New GNSS Status Screen

Aaron S

Active Member
So I've been stuck in the office the past couple months and haven't used the LS. Now I install a bunch of updates and many of the screens have changed with a lot more info (or maybe just shown differently), and I don't know what I'm looking at. So I've got a lot of questions:

For example, the screenshot attached...what is this telling me?

Our state RTN now lets us use Galileo with our network rovers, but how do I enable it or know if I'm using it as part of a fixed position?

There is a button by the GNSS status screen that says "Firmware Package", what is the difference between these three?

I see this is being discussed elsewhere but much of it is way over my head because I've been out of the loop for what seems like way too long. I just need someone to dumb it down for me to get started. Also, it seems like a new user manual is in order. I'm told there's one on the way, which is good because the one on the website is way out of date.
 

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Aaron S

Active Member
Boy do I feel like a dummy now - I saw that picture on the website front page for the manual, but I always thought it pertained mainly to using the TLS with J-Mate. I've been watching the Support > Publications section of the website for a manual. So thanks for that. I'll read up but I'm sure I'll have follow up questions.

I also read your testing thread, which Michael G also referred me to. Again, I'll have to read it several times (I'm a slow learner) but what I'm seeing is that 2 engines gets better results than 6? What is the benefit of just two? It seems that using the most satellites with the most engines would provide the greatest redundancy, but there's a lot I don't know about the TLS so I'm glad I have this website to educate myself with. Thanks again.
 

Adam

Well-Known Member
5PLS
I have seen very reliable results when the 2 engine firmware fixes with 2 engines. Continue to run for 180 or 240 seconds but when you see 2 engines fix stop, save, and restart. Let us know if you see any bad fixes when 2 engines are fixed simultaneously.
 

Aaron S

Active Member
I'll test it out like you describe, but I'm not understanding why wouldn't you want to use 6 engines all the time - especially if that's what we were using in the GPS/GLONASS only days.
 

Shawn Billings

Shawn Billings
5PLS
The two engine firmware puts more signals into the each engine. The six engines only allows two constellations per engine.

If you are using Galileo only, note that the second engine only uses GLO, GAL and BDU, Engine 1 uses GPS, GLO and GAL, so without Beidou, Engine 2 is at a significant disadvantage to Engine 1 (2 constellations vs. 3). You can manually configure Engine 2 to use GPS, GLO, and GAL, but unless you make some difference between them, they will just be redundant.
 

Shawn Billings

Shawn Billings
5PLS
It may even be that with GPS, GLO and GAL that the six engines are better than the 2 right now. Eventually, I think the 2 engine auto setup will consider the constellations in the corrections and setup accordingly, but that is not the case right now.
 

Adam

Well-Known Member
5PLS
I agree, and would add that if you don't have bdu then the 2 engine fix will probably not be as trustworthy.
 

Aaron S

Active Member
Man, just when I thought I was starting to get a handle on this, everything changes. I'm glad I've got guys like you to explain it. I think some of the content for Shawn's next class is unfolding right in this thread!
 

Mark Wheeler

Active Member
We have the same situation with our State RTN: GPS, Glonas and Galileo. First question: do we select "Conventional or Independent"? Second, if it matters, clicking on one of these buttons brings up the other. Which one is on (current)? The one you click or what comes up after you click it? Third question, behind the curtain are the various signals for each constellation. (C/A, P1, P2, L2c, L5, etc.) Are there prefered signals and combinations? Or should we just select the ones with the lowest number (better signal quality)? On first trial the new options generally take much longer to fix and I am not sure how to optimize the selections. Any help articles?
 

Shawn Billings

Shawn Billings
5PLS
Conventional tracking. The current selection will be the name that appears on the engine screen.

I don't think there are any help articles at the moment.

As I mentioned earlier, in the 2 Engine GPS+GLO+GAL+BDU the automatic setting is for engine 2 to use GLO+GAL+BDU. If your correction doesn't include Beidou then you're 2nd engine is going to be anemic. You should manually set it to GPS+GLO+GAL, but you'll want to vary it somewhat from Engine 1, otherwise there is no redundancy, only a duplication.

It's quite possible that the 6 Engine GPS+GLO+GAL+BDU version is better than the 2 Engine if you don't have Beidou in the corrections.

When making a manual selection, you want to use the frequencies with the lower values, closest to zero. You might make Engine 1 use GPS P1 and L2c and Engine 2 use GPS P1 and L5 to get some variation. Likewise for the other constellations.

The auto setup is still being refined and will eventually consider the corrections stream I believe. But for now it will require some experimentation on the user's part (at least for the 2 Engine version).
 

Phillip Lancaster

Active Member
The two engine firmware puts more signals into the each engine. The six engines only allows two constellations per engine.

If you are using Galileo only, note that the second engine only uses GLO, GAL and BDU, Engine 1 uses GPS, GLO and GAL, so without Beidou, Engine 2 is at a significant disadvantage to Engine 1 (2 constellations vs. 3). You can manually configure Engine 2 to use GPS, GLO, and GAL, but unless you make some difference between them, they will just be redundant.

What should I be doing Shawn? I'm only using GPS-GLO-GAL. Am I just pissing in the wind? Do I need to buy BDU to make a difference on engine 2? Delta base to LS.
 
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