SEPTENTRIO Altus APS3G User Manual
  1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. SEPTENTRIO Manuals
  4. GPS
  5. Altus APS3G
  6. User manual

SEPTENTRIO Altus APS3G User Manual

Hide thumbs
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

Po
User Manual
Altus APS3G

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading
Need help?

Need help?

Do you have a question about the Altus APS3G and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Related Manuals for SEPTENTRIO Altus APS3G

Summary of Contents for SEPTENTRIO Altus APS3G

  • Page 1 User Manual Altus APS3G...
  • Page 2 Mention of third-party products in this document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or a recommendation. Septentrio NV assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of the Altus APS3G due to GNSS characteristics, USA Department of Defense operations control, atmospheric effects, multipath and RF interference.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    4. Data collection software ............. 28 4.1. PinPoint-GIS App ..................28 5. APS3G Tools ..............28 6. Connecting to Altus APS3G with RxControl ......30 7. PPP positioning with the Altus APS3G ......... 30 8. Upgrading the firmware ............. 37 8.1.

  • Page 4: Introduction

    1.2.1. FCC The Altus APS3G complies with Part 47 of the FCC rules. The standard is designed to provide protection against harmful interference when operated in a commercial environment. This device will receive and transmit radio frequency signals which may cause interference to radio communications unless operated as specified according to this User Manual.
  • Page 5 1.2.3. Warranty Septentrio provides a two-year warranty for the Altus APS3G receiver, free from defects in materials and workmanship, from the date of sale on the invoice of the original buyer. A ninety- day warranty is provided for the cables and other accessories. Firmware upgrades are free for lifetime of the product.

  • Page 6: Support

    1.3. Support For first-line support, please contact your Septentrio dealer. Further information, documentation and the latest firmware can be found on the Septentrio support website. For all other problems, please contact our Technical Support group: http://www.septentrio.com support@septentrio.com Europe Septentrio NV...

  • Page 7: Altus Aps3G Overview

    2. Altus APS3G overview 2.1. Altus APS3G product versions The Septentrio Altus APS3G product family is the successor of the APS-3 and APS-3G product family (previously branded Altus), reusing the solid mechanics and accessories, while offering next-generation performance. Altus is no longer a brand name, it is now a product family name for the GIS and survey products of the Septentrio brand.

  • Page 8: Altus Aps3G Features

    2.2. Altus APS3G features The Altus APS3G is an all-in-one, cable free solution to your surveying needs. It’s a simple and easy to use surveying product providing the following features: Altus APS3G Features Bluetooth® Internal cell Modem to communicate with RTK Networks...
  • Page 9 0.4 m 0.7 m TerraStar-D 6 cm 9 cm TerraStar-C 4 cm 6 cm 0.6 cm + 0.5 ppm 1 cm + 1 ppm Table 2: Positioning precision 2.2.2. Altus APS3G ease of use Figure 1: Altus APS3G, Front View...
  • Page 10 Figure 2: Altus APS3G, rear view The rear view of the Altus APS3G shows the door to access the SD card and SIM card slots. Raw GNSS data can be saved to the SD Card and the SIM card allows cellular service with the internal cell modem.
  • Page 11 2.2.3. Altus APS3G standard and optional items The following items are shipped as standard with the Altus APS3G. More details on these items can be found in Table 3. Altus APS3G Altus APS3G 2GB SD card SIM card holder* 2 × Lithium-ion batteries Battery charger and AC adapter 2 ×...
  • Page 12 Data cable modem Table 3: items shipped as standard with the Altus APS3G Optional items The following items are available for purchase with the Altus APS3G. They are not included in the standard shipment. Item Notes 3 types of Pelican case are available, for one and two receivers...
  • Page 13 2.2.4. Altus APS3G front panel Figure 4: Altus APS3G front panel ICON STATUS Connection established BLUE OFF: Bluetooth OFF or, Bluetooth ON and waiting for a connection ON (Solid): Transmitting DGPS/RTK corrections ORANGE ON (Flashing): Receiving DGPS/RTK/PPP corrections OFF: No corrections being received...
  • Page 14 APS3G ON or OFF. Secondary functions are for data logging On/Off, soft and hard receiver reboot/reset. During a soft reboot, the receiver resets the firmware while retaining the current configurations. During a hard reboot, the Altus APS3G will revert to the receiver’s boot configuration file (default reboot).
  • Page 15 2.2.6. Ports Figure 5: Altus APS3G connection sockets Corresponding Connector Cable Purpose Connected to LEMO Plug Type SER1 202200 FGG.0B.305.CLAD52Z Field controller COM3 External radio or SER2 202199 FGG.1B.308.CLAD52Z COM2 other equipment Battery or power 202201 FGG.0B.304.CLAD52Z Power supply Table 7: Port descriptions...
  • Page 16 2.2.7. Power input External power can be supplied by the 4-pin LEMO connector. The specifications are: Parameter Value Power Consumption 4 W Typical External Power 10 to 30 VDC Current drain 1.0 to 1.5 A (2.75 A peak) Table 8: Power consumption Wire Color Function Power (+)
  • Page 17 Disabling the PIN code is not the same as clearing the values of the PIN code. Installing the SIM card Turn Off Altus APS3G to install or remove SIM card. Damage to SIM card may occur if installed or ejected while the receiver is powered. To Install/Remove SIM Card:...
  • Page 18 2.2.9. SD card The Altus APS3G comes with a 2GB SD Card pre-installed for internal data logging. Data can be logged in NMEA or SBF (Septentrio Binary Format). This can be handy for either positioning or for support purposes. SBF can also be converted to RINEX format for post processing using RxTools SBF Converter.
  • Page 19 SD cards that have many files in them. • While most SD cards can be used with the Altus APS3G, using the SD card which came with unit, is recommended. What you need to know I can’t find the data...

