Alsace 47°52'46"N 7°24'30"E | Wrong: Satelite feeds tractor AND tower!
Tower computes correction and sends correction data directly or via repeater to tractor. The correction computed by the tower is assumed to be the same for the nearby tractor, hence the limitted range. Things can change if tractor and tower do not see same satelite!
With an RTK network, all towers in the network are referenced building a grid. A computer can then setup virtual towers after collecting and computing all data sent by the towers. The computed correction data for this virtual tower are then sent to the tractor (directly via cellular technology or via a radio relay on the farm).
Therefore, a RTK receiver is made up of 2 components: a GPS antenna and a receiver for the correction data.
To achieve said repeatability a mobile tower has to be placed on the very same spot, or else only accuracy will be achieved. Easy way is to choose a marked spot for the GPS antenna of the tower (shed, geographical point, etc ...) |
Is RTK really necessary?
