Enabling TerraStar Correction Services

With TerraStar Correction Services data and NovAtel's Precise Point Positioning (PPP) algorithm, SMART2 receivers can achieve up to centimetre level positioning accuracy when a TerraStar subscription is active.

To use TerraStar Correction Services and obtain a PPP solution, perform the following steps.

  1. Ensure the OEM7 receiver has a model that supports the TerraStar Correction Service to be used. See Receiver Models Needed for TerraStar Correction Services.

  2. Ensure L-Band tracking is enabled on the receiver.
    L-band tracking is enabled by default and required for service delivery unless IP service delivery is used. See Enable L-Band Tracking.

  3. Obtain a subscription to the TerraStar Correction Service to be used. See TerraStar Subscriptions.

Required Firmware

A SMART2 requires the following minimum firmware versions to support TerraStar Correction Services:

  • TerraStar-L – all OEM7 firmware versions

  • TerraStar-C PRO – firmware version 7.05.00 or later

Firmware version 7.08.10 or later is required for the best convergence performance for TerraStar-C PRO.

For instructions on upgrading the SMART2 firmware, see NovAtel Firmware.

Receiver Models Needed for TerraStar Correction Services

Specific receiver models are required to use the correction data provided by TerraStar Correction Services.

To check the model of the receiver:

  1. Request the VERSION log to view the current receiver model.

    log version once

    <VERSION COM1 0 83.0 FINESTEERING 2061 167959.862 1a04c000 3681 15699

    <   8

    <      GPSCARD "DSNLNNTMNT0G" "BMWR19050037L" "OEM2500-1.00" "OA7CR0602RN0000" "OM7BR0100RBG000" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:16"

    <      EMBEDDED_AUTH "GSNNNNNNN" "?MWR?????????" "NO_HW_VER" "NO_EXPIRY_DATE" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:35"

    <      APPLICATION "" "" "" "ES2AR0602RN0000" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:43"

    <      DEFAULT_CONFIG "" "" "" "ES2CR0602RN0000" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:58"

    <      PACKAGE "" "" "" "ES2PR0602RN0000" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:49"

    <      ENCLOSURE "SMART2-TB" "NMVK19060013V" "" "" "" "" ""

    <      BLUETOOTH "" "0081F91AFBBF" "BT121" "BT1210100RN0000" "1.2.0-208" "2019/05/09" "15:16:47"

    <      IMUCARD "IAM 20680" "" "" "" "" "" ""

  2. Compare the model number of the receiver to the model required for a TerraStar subscription. The first four letters of the receiver model must match the letters in the table below.
    In the example above, the receiver model number is DSNLNNTMNT0G.

     

     

    TerraStar-L

    TerraStar-C PRO

    SMART2

    Minimum model required

    GDN-L

    DDN-P

    Model for full functionality

    DDN-L

    MFN-P

    Notes about the fourth letter. A P model (e.g. DDN-P)meets the requirements for L and P.

    Models that enable TerraStar-C PRO also enable the Subscription Managed Channel Configuration feature. For more information, see Subscription Managed Channel Configuration.

  3. If the receiver does not have the minimum model required, or if you want to upgrade to full TerraStar functionality, contact your local NovAtel sales representative to upgrade the receiver model.

Enable L-Band Tracking

The receiver must be powered and tracking an L-Band signal from a TerraStar satellite prior to the planned activation time. Send the ASSIGNLBANDBEAM command to configure the receiver to track the L-Band signals from TerraStar satellites.

ASSIGNLBANDBEAM auto

By default, the ASSIGNLBANDBEAM command is set to AUTO.

To confirm the receiver is tracking of an L-Band signal, request the LBANDTRACKSTAT log to view the L-Band tracking status information.

log lbandtrackstat

<LBANDTRACKSTAT USB1 0 54.5 FINESTEERING 2232 421280.000 02000020 29e3 16809

<   5

<      "98W" 1545865000 1200 974c 00c2 0 -449.146 40.239 2.8709 160.522 2944 1 1 376832 287 0.0005

<      "AORW" 1545845000 1200 974c 00c2 0 -178.422 44.178 4.1159 171.958 3200 0 0 409600 2 0.0000

<      "POR" 1545905000 1200 974c 0000 0 643.962 0.000 0.0000 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0.0000

<      "" 0 0 0000 0003 0 0.000 0.000 0.0000 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0.0000

<      "" 0 0 0000 0003 0 0.000 0.000 0.0000 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0.0000

If the receiver is tracking an L-Band signal from a TerraStar satellite, the tracking status word (shown in bold in the example above) of the LBANDTRACKSTAT log will be 00c2. In the example above, the tracking status word indicates that the receiver has locked onto the signal from "98W" and "AORW", but not "POR".

The latest services and coverage can be obtained from novatel.com/products/gps-gnss-correction-services/terrastar-correction-services. For additional information on TerraStar activation, contact NovAtel Customer Service at novatel.com/support or download APN-087 TerraStar on OEM7 from novatel.com/support/support-materials/application-notes

TerraStar Subscriptions

A subscription is required to use TerraStar Correction Services for land and airborne applications.

