Page 1
ZED-F9P High precision GNSS module Integration manual Abstract This document describes the features and application of the ZED-F9P, a multi-band GNSS module with integrated RTK offering centimeter-level accuracy. www.u-blox.com UBX-18010802 - R13 C1-Public...
Page 2
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Document information Title ZED-F9P Subtitle High precision GNSS module Document type Integration manual Document number UBX-18010802 Revision and date 30-Aug-2023 Disclosure restriction C1-Public This document applies to the following products: Type number FW version IN/PCN reference RN reference ZED-F9P-01B-01 HPG 1.12...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 1 Integration manual overview This document is an important source of information on all aspects of ZED-F9P system, software and hardware design. The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for a successful integration of the receiver with the customer's end product.
The ZED-F9P includes moving base support, allowing both base and rover to move while computing the position between them. The moving base is ideal for UAV applications where the UAV is programmed to follow its owner or to land on a moving platform.
Page 8
2.1.2.1 RTK modes of operation The ZED-F9P supports the following modes of operation: ZED-F9P operating as a base: It provides RTCM correction data to a rover, or to a network of rovers. ZED-F9P operating as a rover: It receives RTCM correction data from a ZED-F9P operating as a base, or from a VRS service provider operating a network of base receivers.
NTRIP client and server application that can be used to easily evaluate a ZED-F9P base or rover. Typically a u-center NTRIP client connects to an NTRIP service provider over the internet. The u-center NTRIP client then provides the corrections to a ZED- F9P rover connected to the local u-center application.
Page 10
Firmware version HPG L1L5 1.40 does not support the moving base feature. Figure 3: ZED-F9P base and rover in a short baseline drone application Figure 4: ZED-F9P base and rover in a short baseline robotic mower application UBX-18010802 - R13...
Page 11
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 5: ZED-F9P orientation of a vehicle in space UBX-18010802 - R13 2 System description Page 11 of 123 C1-Public...
This section describes the ZED-F9P operational features and their configuration. 3.1 Receiver configuration ZED-F9P is fully configurable with UBX configuration interface keys. The configuration database in the receiver's RAM holds the current configuration, which is used by the receiver at run-time. It is constructed on startup of the receiver from several sources of configuration.
Refer to the applicable Interface description [2] for information about further settings. By default, the ZED-F9P outputs NMEA messages that include satellite data for all GNSS bands being received. This results in a high NMEA output load for each navigation period. Make sure the UART baud rate used is sufficient for the selected navigation rate and the number of GNSS...
ZED-F9P only supports certain combinations of constellations and bands. For all constellations, both L1 and L2 or L1 and L5 bands must either be enabled or disabled. BeiDou B2 and GPS L5 are...
Page 15
ZED-F9P - Integration manual the exception (can either have BeiDou B1+B2 or B1-only, and either GPS L1+L5 or GPS L1-only). Unsupported combinations will be rejected with a UBX-ACK-NAK and the warning: "inv sig cfg" will be sent via UBX-INF and NMEA-TXT messages (if enabled).
After describing the RTCM protocol and corresponding supported message types, this section describes how to configure the ZED-F9P high precision receiver as a base or rover receiver. This includes both the static base use case and the moving base use case.
Page 17
RTCM 4072.1 Additional reference station information (u-blox proprietary RTCM Message) Only valid with firmware version HPG 1.12 and necessary for moving base operation. Table 6: ZED-F9P supported input RTCM version 3.3 messages UBX-18010802 - R13 3 Receiver functionality Page 17 of 123 ...
Page 18
Table 7: ZED-F9P supported output RTCM version 3.3 messages 3.1.5.4 Rover operation In its default configuration, the ZED-F9P will attempt to provide the best positioning accuracy depending on the received correction data. It will enter RTK float mode shortly after it starts receiving an input stream of RTCM correction messages.
Page 19
C.2. 3.1.5.5 Stationary base operation The ZED-F9P high precision receiver default operation begins without producing any RTCM messages. RTCM observation messages will be streamed as soon as they are configured for output. However, any stationary reference position messages are output only when the base station position has been initialized and is operating in time mode.
