System Overview

The StarFire™ RTK system consists of a local base station placed in a field or mounted on a structure that transmits high accuracy corrections to the vehicle StarFire™ receiver using RTK radios. The StarFire™ receiver on the RTK-equipped vehicle must have a direct line of sight with the base station in order to receive the RTK signal.

Performance of the RTK system is related to the operating distance from the base station. When operating beyond 20 km (12 miles), degraded accuracy will occur and it may take longer to initially acquire the RTK signal.

A repeater, which is simply an RTK radio supplied with 12 volts of power, can be used to receive the base station signal and establish a new line of sight point. However, performance limitations can still be expected if trying to use the repeater to transmit the RTK signal to a vehicle that is farther than 20 km (12 miles) away from the base station.

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Position receiver with integrated RTK radio module is located on top of machine. Position receiver receives global positioning and differential correction signal through a single receiver and integrates signal for use with system.

The receiver has a dedicated operating mode (Vehicle Mode). Refer to "Operating Mode-RTK" in "StarFire iTC" Section for setup of the receiver on vehicle.

IMPORTANT: The antenna must be installed before the radio module is powered ON.

Avoid water intrusion by keeping the antenna attached whenever possible.

Removing the antenna while transmitting may damage the radio module.

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The base station is the most critical part of an RTK system. During installation, care must be taken to ensure the base has problem-free operation. There are two issues that are responsible for most problems with a base station: Shading and Multipathing . If a base station experiences one of these problems, it could be detrimental to your RTK operation. Although it may not be possible to locate a base station in an ideal location, this guide is aimed at helping to define the best option available.

Base station operating mode can be either Absolute Survey Base Mode or Quick survey Base Mode. Refer to "Operating Mode-RTK" in "StarFire iTC" Section for setup of the receiver on base station.

Refer to "Base Station Operation and Setup" in "StarFire iTC" Section for proper use and setup of the base station.

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The radio can be configured to act separately as a repeater. A repeater is required if obstructions (i.e. trees, hills, etc.) exist between the base station and vehicle(s) or if base station is too far away from the vehicles.

A repeater consists of:

• Radio (configured as a repeater)
• Harness
• Mounting Bracket
• 12 Volt Power Source
• Tripod or wall mount cradle

IMPORTANT: A repeater can only be used to repeat a signal from a base station to a vehicle. Therefore, a repeater cannot be used in a ''daisy chain,'' repeating the signal from one repeater to another.

Refer to "Repeater-RTK" in "StarFire iTC" Section to properly configure radio as repeater.

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