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R8 Static Help
Posted by d-bendell on June 11, 2021 at 6:18 pmAlright boys I have an older R8 I need to setup and use as a base station recording @ 1hz. I usually don’t do this and mostly use the R8 for RTK on VRS network with Survey Pro software.
Needless to say I could use some suggestions. I’ve setup base stations before but I need to determine whether or not I need to log data to the collector which is a Ranger similar to a TSC3 or whether I can log the data and download from the base?
I want RINEX data obviously. Long story, but my office uses all Lieca stuff except me. We do most all GPS work using RTK. Because of my role, I was given some random stuff with RTK capabilities but I don’t have a guru available to walk me through the R8 static session setup. Anybody have enough experience to suggest a workflow for me to do static with this equipment.
Thanks in advance. Have a nice weekend everybody!
MightyMoe replied 2 years, 10 months ago 8 Members · 20 Replies- 20 Replies
1 Hz? Recording settings are every 1, 5, 10, 15, and probably 30 seconds. If you??re referring to 1s recording, that??d only be useful if your session might be 5 minutes and not sent to OPUS (if you are in the US). OPUS reduces static data to every 30 seconds. The longer your session, the less often you record data. Recommend no more often than 10s recording. You change that in a Fast Statuc survey style.
Recommend logging data in receiver and import the file to the collector at the end. Trimble has a free convert to rinex program that??s free.
Step one:
Reset to factory defaults after downloading data
Step two:
verify the storage based on the model.
Step Three:
Log to receiver
Process, and enjoy your data.
????
I typically configure the R8 to begin logging on power up and store data the internally. Use the Trimble Data Transfer Utility to download the .dat file, Convert to Rinex utility and submit to OPUS.
It might possibly need a firmware update from the dealer but once you get it configured, test it out.
W
WillyIs the R8 recording the data as a .dat file?
I don’t convert my R8 files to RINEX.
I’ve never converted anything to RINEX except to see if I could.
I simply download the R8 static files to the DC when I pick up the base and on the off chance I want to send it to OPUS for a check I can pick them out of the file explorer tree on my computer and send it. It’s about as simple and hands free as anything I do in surveying. If you have TBC it’s only a check box process as you load up data.
@mightymoe R8 records a .T0-some number file.
Thanks everyone. I am using WinFlash to communicate with the R8 but I don’t see which operation to select in order to clear memory & download data or to set it to 1hz instead of 10hz.
I haven’t seen any function to download. I am sure this would be easier using TBC but I don’t have it at my office. Sounds like that’s a handicap.
That’s what my R8 does, no need to RINEX it.
You can reset the receiver and format the memory by holding down the power button for about 30 – 40 seconds. 15 seconds after the lights go out, the satellite light will come on for another 15 seconds. After that it will reset.
Download the GPS Configurator utility, you can program the receiver through it. Then you’ll need Data Transfer to download the file. The R8 stores a T01 or T02 file, and Data Transfer will also make a DAT file, which is an outdated format that’s no longer used. If you want RINEX download the Convert to RINEX utility. All of these utilities are freely available at trimble.com.
Convert to RINEX:
Data Transfer:
GPS Configurator:
Use this to program the R8 to record 1Hz on power up and store the file internally. 1Hz files get big quickly – about 1MB/Hour – so watch your memory.
@robertusa 1hz = 1 second. Trimble receivers can log data at 20hz if the option is enabled, but you probably already know that.
@robertusa 10s is usually not a good idea… 15s is more typical, and if you have receivers in the network using 15s you’re effectively only getting the 30s epochs on your 10s receiver.
It seems these days that when anyone talks about static sessions the assumption is automatically that it will be sent to OPUS. As was discussed in another recent post, many of us rarely use OPUS and when we do it’s mainly as a check. We collect 1Hz data all the time – every time we put a UAS in the air there’s a base collecting 1Hz static data nearby.
The geophysicists I worked debated this topic a bit.
Tectonic movement obviously can use slower collection times, and if you’re not collecting at a local base, the nearest CORS might only be collected at 30sec.
The most important part is that the satellites are getting time to move across the orbital to provide better solutions. Sometimes it’s not ideal to collect at 1hz, just depends. And the most interesting thing about the collection is that the GPS doesn’t need to be collected simultaneously. This was the best thing I learned while working for the aero mapping company I worked for.
Fun topic.
Not to mention storage space isn’t a factor for pretty much any receiver manufactured in the last decade…I can’t remember the last time I set up a receiver to log at anything other than 1s/1Hz. It gives you the most flexibility for post processing and costs nothing extra to set up or work with it.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil PostmanThe CORS I’m used to using tend to collect data at a 1 second rate. I normally collect my field data at a 5 second rate and try and locate PPK points such as property corners for at least 45 seconds.
Except for the base point, I don’t structure anything I do to match up with OPUS. Even running static control I will keep to the 10 plus 1 per mile rule. That is woefully outdated but it is usually accomplished as I work other tasks with static control work.
The modern storage capabilities of receivers override many of the old rules along with their accuracy. Nothing is as outdated as a GPS textbook from 20 years ago.
@mightymoe just because CORS data you intend to use records at 1s, doesn??t mean that you must too!
Exactly!!
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