Page 20
ZED-F9P - Integration manual The following procedures can be used to initialize the base station position: • Use the built-in survey-in procedure to estimate the position. • Enter coordinates independently generated or taken from an accurate position such as a survey marker.
Page 21
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Configuration item Description CFG-TMODE-ECEF_Z_HP High-precision ECEF Z coordinate of the ARP position CFG-TMODE-LAT_HP High-precision latitude of the ARP position CFG-TMODE-LON_HP High-precision longitude of the ARP position CFG-TMODE-HEIGHT_HP High-precision height of the ARP position CFG-TMODE-FIXED_POS_ACC Fixed position 3D accuracy estimate Table 9: Configuration items used for setting a base station into fixed mode...
Page 22
In the MB RTK mode, the base and rover receivers are referred to as MB base and MB rover respectively. This section describes how to configure the ZED-F9P high precision receiver in a moving base setup. 3.1.5.6.1 Base operation in moving base RTK mode In addition to the rules described in RTCM output configuration section above, the following moving...
Page 23
ZED-F9P - Integration manual between a moving base rover and a moving base, it is recommended to disable RTCM 4072.1 output on the base. • Message 4072.0 must be sent for each epoch the MB base observations are sent. • To ensure that the moving base processing works, the MB base and rover must use the same navigation update rate and measurement rate.
3.1.6.1.1 SPARTN protocol SPARTN is a binary protocol for the communication of SSR correction information. ZED-F9P supports SPARTN as specified by SPARTN Interface Control Document – Version 2.0.1 (September, 2021). To modify the SPARTN input/output settings, see the configuration section in the applicable interface description [2].
Page 25
(SPARTN message formatted IP stream) or over L-band satellites (SPARTN L-band stream formatted as UBX-RXM-PMP messages). Only one source can be configured to be used at a time by ZED-F9P. The configuration item CFG- SPARTN-USE_SOURCE can be configured to select which source will be used. Alternatively, the input protocol configuration items of a physical port can be configured to block input support for...
Page 26
SPARTN messages may be encrypted as indicated by SPARTN field TF004 (Encryption and authentication flag). ZED-F9P supports both encrypted and unencrypted SPARTN messages. Unencrypted SPARTN messages can be utilized as is by ZED-F9P without any special setup. Encrypted SPARTN messages can be decrypted and utilized by ZED-F9P once the appropriate dynamic keys are set and managed by the host application.
ZED-F9P supports CLAS corrections directly provided from NEO-D9C output in the form of UBX- RXM-QZSSL6. ZED-F9P can be directly connected to a NEO-D9C or the host application can forward the UBX-RXM-QZSSL6 message from NEO-D9C to ZED-F9P with no parsing needed.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual See Legacy UBX-CFG message fields reference section in the applicable interface description [2]. 3.1.8 Navigation configuration This section presents various configuration options related to the navigation engine. These options can be configured through various configuration groups, such as CFG-NAVSPG-*, CFG-ODO-*, and CFG-MOT-*.
Page 29
fix has been achieved, which are further subdivided into specific types of fixes (e.g. 2D, 3D, dead reckoning). The ZED-F9P firmware does not support the dead reckoning position fix type. Where a fix has been achieved, a check is made to determine whether the fix should be classified as valid or not.
Page 30
ZED-F9P - Integration manual do not meet both criteria will be regarded as unlocked to GNSS, and the corresponding time pulse settings of CFG-TP-* configuration group will be used to generate a time pulse. When in RTK float/fixed mode there are no navigation output filter settings for this mode. This is handled internally in the RTK core.
Page 31
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 6: Position publication in static hold mode Figure 7: Flowchart of the static hold mode UBX-18010802 - R13 3 Receiver functionality Page 31 of 123 C1-Public...
These include results such as position, altitude, velocity, status flags, accuracy estimate figures, satellite/signal information and more. The ZED-F9P can provide this output in two streams: • Primary output: Reports the results of a full navigation solution using all capabilities of the ZED-F9P, such as, for example, high precision positioning.
By default, the secondary output is disabled. Note that if you do not follow the next step, there will be no secondary output visible in the ZED-F9P communication interfaces in the form of UBX-NAV2- * messages.