  • Page 20: Altus Aps3G Device And Specifications

    3.1. Internal UHF radio The Altus APS3G is equipped with a Satel M3-TR4 UHF radio. The M3-TR4 supports higher order modulations compared to the previous generation APS-3 products. These modulations allow a higher data rate without requiring a bigger bandwidth.

  • Page 21: Cell Modem

    The `Radio compatibility and performance’ Section on page 45 gives an overview of some validated base-rover combinations. As the starting point for integration software or for simple set ups, ‘APS3G Tools’ scripts are provided to configure a setup. What you need to know How do I configure my UHF Configuration is done via data collector software or with Radio?
  • Page 22 3.2.1. Communication protocol overview The Altus APS3G supports several connection methods between a rover and a CORS network: Connection over Internet Ntrip TCP/IP UDP/IP Data Call / Direct Dial What you need to know What’s my country’s operating 900/1800MHz within North America (USA, Canada)
  • Page 23 As the starting point for integration software or for simple set ups, ‘APS3G Tools’ is provided along with scripts to configure your Altus APS3G. APS3G Tools is provided with the installation of RxTools that can be found on Septentrio’s support website.

  • Page 24: Batteries And Charger

    3.3. Batteries and charger The Altus APS3G comes with two lithium-ion rechargeable batteries with a typical operating time of 12 to 14 hours (depending on your configuration). 3.3.1. Charger specifications Battery Charger AC Input 100-240VAC ~50/60Hz 1.7A DC Output 19.0VDC @ 3.16A 3.3.2.
  • Page 25 3.3.3. Altus APS3G battery installation and replacement Removing the battery in use will cause the Altus APS3G to restart or turn OFF. Use the battery status indicator in data collection software to confirm which battery is “in use” before hot-swapping batteries.

  • Page 26: Gnss Antenna Offset

    NGS calibration • If the antenna ‘UNKNOWN’ is selected in the Altus APS3G the position reported by the receiver is the position of the APC ‘UNKNOWN’ cannot be selected in SurvCE or FieldGenius •...
  • Page 27 3.4.2. Slant height dimensions Height of ARP = √ ( ���������� ��������ℎ�� ) − 0.089�� − 0.0606�� Figure 9: Slant height dimensions...

  • Page 28: Data Collection Software

    4. Data collection software Carlson SurvCE and Septentrio FieldGenius are the recommended data collection software applications to be used with the Altus APS3G. The official tested versions can be found on the Support section of the Septentrio website. Other compatible applications for survey or GIS can be found in the following link: http://www.septentrio.com/products/software/other-compatible-software...
  • Page 29 Catching and processing the response of the receiver board APS3G Tools scripts are written as XML documents. A set of scripts for basic functionality is provided by Septentrio within APS3G Tools (the scripts are detected when the application is installed and run).

