I have two units of the Reach (RCH 101 with intel Edison) and two units of the Reach M+ (RCH 102 with Neutis N5). I was trying to follow the setup as per the website. The problem is that I can’t have a clear sky view as my lab is indoors and I am not interested, yet, in getting any actual satellite data.
I want access to the setup page to update the firmware, setup inputs and outputs, connect to my network, and read data from USB serial and S1 ports, even if it’s just empty NMEA sentences or generic system messages if any.
I am using the units right now for developing some ROS2 interfaces so I’ll be doing lots of work indoors, reading and writing to serial ports with mock data or so on my lab’s network (not accessible outside).
Questions are:
Is there a way to connect to the Reach models and access their setups through USB only? or alternatively, is there a way to access the setup without being outdoors with a clear sky view?
So far I have been getting empty NMEA sentences from the USB serial port on units that have been set as rovers, but the units set as bases are not printing any data. Is there a technical reference to learn about the output and operation format of the Reach? The docs website is very limited and only explains the setup, no technical information helpful in terms of development and building drivers/interfaces.
Sorry for the lengthy question, and thank you for your help.
To set up the receivers, you need to connect to them via Wi-Fi. But yes, it’s possible to do all the configurations indoors. In this case, you need to provide the receiver with a clear sky view for the first setup and connect it to the Wi-Fi network. It may be your lab’s Wi-Fi or your mobile hotspot.
After that, the Reach module and Reach M+ will automatically connect to the known Wi-Fi after turning on. So you’ll be able to configure the devices indoors.
What is the receiver that you use as a base? What is the firmware version on it? Overall, outputting position via Serial in NMEA format should work well whether using the receiver as a base or rover. So let’s try to understand why the issue occurs.
Not to my knowledge. The unit need to sync the time from GNSS sats, which is why you need an ok GNSS signal to start with.
As I remember it, the unit is only outputting NMEA data if the unit has at least a Single Solution.
I would recommend to install an antenna outdoors, and then route a long antenna cable to your location. 10-20 meters is easy to do without an amplifier.
Yep, I can confirm it. To pass time sync, the unit should be either connected to a Wi-Fi or see some satellites. When the device is in hotspot mode, just a second option is available. But once you connect the device to the Internet, it can pass time sync without a clear sky view.
It was so, yes. But starting with the 26 firmware version, NMEA is transmitted even when the receiver has no solution. In this case, it returns null values.