3.2.3 Expected output behavior Once the secondary output is enabled and the desired secondary output UBX-NAV2-* messages are configured, the ZED-F9P will output both primary and secondary output data in the form of the enabled UBX-NAV-* and UBX-NAV2-* messages respectively.
Page 35
Every SBAS satellite that broadcasts ephemeris or almanac information can be used for navigation, just like a normal GNSS satellite. For receiving correction data, the ZED-F9P automatically chooses the best SBAS satellite as its primary source. It will select only one since the information received from other SBAS satellites is redundant and could be inconsistent.
3.4.1 Features Multiple QZSS SLAS signals can be received simultaneously. When receiving QZSS SLAS correction data, the ZED-F9P high precision receiver will autonomously select the best QZSS satellite. The selection strategy is determined by the quality of the QZSS L1S signals, the receiver configuration (test mode allowed or not), and the location of the receiver with...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Message type Message content Test mode Monitoring station information PRN mask Data issue number DGPS correction Satellite health Table 20: Supported QZSS L1S SLAS messages for navigation enhancing 3.4.2 Configuration To enable support for the necessary QZSS L1S signal, use the CFG-SIGNAL-QZSS_L1S_ENA configuration item.
The CFG-GEOFENCE-PIN configuration item refers to a PIO and not a physical device pin. The PIO number must be set so that it is mapped to the assigned geofence state device pin. The ZED-F9P is assigned PIO3 that is assigned to module pin 19. 3.6 Logging 3.6.1 Introduction...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Message Description UBX-LOG-ERASE Erases a log file and deactivates the logging subsystem UBX-LOG-INFO Provides information about the logging system UBX-LOG-STRING Enables a host process to write a string of bytes to the log file Table 22: Logging control and configuration messages...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Log entries are compressed and have housekeeping information associated with them, so the actual space occupied by log messages may be difficult to predict. The minimum size for a position fix entry is 9 bytes and the maximum 24 bytes, the typical size is 10 or 11 bytes. If the odometer is enabled then this will use at least another three bytes per fix.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual • A horizontal accuracy estimate is recorded to give an indication of fix quality. This is an approximate compressed representation of the accuracy as determined by the fix process. Any accuracy less than 0.7 m will be recorded as 0.7 m and any value above 1 km will be recorded as 1 km.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual The UBX-LOG-FINDTIME message can be used to search a log for the index of the first entry less than or equal to the given time. This index can then be used with the UBX-LOG-RETRIEVE message to provide time-based retrieval of log entries.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 13: PL bounding true position error 3.7.2 Interface The protection level bounds the true position error with a target misleading information risk (TMIR), for example 5[%MI/epoch] (read: 5% probability of having an MI per epoch). The target misleading...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual consider changing the mode of operation of the system or in the worst case declare the system unavailable. Examples of a change in the operating mode of the system could be stopping, reversing the direction of operation, slowing down or calculating a new acceptable error threshold appropriate to the mode of operation.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual PL values Description UBX-NAV-PL.plPos3 3 stands for the down axis Table 26: Position PL values If the PL coordinate frame is set to invalid (UBX-NAV-PL.plPosFrame = 0), then the PL values shall not be used. If the PL validity flag is cleared (UBX-NAV-PL.plValid =0), the PL values shall not be used.
NMEA) can be assigned to a single port (multi-protocol capability), which is particularly useful for debugging purposes. The ZED-F9P provides UART1, UART2, SPI, I2C and USB interfaces for communication with a host CPU. The interfaces are configured via the configuration methods described in the applicable interface description [2].
The ZED-F9P includes two UART serial ports. UART1 can be used as a host interface for configuration, monitoring and control. UART2 is available as an optional interface and cannot be used as a single host interface.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Allow a short time delay of typically 100 ms between sending a baud rate change message and providing input data at the new rate. Otherwise some input characters may be ignored or the port could be disabled until the interface is able to process the new baud rate.
Page 49
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 18: I2C register layout 3.8.2.2 Read access types There are two I2C read transfer forms: • The "random access" form: includes a peripheral register address and allows any register to be read. • The "current address" form: omits the register address.
Page 50
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 19: I2C random read access If the second form, "current address" is used, an address pointer in the receiver is used to determine which register to read. This address pointer will increment after each read unless it is already pointing at register 0xFF, the highest addressable register, in which case it remains unaltered.
