the setup of a ZED-F9P as a rover. I will be operating in California, and there are a few RTK base stations nearby. From my understanding, it requires
A RTCM correction source (I was going to transmit this over a cellular to the module)
An antenna
Will any GNSS antenna work? Can I use this one → https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15247 ?
Does it need to be mounted on a metal plate or is this only for the base station?
Thanks in advance!
Hi bradsquicciarini,
You are on the right track here. You can use any GNSS antenna for this. It just depends on the level of accuracy you require for your project. The antenna you linked is actually an antenna evaluation board with six types of antennas included that you can snap apart. This works really well for selecting the right antenna for your project and we have [a table in the Hookup Guide that gives the preliminary findings using these antennas at SparkFun HQ. We also have several other antennas that will work well with the ZED-F9P like this [GPS/GNSS Magnetic Mount Antenna. We used this specific antenna along with a ground plate in our testing and found it worked very well. While not required, a base-plate will help provide a ground plane for your antenna and will significantly boost its accuracy so it’s entirely dependent on your needs here.
One last note, you will want to make sure to select an RTK base station within 10km of your rover so your correction data is valid. [This section of our GPS-RTK Tutorial for the [NEO-M8P covers that in more detail.
I hope this information helps get you started with this project. Let us know if you have any other questions about your GPS Rover project and we would be happy to help as much as we can.](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15005)](GPS-RTK Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)](GPS/GNSS Magnetic Mount Antenna - 3m (SMA) - GPS-14986 - SparkFun Electronics)](GNSS Chip Antenna Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)