Hello from a new user:
I just received my REACH RS+ last Friday, and have been having a blast. But a few questions.
My setup is just a single Reach RS+, but my state (Minnesota, USA) has a great free CORS
system, giving GPS and GLONASS corrections throughout the state. Not using the LoRa,
in fact not even using Bluetooth (I had planned to use LeFebure NTRIP and then mock
locations to my cell, then to Mobile Topographer but the Reachview application, with built in
NTRIP, and simple survey program, works better.) With CORS, I’m able to get a few
centimeters accuracy when measuring several government Geodetic monuments nearby.
But a few questions/concerns:
-
Turning on Galileo satellites seems to crash the engine:
I can’t reproduce this well, but if I have GPS, and Galileo, and Glonass, possibly when
battery is a bit low, something bad happens. The number of satellites on the STATUS
display falls to about 4-5 GPS satellites, and while green, it won’t calculate even a low
quality position. But also the signal strength bars stay up about 5-6 seconds, then collapse
down, then come back, then collapse, over and over again, like some internal error or
electrical fault makes an internal error and reset. I spent about 4-5 hours yesterday, trying
to figure it out, and when I plugged in my Reach RS+ to charge it, I noticed I got a few more
satellites, and then when I turned off Galileo satellites, all the GPS satellites and Glonass
satellites came back, and it started to generate positions again.
Has anyone else had a problem like this? I may have had a position update rate too fast
for so many satellites. But again, I haven’t been able to reproduce this well. Has anyone
else seen this? I’m trying to reproduce it, and it may even only occur when I’m using
correction data, as turning off corrections made it work. -
Reachview App on my Phone usually can’t find my Device:
When my Reach RS+ is supplying it’s own hot-spot, my Android Reachview App seems to
find it quite well, but when I have a local network that my RS+ joins, the Android Reachview
App doesn’t seem to be able to find any devices. I tried turning on and off mobile data,
but that doesn’t help. I’m using a Galaxy S9+ phone. I know my RS+ device is there, and
if I can figure out the IP address, I can connect to it via a web browser.
My main workaround is that I usually use my phone as a mobile hotspot, so it sets up a local
network that the RS+ can attach to, then I can see all the IP addresses of devices attached
to my hotspot, so figure out the RS+'s local IP address (192.168.0.XXX). Then I just open it
in a web browser on my phone, and bypass the Application. -
Kinetic/Static switching:
I have two needs: I need to survey existing locations, and get accurate position descriptions,
and I have to track toward known locations, and place markers there.
I had been using exclusively Kinetic RTK positioning to find position of markers, but it seems
to take long occupy times, and due to trees, I often lose a FIX lock while waiting. Then I found
that the STATIC RTK positioning really works great. I go to my location, turn on STATIC, and very
quickly I get a high quality lock, even if signals aren’t perfect, and trees in area. Then I can do a
collection in just a short occupy time, as the FIX is super stable. The problem comes when I go
to my next location while in STATIC mode, it takes forever for the RS+ to let go of the old position
fix, and realize I actually moved. So I have to switch back to Kinetic mode, go to new position, then
switch back to STATIC. This this how we have to do it? Keep switching to Kinetic mode to let go
of the old position, then switch back to STATIC once I’m ready to occupy the new location? Is there
a better way to do this without switching back and forth? -
No Warranty?
When my Reach RS+ was malfunctioning yesterday, and couldn’t get hardly any satellites, and not
able to lock even a float position, I thought I had a bad device, and worried I was going to have to
ship it off to Emlid in Hong Kong for a replacement. I figured that may cost me a ton even with
economy shipping, and At best, I’m going to be without my device for a couple weeks. Then I wished
I wouldn’t have bought direct from EMLID, and would have gotten from RobotShop.com (a US/Canada
based dealer) as I may have been able to return to them. But then I realized “there’s no warranty!”
I looked over RobotShop’s web site, they say most items don’t have warranties, and you gotta contact
manufacturer. But then I searched this entire FORUM and realized nobody knows what to do when
these stop working. If the battery goes bad, maybe you can try to replace it yourself, otherwise you
have to toss it, and buy another? It seems like there should at least be a 30-day replacement warranty
in case a device goes dead right away. But I’m terrified, after spending half the day yesterday to get it
to pick up satellites, that this thing is going to turn into a brick, no matter how much I baby it, and it’s
trash. Yes, it’s cheaper than a LEICA or TOPCON, doesn’t mean I can afford for it to die, and just buy
another.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. I’m new to this, but so far can get high accuracy
positions with some work-arounds. I’m very happy with my device.
- Thomas.