Figure 21: I2C write access 3.8.3 SPI interface ZED-F9P has an SPI peripheral interface that can be selected by setting D_SEL = 0. The SPI peripheral interface is shared with UART1 and I2C port, the physical pins are same. The SPI pins available are: •...
USB host compatibility testing is thus recommended in this scenario. The ZED-F9P receiver supports only self-powered mode operation in which the receiver is supplied from its own power supply. The V_USB pin is used to detect the availability of the USB port, i.e.
Table 29: D_SEL configuration 3.9.2 RESET_N The ZED-F9P provides the ability to reset the receiver. The RESET_N pin is an input-only pin with an internal pull-up resistor. Driving RESET_N low for at least 100 ms will trigger a cold start.
I/O port. 3.9.4 TIMEPULSE The ZED-F9P high precision receiver provides a time pulse on the TIMEPULSE pin. More information about the time pulse feature and its configuration can be found in the Time pulse section.
The GEOFENCE_STAT pin is the module pin 19 and it is assigned to PIO3. 3.9.8 RTK_STAT interface The ZED-F9P provides an RTK_STAT pin that provides an indication of the RTK positioning status. It can be used to confirm if a valid stream of correction messages is being received. As valid correction messages we only consider the correction messages that are supported and used by the receiver.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual The current active antenna status can be determined by polling the UBX-MON-RF message. If an antenna is connected, the initial state after power-up is “Active Antenna OK" in the UBX-MON-RF message in the u-center "Message View". Antenna supervisor circuit...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual After a detected antenna short, the reported antenna status will keep on being reported as shorted. If the antenna short detection auto recovery is enabled, then the antenna status can recover after a timeout. To recover the antenna status immediately, a power cycle is required or configuring the antenna short detection functionality off...
UBX protocol MGA messages. These messages are ready for direct transmission from the client to the receiver port without requiring any modification. The ZED-F9P supports AssistNow Online only. 3.11.1 Authorization To use the AssistNow services, customers will need to obtain an authorization token from u-blox. Go to https://www.u-blox.com/en/solution/services/assistnow or contact your local technical support...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 3.12 Clocks and time This section introduces and explains the concepts of receiver clocks and time bases. 3.12.1 Receiver local time The receiver is dependent on a local oscillator for both the operation of its radio parts and also for timing within its signal processing.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual always generated, but they may be wrong by a few seconds (especially shortly after receiver start). Depending on the configuration of the receiver, such "invalid" times may well be output, but with flags indicating their state (e.g. the "valid" flags in UBX-NAV-PVT).
ZED-F9P - Integration manual that the probability of the time to be correct is very high. Note that information about time validity confirmation is only available if the confirmedAvai bit in the UBX-NAV-PVT message is set. validDate means that the receiver has knowledge of the current date. However, it must be noted that this date might be wrong for various reasons.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual The preferred variant of UTC time can be specified using CFG-NAVSPG-UTCSTANDARD configuration item. 3.12.7 Leap seconds Occasionally it is decided (by one of the international time keeping bodies) that, due to the slightly uneven spin rate of the Earth, UTC has moved sufficiently out of alignment with mean solar time (i.e.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 3.12.9.1 GPS-only date resolution In circumstances where only GPS L1C/A signals are available and for receivers with earlier firmware versions, the receiver establishes the date by assuming that all week numbers must be at least as large as a reference rollover week number. This reference rollover week number is hard-coded at compile time and is normally set a few weeks before the software is completed, but it can be overridden by CFG-NAVSPG-WKNROLLOVER configuration item to any value the user wishes.
Page 64
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 3.13.1.2 Recommendations • The time pulse can be aligned to a wide variety of GNSS times or to variants of UTC derived from them (see the section on time bases). However, it is strongly recommended that the choice of time base is aligned with the available GNSS signals (so to produce GPS time or UTC(USNO), ensure GPS signals are available, and for GLONASS time or UTC(SU) ensure the presence GLONASS signals).
Page 65
3.13.1.4 Time pulse configuration u-blox ZED-F9P receivers provide a time pulse (TIMEPULSE) signal with a configurable pulse period, length and polarity (rising or falling edge). It is possible to define different signal behavior (i.e. output frequency and pulse length) depending on whether or not the receiver is locked to a reliable time source.