  • Page 30: Connecting To Altus Aps3G With Rxcontrol

    6. Connecting to Altus APS3G with RxControl You can connect to the Altus APS3G with RxControl: a GUI tool that is part of the RxTools software suite. Using RxControl you can monitor and configure your receiver, you can also load a configuration script and upgrade the receiver firmware.
  • Page 31 Scroll down the list of receiver permissions to ‘PPP’. If PPP is permitted, it will appear as ‘Land use only LBAS1 provider’ as shown in the figure below. If you do not have PPP permissions on your Altus APS3G, you can purchase this option from our Sales department: sales@septentrio.com.
  • Page 32 To be able to get the PPP correction data from TERRASTAR, you will also need a TERRASTAR subscription. You can purchase a subscription for TERRASTAR from your Altus APS3G dealer or from Septentrio Sales department: sales@septentrio.com. To activate TERRASTAR you will need to provide the Product Activation Code (PAC) of the receiver.
  • Page 33 Step 3: Select PPP positioning PPP positioning mode is enabled by default however, you can check that PPP is still enabled using RxControl. From the main menu, select: Navigation > Positioning Mode… • In the ‘Rover Mode’ field, the ‘PPP’ box should be checked as shown in the figure below.
  • Page 34 Step 4: Beam selection You can choose the L-Band beam selection mode and input the details of beams you wish to save using RxControl. From the main window select: L-Band > Generic L-Band Settings… • The default L-Band beam selection mode is auto as shown in the figure below. In this mode, the demodulator will try to lock on to a visible beam, preferring beams to which access has been granted.
  • Page 35 You can check L-Band signal tracking and TERRASTAR activation in RxControl. From the main window select: View > L-Band Status View • If TERRASTAR activation was successful then you will see ‘Access enabled’ as highlighted below. • The main window of RxControl will also indicate the positioning mode as ‘PPP’...
  • Page 36 Step 6: Save the settings Having configured the Altus APS3G for PPP positioning, you can save the new settings so that the receiver will always boot up with the same configuration each time it is powered. The configuration can be saved in RxControl. From the main window select: File >...

  • Page 37: Upgrading The Firmware

    Power off the Altus APS3G receiver, take the SD card out and put it in your computer. If you get the message below, you can follow the recommended action “Scan and fix” and then only select the “Automatically fix file system errors”...
  • Page 38 Safely remove the SD card from your computer, insert it in the Altus APS3G and power on the receiver. While the receiver is booting, it will find the upgrade file and proceed with the upgrade. The upgrade will take around one minute. After the upgrade has finished, the receiver will reboot –...

  • Page 39: Altus Aps3G Default Configuration Upload

    8.2. Altus APS3G default configuration upload The GNSS receiver must be configured for operation within the Altus APS3G. The configuration is done with a script file of the commands. 8.2.1. Using RxControl Open RxControl and connect to the receiver as described in Section 6.

  • Page 40: Verifying The Firmware Upgrade

    Look for a script called “APS3G_Default_Config.xml”. The scripts are installed together with RxTools and can be found in the installation folder. Open the xml file in APS3G Tools and click the Menu Config > Upload. 8.3. Verifying the firmware upgrade You can check the firmware installed on the receiver using RxControl.

  • Page 41: Frequently Asked Questions

    If you are using a USB-Serial adapter, the adapter may not be compatible with the Altus APS3G. If possible connect directly to a physical COM port on the PC. Otherwise, adapters using Prolific drivers have been found to work more reliably.
  • Page 42 GSM devices. How do I update my data collector to the latest Software version? Locate the most recent data collection software in the Support section of the Septentrio website. These versions have been tested and approved by Septentrio. Connect the data collector to a PC (via Serial or USB connection).
  • Page 43 How do I check my Altus APS3G firmware version using SurvCE? In the Equip Tab, select GPS Base/GPS Rover. In the Current Tab, select the Information icon located to the right of the Manufacturer field. This screen will provide the Altus APS3G firmware version as well as battery status.

  • Page 44: Altus Aps3G Block Diagram

    10. Altus APS3G block diagram...

  • Page 45: Radio Compatibility And Performance

    11. Radio compatibility and performance The following tables show some compatibility tests as well as the used configuration which may be useful when using Altus APS3G (with Satel radio) in combination with other radios. Satel <-> Satel Validated with baseline of 4.5km...

Table of Contents