Surveying with the RS2

Hello all,

If I understand correctly they current surveying kit with the 2x RS+ will be replaced by a single RS2?

Do I miss something? What would I need for a surveying kit once the RS2 comes out?

Best,

KVB

That depends. As a default, you will need 2 units, but if you have NTRIP services nearby, the mobile connection in the RS2 can connect to the NTRIP service.
However, shorter baselines are always better, so 2 RS2’s will be better and more precise in the end.

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Just get (2), you’ll be better off, especially if surveying.

If you use NTRIP (i.e. CORS), then you’ll need a constant internet connection. I.e. hotspot via cell phone)

EDIT: If in the middle of nowhere or no cell or internet service, that’s where the 2nd RS2 comes in handy among other things that just makes it better.

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Hello again all,

I can’t understand though what’s the difference with getting the RS2 or the RS+ survey kit.

Thanks again!

Simply put, you’d be much better off with the new multi-frequency RS2 vs. the former single frequency L1 RS+. The RS2 is a deal compared to the big dogs.

Multi-freq RS2 best when surveying in difficult conditions such as under tree canopy, urban areas etc. for a fix for cm accuracy. There are other beneficial features also, i.e. built in sim slot etc.

The single-freq L1 RS+ best if you always have clear-sky view and not under tree canopy etc for a FIX for cm accuracy, otherwise you’ll get float a lot.

So it’s all about precision and speed if I get it correctly?

Maybe also distance from the base?

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You got it .

Baseline (distance to base) rule of thumb for surveying without waiting for minutes on a point:
Single freq: < 10km
Multi Freq: < 60km

You can get sold fixes with much longer baselines, but often you have to wait longer then.

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As said, the further you move from the base, the higher the compound error and the worse your precision. For an RS2 unit for example the horizontal position error is expressed as a starting value of 7mm with an increase in the average (RMS) error of 1 part per million (ppm) as you increase your distance from the base.

At some point as you increase your distance from the base, your level of precision will have degraded too far for your application.

This is why it’s ‘generally’ accepted with dual frequency RTK for instance that a distance of 50 to 60 km from base receiver to rover receiver is the practical maximum - obviously with post processing this can be increased - but for “real time” RTK that’s a good rule of thumb to stick to.

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I can also add that the choice is depending on your workflow. In some cases, RS+ could be enough.
Overall, @timd1971 @Johannes_Eberenz @DirtyHarry gave detailed answers.
Feel free to ask in case you’ve any questions.

For us the two RS+ units work great, however we live on an island group with no trees and all our survey work is in open rural locations with generally good sky views. Our workflow is to establish a base mark by post processing observations from our base unit using RINEX data from the only OS reference station, the maximum distance is 84km. For long baselines we use 12 to 16 hour observations and have always achieved a fix. On several occasions we have repeated these observations days or weeks later and achieved a variance of 2 - 4cm XYZ which is likely attributable to positioning the unit over the mark. We use our established local marks to collect control points using RTK base / rover configuration.

We are considering a pair of RS2s at some point, there will be occasions when multi frequency will be very useful, and the ability to use online correction services such as AusPos which you can’t access with RS observations could be useful.

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