Page 66
ZED-F9P - Integration manual • pulse length/ratio lock - Length or duty cycle of the generated pulse, as soon as the receiver has calculated a valid time from a received signal. Only used if the corresponding item is set to use another setting in locked mode.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 26: Time pulse signal with the example parameters 3.13.2 Time mark The receiver can be used to provide an accurate measurement of the time at which a pulse was detected on the external interrupt pin. The reference time can be chosen by setting the time source parameter to UTC, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo or local time in the CFG-TP-* configuration group.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 27: Time mark 3.14 Security The security concept of ZED-F9P covers: • the security of the receiver • communication between the receiver and the GNSS satellites Some receiver security functions monitor and detect threats and report them to the host system.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Threat u-blox solution Receiver configuration lock Table 31: u-blox security options 3.14.1 Spoofing detection and monitoring Spoofing is the process where a counterfeit GNSS signal is transmitted locally to deceive the receiver/user and produce an erroneous position fix and/or time solution.
See the applicable interface description [2]. 3.14.4 GNSS receiver security 3.14.4.1 Secure boot The ZED-F9P boots only with firmware images that are signed by u-blox. This prevents the execution of non-genuine firmware images on the receiver. 3.14.4.2 Secure firmware update The firmware image is signed by u-blox.
An example of use case is that the host application locks the receiver configuration. A user communicating with the ZED-F9P through any of the available interfaces can poll, enable or send messages, but cannot change the configuration by sending UBX configuration messages.
Page 72
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 28: GPS L1C/A subframe word 3.15.1.2.2 GPS L2C For GPS L2C signals each reported subframe contains the CNAV message as described in the GPS ICD. The ten words are arranged as follows: Figure 29: GPS L2C subframe words 3.15.1.2.3 GPS L5...
Page 73
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 30: GPS L5 subframe words 3.15.1.3 GLONASS For GLONASS L1OF signal, the UBX-RXM-SFRBX message contains a string content within the frame structure as described in the GLONASS ICD. This string comprises 85 data bits which are reported over three 32-bit words in the message. Data bits 1 to 8 are always a hamming code, while bits 81 to 84 are a string number and bit 85 is the idle chip, which should always have a value of zero.
Page 74
The Galileo E1-B and E5b in-phase signals (ZED-F9P-01B\02B\04B) transmit the I/NAV data message but in different configurations to enhance download time for dual frequency receivers. The Galileo E1-B and E5a signals (ZED-F9P-15B) transmit the I/NAV and F/NAV message respectively. The UBX-RXM-SFRBX structure for the I/NAV and F/NAV messages are shown below.
Page 75
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 3.15.1.5.1 Galileo E1-B For the Galileo E1-B signal, each reported subframe contains a pair of I/NAV pages as described in the Galileo ICD. Galileo pages can either be "Nominal" or "Alert" pages. For Galileo "Nominal" pages the eight words are arranged as follows:...
Page 76
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Alert pages are reported in very similar manner, but the page type bits will have value 1 and the structure of the eight words will be slightly different (as indicated by the Galileo ICD). 3.15.1.5.2 Galileo E5b For the Galileo E5b in-phase signal data component, each reported subframe contains a pair of I/ NAV pages as described in the Galileo ICD.
Page 77
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 3.15.1.5.3 Galileo E5a For the Galileo E5a in-phase signal data component, each reported subframe contains a number of F/NAV pages as described in the Galileo ICD. For each page the eight words are arranged as follows: Figure 35: Galileo E5a subframe words 3.15.1.6 SBAS...
Page 78
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 36: SBAS subframe words 3.15.1.7 QZSS The structure of the data delivered by QZSS L1C/A signals is effectively identical to that of GPS (L1C/A). Similarly the structure of the data delivered by the QZSS L2C signal is effectively identical to that of GPS (L2C).