There are several TerraStar Correction Services available:

  • TerraStar-L
    TerraStar-L is a real-time correction service that includes GPS and GLONASS satellite clock and orbit corrections that provides sub-metre accuracy and excellent pass-to-pass accuracy.

  • TerraStar-C PRO
    TerraStar-C PRO is an advanced GNSS correction service that provides additional information, including higher rate clock and orbit corrections, and makes PPP ambiguity resolution possible. TerraStar-C PRO provides centimetre-level accuracy, fast convergence and fast re-convergence after GNSS outages.

For more information about TerraStar services, visit novatel.com/products/gps-gnss-correction-services/terrastar-correction-services.

Obtain a Subscription

To obtain a subscription, contact your local NovAtel sales representative. The NovAtel product serial number (PSN) is needed to obtain a subscription. Request the VERSION log to view the receiver serial number.

log version once

<VERSION COM1 0 83.0 FINESTEERING 2061 167959.862 1a04c000 3681 15699

<   8

<      GPSCARD "DSNLNNTMNT0G" "BMWR19050037L" "OEM2500-1.00" "OA7CR0602RN0000" "OM7BR0100RBG000" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:16"

<      EMBEDDED_AUTH "GSNNNNNNN" "?MWR?????????" "NO_HW_VER" "NO_EXPIRY_DATE" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:35"

<      APPLICATION "" "" "" "ES2AR0602RN0000" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:43"

<      DEFAULT_CONFIG "" "" "" "ES2CR0602RN0000" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:58"

<      PACKAGE "" "" "" "ES2PR0602RN0000" "" "2019/Jun/28" "09:09:49"

<      ENCLOSURE "SMART2-TB" "NMVK19060013V" "" "" "" "" ""

<      BLUETOOTH "" "0081F91AFBBF" "BT121" "BT1210100RN0000" "1.2.0-208" "2019/05/09" "15:16:47"

<      IMUCARD "IAM 20680" "" "" "" "" "" ""

In the example above, the receiver serial number is BMWR19050037L.

Verify the Subscription Status

After a subscription is purchased, the subscription activation signal can be broadcast at the time of the service activation (default), or at a specified start date and time (upon user request).

The receiver must be configured to track the TerraStar signal prior to the subscription start time. See Enable L-Band Tracking.

To confirm the TerraStar subscription status, request the TERRASTARSTATUS log:

log terrastarstatus

<TERRASTARSTATUS USB1 0 57.0 FINESTEERING 2232 423531.436 02000020 32bc 16809
<     ENABLELOCKED 0 IN_RANGE DISABLED

The first field after the log header will be ENABLE to indicate the TerraStar subscription is valid. The second field after the log header will be LOCKED to indicate the decoder is locked to the data format.

To achieve full TerraStar performance, reset the receiver using the RESET command or by power cycling the receiver.

Monitor PPP Convergence

The PPP position calculated using TerraStar Correction Services is not ready for use until the PPP solution has converged. To monitor the PPP convergence, request the PPPPOS log:

log ppppos ontime 1

<PPPPOS USB1 0 47.5 FINESTEERING 2232 424797.000 02000020 9078 16809
<     SOL_COMPUTED PPP_CONVERGING 51.15043905734 -114.03067597608 1096.6201 -17.0001 WGS84 0.6791 0.4277 1.7640 "TSTR" 17.000 0.000 34 34 34 33 00 00 7f 37

<PPPPOS USB1 0 58.5 FINESTEERING 2232 424886.000 02000020 9078 16809
<     SOL_COMPUTED PPP 51.15043767399 -114.03067692975 1097.4541 -17.0001 WGS84 0.2498 0.1951 0.4824 "TSTR" 16.000 0.000 34 34 34 33 00 00 7f 37

Initially the position type will report PPP_CONVERGING for TerraStar-C Pro or PPP_BASIC_CONVERGING for TerraStar-L. After the PPP solution has converged, the position type in the PPPPOS log will change to PPP for TerraStar-C PRO or PPP_BASIC for TerraStar-L.

Subscription Managed Channel Configuration

When using TerraStar-C Pro service, a three constellation, three frequency channel configuration gives better accuracy and faster convergence time compared to a dual-constellation, dual-frequency channel configuration. To allow the receiver to make best use of the TerraStar subscription, the Subscription Managed Channel Configuration (SMCC) feature automatically changes the channel configuration of the receiver to ensure all available constellations and frequencies are used. The specific channel configuration used is shown in the table below.

Receiver

TerraStar-C PRO

SMART2

MF config (6)

For information about channel configurations, refer to the SELECTCHANCONFIG command and the CHANCONFIGLIST log.

SMCC is enabled by default.

For information about enabling or disabling SMCC, see the TERRASTARAUTOCHANCONFIG command.

The automatically applied channel configuration takes effect on the next receiver restart after the TerraStar subscription is received.

If the TerraStar‑C PRO subscription becomes inactive, the receiver will revert to the channel configuration enabled by the receiver model.

This feature is available on OEM firmware version 7.08.15 and later.

Additional Information

For more information on TerraStar Correction Services, refer to APN-087: TerraStar on OEM7 available from novatel.com/support/support-materials/application-notes

For information on getting started with TerraStar Correction Services, refer to the TerraStar Correction Services Quick Start Guide Video