ArcPad10 with TSC2

[GandharWazalwar]

So far I have successfully installed ArcPad10 on TSC2 and can connect to the internet and fetch the basemaps. The TSC2 is being used with VRS and I would like to know if it is possible to use ArcPad10 with the data being received through VRS.

Any suggestions are welcome.

[GrahamW]

Which GPS are you using and if it is a trimble survey reciver R8 SPS881 SPS882..  you will probably have to run the Survey software SCS900,Survey controller/access to get the corrected NMEA output.

[BradFindlay]

This post it a little old now but I was just curious if anyone got this to work, (using ArcPad 10, a Trimble TSC2 handheld and a Trimble R8 GPS receiver. A thread in the old forums (see below) hinted that this might be possible with an R8 receiver but I think there were complications with quality control on the RTK signal and possibly software compatibility issues. I was looking into making this work with a R6 receiver but getting it to work sounds like a daunting process with no guarantees of acceptable results, so I am wondering if it worth my time.

http://forums.esri.com/Thread.asp?c=93&f=1583&t=215046

Thanks,
Brad

[GrahamW]

that last post should work.

I just couldn't find a windows mobile version of GNSS internet radio.

the R8 with integrated Celluar board might do this a trick..

and justr set you minimum accuracy to .3m if you are chasing RTK fixed as a float is usualy around 700mm in your GPS preferences under quality.

From arcpad help about EPE

[INDENT]Maximum EPE
This field is used in the same way as the one described above.

When the second maximum check box is checked, a quality control is placed on the quality parameter selected. By default the Estimated Position Error (EPE) of incoming GPS positions is chosen for the second maximum value. The value in the box to the right specifies the maximum allowable EPE. The maximum allowable EPE you use should correspond directly to the maximum distance error you can accept. For example, if you can accept a maximum distance error of 15 meters, you should set the maximum allowable EPE to 15�??assuming your display units are set to metric on the Display tab of the ArcPad Options dialog box. EPE is only output by Garmin GPS receivers as part of a proprietary Garmin message, so this setting is only valid when using a Garmin GPS receiver.

This affects you in the following ways:

If the EPE of the current GPS position exceeds the maximum value while you are capturing a feature using the GPS, you will either get a warning message or not be allowed to capture data until the EPE is less than or equal to the maximum value, depending on whether Non-Compulsory Warnings or Compulsory Warnings is selected.
If the Maximum EPE Exceeded check box on the Alerts tab is checked, an alert message and/or sound occurs whenever the EPE of the current GPS position exceeds the specified value.
Other values that can chosen in place of PDOP are: HDOP, VDOP, TDOP, EPE, VPE, DAGE.

The default is unchecked and no value is specified.

[/INDENT]

[BradFindlay]

Success! Got this to work with a trial version of ArcPad 10 loaded onto the TSC2 handheld connected to a R6 receiver (with integrated cell phone) via a serial cable. Basically I downloaded Trimble�??s GPS Configurator  software (as suggested by Daniel) to configure the receiver to output a NMEA string, making sure the sentences matched what could be recognized by ArcPad.  I also set the baud rate (9600) and the port to match a DB9 port that I connected to the handheld via a female to female serial cable. Then I configured ArcPad to accept a NMEA string with the same connection parameters, and set the GPS mode to RTK Fixed/Float and the HDOP to filter my position quality (EPE is apparently only output by Garmin GPS receivers). I tested the connection with the debug tool in ArcPad and the signal looked good.

Then getting it all to work, I did some research and figured out that I didn�??t need to use GNSS internet radio because the TSC2 handheld unit has Trimble Survey Controller software installed which is imbedded with its own NTRIP client. This meant however that I had to have Survey Controller open to first establish the cellular connection to the RTK network, before switching to ArcPad to collect my data. I only tested this with a couple of points but occasionally I would briefly lose the cellular connection (which is normal for cellular RTK connections I am told). When that happed ArcPAD would warn me the RTK signal was lost and then Survey Controller would take over to establish a connection again. When that was done I could switch back to ArcPad and continue collection.

Like I said I only tried this for a couple of points and I have not tested the accuracy in detail, but the solution seemed to be working as the points lined up well with a few points collected with Survey Controller (which was reporting an estimated error margin of about .06 ft at the time I believe). The workflow might be a little cumbersome in this solution but it seems like if you need high precision with your GPS data plus the benefits of ArcPAD (disconnected editing, etc.) this might be one possible route to go.

Thanks for your input,
Brad

[RicoSantiago]

Hi Brad,

I'm following your process (above) to pair an R6 (cellular RTK) with a Trimble Yuma tablet (with Windows 7 and ArcPad 10). I've gotten as far as this step:

"Basically I downloaded Trimble�??s GPS Configurator software (as suggested by Daniel) to configure the receiver to output a NMEA string, making sure the sentences matched what could be recognized by ArcPad."

I'm unsure about what you mean by making sure the output sentences "matched" what ArcPad could recognize. I was hoping you could elaborate further on this please.

Additionally, just to confirm my understanding of the theory behind the entire process: the R6 receiver processes the coordinate corrections internally (via the cellular phone connection to RTK base stations)...the corrected highly-accurate coordinates are then output (in NMEA format) to the hardware in which ArcPad resides (e.g. a windows-based tablet)...ArcPad reads the output and uses that as the coordinates you see on your ArcPad map. Do I have the gist of it?

Apologies for the relatively silly questions and thanks in advance for any advice in this matter!

All the best,
-rico
Waterways Ireland

[BillStull]

Rico

Did you get your issue resolved? I was able to get a Trimble R8 GNSS Model 3 receiver without an internal GSM modem working with ArcPad 10 and the Trimble Yuma Tablet. To receive the internet corrections I used the Lefebure NTRIP Client (http://lefebure.com/software/ntripclient/) which was installed on the Yuma tablet. ArcPad displayed a real-time fix and I checked very well to survey control. If you, or anyone, need assistance with your set up please do not hesitate to contact me.

bills@alleninst.com

Bill Stull
Allen Instruments

[BradFindlay]

Hi Rico,

Sorry for my much delayed response as I must have missed the notification of your comment back in July. In case you�??re still working on this solution I wanted to comment. I'm no expert by any means, but what I meant when I said output "sentences matched what could be recognized by ArcPad" was that Trimble receivers require a certain NMEA string setting if you are using NMEA protocol as opposed to TSIP protocol to transfer the GPS location information to your device from the receiver. I looked up the setting is an old ESRI documentation for Using ArcPAD (here is a link I found that should work: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/tmillett/course/geog205/files/Using%20ArcPad.pdf ). On page 141 at the bottom you will see the NMEA Settings when using NMEA protocol. The String format is =(check), GGA, VTG,GLL, GSA, GSV, RMC, ZDA. These are the expected output string ArcPAD needs to plot the GPS position. For more info on what those string elements mean see the following link. http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/nmea.htm.

As far as your question as to what is happening, I believe you have it right. In my case I needed Trimble Survey Controller to be open to establish the RTK connection with the network. That was the hard part for me and my solution with having both the Controller software and ArcPad open at the same time is a little cumbersome. Hopefully you can find a way to do this with your hardware, and I'll bet Bill can help you with expert advice if you�??re having trouble.

Cheers,

Brad