ZED-F9P - Integration manual GNSS Signal gnssId sigId numWords period QZSS L2CL QZSS L5 I GLONASS L1OF GLONASS L2OF NavIC L5 A Table 33: Data message formats reported by UBX-RXM-SFRBX 3.16 Forcing a receiver reset Typically, in GNSS receivers, a distinction is made between cold, warm, and hot start, depending on the type of valid information the receiver has at the time of the restart.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 3.17 Firmware upload ZED-F9P is supplied with firmware. u-blox may release updated images containing, for example, security fixes, enhancements, bug fixes, etc. Therefore it is important that customers implement a firmware update mechanism in their system. A firmware image is a binary file containing the software to be run by the GNSS receiver. A firmware update is the process of transferring a firmware image to the receiver and storing it in non-volatile...
Page 81
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 37: Spectrum analyzer view in u-center with the option view/hold selected The span frequency depends on the number of constellations enabled which impacts the spectrum resolution owing to a fixed set of points. For further details about this message see the interface description [2].
The pin assignment of the ZED-F9P module is shown in Figure 38. The defined configuration of the PIOs is listed in Table The ZED-F9P is an LGA package with the I/O on the outside edge and central ground pads. Figure 38: ZED-F9P pin assignment Pin no. Name Description...
Do not add any series resistance greater than 0.2 Ω to the VCC supply as it will generate input voltage noise due to dynamic current conditions. For the ZED-F9P module the equipment must be supplied by an external limited power source in compliance with the clause 2.5 of the standard IEC 60950-1.
4.2.3 ZED-F9P power supply The ZED-F9P requires a low-noise, low-dropout voltage, and a very low source impedance power supply of 3.3 V typically. No inductors or ferrite beads should be used from LDO to the module VCC pin.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 40: Minimal ZED-F9P design For a minimal design with the ZED-F9P GNSS modules, the following functions and pins should be considered: • Connect the power supply to VCC and V_BCKP. • If hot or warm start operations are needed, connect a backup battery to V_BCKP.
It is important for the Z impedance to be greater than 500 ohms within the 1-1.8 GHz frequency range. This impedance ensures efficient blocking of RF signals from reaching the power supply. Figure 42: ZED-F9P antenna bias inductor impedance 4.4.1.1 External power supply Figure 43 shows an example with an external filtered supply V_ANT 3.3 V, Consider the power...
Page 89
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 43: ZED-F9P with external voltage antenna bias Part Specifications Values Filtering capacitor 100 nF, 16 V Ferrite bead BLM15HB121SH1 Minimum Current of 300 mA or more impedance >500 LQG15HS47NJ02 Ω at GNSS frequencies Current limit resistor 10 ohm Table 36: ZED-F9P external voltage antenna bias components 4.4.1.2 External power supply and current limiting...
Page 90
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 44: ZED-F9P with external voltage antenna bias and current limit circuit Part Specifications Values Filtering capacitor 10n, Bias-T, X7R 10N 10% 16 V Filtering capacitor 100 nF, 16 V Ferrite bead BLM15HB121SH1 Minimum Current of 300 mA or more impedance >500 LQG15HS47NJ02 Ω...
Current limit resistor 10 ohm Table 38: ZED-F9P VCC_RF antenna bias components 4.4.2 Antenna supervisor circuit The active antenna supervisor circuit connects to three ZED-F9P pins: • ANT_OFF • ANT_DETECT • ANT_SHORT_N For example the antenna open circuit detection using ANT_DET, "high" = Antenna detected (antenna consumes current);...
Page 92
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 46: ZED-F9P antenna supervisor circuit The bias-T inductor L4 should support multi-band operation within the 1-1.8 GHz frequency range. For additional information, see Active Antenna Power Supply section. Part Specifications Filtering capacitor Minimum Current of 300 mA or more. Impedance >500 Ω at GNSS frequencies...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 4.5 EOS/ESD precautions To avoid overstress damage during production or in the field it is essential to observe strict EOS/ ESD/EMI handling and protection measures. To prevent overstress damage at the RF_IN of your receiver, never exceed the maximum input power as specified in the applicable data sheet [1].
Figure 48: Active antenna EOS protection 4.5.3 Safety precautions The ZED-F9P must be supplied by an external limited power source in compliance with the clause 2.5 of the standard IEC 60950-1. In addition to external limited power source, only Separated or Safety Extra-Low Voltage (SELV) circuits are to be connected to the module including interfaces and antennas.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual • In-band interference: Although the GNSS band is kept free from intentional RF signal sources by radio-communications standards, many devices emit RF power into the GNSS band at levels much higher than the GNSS signal itself. One reason is that the frequency band above 1 GHz is not well regulated with regards to EMI, and even if permitted, signal levels are much higher than GNSS signal power.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 4.7 Layout This section details layout and placement requirements of the ZED-F9P high precision receiver. 4.7.1 Placement GNSS signals at the surface of the Earth are below the thermal noise floor. A very important factor in achieving maximum GNSS performance is the placement of the receiver on the PCB. The placement used may affect RF signal loss from antenna to receiver input and enable interference into the...
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 4.7.3.2 Paste mask Figure 50: ZED-F9P suggested paste mask 4.7.4 Layout guidance The presented layout guidance reduces the risk of performance issues at design level. 4.7.4.1 RF In trace The RF in trace has to work in the combined GNSS signal bands.
Page 99
4.7.4.2 Vias for the ground pads The ground pads under the ZED-F9P high precision receiver need to be grounded with vias to the lower ground layer of the PCB. A solid ground layer fill on the top layer of the PCB is recommended.
• If USB is used, is there a 1 uF capacitor right near the V_USB pin? This is just for the V_USB pin. • Is there a 1 uF cap right next to the module VCC pin? • Compare the peak current consumption of the ZED-F9P GNSS module with the specification of your power supply.
• If a patch type antenna is used, an antenna ground plane with minimum 100 - 150 mm diameter is required. • Ensure antenna supports both L1 and L2 bands for ZED-F9P-01B\02B\04B or L1 and L5 bands for ZED-F9P-15B. • Ensure antenna element gain is between 2 and 3 dBic typical for each band.
Ensure the ground pads of the module are connected to ground. 4.8.6 Schematic design For a minimal design with the ZED-F9P GNSS modules, consider the following functions and pins: • Connect the power supply to VCC and V_BCKP. • V_USB: If USB is used it is recommended V_USB is to be powered as per USB self-powered mode specification.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual 5 Product handling 5.1 ESD handling precautions ZED-F9P contains highly sensitive electronic circuitry and is an Electrostatic Sensitive Device (ESD). Observe precautions for handling! Failure to observe these precautions can result in severe damage to the GNSS receiver! •...
Page 104
Exceeding the maximum soldering temperature in the recommended soldering profile may permanently damage the module. Figure 54: Soldering profile for professional grade ZED-F9P UBX-18010802 - R13 5 Product handling Page 104 of 123 ...
Page 105
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Modules must not be soldered with a damp heat process. Optical inspection After soldering the module, consider optical inspection. Cleaning Do not clean with water, solvent, or ultrasonic cleaner: • Cleaning with water will lead to capillary effects where water is absorbed into the gap between the baseboard and the module.
55, with pin 1 location on the bottom of the tape, the feed direction into the pick and place pick-up is from the reel (located on the right of the figure) towards left. The dimensions of the tapes for ZED-F9P are specified in Figure 56 (measurements in mm).
Figure 56: ZED-F9P tape dimensions (mm) 5.4 Reels The ZED-F9P receivers are deliverable in quantities of 250 pieces on a reel. The receivers are shipped on reel type B, as specified in the u-blox Package Information Guide [3]. 5.5 Moisture sensitivity levels The moisture sensitivity level (MSL) for ZED-F9P is specified in the table below.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Appendix A Glossary Abbreviation Definition ANSI American National Standards Institute Antenna reference point BeiDou Chinese navigation satellite system Battery-backed RAM CDMA Code-division multiple access Electromagnetic compatibility Electromagnetic interference Electrical overstress Electrostatic protective area Electrostatic discharge Galileo European navigation satellite system...
C.1 Base configuration with u-center This section describes setting a static base configuration in the u-center "Messages View" window. Start u-center and connect to the ZED-F9P device. Under the UBX-CFG message tree, three configuration messages are listed: • UBX-CFG-VALDEL: Allows configuration deletion •...
Page 110
ZED-F9P - Integration manual All configuration item setting is done using the UBX-CFG-VALSET dialog. The general operation is as follows: To open a configuration setting dialog, select UBX-CFG-VALSET in the message tree list. Select the required Group in the "Compose list entry" section.
Page 111
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 58: Base station: u-center UBX-CFG-VALSET message view for setting the CFG-MSGOUT-* configuration group for enabling the output of the required RTCM messages The configuration illustration shows the use of RTCM MSM7 messages. MSM4 messages are equally applicable as recommended in the receiver configuration section.
Page 112
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 59: Base station: u-center UBX-CFG-VALSET message view for setting the CFG-TMODE-* configuration group required for performing a survey-in When using the survey-in mode, you must select reasonable settings based on the environment and achievable accuracy in the base location. A figure of 50000 (0.1 mm x 50000 = 5 m) for estimated accuracy and survey-in time of 60 seconds is a sensible starting point.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 60: Base station: u-center data view in TIME mode C.2 Rover configuration with u-center This overview will help when setting up a rover when using u-center. In this procedure, the UART1 is set with an appropriate baud rate for communicating with a host.
Page 114
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Select the added Key. It will now give the option of setting or reading the current value. See Figure Figure 62: Example u-center UBX-CFG-VALSET message view when selecting a configuration item Next add the value, for example, 230400, into the Value window that appears below the list.
Page 115
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Then set the configuration by clicking the Send button at the bottom of the message tree view. Remember to set the u-center baud rate to match the value set in the receiver. Figure 63: Rover: u-center UBX-CFG-VALSET message view for setting the CFG-UART1-BAUDRATE configuration item that controls the baud rate of UART1 Next, some UBX example messages are configured to enable viewing the rover status.
Page 116
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Click Send. See Figure Figure 64: Rover: u-center UBX-CFG-VALSET message view for setting the CFG-MSGOUT-* configuration items for enabling the output of some recommended UBX messages To ensure all the required RTCM messages, including most importantly RTCM 1005 or 4072.0, are being received regularly, examine the UBX-RXM-RTCM output in u-center.
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 65: Rover: u-center UBX-RXM-RTCM view Once the rover has started to receive valid RTCM messages, it will transition through 3D Fix to 3D/ DGNSS to Float, and, ultimately, into Fixed mode. This will occur when it is receiving all required RTCM messages, including RTCM 1005 or 4072.0, under sufficient signal conditions.
Page 118
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 67: Stacked patch antenna The absolute antenna position for a survey-grade antenna is normally given as the antenna reference point (ARP), usually specified at a mechanical mounting point. The antenna nominal phase center is given by a phase center combination of the L1 and L2 or L5 patches. Survey-grade antenna makers provide offset data for phase variation with respect to the ARP.
Page 119
L1 + L2 antenna is shown below. Figure 69: Low-cost L1/L2 antenna band characteristics The u-blox low-cost antenna design is shown below, followed by some examples of antennas from other manufacturers which can be used with ZED-F9P. UBX-18010802 - R13 Appendix Page 119 of 123 ...
Page 120
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Figure 70: u-blox low-cost RTK antenna There are antenna types that can be used without a substantial ground plane, such as a helical antenna type. This is a useful solution where space is limited, for example, for drone or small form factor applications.
HPG 1.32 Interface description, UBX-22008968 HPG-L1L5-1.40 Interface description, UBX-23006991 Packaging information for u-blox chips, modules, and antennas, UBX-14001652 ZED-F9P Moving Base application note, UBX-19009093 For regular updates to u-blox documentation and to receive product change notifications please register on our homepage https://www.u-blox.com.
Document information section updated, Related documents section updated. 03-May-2022 dama HPG 1.32 update. ZED-F9P-04B-01 update. Overall text improvement and typo corrections. 30-Aug-2023 dbhu HPG L1L5 1.40 update. ZED-F9P-15B-00 update. Overall text improvement and typo corrections. UBX-18010802 - R13 Revision history Page 122 of 123 C1-Public...
Page 123
ZED-F9P - Integration manual Contact u-blox AG Address: Zürcherstrasse 68 8800 Thalwil Switzerland For further support and contact information, visit us at www.u-blox.com/support. UBX-18010802 - R13 Page 123 of 123 C1-Public...
Need help?
Do you have a question about the ZED-F9P and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers