User Manual: Inertial and GNSS Measurement Systems

xF
RT
Inertial
and GNSS
measurement
systems
User Manual
Covers RT2000, RT3000
and RT4000 products
Confidently. Accurately.
Legal Notices
Information furnished is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, Oxford
Technical Solutions Limited assumes no responsibility for the consequences of use of
such information nor for any infringement of patents or other rights of third parties
which may result from its use. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under
any patent or patent rights of Oxford Technical Solutions Limited. Specifications
mentioned in this publication are subject to change without notice and do not represent
a commitment on the part of Oxford Technical Solutions Limited. This publication
supersedes and replaces all information previously supplied. Oxford Technical
Solutions Limited products are not authorised for use as critical components in life
support devices or systems without express written approval of Oxford Technical
Solutions Limited.
All brand names are trademarks of their respective holders.
The software is provided by the contributors “as is” and any express or implied
warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and
fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall the contributors be
liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages
(including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use,
data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability,
whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in
any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such
damage.
Copyright Notice
© Copyright 2013, Oxford Technical Solutions.
Revision
Document Revision: 131024 (See Revision History for detailed information).
Contact Details
Oxford Technical Solutions Limited Tel: +44 (0) 1869 238 015
77 Heyford Park Fax: +44 (0) 1869 238 016
Upper Heyford
Oxfordshire Web: http://www.oxts.com
OX25 5HD Email: support@oxts.com
United Kingdom
2 Oxford Technical Solutions

RT User Manual
Warranty
Oxford Technical Solutions Limited (OxTS) warrants the RT products to be free of
defects in materials and workmanship, subject to the conditions set forth below, for a
period of one year from the Date of Sale.
‘Date of Sale’ shall mean the date of the Oxford Technical Solutions Limited invoice
issued on delivery of the product. The responsibility of Oxford Technical Solutions
Limited in respect of this warranty is limited solely to product replacement or product
repair at an authorised location only. Determination of replacement or repair will be
made by Oxford Technical Solutions Limited personnel or by personnel expressly
authorised by Oxford Technical Solutions Limited for this purpose.
In no event will Oxford Technical Solutions Limited be liable for any indirect,
incidental, special or consequential damages whether through tort, contract or
otherwise. This warranty is expressly in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or
implied, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose. The foregoing states the entire liability of Oxford
Technical Solutions Limited with respect to the products herein.
Revision: 131024 3
Table of contents
Introduction 8
Easy operation 9
Self-correcting 9
Interchangeable 9
Advanced processing 9
Related documents 10
RT family divisions 11
Single antenna 11
Dual antenna 11
GLONASS 12
250 Hz 12
Satellite differential corrections 12
Scope of delivery 14
RT2000 system components 14
Specification 18
Common specifications 22
Notes on specifications 22
Heading accuracy 22
Environmental protection 23
GNSS antenna operating temperature 23
Safety information 23
Export control classification number 23
Conformance notices 25
Regulator testing standards 25
Software installation 26
Hardware installation 28
RT orientation and alignment 28

RT User Manual
Antenna placement and orientation 28
Operation 31
Front panel layout 31
LED definitions 33
Co-ordinate frame conventions 36
Navigation frame 37
Level frame 37
Vehicle frame 38
Ethernet configuration 39
Connection details 40
Dual antenna systems 41
Multipath effects on dual antenna systems 43
Inputs and outputs 44

Digital inputs and outputs 44
1PPS output 45
Event input 46
Wheel speed input 46
Wheel speed output 46
IMU sync output pulse 46
Reverse polarity protection 47
Configuring the RT 48
Overview 48
Selecting the operating language 49
Navigating through NAVconfig 49
Product selection 49
Reading the initial configuration 50
Orientation 52
Get settings… 54
Primary antenna position 56
Secondary antenna position 58
Advanced slip 59
Options 61
Vehicle starts 62
Vibration 62
GNSS environment 63
Differential correction 63
Revision: 131024 5
SBAS 64
OmniSTAR 64
CAN 65
Heading lock 69
Garage mode 70
Initialisation speed 71
Displace output 71
Distance output 71
Analogue output 72
Acceleration filter 72
Wheel speed input 73
Local co-ordinates 75
Serial 1 output 76
Ethernet output 78
Steering robot IP 79
Output smoothing 79
Slip points 80
GNSS control 81
Surface tilt 84
Altitude 85
Advanced 86
Committing the configuration to the RT 86
Saving the configuration and finishing 87
Setting up the base station 89

Using the RT-Base 89
Initialisation process 90
Real-time outputs 90
Warm-up period 91
Using OmniSTAR corrections 95
Post-processing data 96
Laboratory testing 97
Accelerometer test procedure 97
Gyro test procedure 97
Testing the internal GNSS and other circuitry 98

RT User Manual
Using the orientation measurements 100
Operating principles 101

Internal components 101
Strapdown navigator 102
Kalman filter 103
CAN messages and signals 105

Termination resistor 105
CAN-DB file 105
CAN bus messages 105
Table heading definitions 107
Signals 107
Revision history 117
Drawing list 118
Revision: 131024 7
Introduction
The RT family of inertial and GNSS navigation systems from Oxford Technical
Solutions are instruments for making precision measurements of motion in real-time.
There are three divisions within the RT family, the RT2000, RT3000 and RT4000.
Each series has different models within it. The difference between series is described in
more detail in the “RT family divisions” section on page 11.
To obtain high-precision measurements, the RT uses mathematical algorithms

developed for use in fighter aircraft navigation systems. An inertial sensor block with
three accelerometers and three gyros (angular rate sensors) is used to compute all the
outputs. A WGS 84 modelled strapdown navigator algorithm compensates for earth
curvature, rotation and Coriolis accelerations, while measurements from high-grade
kinematic GNSS receivers update the position and velocity navigated by the inertial
sensors.
This innovative approach gives the RT several distinct advantages over systems that
use GNSS alone:
 The RT has a high (100 Hz or 250 Hz) update rate and a wide bandwidth.
 The outputs are available with very low, 3.5 ms latency.
 All outputs remain available continuously during GNSS blackouts when, for
example, the vehicle drives under a bridge.
 The RT recognises jumps in the GNSS position and ignores them.
 The position and velocity measurements the GNSS makes are smoothed to reduce
the high-frequency noise.
 The RT makes many measurements GNSS cannot make, for example acceleration,
angular rate, heading, pitch, roll.
 The RT takes inputs from a wheel speed sensor in order to improve the drift rate
when no GNSS is available.
An RT system processes data in real-time. The real-time results are output via an
RS232 serial port, over 10/100 Base-T Ethernet using a UDP broadcast and on CAN
bus. Outputs are time-stamped and refer to GPS time; a 1PPS timing sync can be used
to give very accurate timing synchronisation between systems. The inertial
measurements are synchronised to the GPS clock.

RT User Manual
Internal data logging enables the data to be reprocessed post-mission. Data can be
collected in the unit, downloaded using “ftp”, processed on a PC and viewed using the
customer’s software.
Easy operation
Installation and operation of the RT could not be simpler. There is minimal

configuration required to use the system. The configuration can be saved to the RT so it
can operate autonomously without user intervention. A lot of work has been put into
the initialisation of the inertial algorithms so the RT can reliably start to navigate in the
vast majority of situations.
The single unit contains inertial sensors, GNSS receiver, data storage and CPU. One or
two antennas need to be mounted outside the vehicle where they have a clear view of
the sky. A 10—25 V dc power supply can be obtained from most vehicles. A laptop
computer allows real-time viewing of the results.
Self-correcting
Unlike conventional inertial navigation systems, the RT uses GNSS to correct all its
measurements. GNSS makes measurements of position, velocity and (for dual antenna
systems) heading. Using these measurements, the RT is able to keep other quantities,
such as roll and pitch accurate. Tight coupling of the GNSS and inertial measurements
means the raw GNSS data can also be used. There is no drift from the RT in any of the
measurements while GNSS is present.
Interchangeable
All RT products have identical output capabilities and are interchangeable. The serial
port, Ethernet and CAN bus are the same on all the systems. The data formats used are
also the same. The connectors on the RT2000 products are different but can usually be
interfaced without problem.
Advanced processing
In poor GNSS environments drift times can be halved by using the combined results of
processing forwards and backwards in time. OxTS’s proprietary gx/ix processing
engine can further improve performance with single satellite aiding algorithms and
tight coupling of the inertial and GNSS measurements, meaning position updates even
with less than four satellites in view
Revision: 131024 9
Related documents
This manual contains sufficient information about the installation and operation of an
RT system. It is beyond the scope of this manual to provide details on service or repair.
Contact OxTS support or your local representative for any customer service related
inquiries.
There are separate manuals available for further information on some of the software
and communication types mentioned in this manual. Table 1 lists related manuals and
where to find them.
Table 1. Supplementary manuals

Manual Description
Enginuity User manual for the real-time display software Enginuity.
Manual
www.oxts.com/Downloads/Support/Manuals/EnginuityMan.pdf
NAVgraph User manual for the graphing and display software NAVgraph.
Manual
www.oxts.com/Downloads/Support/Manuals/NAVgraphman.pdf
NCOM NCOM description manual.
Manual
www.oxts.com/Downloads/Support/NCOM Manual and Code Drivers/ncomman.pdf
NCOM C A collection of C functions that can be used to decode the binary protocols from the
Code Drivers RT.
www.oxts.com/Downloads/Support/NCOM Manual and Code Drivers/ncomrx.zip
NMEA 0183 NMEA description manual for the NMEA outputs.
Description
www.oxts.com/Downloads/Support/NMEA/nmeaman.pdf
RT Post- User manual for the post-processing software RT Post-process.
process
www.oxts.com/Downloads/Support/Manuals/rtppman.pdf
Manual
RT Quick- Short guide going over the basics needed to quickly set up and start using an RT.
start guide
http://www.oxts.com/Downloads/Products/RT3000/RT_QuickStartGuide_(121019).pdf

RT User Manual
RT family divisions
The RT product family includes several different divisions, all based on similar
technology. Each product has been selected to serve a different accuracy requirement or
operating condition. The family is split into three series, with each series having a
number of model variations.
The RT series are as follows. The individual models within each series can be seen in
the “Specification” section on page 18.
 RT2000 series. These products use a low-cost GNSS receiver. Both 100 Hz and
250 Hz models exist within this division. Single and dual antenna models are
available, and a GLONASS enabled model.
 RT3000 series. These products use a survey grade GNSS receiver, all with the
option of being GLONASS compatible, giving high-precision position and velocity
measurements even in high multipath environments. The RT3000 series has an
update rate of 100 Hz. Both single and dual antenna models are available.
 RT4000 series. These products are identical to the RT3000 range but have an
update rate of 250 Hz.
Single antenna
The advanced algorithm in the RT software means that most road vehicle customers are
able to use a single antenna system. The Heading lock and Advanced slip features mean
that the RT can maintain accurate heading while stationary and while driving with low
vehicle dynamics.
Dual antenna
The dual antenna system gives high accuracy heading information and almost constant
heading performance under all conditions. Single antenna systems can have reduced
heading accuracy on aircraft, boats or in low speed land vehicles.
For applications on aircraft or marine vehicles, or road vehicle applications on low-

friction surfaces (e.g. ice), a dual antenna system is recommended to maintain high
accuracy heading.
GNSS-only dual antenna systems require open-sky environments to operate because

they can take several minutes to acquire heading lock. Advanced processing in the RT
allows relock to occur after 5 s of a sky-obstruction; in this time the RT’s heading will
not have significantly degraded. The fast relock time is made possible because the RT’s
own heading is used to resolve the ambiguities in the GNSS measurements. Resolution
Revision: 131024 11
of these ambiguities is what normally takes several minutes. The heading software in
the RT enables significantly better performance and coverage compared to GNSS-only
solutions.
GLONASS
GLONASS capability adds the ability to utilise the Russian satellite constellation
GLONASS as well as the American constellation GPS. This means an extra 24
satellites are available for the RT to lock on to and obtain position and velocity updates
from.
In open sky conditions, the addition of GLONASS capability is of little benefit as the
GPS signals are unlikely to be interrupted and full accuracy can be achieved almost
100% of the time. However, in open-road testing situations there are likely to be
bridges, trees, and tall buildings that can block the view of satellites or cause multipath
effect errors. In these situations, GPS and GLONASS receivers are able to maintain 2
cm accurate RTK positioning mode at times when GPS-only receivers are not. They are
also able to re-establish RTK lock and resolve its ambiguities after an obstruction
faster.
Note: at this time, gx/ix processing does not support GLONASS. To take full advantage
of GLONASS capability, standard processing must be used.
250 Hz
All product divisions have the option of coming with a 250 Hz version of the inertial
measurement unit (IMU). The IMUs used in 100 Hz and 250 Hz products are
essentially the same, both with a fundamental sampling frequency of 2500 Hz. The
difference is the 3D filter used to integrate the accelerations and angular rates has a
smaller time step in the 250 Hz version, allowing a higher update rate.
However, because of the smaller time step, measurements that depend on angular
acceleration are typically noisier on the 250 Hz products. The noise can be managed by
filtering the data to limit the bandwidth.
Satellite differential corrections
To improve the positioning accuracy of standard GNSS, two satellite-based differential

correction services are available. These are SBAS and OmniSTAR.
SBAS services, such as WAAS and EGNOS, are wide-area differential corrections
provided for free. They can provide an accuracy of better than 1 m CEP. WAAS is
available in North America; EGNOS is available in Europe; MSAS is available in
Japan. Other parts of the world are not covered and cannot use this service.

RT User Manual
OmniSTAR is a subscription service. RT systems that have OmniSTAR capability

include the necessary hardware to receive the OmniSTAR corrections. In addition to
this, it is necessary to pay OmniSTAR a license fee to activate the corrections.
OmniSTAR provide three levels of correction. They are VBS (Virtual Base Station),
XP and HP (High Performance). OmniSTAR is available on all continents. Marine
versions also exist. In addition, there is a GLONASS based high performance service if
the GLONASS option has been installed on the receiver card.
For more information see OmniSTAR’s web site: www.omnistar.com.
Revision: 131024 13
Scope of delivery
RT products are supplied complete with cables, GNSS antennas, software and manuals.
As standard, magnetic mount antennas are provided but other antenna types are
available; please enquire for more details.
RT2000 system components
Table 2 lists all items that are delivered with each RT2000 model.
Table 2. Summary of RT2000 system components

Description RT2500 RT2502 RT2002
RT2500-250 RT2502-250 RT2002G
RT2002-250
RT2002G-250
RT2000 system unit   
Power cable 77C0002B   
GNSS antenna AT575–70  ×2
GNSS antenna G5Ant-2AMNS1 
5 m GNSS antenna cable 
Radio modem cable 14C0062B 
Serial cable   
Ethernet cable (cross-over)   
CD-ROM with manual and software   
User manual   
Calibration certificate   
The RT2000 products requires the correct differential corrections in order to work to
full specification. Differential corrections can be supplied by an RT-Base, GPS-Base or
other suitable differential correction source.
In addition to the components supplied, the user will require a laptop computer or other
logging system.

RT User Manual
Table 3 lists all the items that are delivered with each RT3000 model.

Description RT3100 RT3102 RT3100G RT3102G RT3002 RT3003
RT3002G RT3003G
RT3000 system      
unit
User cable      
(14C0038B)
GNSS antenna  ×2
AT575–70
GNSS antenna  ×2  ×2
G5Ant-2AMNS1
5 m GNSS antenna  ×2  ×2
cable
Null modem serial      
cable
CD-ROM (manual      
& software)
User manual      
Calibration      
certificate
The RT3000 products require the correct differential corrections in order to work to
their full specification. Differential corrections can be supplied by an RT-Base, GPS-
Base, or other suitable differential correction source.
In addition to the components supplied the user will require a laptop computer or
alternative logging system.
Revision: 131024 15
Table 4 lists all the items that are delivered with each RT4000 model.

Description RT4100 RT4102 RT4100G RT4102G RT4002 RT4003
RT4002G RT4003G
RT4000 system      
unit
User cable      
(14C0038B)
GNSS antenna  ×2
AT575–70
GNSS antenna  ×2  ×2
G5Ant-2AMNS1
5 m GNSS antenna  ×2  ×2
cable
Null modem serial      
cable
CD-ROM (manual      
& software)
User manual      
Calibration      
certificate
The RT4000 products require the correct differential corrections in order to work to
their full specification. Differential corrections can be supplied by an RT-Base, GPS-
Base, or other suitable differential correction source.
In addition to the components supplied the user will also require a laptop computer or
alternative logging system.

RT User Manual
Figure 1. Typical RT system and cables in transit case.
Revision: 131024 17
Specification
Specifications for RT products can be found in Table 5, Table 6, and Table 7. These
specifications are listed for operation of the system under the following conditions:
 After a warm-up period of 15 minutes continuous operation.
 Open-sky environment, free from cover by trees, bridges, buildings or other

obstructions. The vehicle must have remained in open-sky for at least 5 minutes for
full accuracy.
 The vehicle must exhibit some motion behaviour. Acceleration of the unit in
different directions is required so the Kalman filter can estimate any errors in the
sensors. Without this estimation, some of the specifications degrade.
 The distance from the RT measurement point to the primary GNSS antenna must be
known by the system to a precision of 5 mm or better. The vibration of the system
relative to the vehicle cannot allow this to change by more than 5 mm. The system
will estimate this value itself in dynamic conditions.
 For dual antenna systems, the system must know the relative orientation of the two
antennas to 0.05° or better. The system will estimate this value itself under dynamic
conditions.
 For single antenna systems, the heading accuracy is only achieved under dynamic
conditions. Under benign conditions, such as motorway driving, the performance
will degrade. The performance is undefined when stationary for prolonged periods
of time.
Optionally, extended measurement ranges covering 30 g acceleration and 300°/s

angular rate may be requested. The specification using the extended measurement
range sensors can be marginally worse than those listed here.

RT User Manual
Table 5. RT2000 performance specification

Parameter RT2500 / RT2502 / RT2002 / RT2002G /
RT2500–250 RT2502–250 RT2002–250 RT2002G-250
Positioning GPS L1 GPS L1 GPS L1, L2 GPS L1, L2
GLONASS L1, L2
Position accuracy1 3.0 m CEP SPS 3.0 m CEP SPS 1.5 m CEP SPS 1.5 m CEP SPS
2.0 m CEP 2.0 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS
SBAS 0.9 m CEP 0.4 m CEP DGPS 0.4 m CEP DGPS
0.9 m CEP DGPS2 0.5 m CEP VBS 0.5 m CEP VBS
DGPS2 0.15 m CEP XP 0.15 m CEP XP
0.1 m CEP HP 0.1 m CEP HP
0.2 m 1L1 0.2 m 1L1
0.02 m 1L1/L2 0.02 m 1L1/L2
Velocity accuracy 0.2 km/h RMS 0.2 km/h RMS 0.1 km/h RMS 0.1 km/h RMS
Acceleration
– Bias 10 mm/s2 1 10 mm/s2 1 10 mm/s2 1 10 mm/s2 1
– Linearity 0.01% 1 0.01% 1 0.01% 0.01%
– Scale factor 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1
– Range 100 m/s2 100 m/s2 100 m/s2 100 m/s2
Roll/pitch 0.15° 1 0.15° 1 0.05° 1 0.05° 1
Heading 0.3° 1 0.2° 1 0.1° 1 0.1° 1
Angular rate
– Bias 0.02°/s 1 0.02°/s 1 0.01°/s 1 0.01°/s 1
– Scale factor 0.2% 1 0.2% 1 0.2% 1 0.2% 1
– Range 100°/s 100°/s 100°/s 100°/s
Track (at 50 km/h) 0.25° 1 0.25° 1 0.1° 1 0.1° 1
Slip angle (at 50 0.4° 1 0.4° 1 0.2° 1 0.2° 1
km/h)
Lateral velocity 0.5% 1 0.4% 1 0.2% 1 0.2% 1
Update rate 100 Hz / 250 Hz 100 Hz / 250 Hz 100 Hz / 250 Hz 100 Hz / 250 Hz
Input voltage 10–18 V dc 10–18 V dc 10–18 V dc 10–18 V dc
Power consumption 15 W 15 W 15 W 15 W
Dimensions 234 × 120 × 76 234 × 120 × 76 234 × 120 × 76 234 × 120 × 76 mm
mm mm mm
Mass 2.3 kg 2.3 kg 2.4 kg 2.4 kg
Dual antenna No Yes No No
1
To achieve specification, relevant differential corrections from a base station or OmniSTAR
subscription are required.
2
DGPS positioning on the RT2500 is only available using gx/ix mode in post-processing. 0.9 m accuracy
cannot currently be achieved in real-time. See section “GNSS control” on page 81 for more information
on gx/ix mode.
Revision: 131024 19
Table 6. RT3000 / RT4000 single antenna performance specification
Parameter RT3100 / RT3100G / RT3002 / RT3002G /
RT4100 RT4100G RT4002 RT4002G
GLONASS L1 GLONASS L1,
L2
0.6 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS
0.4 m CEP DGPS 0.4 m CEP DGPS 0.4 m CEP DGPS 0.4 m CEP DGPS
0.5 m CEP VBS 0.5 m CEP VBS
0.15 m CEP XP 0.15 m CEP XP
0.2 m 1L1 0.2 m 1L1
0.02 m 1L1/L2 0.02 m 1L1/L2
Acceleration
– Linearity 0.01% 1 0.01% 1 0.01% 1 0.01% 1
– Scale factor 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1
– Range 100 m/s2 100 m/s2 100 m/s2 100 m/s2
Roll/pitch 0.05° 1 0.05° 1 0.03° 1 0.03° 1
Heading 0.1° 1 0.1° 1 0.1° 1 0.1° 1
Angular rate
– Bias 0.01°/s 1 0.01°/s 1 0.01°/s 1 0.01°/s 1
– Scale factor 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1
– Range 100°/s 100°/s 100°/s 100°/s
Track (at 50 km/h) 0.15° 1 0.15° 1 0.07° 1 0.07° 1
Slip angle (at 50 0.2° 1 0.2° 1 0.15° 1 0.15° 1
km/h)
Dimensions 234 × 120 × 80 234 × 120 × 80 234 × 120 × 80 234 × 120 × 80
mm mm mm mm
Mass 2.2 kg 2.2 kg 2.2 kg 2.2 kg
1

RT User Manual
Table 7. RT3000 / RT4000 dual antenna performance specification

Product RT3102 / RT3102G / RT3003 / RT3003G /
RT4102 RT4102G RT4003 RT4003G
GLONASS L1 GLONASS L1,
L2
0.6 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS 0.6 m CEP SBAS
0.4 m CEP DGPS 0.4 m CEP DGPS 0.4 m CEP DGPS 0.4 m CEP DGPS
0.5 m CEP VBS 0.5 m CEP VBS
0.15 m CEP XP 0.15 m CEP XP
0.2 m 1L1 0.2 m 1L1
0.02 m 1L1/L2 0.02 m 1L1/L2
Acceleration
– Linearity 0.01% 1 0.01% 1 0.01% 1 0.01% 1
– Scale factor 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1
– Range 100 m/s2 100 m/s2 100 m/s2 100 m/s2
Roll/pitch 0.05° 1 0.05° 1 0.03° 1 0.03° 1
Heading 0.05° RMS 0.05° RMS 0.05° RMS 0.05° RMS
Angular rate
– Bias 0.01°/s 1 0.01°/s 1 0.01°/s 1 0.01°/s 1
– Scale factor 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1
– Range 100°/s 100°/s 100°/s 100°/s
Track (at 50 km/h) 0.15° 1 0.15° 1 0.07° 1 0.07° 1
Slip angle (at 50 0.2° 1 0.2° 1 0.15° 1 0.15° 1
km/h)
Dimensions 234 × 120 × 80 234 × 120 × 80 234 × 120 × 80 234 × 120 × 80
mm mm mm mm
Mass 2.4 kg 2.4 kg 2.4 kg 2.4 kg
1
Revision: 131024 21
Common specifications
Table 8. RT common specifications

Parameter Specification
Calculation latency 3.5 ms
Operating temperature1 -10° to 50 °C
Vibration 0.1 g2/Hz 5–500 Hz
Shock survival 100 g, 11 ms
Internal storage 2 GB
1
The operating temperature range for the antenna is much wider since it can be mounted outside the
vehicle. See specification below.
Notes on specifications
To achieve full accuracy in real-time, the RT products will require appropriate

differential corrections where applicable, either from a base station or with an
OmniSTAR license. Alternatively, a RINEX file can be downloaded post-mission and
used to post-process the data to full accuracy.
For OmniSTAR XP and OmniSTAR HP, at least 30 minutes of open-sky condition

may be required before full accuracy is achieved. Both services easily achieve this
accuracy in airborne applications.
The “1” specification has been used for parameters where offset cannot be measured
by the RT, for example position (the offset of the base-station cannot be found by the
RT alone). The “RMS” specification was used where the offset is known, for example
velocity. For angles and measurements derived from the angles, the “1” specification
is used because the mounting of the RT compared to the vehicle gives an offset the RT
cannot measure.
The accuracy of the product will depend on the operating mode of the GNSS. For
example an RT3002 operating without differential corrections enabled will have the
specifications of the RT3100.
Heading accuracy
The heading accuracy that can be achieved by the dual antenna system in the RTs in
Table 7 is 0.2° 1σ per metre of separation in ideal, open sky conditions. The system can
provide these accuracies in static and dynamic conditions. A 4 m separation is required
to reach the accuracy listed in Table 7. The maximum recommended separation is 5 m,

RT User Manual
at which it may be possible to achieve better than accuracy than that listed in Table 7 if
the structure is rigid, including temperature variation.
For single antenna systems, the heading is calculated from the inertial measurements.
The accuracies listed in Table 6 are achievable under dynamic conditions. Under static
conditions the heading accuracy of single antenna systems will degrade.
Non-ideal mounting of the GNSS antennas will reduce the heading accuracy,
particularly for dual antenna systems.
Environmental protection
The RT3000 and RT4000 products are rated to IP65. To achieve IP65 it is necessary to
have connectors fitted to both TNC antenna connectors and to use self-amalgamating
tape over the TNC connectors.
The RT2000 products have no environmental protection rating.
GNSS antenna operating temperature
The GNSS antennas have a much wider operating temperature range, from –55°C to
85°C, allowing them to be used on the outside of vehicles.
Safety information
RT2000 products have been tested to safety standard EN60950–1:2006 and A11:2009.
These safety standards will only apply when the RT2000 is used with the cables
supplied or with the RT-UPS.
Export control classification number
Export control regulations change, and so the classification number of the RT may also
change. The information here was correct when the manual was published. RT products
can fall under two different export control categories depending on the type of
accelerometer fitted internally. The type of accelerometer does not affect the
specification of the product, only the export control classification number (ECCN).
Table 9 lists the ECCN for the products.
Revision: 131024 23
Table 9. ECCN for RT products
Product Serial number ECCN
RT2000 1 to 1422 7A003d
RT2000 1423 onwards Either 7A003d or 7A103a1, see invoice or delivery note or
contact support at OxTS. Some products will have codes
that relate to export control on their labels.
EXCT-1 – 7A003d
EXCT-2 – 7A103a1
RT3000, RT4000 1 to 799 7A003d
RT3000, RT4000 800 onwards 7A103a1 or 7A003d, see invoice or delivery note or
contact support at OxTS.

RT User Manual
Conformance notices
The RT complies with the radiated emission limits for 47CFR15.109:2010 class A of
Part 15 subpart B of the FCC rules, and with the emission and immunity limits for class
A of EN 55022. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference in business, commercial and industrial uses. This equipment
generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the
user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following:
 Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna.
 Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
The RT incorporates a GNSS receiver. No GNSS receiver will be able to track satellites
in the presence of strong RF radiations within 70 MHz of either GNSS frequencies
(1575 MHz (L1), 1228 MHz (L2)).
The RT conforms to the requirements for CE.
Regulator testing standards
 47CFR15.109:2010 class A (radiated emissions).
 EN 300 440–1:2008, test methods 8.3.2 (conducted emissions) and 8.3.3

(radiated emissions).
 EN55022 class A according to standard EN 301 489–1:2008 (conducted

emissions).
 EN6100–4-3 criterion A according to standard EN 301 489–1:2008 (radiated

immunity).
 ISO7637–2 criterion B, 12 V according to standard EN 301 489–1:2008

(vehicular transients and surges immunity). Older RT systems do not conform to
this standard, contact OxTS for further details.
The following standards apply to the RT2500 and RT2502 products only.
 EN60950–1:2006 (safety)
 A11:2009 (safety)
Revision: 131024 25
Software installation
Included with every RT is a CD containing the software package NAVsuite. This

package contains a number of programs required to take full advantage of the RT’s
capabilities. Table 10 lists the contents of NAVsuite.
Table 10. NAVsuite components

Icon Software Description
Enginuity Used to view real-time data from OxTS products via
Ethernet or a serial port. It can also be used to transmit
special commands and replay logged data.
NAVconfig Used to create, send, and receive configurations from OxTS

products. As configurations vary between products there is
no manual for NAVconfig. The options relevant to the RT
products are covered in this manual on page 44.
RT Post-process Used to download raw data files from the RT and post-
process the data. The configuration can be changed and
differential corrections can be applied before the data is
reprocessed. It can export NCOM, XCOM and CSV file
formats.
NAVgraph Used to graph NCOM, XCOM and RCOM files created in
post-process. It can display graphs, cursor tables and map
plots and data can be exported in CSV or KML (Google
Earth) format.
Manuals This folder contains PDF versions of relevant OxTS
manuals. Other manuals can be downloaded from the OxTS
website, http://www.oxts.com/support/manuals/.
To install NAVsuite, insert the CD and run NAVsetup.exe. Follow the onscreen
instructions to install the software. By default the installer creates the program files in
C:\Program Files (x86)\OxTS on 64 bit operating systems or C:\Program Files\OxTS
on 32 bit operating systems.
The first time some OxTS applications are run a firewall warning message similar to
that shown in Figure 2 may be triggered. This is because the program is attempting to
listen for, and communicate with, OxTS devices on the network. The firewall must be
configured to allow each program to talk on the network, or programs will not work as
intended.

RT User Manual
Figure 2. Windows Firewall warning message
Ensure both Private and Public networks are selected to ensure the software can continue functioning
when moving from one type to another.
Revision: 131024 27
Hardware installation
It is essential to install the RT rigidly in the vehicle. The RT should not be able to move
or rotate compared to either GNSS antenna, otherwise the performance will be reduced.
In most circumstances the RT should be mounted directly to the chassis of the vehicle.
If the vehicle experiences high shocks then vibration mounts may be required.
The RT is compatible with the RT-Strut product from OxTS to provide a quick and
secure vehicle mounting solution.
Do not install the RT where it is in direct sunlight as, in hot countries, this may cause
the case to exceed the maximum temperature specification.
RT orientation and alignment
The orientation of the RT in the vehicle is normally specified using three consecutive
rotations that rotate the RT to the vehicle’s co-ordinate frame. The order of the
rotations is heading (z-axis rotation), then pitch (y-axis rotation), then roll (x-axis
rotation). The RT co-ordinate conventions are detailed on page 36. It is important to get
the order of the rotations correct.
In the default configuration the RT expects its y-axis to be pointing right and its z-axis
pointing down relative to the host vehicle. There are times however when installing an
RT in the default configuration is not possible, for example when using the RT-Strut.
The RT can be mounted at any angle in the vehicle as long as the configuration is
described to the RT using NAVconfig. This allows the outputs to be rotated based on
the settings entered to transform the measurements to the vehicle frame.
For ease of use it is best to try and mount the RT so its axes are aligned with the vehicle
axes. This saves the offsets having to be measured by the user. If the system must be
mounted misaligned with the vehicle and the user cannot accurately measure the angle
offsets, the RT has some functions to measure these offsets itself. The heading offset
can be measured if the vehicle has a non-steered axle. The Advanced slip and Get
settings utilities should be used for this (see pages 59 and 54 respectively). Roll and
pitch offsets can be measured using the Surface tilt utility in Enginuity.
Antenna placement and orientation
For optimal performance it is essential for the GNSS antenna(s) to be mounted where
they have a clear, uninterrupted view of the sky and on a suitable ground plane, such as
the roof of a vehicle. For good multipath rejection the antennas must be mounted on a
metal surface using the magnetic mounts provided; no additional gap may be used.

RT User Manual
The antennas cannot be mounted on non-conducting materials or near the edges of

conducting materials. If the antennas are to be mounted with no conductor below them
then different antennas must be used. It is recommended to mount the antennas at least
30 cm from any edge where possible.
For dual antenna systems, the secondary antenna should be mounted in the same
orientation as the primary antenna, as shown in Figure 3. The antenna baseline should
also be aligned with one of the vehicle axes where possible, either inline or
perpendicular to the vehicle’s forward axis. In the default configuration the primary
antenna should be at the front of the vehicle and the secondary antenna should be at the
rear.
Figure 3. Dual antenna orientations
A) The bases of the antennas are parallel, but the cables exit in different directions. B) The cables exit in
the same direction but the bases of the antennas are not parallel. C) The bases of the antennas are parallel
and the cables exit in the same direction. This configuration will achieve the best results.
It is best to mount the two antennas on the top of the vehicle. Although it is possible to
mount one on the roof and one on the bonnet (hood), in reality the multipath reflections
from the windscreen will degrade the performance of the system.
Multipath affects dual antenna systems on stationary vehicles more than moving
vehicles and it can lead to heading errors of more than 0.5° RMS if the antennas are
mounted poorly.
It is critical to have the RT mounted securely in the vehicle. If the angle of the RT can
change relative to the vehicle then the dual antenna system will not work correctly.
This is far more critical for dual antenna systems than for single antenna systems. The
user should aim to have no more than 0.05° of mounting angle change throughout the
testing. (If the RT is shock mounted then the RT mounting will change by more than
0.05°; this is acceptable, but the hysteresis of the mounting may not exceed 0.05°).
For both single and dual antenna systems it is essential that the supplied GNSS antenna
cables are used and not extended, shortened or replaced. This is even more critical for
dual antenna systems and the two antenna cables must be of the same specification. Do
not, for example, use a 5 m antenna cable for one antenna and a 15 m antenna cable for
Revision: 131024 29
the other. Do not extend the cable, even using special GNSS signal repeaters that are
designed to accurately repeat the GNSS signal. Cable length options are available in
5 m and 15 m lengths.

RT User Manual
Operation
The RT has been designed to be simple and easy to operate. The front panel label and
LEDs convey some basic information that aid in configuration and troubleshooting.
Once powered, the RT requires no further input from the user to start logging and
outputting data.
This section covers some basic information required for operation of the RT.
Front panel layout
Figure 4 and Figure 5 show the layouts of the RT front panels. Table 11 lists the parts
of the RT2000 front panel labelled in Figure 4 and Table 12 lists the parts of the
RT3000/RT4000 labelled in Figure 5. For single antenna models, the secondary
antenna connector is not connected internally.
Figure 4. RT2000 front panel layout
Revision: 131024 31
Table 11. RT2000 front panel descriptions
Label no. Description
1 RS232 serial port
2 Radio port
3 CAN port
4 Digital I/O port
5 SDNav LED
6 Pos/Head LED
7 Pwr LED
8 Primary antenna connector
9 Secondary antenna connector
10 M12 power connector
11 Ethernet port
Figure 5. RT3000/RT4000 front panel layout

RT User Manual
Table 12. RT3000/RT4000 front panel descriptions

Label no. Description
1 SdNav LED
2 Position LED (single antenna systems)
Heading LED (dual antenna systems)
3 GPS LED
4 Power LED
5 Primary antenna connector
6 User cable main connector
7 Secondary antenna connector
LED definitions
The front panel of the RTs has some LEDs that give an indication of the internal state
of the system and are designed to provide enough feedback so that a laptop does not
need to be connected. They can be used for some simple operational checks on the
system.
Table 13 and Table 14 give a description of each LED on the RTs. Table 15 to Table 19
list the precise meanings of the states of each LED.
Table 13. RT2000 LED descriptions

Name Description
SDNav Strapdown navigator state
Pos/Head Position solution (single antenna) or heading solution (dual antenna) from GNSS
Pwr GNSS heading solution
Revision: 131024 33
Table 14. RT3000/RT4000 LED descriptions
Name Description
SDNav Strapdown navigator state
Position Position solution (only on single antenna systems)
Heading GNSS heading solution (only on dual antenna systems)
GPS Self-test
Power Power and communication
Table 15. SDNav LED states

Colour Description
Off The operating system has not yet booted and the program is not yet running. This occurs at
start-up.
Red-green The RT is asleep. Contact OxTS support for further information.
flash
Red flash The operating system has booted and the program is running. The GNSS receiver has not
yet output a valid time, position, or velocity.
Red The GNSS receiver has locked-on to satellites and has adjusted its clock to valid time (the
1PPS output will now be valid). The strapdown navigator is ready to initialise. If the
vehicle is travelling faster than the value set for “Initialisation speed” during configuration
then the strapdown navigator will initialise and the system will become active. On dual
antenna systems the system will initialise once the GNSS receiver has determined heading,
even if the vehicle is stationary or moving slowly.
Orange The strapdown navigator has initialised and data is being output, but the system is not real-
time yet. It takes 10 s for the system to become real-time after start up.
Green The strapdown navigator is running and the system is real-time.
In current versions of the software the strapdown navigator will not leave green and return to any other
state. This may change in future releases.

RT User Manual
Table 16. Pos/Head (single antenna systems) or Position LED states

Colour Description
Off The GNSS receiver is not sending data.
(Start-up only). The GNSS receiver is sending data to the RT. This is an operational
Red flash
check for the GNSS receiver.
Red The GNSS receiver has a standard position solution (SPS).
The GNSS receiver has a differential solution (DGPS) or a kinematic floating position
Orange
solution (20 cm accuracy).
Green The GNSS receiver has a kinematic integer position solution (2 cm accuracy).
Table 17. Pos/Head (dual antenna systems) or Heading LED states

Colour Description
Off GNSS receiver fault (valid only after start-up).
Red flash GNSS receiver is active, but has been unable to determine heading.
Red The GNSS has a differential heading lock.
Orange The GNSS receiver has a floating (poor) calibrated heading lock.
Green The GNSS receiver has an integer (good) calibrated heading lock.
Table 18. GPS LED states

Colour Description
Green flash The GNSS receiver is functioning normally.
Other The GNSS receiver has failed. Contact OxTS for further information.
Table 19. Power or Pwr LED states

Colour Description
Off There is no power to the system or the system power supply has failed.
Green The 5 V power supply for the system is active.
Orange The system is outputting data on connector J2.
Revision: 131024 35
Co-ordinate frame conventions
The RT uses a co-ordinate frame that is popular with most navigation systems. Figure 6
shows how the axes relate to the RT box. All measurements to and from the RT should
be made from the measurement origin point shown in Figure 6. The axes and
measurement origin point are the same for all RT models.
Figure 6. RT co-ordinate frame and measurement origin
Table 20 lists the directions that the axes should point for zero heading, pitch and roll
outputs when the default mounting orientation is used.

RT User Manual
Table 20. Direction of axes for zero heading, pitch and roll outputs
Axis Direction Vehicle axis
x North Forward
y East Right
z Down Down
If the axes of the RT and the vehicle axes are not the same as those listed in Table 20,
then they can be aligned by reconfiguring the RT for a different mounting orientation
using the NAVconfig software.
If the RT-Strut is being used to mount the RT in the vehicle then NAVconfig will have
to be used to configure the orientation or the RT will not work correctly. Page 52 gives
more information on configuring the orientation of the RT in a vehicle.
Navigation frame
The navigation frame is used by the RT to integrate the acceleration to velocity and to
integrate the velocity to position. The definition of the navigation frame is listed in
Table 21.
Table 21. Navigation frame definition

Axis Description Diagram
North The north axis (n) is perpendicular to the gravity vector
and in the direction of the north pole along the earth’s
surface.
East The east axis (e) is perpendicular to gravity, perpendicular
to the north axis and is in the east direction.
Down The down axis (d) is along the gravity vector.
Level frame
The level frame is attached to the vehicle but does not rotate with the roll and pitch of
the vehicle. It rotates by the heading of the vehicle. The definition of the level frame is
listed in Table 22 and shown in Figure 7.
Revision: 131024 37
Table 22. Level frame definition
Axis Description
Forward This is the forward (f) direction of the car, projected in to the horizontal plane.
Lateral This is the lateral (l) direction of the car, pointing to the right, projected in to the
horizontal plane.
Down This is the down (d) direction of the car, along the gravity vector.
Figure 7. Level frame definition
Vehicle frame
The vehicle frame is attached to the body of the vehicle. It is related to the RT through
the rotations in the Orientation page of NAVconfig. It can be changed while the RT is
running using the Quick Config page of Enginuity. The definitions of the vehicle frame
are listed in Table 23 and shown in Figure 8.
Table 23. Vehicle frame definition

Axis Description
x This is the forward direction of the car.
y This is the right direction of the car.
z This is the down direction of the car.

RT User Manual
Figure 8. Vehicle frame definition
Ethernet configuration
To configure the RT for unrestricted data transmission it is necessary to use the

Ethernet connection. The operating system at the heart of the RT products allows
connection to the unit via FTP. The use of FTP allows the user to manage the data
logged to the unit; files can be downloaded for reprocessing and deleted to make space
for future files. Configuration files for alternative configurations require FTP to put the
configuration files on to the RT. The default username and password are both ‘user’.
The RT outputs its data over Ethernet using a UDP broadcast. The use of a UDP
broadcast allows everyone on the network to receive the data sent by the RT. The data
rate of the UDP broadcast is 100 Hz or 250 Hz depending on the RT model.
In order to communicate via Ethernet, each RT is configured with a static IP address

that is shown on the delivery note. If the delivery note is unavailable, the default IP
address normally takes the form 195.0.0.sn, where sn is the last two digits of the RT’s
serial number. The serial number can be found on the front panel of the RT or on the
delivery note.
The IP address of the computer being used to communicate with the RT may need to be
changed so it matches the subnet. For example, 195.0.0.200 should be available since
this IP address is never used by the RT by default.
To change the IP address of the computer, follow these steps (applies to Windows
Vista/7/8):
1. Open the Control Panel from the Start menu.
2. In category view, select Network and Internet and then Network and
Sharing Center.
3. Select Change adapter settings in the side panel.
Revision: 131024 39
4. Right-click the Ethernet option and select Properties.
5. In the window that opens, navigate the list to find Internet Protocol Version 4
(TCP/IPv4). Select it and click Properties.
6. In the TCP/IPv4 Properties window (Figure 9), select Use the following IP
address and enter the IP address and subnet mask to use.
7. Click OK when finished.
Figure 9. Configuring the computer's IP address
Once the computer is configured the IP address of a RT can be found by running

Enginuity software; this will display the IP address of any RT connected.
Note that it is possible to change the IP address of RT systems. If the IP address has
been changed then Enginuity should still be able to identify the address that the RT is
using as long as the PC has a valid IP address and this is not the same as the RT’s.
Connection details
The RJ-45 connector on the 14C0038x user cable is designed to be connected directly
to a network hub. To extend the cable it is necessary to use an in-line coupler. This is
two RJ-45 sockets wired together in a straight-through configuration. Following the in-
line coupler, a normal, straight UDP Cat 5e cable can be used to connect the coupler to
the hub.

RT User Manual
The RT2000 uses a standard Ethernet port. This can be connected to a hub using a
straight cable or to a laptop directly using a cross-over cable.
The RT3000 or RT4000 can also be connected directly to an Ethernet card in a

computer. To do this a crossed in-line coupler must be used. The connections in the
crossed coupler are given in Table 24. Note that this is not the normal configuration
sold and it may be necessary to modify an existing coupler to suit.
Table 24. In-line coupler connections

Socket 1 Straight socket 2 Crossed socket 2
Pin 1 Pin 1 Pin 6
Pin 2 Pin 2 Pin 3
Pin 3 Pin 3 Pin 2
Pin 4 Pin 4 –
Pin 5 Pin 5 –
Pin 6 Pin 6 Pin 1
Pin 7 Pin 7 –
Pin 8 Pin 8 –
A typical in-line coupler is shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10. In-line RJ-45 coupler
Dual antenna systems
It is often useful to have an understanding of how the RT uses the measurements from
the dual antenna system. This can lead to improvements in the results obtained.
Revision: 131024 41
1. To use the measurements properly the RT needs to know the angle of the GNSS
antennas compared to the angle of the RT. This is very difficult to measure
accurately without specialised equipment, therefore the RT needs to measure this
itself as part of the warm-up process.
2. The RT will lock on to satellites, but it cannot estimate heading so it cannot start.
Either motion or static initialisation can be used to initialise the RT.
3. When the vehicle drives forward and reaches the initialisation speed, the RT
assumes that the heading and track are similar and initialises heading to track
angle.
If the RT is mounted in the vehicle with a large heading offset then the initial
value of heading will be incorrect. This can also happen if the RT is initialised in
a turn. This can lead to problems later.
4. When the combined accuracy of heading plus the orientation accuracy figure for
the secondary antenna is sufficiently accurate then the RT will solve the RTK
Integer problem using the inertial heading. There is no need for the RT to solve
the RTK Integer problem by searching.
If the antenna angle is offset from the RT by a lot then the RTK Integer solution
that is solved will be incorrect. For a 2 m antenna separation the RT orientation
and the secondary antenna orientation should be known to within 5°. For wider
separations the secondary antenna orientation angle needs to be more accurate.
5. Once the RTK Integer solution is available, the RT can start to use the dual
antenna solution to improve heading. The level of correction that can be applied
depends on how accurately the angle of the secondary antenna is known
compared to the inertial sensors.
6. The Kalman filter tries to estimate the angle between the inertial sensors and the
secondary antenna. The default value used in the configuration software (5°) is
not accurate enough so that the RT can improve the heading using this value. If
you want the vehicle heading to 0.1°, but the angle of the two GNSS antennas is
only known to 5°, then the measurements from the antenna are not going to be
able to improve the heading of the vehicle.
Driving a normal warm-up, with stops, starts and turns, helps the Kalman filter
improve the accuracy of the secondary antenna angle. The accuracy of this angle
is available in the Status tab of the Calibration window in Enginuity.
7. In the unlikely event that the RTK Integer solution is incorrect at the start then
the Kalman filter can update the secondary antenna orientation incorrectly. If this
happens then things start to go wrong. The Kalman filter becomes more
convinced that it is correct, so it resolves faster, but it always solves incorrectly.
Solving incorrectly makes the situation worse.

RT User Manual
To avoid the Kalman filter from getting things wrong it is possible to drive a
calibration run, then use the Get settings utility within NAVconfig (see page 54
for more information). This tells the Kalman filter it has already estimated the
angle of the secondary antenna in the past and it will be much less likely to get it
wrong or change it. This step should only be done if the RT is permanently
mounted in a vehicle and the antennas are bolted on. Any movement of either the
RT or the antennas will upset the algorithms.
Multipath effects on dual antenna systems
Dual antenna systems are very susceptible to the errors caused by multipath. This can
be from buildings, trees, roof-bars, etc. Multipath is where the signal from the satellite
has a direct path and one or more reflected paths. Because the reflected paths are not
the same length as the direct path, the GNSS receiver cannot track the satellite signal as
accurately.
The dual antenna system in the RT works by comparing the carrier-phase

measurements at the two antennas. This tells the system the relative distance between
the two antennas and which way they are pointing (the heading). For the heading to be
accurate the GNSS receivers must measure the relative position to about 3 mm. The
level of accuracy can only be achieved if there is little or no multipath.
In an ideal environment, with no surrounding building, trees, road signs or other

reflective surfaces, the only multipath received is from the vehicle’s roof. The antennas
supplied with the RT are designed to minimise multipath from the vehicle’s roof when
the roof is made of metal. For use on non-metallic roofs a different type of antenna is
required.
When stationary the heading from the RT will show some error, the size of the error
depends on the multipath in the environment. Table 25 lists the errors to be expected
when stationary with a 1 m base-line.
Table 25. Typical heading error for when stationary in different environments
Environment Typical error (3σ
Complete open-sky 0.6°
(0.2° 1σ
Near trees, buildings 1°
Next to trees, buildings 2°
Typical figures using a 1 m base-line. For accuracy specification of 0.1° RMS a 2 m separation is
required. Using a 2 m base-line can halve the figures shown here.
Revision: 131024 43
Inputs and outputs
The RT3000 and RT4000 have one main connector for their inputs and outputs (label 6
on Figure 5, page 32). The J1 connector of the 14C0038B user cable connects to this
and connectors J2-J7 provide connections for the inputs and outputs. See the user cable
drawing located at the back of this manual for more details on the connectors and pin
assignments. The main connector is keyed so the user cable must be correctly aligned
for it to connect.
All connections to the RT2000 are marked on the front panel, shown in Figure 4 on
page 31.
The system can output data on the serial port over Ethernet and over CAN bus. The
standard serial output of the RT is a proprietary binary format, referred to as NCOM.
OxTS offers C and C++ code that will interpret the packet. This can be used freely in
users’ programs to interpret the output of the RT. More information about NCOM can
be found in the NCOM description manual.
It is also possible to output a standard NMEA string from the RT to mimic the output of
standard GNSS receivers.
OxTS offers a service to tailor the serial output format to the customer’s specification.
Contact Oxford Technical Solutions for details of this service
Digital inputs and outputs
Table 26 describes each of the signals on the digital I/O connector. A more detailed
explanation of each signal can be found below.

RT User Manual
Table 26. Digital I/O signals

Pin Function Description
1 Digital 1 1PPS output from GNSS receiver
2 Digital 2 Event input
3 Digital 3 Wheel speed input (from tachometer on a single wheel)
4 Digital 4 Wheel speed output simulation
5 Digital 5 IMU sync output pulse (100 or 250 Hz)
6 Digital Ground Ground
7 Digital Ground Ground
8 Digital Ground Reserved
9 Digital Ground Reserved
1PPS output
The 1PPS output is a pulse from the GNSS receiver. The falling edge of the pulse is the
exact transition from one second to the next in GPS time. The pulse is low for 1 ms,
then high for 999 ms and repeats every second.
On RT2500 and RT2502 products the 1PPS is only output when the GNSS has a valid
position measurement. With RT2002, RT3000 and RT4000 products the 1PPS will
always be output.
Figure 11. 1PPS waveform
The output is a low-voltage CMOS output, with 0.8 V or less representing a low and
2.4 V or more representing a high. No more than 10 mA should be drawn from this
output. Older models have no protection on this output (protection circuitry would
disturb the accuracy of the timing). New models (post-September 2013) have limited
protection.
Revision: 131024 45
Event input
The event input can be used to time events, like the shutter of a camera or a brake
switch. The event input has a pull-up resistor so it can be used with a switch or as a
CMOS input. The input sees less than 0.8 V as low and more than 2.4 V as high. There
is no protection on this input (protection circuitry would disturb the accuracy of the
timing). Keep the input in the range of 0 V to 5 V.
By default the maximum event rate is 1 Hz for 100 Hz products and 4 Hz for 250 Hz
products. This can be increased to 50 Hz by selecting one or both the Output on
falling edge of trigger and Output on rising edge of trigger check boxes on the
Ethernet Output window. This is accessed from the Options page in NAVconfig (see
“Ethernet output” on page 78 of this manual).
Trigger information can be found in status message 24 and 43 (output over NCOM and
CAN) for the low-rate triggers. The fast trigger information can only be output over
NCOM.
Wheel speed input
The wheel speed input accepts TTL pulses from an encoder on a single wheel. An
encoder from a gearbox should not be used, and simulated TTL pulses (e.g. from the
CAN bus) should not be used. The timing of the wheel speed input pulses is critical and
nothing should cause any delay in the wheel speed input pulses.
The wheel speed input requires less than 0.8 V for a low pulse and more than 2.4 V for
a high pulse. Limited protection is provided on this port, however the input voltage
should not exceed 12 V.
The wheel that is used should not steer the vehicle. The RT will assume this wheel
travels straight.
Wheel speed output
The wheel speed output generates pulses in the same way as a wheel encoder would.
The configuration software can change the number of pulses per metre of travel. The
output has 0.8 V or less for a low and 2.4 V or more for a high. There is no protection
on this output, no more than 10 mA should be used on this output.
IMU sync output pulse
The IMU (inertial measurement unit) sync output pulse is a 100 Hz or 250 Hz output
pulse synchronised to the IMU sample time. The output has a duty cycle of
approximately 50% and the falling edge is synchronised to the sample file of the data
from the IMU.

RT User Manual
The IMU is already synchronised to GPS time so one of the pulses each second will
line up with the 1PPS output. This allows other systems to sample based on the timing
of the RT.
Reverse polarity protection
The RT products have limited reverse polarity protection. Reversing the polarity on the
power inputs for short periods of time is unlikely to damage the product.
Causing a short circuit through the RT will damage the product. A short-circuit will be
created if the polarity is reversed and another connector has ground connected. In this
condition the ground input of the power supply will be connected to the positive power
supply; this causes a high current to flow through the circuits in the RT and it will
damage several internal components.
RT2000 products have had a formal safety test (see specifications). The safety
certificate only applies if the cables supplied are used or if the RT2000 is used with an
RT-UPS. If the fuse in the plug needs to be replaced then it should be replaced with the
Littelfuse model specified in Table 27. If a different connector is fitted to the cable then
an appropriate five amp, fast-blow fuse should be fitted and the safety specification will
no longer apply.
The RT3000 and RT4000 products have not had a formal safety test. If the fuse in the
plug needs to be replaced then it should be replaced with the Littelfuse model given in
Table 27 below. If an alternative connector is fitted to the cable then an appropriate five
amp, fast-blow fuse should be fitted.
Table 27. Replacement fuse

Parameter Specification
Manufacturer Littelfuse
Part Number 0214005
Description 5 A torpedo type fuse
Dimensions 25 × Ø 6 mm
Voltage Rating 36 V
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Configuring the RT
To obtain the best results from your RT it will be necessary to configure the RT to suit
the installation and application before using it for the first time.
The program NAVconfig can be used to do this. This section describes how to use
NAVconfig and gives additional explanations on the meanings of some of the terms
used.
It is only possible to change the RT configuration using Ethernet. It is necessary to

have the Ethernet on your computer configured correctly in order to communicate with
the RT and change the settings. See the section “Ethernet configuration” on page 39 for
more information.
Overview
In order to give the best possible performance, the RT needs to know the following
things:
 The orientation of the RT as it is mounted in the vehicle.
 The position of the primary GNSS antenna compared to the RT.
 The orientation of dual antennas (if applicable) compared to the RT.
 The position of the rear wheels (or non-steering wheels) compared to the RT.
 Some environment parameters.
The RT can work out many of these parameters by itself, but this takes time. Measuring
the parameters yourself and configuring the RT reduces the time taken to achieve full
specification.
In particular, RT products can calculate the position of the GNSS antenna. This works
well when using a base station to achieve 2 cm accuracy, but can take hours with less
accurate positioning modes. It is best to measure the position of the GNSS antenna to
an accuracy of 10 cm or better.
If the RT has been running for some time, it will have improved the measurements. It is
possible to read these improved measurements into NAVconfig, commit them to the
RT, then use them next time you start the system. If you move the RT from one vehicle
to another it is essential you return to the default configuration rather than using
parameters that have been tuned for a different vehicle.

RT User Manual
Selecting the operating language
The NAVconfig software can operate in several languages. To change language, select
the language from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page. The language is
“hot-swappable” making it easy and fast to switch between languages.
The software will use the regional settings of the computer to choose whether numbers
are represented in the English or European format (dot or comma for the decimal
separator). The selected language does not change the format used for numbers.
Navigating through NAVconfig
NAVconfig provides a ten-step process to make configuring your product as easy as

possible. After completing each step, click the Next button at the bottom of the window
to proceed to the next step. The Back button can be used to return to the previous step
at any time. Clicking Cancel will bring up a warning asking to confirm you want to
close the wizard and lose any changes you have not saved.
To quickly move between any of the steps, click on the step name in the sidebar to
instantly jump to that page.
Measurements are always displayed in metric units in NAVconfig. However, when

entering measurements alternate units can be used as long as they are specified, e.g. 10”
or 10 in. NAVconfig will then convert and display these in metric units.
Product selection
The first page of the NAVconfig configuration wizard lets you select the type of
product for configuration, see Figure 12, below.
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Figure 12. NAVconfig Product Selection page
The configuration wizard can be run without a system connected so it is necessary to

select the correct product for configuration. Some configuration pages are not available
with some of the products. These will be displayed as grey in the sidebar.
In instances where the same product type will be used each time, the Product Selection
page can be skipped in the future by clicking the Always use this product checkbox. If
a different product needs configuring, the selection page can be returned to by clicking
Product Selection in the sidebar.
Reading the initial configuration
The Read Configuration page gives several options for reading the configuration from
different places as shown in Figure 13.

RT User Manual
Figure 13. NAVconfig Read Configuration page
Use default settings: This option tells the configuration wizard to use the default
settings the RT was delivered with.
Note: choosing Use default settings will overwrite any advance settings you may have
set. To maintain advanced settings the Read initial settings from RT_ option must be
used.
Read settings from a folder: It is possible to store a configuration in a folder. The

configuration comprises several files, so it is tidier to keep it in a folder by itself. To
read the configuration from a folder, select this option and then specify a folder by
clicking the Browse… button.
Read settings from an RD file: The RT writes the configuration it is using to the
internally stored RD file. This option extracts the configuration used and loads it into
the configuration wizard. Specify an RD file by clicking the Browse… button.
Read initial settings from RT_: If the RT is connected to the computer via Ethernet it
is possible to read the initial settings directly from the RT. The settings loaded are the
settings that were last committed to the RT, before it makes any improvements. Select
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this option and enter the correct IP address of your RT or select it from the drop-down
list. The list will show all systems that are connected to the network, so if more than
one system is connected ensure you select the correct system. Note: the list will not
function correctly if Enginuity or other software is using the RT UDP port unless the
OxTS UDP Server is running.
Orientation
The Orientation page is used to define the vehicle co-ordinate frame relative to the
RT’s co-ordinate frame. It is important to get the orientation correct as although
settings entered on this page do not affect the accuracy of the RT, if the outputs are not
properly rotated to the vehicle frame then the measurements will appear incorrect.
When using the RT-Strut the orientation will need to be changed. Figure 14 shows an
RT mounted on an RT-Strut in a vehicle. In this configuration, the y-axis points left and
the z-axis points forwards. Other configurations are possible with the RT-Strut.
Figure 14. RT mounted on an RT-Strut
Select from the drop-down lists the directions of the y-axis and z-axis of the RT in
relation to the vehicle. Figure 6 on page 36 shows the RT axes directions. The
Orientation page of the configuration wizard, shown in Figure 15, also has illustrations

RT User Manual
to visualise the orientation of the RT in a vehicle based on the settings input. The
greyed out advanced settings will change to show the three rotations associated with
orientation input.
Figure 15. NAVconfig Orientation page
For correct initialisation it is necessary to get the heading orientation correct. The RT
gets its initial heading by assuming that the vehicle is travelling forwards in a straight
line. If the definition of the vehicle’s x-axis (forward direction) is incorrect in the RT
then it will not initialise correctly when the vehicle drives forwards
If the vehicle level option is used then the pitch and roll orientations must also be
correct (see Vehicle starts, page 62).
To make small adjustments, click the Use advanced settings checkbox to unlock the
rotations for editing. This allows any slip angle, pitch or roll offsets to be zeroed.
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Get settings…
Also included on the Orientation page is the ability to read the configuration settings
from a warmed up system. While the RT is running it tries to improve some of its
configured parameters. This option is useful if a calibration run has been done and the
Kalman filter’s values are known to be good.
In particular the RT will try to improve the GNSS antenna position, the orientation of
the dual antennas, the yaw orientation of the RT in the vehicle and, if one is being used,
the wheel speed calibration values. In applications where the RT is permanently
installed in a vehicle it can be beneficial to import these improved values into the RT’s
configuration file to be used next time. It can make the results more consistent. Figure
16 shows this process diagrammatically. This feature should not be used if there is a
risk the RT will rotate in the vehicle or that the GNSS antennas can move – even by a
few millimetres.
Figure 16. Process of improving RT settings
To read the improved values from the RT, click the Get settings… button on the
Orientation page to open the Get settings from RT window, as shown in Figure 17.

RT User Manual
Figure 17. Source selection to get settings from an RT
Click the drop-down list and choose which source to read the configuration from. The
two options are:
 Read configuration from file. If an NCOM file has been saved to disk, or
processed using the post-process utility then this file can be read and the settings
extracted from it. Use this setting if you have an NCOM file. Click Browse… and
select the NCOM file you wish to read the configuration from. Do not use an
NCOM file that has been combined from forward and backwards processing of the
inertial data.
 Read configuration from Ethernet. This will get the information that the RT is
currently using and apply it next time the RT starts. Use this setting if the RT is
running, has initialised and has warmed up. Select the correct IP address of the RT
to read the configuration from in the drop-down list. Note: the list will not function
correctly if Enginuity or other software is using the RT UDP port unless the OxTS
UDP Server is running
Once the source has been selected, click Next and the software will find which settings
can be obtained from the source. Settings that cannot be obtained will be shown in
grey; this may be because the RT is not calculating these values at present. Figure 18
shows the Settings page with the parameters available to improve in the configuration.
You may update several parameters at once. Select the settings you want to be updated
and uncheck the ones that you do not want to update. Click Finish to transfer these
settings to the configuration wizard.
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Figure 18. Select which settings to update with Get settings...
If Orientation in vehicle is selected, the improvement to orientation should only be

applied if the change in the orientation is small (less than 5°). If the change in
orientation is large then it is likely that the original configuration was wrong or has not
been loaded into NAVconfig. You are very likely to get poor results if the orientation is
changed by a large amount.
Primary antenna position
The RT can calculate the position of the primary antenna itself. However, this takes
time and better results can be achieved sooner if the user measures the distance
accurately. Getting these measurements wrong is one of the main reasons for poor
results from the RT, so it is important to be careful. It is recommended to measure the
GNSS antenna position to an accuracy of 10 cm or better.
Figure 19 shows the Primary Antenna page.

RT User Manual
Figure 19. NAVconfig Primary Antenna page
It is necessary to tell the RT the distance between its measurement origin (shown in
Figure 6) and the GNSS antenna’s measurement point. This should be entered in the
vehicle’s co-ordinate frame.
The accuracy of the measurements should also be specified, and care should be taken
here. It is very easy to measure within 1 cm or better in a straight line, but it is much
harder to measure within 1 cm through a car roof. This is compounded if the RT is
slightly misaligned in the vehicle. Any alignment errors should be included in the
accuracy you believe you can measure to.
Telling the RT you have measured the distances within 5 mm may lead the RT to
believe its results are better than they really are. You may be impressed by the accuracy
the RT reports, but in reality it will not be that accurate. It is better to overestimate the
accuracy (i.e. tell the RT a worse value) than to underestimate it.
The RT will try to improve the position of the primary GNSS antenna during use. To
use the values the RT has estimated use the Get settings… utility on the Orientation
page. More information about Get settings… is provided on page 54.
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Secondary antenna position
If your system has dual antennas, click the Enable secondary antenna checkbox on
the Secondary Antenna page (Figure 20) to allow the configuration to be entered. If it is
not enabled, the RT will ignore the secondary antenna and will not use it to compute a
heading solution.
Enter the antenna separation and select to position of the secondary antenna relative to
the primary antenna from the drop-down list. The illustrations will change according to
the settings you choose to help visualise the configuration of the antennas.
Figure 20. NAVconfig Secondary Antenna page
The RT does not estimate the distance between the two antennas. It is essential to get
this right yourself, otherwise the system will not work correctly and the performance
will be erratic. The measurement needs to be accurate to 5 mm, preferably better than
3 mm.

RT User Manual
A wider separation will increase the dual antenna heading solution accuracy. The
maximum recommended separation in 5 m, giving an accuracy of up to 0.05° in both
static and dynamic conditions
If the antennas are mounted at significantly different heights, or if the mounting angle
is not directly along a vehicle axis (forward or right), then click the Use advanced
settings checkbox to enable advanced settings and specify the orientation and height
offset.
Getting the angle wrong by more than 3° can lead the RT to lock on to the wrong
heading solution. The performance will degrade or be erratic if this happens. If the
angle between the antennas cannot be estimated within a 3° tolerance then contact
OxTS support for techniques for identifying the angle of the antennas.
The Enable static initialisation option is useful for slow moving vehicles or where it
is essential to start the RT running before moving (for example in autonomous
vehicles). Static initialisation is 99% reliable in open sky, but the reliability decreases
in environments with high multipath. Static initialisation is also faster when the antenna
separation is smaller.
If you can guarantee the antennas are level (always within 15° of horizontal) during
static initialisation then the following advanced command can also speed up static
initialisation and make it more reliable:
-gps_pitch15.0
This is a “pitch constraint” (or “tilt constraint”). Enter this text into the Advanced
window on the Options page. It will tell the ambiguity resolution algorithm to only
search within 15° of the horizontal. Note that this is the angle between the antennas and
it is independent of the height offset entered in to the software.
The RT will improve the estimate of the secondary antenna orientation settings. Use the
Get settings… utility to use the improved values. More information on Get Settings…
is provided on page 54.
Advanced slip
The Advanced slip feature uses characteristics of land vehicle motion to improve
heading and slip angle and to reduce drift. Specifying the position of the non-steered
wheels makes a huge difference to the lateral drift performance of the RT when GNSS
is not available.
This feature must be disabled for airborne and marine systems where the lateral
velocity can be significant. This feature is also not suitable for land vehicles that use all
wheels to steer, i.e. no fixed wheels.
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The Advanced slip feature applies heading correction when the land vehicle is not
slipping. When the vehicle is slipping the lateral acceleration is usually large enough
that the normal heading corrections provide excellent results. When combined with a
wheel speed input (see “Wheel speed input” on page 73) the drift of the RT when
GNSS is not available is drastically reduced.
Figure 21 shows the Advanced Slip page of NAVconfig.
Figure 21. NAVconfig Advanced Slip page
For the Advanced slip feature to work correctly, the system needs to know the position
of the non-steered axle (rear wheels on a front-wheel steering vehicle and vice versa).
A position at road height, mid-way between the rear wheels should be used as shown in
Figure 22. Vehicles with all wheels steering cannot use this feature reliably, although
minor steering of the rear wheels does not significantly affect the results.

RT User Manual
Figure 22. Measurement point for Advanced slip
Measuring from the RT, measure the distances to the non-steered axle position in each
axis in the vehicle co-ordinate frame. Select the direction from the drop-down lists and
enter the distances.
Typically the measurements would all be made to an accuracy of 10 cm. Selecting an

accuracy better than 10 cm does not improve results. Using an accuracy figure worse
than 20 cm will increase the drift of the RT. Use the accuracy fields to select or specify
the accuracy of the measurements.
When using Advanced slip, the RT can estimate the slip angle offset of the RT
compared to the vehicle. After the RT is initialised and warmed-up, use the Get
settings… utility to automatically read the RT’s slip angle offset estimate. This ensures
a slip angle of zero is measured when driving straight on a level track. See page 54 for
more information on Get settings….
The Advanced slip feature also requires some knowledge of the road surface. Select
one of the predefined options from the drop-down list, Normal or Low friction (ice).
Options
The Options page includes some important settings for getting the best results from
your RT system. Figure 23 shows the Options page of the configuration wizard.
To adjust the settings, click the default value in the Setting column to activate the cell.
A description on each option and how to adjust it is found below.
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Figure 23. NAVconfig Options page
Vehicle starts
Adjustment: select a predefined value from the drop-down list.
If you know the vehicle will be level when starting (to within about 5°) select Level.
This saves about 40 s during the initialisation process since the RT does not have to
take the time to compute an initial roll and an initial pitch. In high vibration
environments Not Level may not work and so the RT can only start if the vehicle is
level and the Level option has been specified.
Vibration
The Normal vibration level is adequate for most circumstances. The RT is very
tolerant of vibration and has been used successfully in environments with more than 2 g
RMS using the Normal setting. If the velocity innovations are very high, and many
GNSS packets are being dropped, then this setting can be changed.

RT User Manual
Typical situations where the High vibration setting should be used include those where
vibration mounts have been used, or where the RT and the antenna are mounted on
different sprung parts of the vehicle (e.g. the cab/chassis of a truck).
GNSS environment
Adjustment: select a predefined value from the drop down list.
If the system is used predominantly in open-sky, then the Open sky setting should be
used. In environments with a lot of GNSS multipath then Some obstructions or
Frequent obstructions can be used depending on the environment. This will allow less
accurate GNSS measurements to update the system and it also places more reliance on
the inertial sensors compared to the GNSS.
Unless the open-sky setting is used, the RT will not report accuracies that meet its
specifications.
Differential correction
Adjustment: click … button to open properties window.
The RT can be configured to use several different differential correction message types
on connector J3. Figure 24 shows the Differential corrections properties window and
Table 28 gives details on the correction types available.
Figure 24. NAVconfig Differential corrections properties window
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Table 28. NAVconfig differential correction types
Correction type Description
RTCA RTCA is the standard adopted for aircraft. It was the first open standard to use
2 cm corrections. The RT-Base and GPS-Base products use RTCA.
RTCM RTCM is the most common open standard used for differential corrections. Old
implementations of RTCM did not support 2 cm corrections, which is why OxTS
uses RTCA by default. New versions of the RT products support 2 cm corrections
over RTCM.
RTCM V3 RTCM V3 is the latest version of RTCM. This option gives the best accuracy and
should be used if your differential corrections are in Version 3 format.
CMR This is a standard adopted by Trimble. The RT products support both CMR and
CMR+ formats.
Advanced This option is reserved
Select the Correction type you wish to use from the drop-down list and then select the
Baud rate. The most common baud rates used for differential corrections are 4800
baud and 9600 baud. The RT-Base and GPS-Base use 9600 baud.
When checked, the NTRIP option configures the RT for RTCM corrections and sends
an NMEA GGA message out from J3 back to the NTRIP server.
SBAS
In Europe, North America, and Japan SBAS can be used for differential corrections.
These services will improve the position accuracy of the RT. In North America the
SBAS service is known as WAAS, in Europe it is known as EGNOS and in Japan it is
known as MSAS. Select the option that is most suitable for the territory you are in.
OmniSTAR
For OmniSTAR enabled systems select either Automatic or Manual from the
OmniSTAR corrections drop-down list in the OmniSTAR properties window, shown
in Figure 25, to enable OmniSTAR corrections. For systems that do not have
OmniSTAR capability this setting has no effect and is ignored.

RT User Manual
Figure 25. NAVconfig OmniSTAR properties
Initially Manual must be selected as Automatic will not work if the GNSS receiver
doesn’t have a current list of OmniSTAR satellites in its memory, e.g. when the RT is
new. The correct satellite should be selected for the region where you are operating.
The correct satellite must be selected before OmniSTAR can send a new license
Automatic mode is useful if you are travelling a long way and need to automatically
switch from one OmniSTAR satellite to another, e.g. on an aircraft flight. The
Automatic setting can also be used on land vehicles.
Several satellites have been pre-programmed into the software. In the future more
satellites may exist, or their properties may change. In this case it is necessary to select
Use advanced settings to set the satellite’s Frequency and Baud rate.
The latest information on OmniSTAR can be found on the OmniSTAR website, see
www.omnistar.com.
CAN
RT systems can be configured to send and receive data via a CAN bus. This allows RT
data to be sent to external logging devices, and signals from a test vehicle’s CAN bus to
be logged alongside navigation data inside an RT.
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By default, CAN communication is disabled. It is enabled by selecting an option from
the drop-down list for CAN baud rate on the General tab of the properties window,
shown in Figure 26.
Figure 26. NAVconfig CAN messages configuration window - General
Depending on the baud rate selected, the suggested maximum CAN messages per
second will change. A warning message will appear if the combined rate of all current
navigation and status messages will overload the CAN bus at the selected baud rate.
Disabling or reducing the frequency of navigation or status messages will remove the
warning and ensure reliable operation of the CAN bus. Increasing the baud also works,
but the baud rate must be common to all devices on the bus. When using an RT-ANA,
the default baud rate is 1 MBaud.
The Save DBC file button generates a CAN DBC library listing all navigation
messages, and those status messages that are not greyed-out. The DBC file can be used
to quickly define the RT’s output in an external logging device. If Use default settings
was selected under the Read Configuration page, and no changes have been made, the
DBC library will contain the standard CAN information as listed in Table 37 on page
106. The DBC file does not include channels defined under the Acquisition tab.
The Navigation tab (Figure 27) is where navigation-related CAN messages are
configured for output. The table can be sorted in ascending or descending order by

RT User Manual
clicking any column header. This is particularly useful when checking for
enabled/disabled messages.
Figure 27. NAVconfig CAN messages configuration window - Navigation
Each message can be enabled/disabled by clicking in the appropriate cell and selecting
from the drop-down menu. The message Identifier is also changed by clicking in the
cell. The identifier number should be defined in either hexadecimal or decimal format.
Decimal values can be entered as normal. Hexadecimal values should have a letter ‘h’
be appended.
The Data rate can be set using the drop-down list that appears after clicking in each
data rate cell. When a message’s data rate changes or it is enabled or disabled, the
caption at the bottom of the window displaying messages per second updates to reflect
the new settings.
The Select all button quickly enables all messages. The Clear all button disables all
messages.
On RT4000 systems the default set of CAN messages may overload the CAN bus
(depending on how many slip points are used and whether local co-ordinates are
configured). It may be necessary to reduce the number of messages that are output on
an RT4000 system.
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The Status tab (Figure 28) lists all status messages, which are sent one after another in
a repeating loop. Although 80 messages are shown in the list, 100 are actually used
internally. If the data rate is set to 100 Hz, a status message will be sent every 10 ms.
Some messages are transmitted more frequently than others because they appear in the
list more than once. At a data rate of 100 Hz, each message in the Status tab will be
transmitted on the CAN bus once per second.
The Select all button quickly enables all status messages. The Clear all button disables
all status messages. Messages shown in grey are not included in the CAN DBC file.
Figure 28. NAVconfig CAN messages configuration window - Status
The Acquisition tab (Figure 29) is where incoming CAN signals are defined. These
signals can be viewed in real-time along with the RT’s native data using Enginuity, or
at a later time using NAVgraph.
Channels are added to the acquisition list by clicking on the Load DBC file… button
and selecting a valid CAN DBC file. The top 12 messages in the list acquisition list are
logged at the RT’s update speed of 100 Hz or 250 Hz. This is not adjustable.
Extra CAN messages (those on the grey background) do not need deleting from the list
but will not be logged. To move a message up into the top 12 area for logging, right-
click on messages above and delete them from the list. To remove individual signals
from a message, right-click on the signal in the right-hand window to bring up the
delete option.

RT User Manual
Figure 29. NAVconfig CAN messages configuration window - Acquisition
The Message name, Signal name and Units can be edited in the CAN Signal Properties
window (Figure 30). This is opened by double-clicking any signal. Changes made
using NAVconfig are independent of the DBC file, and will not affect it or be saved.
Figure 30. NAVconfig CAN signal properties window
Heading lock
Adjustment: select a predefined value from the drop down list.
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The heading of single antenna systems can drift when the RT remains stationary for
long periods of time. To solve this, the RT includes an option to lock the heading to a
fixed value when stationary. This option cannot be used if the vehicle can turn on the
spot (i.e. with no forward velocity). With heading lock enabled the RT can remain
stationary for indefinite periods of time without any problems. For vehicle testing this
option is recommended.
There are four settings to choose from. Disabled should be selected if the vehicle can
turn on the spot. The default setting Normal is best for most applications as it is least
likely to cause problems in the Kalman filter. Tight and Very tight are better when
trying to reduce position drift in poor GNSS environments and traffic jams.
Table 29 gives a more detailed description on each of the heading lock options.
Table 29. NAVconfig heading lock options

Heading lock Description
Normal This option assumes the heading of the vehicle does not change by more than 2°
while the vehicle is stationary. The heading accuracy recovers quickly when the
vehicle moves.
Tight This option assumes the heading of the vehicle does not change by more than 0.5°
while the vehicle is stationary. The recovery is fast if the heading of the vehicle does
not change but will be slow if the vehicle turns before it moves.
Very tight The option assumes the heading of the vehicle does not change by more than 0.3°
while the vehicle is stationary. The recovery is fast if the heading of the vehicle does
not change but will be slow if the vehicle turns before it moves. This option can
cause problems during the warm-up period if the vehicle remains stationary for a
long time and then drives suddenly.
Note: The heading of most vehicles does change if the steering wheel is turned while the vehicle is
stationary. Junctions and pulling out of parking spaces are common places where drivers turn the steering
wheel while not moving.
Garage mode
The Garage mode option is used to stabilise the RT’s outputs when GNSS is not
available. For example, GNSS can be blocked when the vehicle returns to the garage to
have some modifications. Without Garage mode enabled, the RT may drift too far and
may not be able to recover.
When Garage mode is active, the RT applies a gentle velocity update and assumes that
the vehicle is stationary. This keeps the roll, pitch and velocity within acceptable limits
while the RT has no GNSS. With heading lock also enabled, the RT can also keep the
heading accurate while stationary.

RT User Manual
When using this option, try to keep the vehicle’s movement inside the garage to a
minimum and exit the garage through the same door the car entered.
Initialisation speed
Adjustment: select a predefined value from the drop-down list, or type in a value.
If static initialisation has not been enabled, the RT will need to be initialised by driving
forwards in a straight line to initialise the heading to the track angle. The initialisation
speed is the speed at which the vehicle must travel to activate the initialisation.
The default initialisation speed is 5 m/s. However, some slow vehicles cannot achieve
this speed. For these vehicles adjust the initialisation speed to a different value.
If a speed less than 5 m/s is selected then care should be taken to make sure that the RT
is travelling straight when it initialises.
Displace output
The RT can displace or move its outputs to another location in the vehicle. This
simulates the RT being mounted at the new location, rather than at its actual location.
This function displaces all of the outputs (position, velocity, acceleration) to this new
location.
To enable output displacement, click the checkbox in the properties window and enter
the offsets to the new location in the vehicle. The offsets are measured from the RT in
the vehicle co-ordinate frame. Select the directions from the drop-down lists.
Note that the noise in the acceleration outputs will be much higher when output
displacement is used. Typical installations in moving vehicles have angular vibrations
of about 2 rads/s²; this equates to 2 m/s² of additional vibration of a 1 m output
displacement. It will be necessary to filter the data if output displacement is used.
Distance output
Adjustment: select a predefined value from the drop-down list or type in a value.
It is possible to configure the RT to simulate the output of a wheel speed encoder. This
will be in the form of TTL pulses—each pulse representing a distance travelled. Using
the Distance output option the scaling of this output can be configured, in pulses per
metre (ppm) travelled.
The distance output can be configured as a camera trigger so that every set distance a
pulse is generated. This way the output is configured as metres per pulse. Contact
OxTS support for details on how to configure the distance output as a camera trigger.
Revision: 131024 71
Analogue output
The Analogue output option is used for configuring the RT-ANA companion product.
There are 16 channels in the RT-ANA, numbered from 0 to 15. The Measurement,
Range, and Min and Max values for all 16 channels can be configured. Click on a
specific cell to change the settings.
Note: The CAN bus must be configured correctly for the analogue outputs to work
correctly.
Figure 31. NAVconfig Analogue outputs configuration window
Acceleration filter
The RT is able to filter the linear acceleration and the angular acceleration before they
are output. These filters affect the outputs on the CAN bus. On the NCOM output the
non-filtered values are output together with the filter characteristics and the NCOM
decoders provided by OxTS will implement the chosen filter. The linear acceleration
and the angular acceleration can be configured separately.

RT User Manual
Due to vibration the accelerations (both linear and angular) are noisy. In particular,
angular acceleration is normally filtered when it is used. The RT can filter the
acceleration outputs using a second order low-pass filter. The characteristics of the
filter can be set and viewed in the Acceleration filtering properties window (Figure 32).
Designing the right filter is always a compromise between the noise reduction and the
filter delay. To help choose the filter, the software will compute the maximum delay
over the 0 to 5 Hz interval and the Noise Reduction Factor over the full bandwidth. The
Noise Reduction Factor is the ratio of the filtered noise compared to the unfiltered
noise assuming the vibration is white (i.e. same amplitude across the frequency
spectrum). A graph showing the delay with respect to frequency can also be plotted.
The delay is the additional delay of the filter and not the total delay of the acceleration
output. The RT has other delays, like calculation delay, too.
Figure 32. NAVconfig acceleration filter properties window
Wheel speed input
The RT can be factory configured to include a wheel speed input. This reduces the drift
in outputs when GNSS is not available. It is essential to use the Advanced slip feature
(page 59) at the same time as wheel speed corrections.
As with the Advanced slip feature, the wheel speed input can only be used on land
vehicles; aircraft and marine vehicles cannot use this option. The wheel speed must not
Revision: 131024 73
be used on a steered wheel, it must be used on a wheel that is measuring the forward
direction of the vehicle.
Figure 33 shows the wheel speed configuration window. To enable the wheel speed
input, ensure the checkbox is checked. If this option is disabled, the RT will ignore
corrections from the wheel speed even if it is connected.
Figure 33. NAVconfig wheel speed configuration window
The distances from the measurement point on the RT to the measurement point of the
wheel speed encoder in the vehicle coordinate frame should be input. The directions
can be selected from the drop-down lists. If the wheel speed is from a prop shaft then
the distance should be measured half way between the two wheels. The illustrations in
the window will change depending on the settings you choose, to help visualise the
position of the RT in relation the wheel speed.
Ideally the measurements would be made to an accuracy of 10 cm. Using higher

precision for the measurement does not improve the results. Using an accuracy figure
worse than 20 cm will increase the drift of the RT. The accuracy can be specified as the
same for all measurements using Overall accuracy or it can be specified for each
individual measurement by clicking the Specify each accuracy separately checkbox.
In either case, choose a predefined value from the drop-down list or type in a value.

RT User Manual
Enter the pulses per metre of the wheel speed. A value that is accurate to 10% is
sufficient unless you know the figure more accurately. The RT will improve this
scaling factor itself when GNSS is available. The Get settings… utility (see page 54
for details) can be used to apply a more accurate value calculated by the RT from a
calibration run. If this option is used then the RT should be allowed to recalibrate the
scaling value occasionally to account for tyre wear.
The wheel speed corrections will not be as effective in reducing the drift of the RT if
the wheel speed is measuring two wheels (i.e. after a differential), since the actual
position of the wheel is required for accurate navigation. If a post-differential encoder
must be used then the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
For best results, a front wheel drive vehicle should be used with the wheel speed on a
rear wheel. The wheel speed pulses from driven wheels are less accurate.
Local co-ordinates
The RT can output the displacement from an origin in a local co-ordinate grid. To use
this option a “zero” location or origin must be chosen; the latitude, longitude and
altitude for the origin must be entered in to the RT. If an RT-Base is available then
these will be shown on the LCD display. A rotation can also be specified to rotate the
xy directions.
Figure 34. NAVconfig local co-ordinate properties window
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Serial 1 output
The serial output ports can be configured for different message types. Figure 35 shows
the properties windows for the Serial 1 output.
Figure 35. NAVconfig serial 1 output properties window
Note: NMEA tab only appears when NMEA is selected from the Packet drop-down list.
Select the message type to output from the Packet drop-down list and select the baud
rate and data rate to output at. Table 30 gives details of the different messages.

RT User Manual
Table 30. Serial output options

Option Description
Disabled The serial output is disabled. This option can be used to reduce the computational
load and ensure that the Kalman filter runs quicker.
NCOM Normal output of the RT. NCOM data is transmitted at up to 100 Hz or 125 Hz (for
250 Hz systems; RS232 does not support 250 Hz). The format is described in the
NCOM Description Manual. Software drivers exist for decoding the NCOM data.
IPAQ NCOM output at a reduced rate. The baud rate of the serial port is set to 19200 and
the update rate is 25 Hz. It is used because the IPAQ cannot manage to receive the
data reliably above 25 Hz.
IPAQ+ NCOM output at a reduced rate and polled. Windows Mobile 5 on IPAQs crashes if
the RT is sending data when the IPAQ is turned on. Using IPAQ+ the IPAQ will
poll the RT; the RT will not send data while the IPAQ is off, preventing the turn-on
crash of the IPAQ.
NMEA The NMEA outputs conform to the National Marine Electronics Association
Standard (NMEA 0183 version 3.01). The NMEA sentences available are GPGGA,
GPHDT, GPVTG, GPZDA, GPGST, PASHR, GPRMC, GPGSV, GPGSA, PTCF,
GPPPS, PRDID, GPROT, GPGGK, and GPUTC. The NMEA 0183 description
manual gives details of the fields output in the NMEA sentences.
Javad I+RTK A special set of messages output in GREIS format to be used with Javad receivers.
For assistance please contact OxTS for support.
MCOM Used for marine applications. Identical to NCOM output but with the addition of
heave measurements.
TSS1 TSS1 format outputting acceleration, heave, roll and pitch.
TSSHHRP TSSHHRP format.
EM3000 Suitable for use with Simrad EM3000 multibeam sounders.
EM1000 Suitable for use with Simrad EM1000 multibeam sounders.
If the NMEA packet type is selected, the NMEA tab will appear in the properties
window (see Figure 35). In this tab the NMEA messages to output on the serial port of
the RT are selected by choosing the data rate for each message type from the drop-
down lists and clicking the checkbox for when to generate the message.
NMEA messages can be generated on the falling or rising edge of the event input.
Check the falling or rising edge checkbox to instruct the RT to compute the sentence
when the event occurs. The RT can also output NMEA messages when the distance
output has a falling edge. The camera output replaces distance output when the distance
output is set to less than 1 ppm (contact support@oxts.com for information on how to
do this). These messages use interpolation to compute the values at the exact time of
the event and may be output on the serial port up to 30 ms late and out of order
compared to the normal messages. To enable these messages check the appropriate
checkbox.
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Note that it is easy to overload the serial port if there are too many events. The software
computes the number of characters that will be output each second and displays this at
the bottom of the window. A serial port data overflow warning message will appear if
the data rate is too high for the selected baud rate; to fix this it is necessary to lower the
data rate of the selected NMEA sentences or increase the baud rate.
Selecting Allow extended length messages enables certain extended NMEA sentences
to be output. Please see the NMEA 0183 Description manual for more details.
Selecting Output approximate values before initialisation forces output of the raw
GNSS measurements before the RT is initialised. Note that there will be a jump (from
the antenna to the inertial measurement unit) when initialisation occurs.
Ethernet output
The Ethernet output of the RT can be configured for different data rates and delays.
Figure 36 shows the Ethernet Output window.
Figure 36. NAVconfig Ethernet output properties window
The Ethernet Output can either output NCOM or MCOM, or be disabled by using the
Output Packet drop-down list. When NCOM or MCOM is selected, the Data rate can
be selected by using the drop-down list.

RT User Manual
The RT can output Ethernet messages when an event (rising or falling edge) is input on
the event input pin. It can also output Ethernet messages when the distance output is
configured in camera output mode. This mode is enabled automatically by selecting a
distance output of less than 1 ppm—contact support@oxts.com for details. . These
messages are interpolated to the time when the event occurred and may be output up to
30 ms late and out of order compared to the normal messages. It is essential to enable
these options if the events have a rate higher than 1 Hz, otherwise the output cannot
communicate all of the events and some will be lost.
The output delay in Advanced should only be used with the RT-Range when there are
multiple targets. It will delay the Ethernet broadcast from the RT by a number of
milliseconds so the wireless LAN in the RT-Range can transmit each RT’s messages at
different time slots. The timing is not guaranteed when using this option and it should
not be used in other applications.
Steering robot IP
Adjustment: select a predefined value from the drop down list, or type in a value.
The default address (195.0.0.100) is listed in the drop-down list. When the ABD
Steering Robot is enabled, the output smoothing is automatically enabled too.
Output smoothing
When the Kalman filter in the RT determines that there is some error to correct, this
error is applied smoothly rather than as a jump. The output smoothing controls how fast
the correction is applied to the outputs. This option is particularly useful for
autonomous vehicles or path-following robots as a rapid change in position can lead to
a large change in the steering angle.
Figure 37 shows the Output smoothing window. Click the checkbox to enable output
smoothing and unlock the properties for editing.
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Figure 37. NAVconfig output smoothing properties window
The smoothing of the position, velocity and orientation corrections can be controlled
independently. Enter the maximum correction that can be applied every second. For
example, if 0.1 m is entered for the position smoothing then the RT will only correct a
position error by a maximum rate of 0.1 m/s.
If a large error is accumulated (for example, if GNSS is not available for a long period
of time) then it may take a very long time to apply the correction. Under these
circumstances it may be preferable to “jump” the measurement to the correct value
quickly. By specifying a time in the Time limit section for the correction, the RT will
jump the measurement if it will take too long to correct.
Care should be taken not to make the smoothing too small. If these parameters are
inappropriate then the RT will not be able to make suitable corrections to the outputs
and it will not work correctly.
Note: this function is designed to improve the data in real-time. When post-processing
the data using the forwards-backwards combined option, output smoothing should not
be used as it may give unexpected results.
Slip points
The RT can output the slip angle measurements at additional points (maximum of eight
points) on the CAN bus, see Table 37 for the CAN message ID of the slip points.
Figure 38 shows the properties windows for slip point configuration.

RT User Manual
On the General tab select the additional Number of points from the drop-down list. A
number of additional tabs corresponding to the number of points selected will appear.
Click on the Point 1 and subsequent tabs to configure the position of each additional
slip point. Enter the distances and directions from the RT to the slip point.
If you have Output displacement enabled, then the measurements are still from the RT
and not from the output displacement point.
Figure 38. NAVconfig Slip points properties window
GNSS control
The GNSS control option contains advanced options that control how the GNSS
information is managed in the RT. The GNSS Algorithm tab can be used to select the
algorithm used for merging the GNSS and the inertial data in the Kalman filter. The
Recovery tab can be used to decide how to begin using GNSS measurements if they
have been rejected or ignored for a period of time.
Figure 39 shows both tabs in the GNSS control properties window.
Revision: 131024 81
Figure 39. NAVconfig GNSS control properties window
The GNSS algorithm tab gives a choice of two algorithms for computing the GNSS
measurements. The default option is to use the algorithm provided by the GNSS
receiver. Using this algorithm the RT will accept position and velocity from the GNSS
and use it to update the Kalman filter.
The gx/ix raw data processing algorithm uses the raw data from the GNSS and custom
algorithms to compute position and velocity tailored to the needs of the Kalman filter.
It also improves performance in poor GNSS environments using single satellite aiding
technology and tightly coupled GNSS and inertial measurements. Gx/ix mode is
recommended to achieve the highest accuracy in environments where RTK lock may
be difficult to maintain.
Note: gx/ix processing is a new technology and is still being developed and improved.
As such there are some limitations to its compatibility. Table 31 details the current
compatibilities of gx/ix mode.

RT User Manual
Table 31. gx/ix compatibility

GNSS mode Real-time Post-process
SPS  
SBAS x x
DGPS  
OmniSTAR x x
RTK x 
GLONASS x x
Note: only RTCM V3 format differential corrections are supported in gx/ix mode.
The Recovery tab controls how the RT will accept or reject GNSS measurements. The
RT will automatically reject GNSS updates that it believes are not correct. However,
there is a limit on the number of GNSS measurements the RT will reject. Once this
limit has passed the RT will accept the GNSS update since it is possible the GNSS is
correct and the inertial measurements are not. The GNSS control determines how long
the RT should wait before forcing the GNSS to be accepted. Both the velocity and the
position can be controlled separately.
In the default state the RT will reject up to 20 GNSS measurements before it forces the
GNSS to be accepted. However, in high multipath environments, and when wheel
speed is used, it may be desirable to reject more GNSS measurements. Select the Start
believing measurements after_ option and enter the number of GNSS measurements
to reject before the system starts believing it again.
The RT families have different GNSS receivers in which have different update rates for
position and velocity. Table 32 shows the update rates of the RTs.
Table 32. GNSS update rates

Product family Position Velocity
RT2000 2 Hz 4 Hz
RT3000 2 Hz 10 Hz
RT4000 2 Hz 10 Hz
This means that if for example you wish an RT3000 to start believing both position and
velocity GNSS measurements after 30 s, then it should be configured to start believing
measurements after 60 position updates and 300 velocity updates.
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Surface tilt
The surface tilt settings are used to compute the roll, pitch (and heading) compared to a
flat inclined surface. The roll and pitch from the RT products are measured compared
to gravity. Most test tracks are built at an angle so rain water runs off and the track
dries faster. As the vehicle drives up the incline, the pitch shows a positive value; as the
vehicle drives down the incline the pitch shows a negative value; the value changes
with a sinusoidal pattern as you drive round a circle. The roll angle shows a similar
effect.
Using the surface tilt option, the roll and pitch compared to the inclined surface can be
output as well. The Enginuity software contains a tool for working out the surface
angles. NAVconfig can be used to configure the surface’s angle if it has been measured
already. Figure 40 shows the Surface tilt properties window.
Figure 40. NAVconfig Surface tilt properties window
Enter the heading (compared to true north) of the uphill direction and the gradient of
the surface.
The RT does not change the roll and pitch outputs because of these settings. Instead
there are additional outputs, surface roll, surface pitch and surface heading that are
output and the transformation is applied to these outputs. Note that for surfaces with a
small gradient the surface heading is almost the same as heading.

RT User Manual
Altitude
Adjustment: select a predefined value from the drop down list, or type in a value.
The RT can output altitude (height) compared to the WGS 84 (ITRF05) ellipsoid or
compared to the EGM96 geoid—simply select the relevant option from the list. It can
also apply a constant offset to the WGS 84 ellipsoid. This is defined by simply typing a
value in the altitude cell.
The difference between geoid and ellipsoid outputs is illustrated in Figure 41.
Figure 41. Difference between geoid and ellipsoid
The earth has a random shape, which is approximately an ellipsoid. The WGS 84
ellipsoid is a “best fit” to the earth’s shape. WGS 84 has been updated to ITFR05,
which uses the same ellipsoid parameters and the same x-axis direction.
Another measure of shape is a geoid; the surface described by a specific value of

acceleration due to gravity. This is the shape mean sea level follows. This shape is not
uniform and it is normally computed using a lookup table. The lookup table gives a
local value of undulation—which is the difference between WGS 84 and the geoid.
Marine applications prefer to use the altitude compared to the geoid because it is very
close to zero at mean sea level. The ellipsoidal altitude can be different to sea level by
up to 50 m.
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The value currently being used by the software will be output in the “undulation” field
in the NCOM status messages, in the extended NMEA GGA sentences and in the status
messages of the CAN bus. Other outputs may also include the undulation.
Advanced
Adjustment: click … button to open settings window.
The Advanced option is used to set special commands for the RT. This should only be
done with special instructions from OxTS.
Committing the configuration to the RT
Changes to the RT settings must be sent using Ethernet. It is necessary to configure

your computer’s Ethernet settings so it is on the same network as the RT. The section
“Ethernet configuration” on page 39 gives details on how to do this.
Figure 42 shows the Commit page.
Figure 42. NAVconfig Commit page

RT User Manual
Enter the IP address of the RT you want to configure or select it from the drop-down
list. The drop-down box will list all systems currently connected to the computer’s
network so ensure to select the correct system if there are multiple listed. The list will
not function correctly if Enginuity or other software is using the RT UDP port unless
the OxTS UDP server is running.
Press Commit to save the configuration in the RT. This will automatically reset the RT
so the changes take effect. It will be necessary to initialise and warm-up the RT again
after the changes have been applied.
Saving the configuration and finishing
Before finishing it is possible to save a copy of the configuration in a folder on the

computer. This can then be loaded next time. The Save/Finish page also confirms if the
settings have been committed successfully or not. Figure 43 shows the Save/Finish
page.
Figure 43. NAVconfig Save/Finish page
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To save a copy of the configuration in a local folder check the Save settings in the
following folder box and use Browse… to select a folder. The configuration has a
number of files associated with it so it is recommended to create a new folder. Click
Finish to save the configuration to the selected folder and close NAVconfig.

RT User Manual
Setting up the base station
For correct operation of the higher accuracy systems it is necessary to use a base-
station GNSS receiver. All of the systems can be successfully used without a base-
station, however, the specification will only be met if a base-station is used.
The base-station is a separate GNSS receiver that monitors signals from the GNSS
satellites. Using its knowledge of position it works out the errors in each satellite’s
signal. It also measures the carrier-phase of the signal for kinematic corrections. The
carrier-phase observations and the satellite signal errors are sent from the base-station
GNSS to the RT via a radio modem (not provided).
The position of the base-station GNSS antenna can either be determined by the base-
station GNSS receiver or can be surveyed in by a chartered surveyor. If the base-station
GNSS receiver determines its own position, through position averaging, then any error
in the base-station receiver will also result in error at the RT. In order to relate the RT
signals to maps, or other items on the world, it is necessary to have a surveyor measure
the position of the GNSS antenna and then tell the base-station GNSS receiver what
position to use.
For many applications it is not necessary to survey in the base-station antenna since an
absolute world-reference is not required. Instead, a local grid can be used.
Using the RT-Base
The RT-Base is a self-contained GNSS, radio modem and battery housed in an IP65-
rated Peli case. For instructions on how to use the RT-Base see the “RT-Base User
Guide”.
The RT-Base is supplied with a radio modem. This should be connected to the radio
connector of the RT user cable supplied. This cable supplies power to the radio modem
as well as sending the differential corrections to the RT.
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Initialisation process
Before the RT can start to output all the navigation measurements, it needs to initialise
itself. In order to initialise, the RT needs all the measurements listed in Table 33.
Table 33. Quantities required for initialisation

Quantity Description
Time Measured by internal GNSS.
Position Measured by internal GNSS.
Velocity Measured by internal GNSS.
Heading Approximated to course over ground (with large error) when the vehicle moves. Dual
antenna models have the option for static initialisation which does not require any
movement.
Roll, pitch Vehicle Level option: assumed zero with a large error.
Otherwise: estimated over first 40 s of motion with large error.
The system will start when it has estimates of all of these quantities. Course over
ground will be used as the initial heading when the system exceeds the value set as the
initialisation speed (default of 5 m/s), unless static initialisation has been selected. If the
system is mounted level in the vehicle, then the Vehicle Level option will enable the
system to start immediately. Otherwise the system takes about 40 s to find approximate
values for roll and pitch.
For the initialisation process to work correctly, the RT requires the user to tell it which
way it is mounted in the vehicle, otherwise the course over ground will not be close
enough to the heading.
Real-time outputs
During the initialisation process the system runs 1 s behind, allowing GNSS
information to be compared to information from the inertial sensors. After initialisation
the system has to catch-up from this 1 s lag. It takes 10 s to do this. During the first 10 s
the system cannot output data in real-time, the delay decays to the specified latency
linearly over this 10 s period.
The system turns the SDNav LED orange to show the outputs are not real-time. When
the system is running in real-time this LED is green.

RT User Manual
Warm-up period
During the first 15 minutes of operation the system will not conform to specification.
During this period the Kalman Filter runs a more relaxed model for the sensors. By
running a more relaxed model the system is able to:
1. Make better estimates of the errors in the long term (if it does not get these correct
then they become more difficult to correct as time goes on).
2. Track the errors in the inertial sensor during their warm-up period (when their
errors change more quickly than normal).
During this period it is necessary to drive the vehicle or the errors will not be estimated
and the specification will not be reached. The NCOM output message (and CAN
outputs) includes status information that can be used to identify when the required
specification has been met. These are plotted in the example below.
The warm-up period is a concern to some customers but it is often very simple to
overcome. Below is an example of a good warm-up procedure that did not involve a lot
of work for the user. In this example the key features are:
 The RT3003 was configured well—the GNSS antenna position, Advanced slip
options and dual-antenna separation were measured accurately in advance.
 The RT3003 was turned on as soon as possible. In this case it took us 15 minutes
to get all the other equipment sorted out. The RT was stationary for most of this
period—which is not a problem.
 Although in this example the RT3003 was receiving corrections from a base-
station while stationary, it is not necessary. The base-station should be working
before the dynamic driving starts so the RT3003 can use the best information to
self-calibrate (if a base-station is not being use this does not apply).
 There are 6 minutes during which the car was driven in figures of eight. From the
graphs you can see the RT3003 is accurate almost after the first figure of eight,
after that the improvement is very small.
The trick is to turn the RT on early, do not reconfigure it (which resets it) or cycle the
power.
Figure 44 shows the route driven and Figure 45 shows the accuracy estimated by the
Kalman filter for various output parameters during the first 25 minutes. The quality of
initialisation would have been the same if the stationary period was 10 minutes,
followed by 5 minutes of driving. The time on the graphs is the time from initialisation.
In this example the RT3003 was initialised 25 s after starting up; the quality of
initialisation would be the same if it had been not been initialised for the first 10
minutes, then initialised and driven for 5 minutes.
Revision: 131024 91
Figure 44. Example warm-up driving route
At the start there is just a small amount of motion to get the RT3003 initialised. During
this time the Kalman filter cannot improve the position accuracy because the position
of the GNSS antenna is not known accurately and cannot be estimated without motion.
The accuracy of the velocity, roll and pitch steadily improves as the Kalman filter
places more and more weight on the inertial sensors. At this point the heading accuracy
is worse than the scale of the graph ((d) in Figure 45); the heading is not accurate and
the dual antenna system cannot measure the angle of the GNSS antennas compared to
the inertial sensors, so the dual antenna cannot provide accurate information.
Just after 500 s the RT3003 is driven (it is the small loop on the east side in Figure 44,
not the figures of eight). This small amount of driving is sufficient for the Kalman filter
to gain confidence in the antenna position and to improve the alignment of the two
GNSS antennas compared to the inertial sensors. After this period the position accuracy
is better than 2 cm and the heading is better than 0.2°.

RT User Manual
Figure 45. Example warm-up accuracy estimates
(a) Forward velocity. (b) Position accuracies. (c) Velocity accuracies. (d) Orientation accuracies.
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You can see the RT3003 is nearly at specification after just this small amount of
driving. However, experience tells us the Kalman filter will continue to make some
improvements (not obvious) during the first few figures of eight. The main part of the
motion occurs after 1100 s when the car was driven in a figure of eight for 6 minutes.
These are fairly large figures of eight driven at relatively low speeds. Notice the brake
stops in the velocity graph ((a) in Figure 45) where the speed falls to zero. These are
important parts of the warm-up—so as many states in the Kalman filter as possible can
be updated.
Notice how close to the specification the RT3003 is even without the figure of eight
manoeuvres. A proper warm-up is recommended in order to achieve the highest level
of accuracy. However the effect is small and only significant when you need the full
performance of the RT.

RT User Manual
Using OmniSTAR corrections
RT products that have OmniSTAR decoders can be used to get corrections from
OmniSTAR satellites. The RT family members support OmniSTAR VBS (giving
50 cm CEP), OmniSTAR XP (giving 15 cm CEP in extended periods of open-sky) and
OmniSTAR HP (giving 10 cm CEP in extended periods of open-sky).
Before OmniSTAR corrections can be used it is essential to get a license from

OmniSTAR. To get a license the following must be done:
1. Using NAVconfig, the RT must be told which satellite to use for corrections.
There are only a few satellites available, so this is not something that needs to be
changed often.
2. Set up the RT outside and turn it on. Make sure it has a good view of the open-
sky. Check the RT is tracking the OmniSTAR satellite; this can be found in the
status information.
Call OmniSTAR and ask them to activate the OmniSTAR receiver. They will need the
serial number of the OmniSTAR card in the RT. This is given on the delivery note of
the RT, or can be found using the Enginuity software. Open Enginuity and connect to
the RT. Click Calibration, then scroll down the Status tab. The OmniSTAR serial
number is shown in parameter number 139.
3. After the license has been sent, the RT will operate in VBS mode. If an HP
license has been sent, it may take 45 minutes before HP will start to work; an
almanac transmission is required, and this is only sent slowly. Any break in the
OmniSTAR transmission will mean that the almanac cannot be received.
After OmniSTAR is configured and a valid license is obtained, the RT will

automatically use OmniSTAR whenever it is available. The availability of the
OmniSTAR signal can be monitored using the status information.
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Post-processing data
Data stored on the RT is in a raw, unprocessed format; these files have an “rd”
extension. The advantage of this is it can be reprocessed with different configuration
settings. For example, if the configuration was configured incorrectly when running in
real-time, then the configuration can be changed and the data can be reprocessed post-
mission.
The software suite provided with the RT includes the RT Post-process software which
can be used to reprocess the data. The RT Post-process Wizard also gives the user the
ability to change the NCOM binary output format to text.
A full explanation of RT Post-process is given in the “RT Post-process Manual”,

which can be downloaded from the OxTS website.

RT User Manual
Laboratory testing
There are several checks that can be performed in the laboratory to ensure the system is
working correctly. The most fragile items in the system are the accelerometers, the
other items are not subject to shock and do not need to be tested as thoroughly.
Accelerometer test procedure
To check the accelerometers are working correctly, follow this procedure.
1. Connect power and a laptop to the system.
2. Commit a default setting to the RT using NAVconfig, then run Enginuity.
3. Click the Calibration button, then select the Navigation tab and ensure the x, y,
and z accelerations (values 19 to 21) are within specification when the RT is
placed on a level surface in the orientations according to Table 34.
Table 34. Acceleration measurement specifications

Orientation Acceleration measurement
x y z
Flat Flat Down z-acceleration between –9.7 and –9.9 m/s2
Flat Flat Up z-acceleration between 9.7 and 9.9 m/s2
Down Flat Flat x-acceleration between –9.7 and –9.9 m/s2
Up Flat Flat x-acceleration between 9.7 and 9.9 m/s2
Flat Down Flat y-acceleration between –9.7 and –9.9 m/s2
Flat Up Flat y-acceleration between 9.7 and 9.9 m/s2
This test is sufficient to ensure the accelerometers have not been damaged.
Gyro test procedure
To check that the gyros (angular rate sensors) are working correctly, follow this
procedure:
Revision: 131024 97
1. Connect power and a laptop to the system.
2. Commit a default setting to the RT using NAVconfig, then run Enginuity.
3. Click the Calibration button, then select the Navigation tab and scroll to view
the x, y, and z angular rates (values 30 to 32).
4. Rotate the RT according to Table 35 and check the angular rate measurements
occur.
5. With the unit stationary, check all the angular rates are within ±5°/s. (In general
they will be within ±0.5°/s, but the algorithm in the RT will work to specification
with biases up to ±5°/s).
Table 35. Angular rate measurement specifications

Orientation Angular rate measurement
x y z
+ve Zero Zero The x-axis should indicate positive rotation, others are small.
–ve Zero Zero The x-axis should indicate negative rotation, others are small.
Zero +ve Zero The y-axis should indicate positive rotation, others are small.
Zero –ve Zero The y-axis should indicate negative rotation, others are small.
Zero Zero +ve The z-axis should indicate positive rotation, others are small.
Zero Zero –ve The z-axis should indicate negative rotation, others are small.
It is hard to do a more exhaustive test using the angular rate sensors without specialised
software and equipment. For further calibration testing it is necessary to return the unit
to OxTS.
Note that the RT is capable of correcting the error in the angular rate sensors very
accurately. It is not necessary to have very small values for the angular rates when
stationary since they will be estimated during the initialisation process and warm-up
period. This estimation process allows the RT to go for long periods without requiring
recalibration.
Testing the internal GNSS and other circuitry
To check all the internal circuits in the RT are working correctly and the navigation
computer has booted correctly, use the following procedure:

RT User Manual
1. Connect power to the system, connect the system to a laptop computer and run
the visual display software (Enginuity).
2. Use Table 36, below, to check the status fields are changing.
Table 36. Status field checks

Field Increment rate
IMU packets 100 per second or 250 per second, depending on product model.
IMU chars skipped Not changing (but not necessarily zero).
GPS packets Between 2 and 20 per second (depending on system).
GPS chars skipped Not changing (but not necessarily zero).
1
GPS2 packets Between 2 and 20 per second (depending on system).
GPS2 char skipped1 Not changing (but not necessarily zero).
1
The GPS2 related fields will only increase for dual antenna systems.
These checks will ensure the signals from the GNSS and from the inertial sensors are
being correctly received at the navigation computer.
Revision: 131024 99
Using the orientation measurements
This section has been provided to clarify the definitions of heading, pitch and roll that
are output by the RT.
The RT uses quaternions internally to avoid the problems of singularities and to

minimise numerical drift on the attitude integration. Euler angles are used to output the
heading, pitch and roll, and these have singularities at two orientations. The RT has
rules to avoid problems when operating close to the singularities; if you regenerate the
rotation matrices given below then they will be correct.
The Euler angles output are three consecutive rotations (first heading, then pitch and
finally roll) that transform a vector measured in the navigation co-ordinate frame to the
body co-ordinate frame. The navigation co-ordinate frame is the orientation on the
earth at your current location with axes of north, east and down.
If V n is vector V measured in the navigation co-ordinate frame and V b is the same

vector measured in the body co-ordinate frame the two vectors are related by:
V n C bn V b
cos (  ) sin(  ) 0 cos (  ) 0 sin(  ) 1 0 0
Vn sin(  ) cos (  ) 0  0 1 0  0 cos (  ) sin(  ) V

b
0 0 1 sin(  ) 0 cos (  ) 0 sin(  ) cos (  )
where:
 is the heading angle;

 is the pitch angle and
 is the roll angle.
Remember—heading, pitch and roll are usually output in degrees, but the functions sin
and cos require these values in radians.

RT User Manual
Operating principles
This short section gives some background information on the components in the RT
and how they work together to give the outputs. A short overview of the algorithm is
given and some explanation of how the software works. The section is provided as
‘interesting information’ and is not required for normal operation.
Internal components
Figure 46 gives a schematic view of the components in the RT system.
Figure 46. Schematic showing the internal components of the RT
The schematic shows the layout for a dual antenna system, the second GNSS (GNSS2)
and the second antenna are not fitted on single antenna systems.
The accelerations and angular rates are measured in the inertial measurement unit. The
accelerometers are all mounted at 90° to each other so they can measure each direction
independently. The three angular rate sensors are mounted in the same three directions
as the accelerometers. A powerful, 40 MHz floating point DSP controls the ADC and,
through advanced signal processing, gives a resolution of 20-bits. Digital anti-aliasing
filters and coning/sculling motion compensation algorithms are run on the DSP.
Calibration of the accelerometers and angular rate sensors also takes place in the DSP;
this includes very high-precision alignment matrices that ensure that the direction of the
acceleration and angular rate measurements is accurate to better than 0.01°.
Revision: 131024 101

The sampling process in the inertial measurement unit is synchronised to GPS time so
the 100 Hz or 250 Hz measurements from the RT are synchronised to GPS.
The navigation computer is a Pentium class processor that runs the navigation
algorithms (more on this below). Information from the DSP and the two GNSS
receivers is fed into the navigation computer. The navigation computer runs a real-time
operating system (QNX) so outputs are made in a deterministic amount of time. The
outputs from the navigation computer are available over Serial RS232, UDP broadcast
on Ethernet or CAN bus.
On RT3000 and RT4000, and some RT2000 products differential corrections can be
supplied directly to the GNSS receiver to improve the positioning accuracy. The
differential corrections can be supplied via radio modem from a base-station, via cell
phone from a base-station or from a separate differential source, such as OmniSTAR or
US Coastguard.
Strapdown navigator
The outputs of the system are derived directly from the strapdown navigator. The role
of the strapdown navigator is to convert the measurements from the accelerometers and
angular rate sensors to position. Velocity and orientation are also tracked and output by
the strapdown navigator.
Figure 47 shows a basic overview of the strapdown navigator. Much of the detail has
been left out and only the key elements are shown here.
Figure 47. Schematic of the strapdown navigator
People familiar with inertial navigation systems will note that ‘angular rates’ and
‘accelerations’ are labelled as the inputs. In reality the DSP in the RT converts these to
‘change in angle’ and ‘change in velocity’ to avoid problems of coning and sculling.

RT User Manual
Some other rotations are also missed in the diagram. The RT does not use a wander
angle, so it will not operate correctly on the North and South poles.
The angular rates have their bias and scale factor corrections (from the Kalman filter)
applied. Earth rotation rate is also subtracted to avoid the 0.25° per minute rotation of
the earth. The transport rate is also corrected; this is the rate that gravity rotates by due
to the vehicle moving across the earth’s surface and it is proportional to horizontal
speed. Finally the angular rates are integrated to give heading, pitch and roll angles.
These are represented internally using a quaternion (so the RT can work at any angle
and does not have any singularities).
The accelerations have their bias corrections (from the Kalman filter) applied. Then
they are rotated to give accelerations in the earth’s co-ordinate frame (north, east
down). Gravity is subtracted and Coriolis acceleration effects removed. The
accelerations are integrated to give velocity. This is integrated to give position.
The strapdown navigator uses a WGS 84 model of the earth, the same as GPS uses.
This is an elliptical model of the earth rather than a spherical one. The position outputs
are in degrees latitude, degrees longitude and altitude. The altitude is the distance from
the model’s earth sea level.
The Kalman filter used in the RT is able to apply corrections to several places in the
strapdown navigator, including position, velocity, heading, pitch, roll, angular rate bias
and scale factor and acceleration bias.
Kalman filter
Kalman filters can be used to merge several measurements of a quantity and therefore
give a better overall measurement. This is the case with position and velocity in the RT;
the Kalman filter is used to improve the position measurement made from two sources,
inertial sensors and GNSS.
Using a model of how one measurement affects another, the Kalman filter is able to
estimate states where it has no direct measurement.
Consider a lift (or elevator) in a building. We might make measurements of

acceleration and we might know what our position is when we pass a floor; these are
the two measurements our system makes. A Kalman filter could be used to measure
velocity in this situation even though no sensor measures velocity directly. The Kalman
filter could also be used to measure the bias (or offset) of the accelerometer, thereby
improving the system by providing on-line calibration. The bias of the accelerometer
might mean the system always believes the lift arrives early at each floor; by changing
the bias on the accelerometer the measurement of lift position can be made to correlate
with the floor sensor more accurately.

The same principles are used in the RT. Position and velocity are compensated directly,
but other measurements like accelerometer bias, have no direct measurements. The
Kalman filter tunes these so the GNSS measurements and the inertial measurements
match each other as closely as possible.
The Kalman filter in the RT has 24 states. These are position error (north, east, down);
velocity error (north, east, down); heading error; pitch error; roll error; gyro bias (x, y,
z); gyro scale factor (x, y, z); accelerometer bias (x, y, z); GNSS antenna position (x, y,
z); GNSS antennas orientation (heading, pitch) and vehicle mounting angle (for
advanced slip).
The errors are applied smoothly to the states. For example, if the Kalman filter wants to
correct a position error of five centimetres in the north direction then this is applied
slowly, rather than jumping directly to the new position. This helps applications that
use the RT for control since any differential terms in the control algorithm do not have
large step changes in them.

RT User Manual
CAN messages and signals
In the default configuration the CAN bus uses identifiers 500h to 5FFh for RT status
information; 600h to 60Fh for navigation information; 610h to 613h for RT-ANA
messages and 620h to 623h for the additional slip points.
Using the configuration software it is possible to change the default message

identifiers.
Only one status message is output per cycle (100 Hz or 250 Hz output rate) you do not
get each status message at the specified rate.
All values from the RT are encoded in little-endian format (Intel-style).
Termination resistor
The CAN bus output does not include a termination resistor. It is essential to include a
120  resistor at each end of your CAN bus—otherwise the CAN bus will not work.
CAN-DB file
NAVconfig can output a CAN DBC file that contains all the measurements the RT is
configured to output. See the CAN option in NAVconfig (page 65).
CAN bus messages
Table 37 lists all the messages the RT outputs on the CAN bus and the identifiers that
are used for each message. The signals in each message are listed in the tables that
follow.

Table 37. CAN bus messages
Default Data contents See table
identifier
(hex)
600h Date and time Table 38

601h Latitude, longitude Table 39
602h Altitude Table 40
603h Velocity (north east down) Table 41
604h Velocity (forward/lateral) Table 42
605h Accelerations (body x, y, z) Table 43
606h Accelerations (forward, lateral, down) Table 44
607h Heading, pitch roll Table 45
608h Angular rates (body x, y, z) Table 46
609h Angular rates (forward, pitch, yaw) Table 47
60Ah Slip angle, track angle Table 48
60Bh Distance Table 49
60Ch XY position in local co-ordinates Table 50
60Dh XY velocity, yaw angle, in local co-ordinates Table 51
60Eh Angular acceleration (body x, y, z) Table 52
60Fh Angular acceleration (forward, pitch, yaw) Table 53
610h–613h Reserved for RT-ANA signals
620h Slip angle, track angle at point 1 Table 54
624h Heading, pitch and roll to tilted surface Table 58
629h Approximate latitude and longitude Table 63
62Ah Approximate altitude Table 64
62Bh Approximate velocity Table 65

RT User Manual
The status information in NCOM is output over the CAN bus on Identifiers 500h to
5FFh. The offset from 500h is the same as the Channel number in the NCOM message
definition. The bytes 0 to 7 are the same in the CAN message as in the NCOM packet.
Table heading definitions
The fields in the tables have the following meanings.
Offset (bits). This is the offset into the message where the signal starts. To compute the
offset in bytes divide the value by 8.
Length (bits). This is the length of the signal in bits. To compute the length of the signal
in bytes, divide the value by 8.
Type. This specifies either an unsigned value (U) or a signed value (S).
Units. This is the units for the signal.
Factor. This is the factor that the integer unit should be multiplied by to get the signal
into the units given in the table.
Offset. This is the value of the signal when the integer value in the CAN message is
zero. It is zero for all the RT signals and can usually be discarded.
Signals
The following tables describe the signals in each of the messages.
Table 38. Identifier 600h (1536), date and time

Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
Description
0 8 U Year 1 0 Year within century (e.g. ‘2’ during year 2002)

8 8 U Year 100 0 Century (e.g. ‘20’ during 2002)
16 8 U Month 1 0 Month
24 8 U Day 1 0 Day
32 8 U s 0.01 0 Hundredths of a second
40 8 U s 1 0 Seconds
48 8 U Min 1 0 Minutes
56 8 U Hour 1 0 Hours
Note: time is always reported as GPS time. Currently this is 16 s different from UTC.

Table 39. Identifier 601h (1537), latitude and longitude
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 32 S Degrees 1e-7 0 Latitude

32 32 S Degrees 1e-7 0 Longitude
Table 40. Identifier 602h (1538), altitude

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 32 S m 0.001 0 Altitude
By default the altitude is output relative to mean sea level, not WGS 84. The datum can be changed using
NAVconfig.
Table 41. Identifier 603h (1539), velocity

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S m/s 0.01 0 North velocity

16 16 S m/s 0.01 0 East velocity
32 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Down velocity
48 16 U m/s 0.01 0 Horizontal speed
The horizontal speed is the vector addition of north and east velocities. For forward speed (which can go
negative) see message 604h.

RT User Manual
Table 42. Identifier 604h (1540), velocity in level frame

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
0 16 Type
S m/s 0.01 0 Forward velocity
16 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Lateral velocity (right positive)
The forward speed can go negative when driving backwards.
Table 43. Identifier 605h (1541), body accelerations

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S m/s2 0.01 0 Body x-acceleration

2
16 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Body y-acceleration
32 16 S m/s2 0.01 0 Body z-acceleration
Table 44. Identifier 606h (1542), level accelerations

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S m/s2 0.01 0 Forward acceleration

2
16 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Lateral acceleration (right positive)
32 16 S m/s2 0.01 0 Down acceleration
2
48 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Slip rate

Table 45. Identifier 607h (1543), heading, pitch, roll
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 U degrees 0.01 0 Heading

16 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Pitch
32 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Roll
Note: the range of heading is 0 to 360°; the range of pitch is ±90°; the range of roll is ±180°.
Table 46. Identifier 608h (1544), body xyz angular rates

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S deg/s 0.01 0 Body x-angular rate (roll angular rate)

16 16 S deg/s 0.01 0 Body y-angular rate
32 16 S deg/s 0.01 0 Body z-angular rate
Table 47. Identifier 609h (1545), level angular rates

Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
Description
0 16 S deg/s 0.01 0 Forward angular rate

16 16 S deg/s 0.01 0 Pitch angular rate
32 16 S deg/s 0.01 0 Yaw angular rate
See message 608h for roll angular rate. The definition of roll rate used in this manual is consistent with
the Euler angles used to output roll, pitch and heading; therefore the roll angular rate is the same as the
pitched x-angular rate or the body x-angular rate. The forward angular rate is the rotation about the axis
which is horizontal.

RT User Manual
Table 48. Identifier 60Ah (1546), track, slip angles

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
0 16 Type
U degrees 0.01 0 Track angle
16 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Slip angle
32 16 S 1/m 0.0001 0 Curvature
Note that the slip angle will be close to 180° when driving backwards.
Table 49. Identifier 60Bh (1547), distance

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 32 U m 0.001 0 Distance with hold

32 32 U m 0.001 0 Distance
Note: Distance with hold will not increase when the RT measures a speed less than 0.2 m/s whereas the
Distance field will drift by the noise of the RT when stationary. The distances start from zero when the
RT-CAN unit is powered up.
Table 50. Identifier 60Ch (1548), xy position in local co-ordinates

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 32 S m 0.0001 0 x distance from origin

32 32 S m 0.0001 0 y distance from origin
Note: The origin is set using the local co-ordinates option in NAVconfig. The convention used for the
local co-ordinates uses a right-handed set with the z-axis up.

Table 51. Identifier 60Dh (1549), xy velocity, yaw angle in local co-ordinates
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S m/s 0.01 0 x velocity

16 16 S m/s 0.01 0 y velocity
32 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Yaw angle
48 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Track angle in local co-ordinates
Note: The convention used for the local co-ordinates uses a right-handed set with the z-axis up.
Table 52. Identifier 60Eh (1550), body xyz angular accelerations

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S deg/s² 0.1 0 Body x-angular acceleration (roll angular

accelerations)
16 16 S deg/s² 0.1 0 Body y-angular acceleration
32 16 S deg/s² 0.1 0 Body z-angular acceleration
Table 53. Identifier 60Fh (1551), level angular accelerations

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S deg/s² 0.1 0 Forward angular acceleration

16 16 S deg/s² 0.1 0 Pitch angular acceleration
2
32 16 S deg/s 0.1 0 Yaw angular acceleration

RT User Manual
Table 54. Identifier 620h (1568), track, slip angle and curvature of point 1
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
0 16 Type
U degrees 0.01 0 Track angle of point 1
16 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Slip angle of point 1
32 16 S 1/m 0.0001 0 Curvature of point 1
Note that the slip angle of point 1 will be close to 180° when driving backwards.
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 U degrees 0.01 0 Track angle of point 2

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type


Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type

Table 58. Identifier 624h (1572), surface heading, pitch and roll
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 U degrees 0.01 0 Heading relative to the road surface

16 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Pitch relative to the road surface
32 16 S degrees 0.01 0 Roll relative to the road surface
Note: the range of heading is 0 to 360°; the range of pitch is ±90°; the range of roll is ±180°. The road
surface angle needs to be defined in order for these measurements to be active.
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type


RT User Manual
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
0 16 Type
U degrees 0.01 0 Track angle of point 6
Table 61. Identifier 627h (1575), track, slip angle and curvature of Point 7
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type

Table 62. Identifier 628h (1576), track, slip angle and curvature of Point 8
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type


Table 63. Identifier 629h (1577), approximate latitude and longitude
Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 32 S degrees 1e-7 0 Approximate latitude

32 32 S degrees 1e-7 0 Approximate longitude
Before initialisation the approximate latitude and longitude message will have the GNSS measurement of
latitude and longitude (at the GNSS antenna location). After initialisation it will contain the same latitude
and longitude as message 601h.
Table 64. Identifier 62Ah (1578), approximate altitude

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 32 S m 0.001 0 Approximate altitude

By default the altitude is output relative to mean sea level, not WGS 84. See altitude in the NCOM
description for information on how to change this.
Before initialisation the approximate altitude message will have the GNSS measurement of altitude (at
the GNSS antenna location). After initialisation it will contain the same altitude as message 602h.
Table 65. Identifier 62Bh (1579), approximate velocity

Description
Length
Factor
Offset
Offset
Units
(bits)
(bits)
Type
0 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Approximate north velocity

16 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Approximate east velocity
32 16 S m/s 0.01 0 Approximate down velocity
48 16 U m/s 0.01 0 Approximate horizontal speed
Before initialisation the approximate velocity message will have the GNSS measurement of velocity (at
the GNSS antenna location). After initialisation it will contain the same altitude as message 603h.

RT User Manual
Revision history
Table 66. Revision history

Revision Comments
071120 Merged RT2000, RT3000 and RT4000 manuals.
080121 Heading Lock changes. Surface Attitude CAN IDs.
080303 Improved RT2500 specification. Heading Lock “Loose” changed to “Normal”.
080804 Surface tilt added to RT Config. Specification changes for “1”. Clarified positioning
modes and accuracies.
090630 Added power cable drawing, updated all drawings. 50 Hz trigger described. Added
fields for GNSS position mode. Added description of sign conventions. Recommended
PC IP address described. Ethernet Output options described. Other small changes.
100125 Added MGCOM1 protocol. Clarifications to rotation order and dual-antenna section
100312 Added RT2002. Updated for latest software. Added CAN message descriptions for
additional slip points and approximate outputs. Separated some specifications in to a
separate table. Improved warm-up description.
100624 Added RT2004 product.
101124 Updated for RT Config software changes. Triggered NMEA outputs. PTCF output.
Camera output on Ethernet. Clarified power output on RT2000 differential connector.
Added information about GNSS pitch constraint for improving static initialisation.
Altitude datum options. Other minor corrections.
110505 Added the recommended fuse information; added GNSS antenna drawings.
111115 Updated CE/FCC statement for new internal design. Added linear acceleration filter.
Added gx processing. Added software disclaimer. ECCN revision.
130221 Updated RT2000 specifications. Updated for RT Config software changes. Added
CAN acquisition section. Updated screenshots for new GUI. Aligned document style.
Updated user cable part number.
131024 Updated screenshots to NAVconfig. Removed obsolete products. Updated RT’s input
voltage. Altered document structure.

Drawing list
Table 67 lists the available drawings that describe components of the RT system. Many
of these drawings are attached to the back of this manual. Note that the ‘x’ following a
drawing number is the revision code for the part. If you require a drawing, or different
revision of a drawing, that is not here then contact Oxford Technical Solutions.
Table 67. List of available drawings

Drawing Description
14A0029x RT2000 system outer dimension drawing
14A0007x RT3000 / RT4000 system outer dimension drawing
14C0038B RT3000 / RT4000 user interface cable
77C0002B RT2000 power cable
GPS-600 GPS antenna
AT575–70B GNSS antenna
110–00012–601 G5-Ant-2AMNS1 antenna
110–00148–601 G5Ant-42AT1 antenna
110–00149–601 G3Ant-42AT1 antenna
110–00150–601 G5Ant-52AT1 antenna

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J2 9-Way Male D-type and shell FEC 1342694 J2 2 Nav Data RS232 RX J1-4 OX25 5HD
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J5 9-Way Female D-type and shell FEC 1342695 1 +Supply J3-14 2 GPS Data RS232 RX J1-7
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J6 See notes 7 RS232 Common J1-16 3 GPS Data RS232 TX J1-6 without the written permission of
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J7 4-Way M12 Male Cable Assy FEC 1889386 Radio 8 Supply Return J7-3 5 RS232 Common J1-16 Oxford Technical Solutions.
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+Supply J7-1 Sleeved and made safe J7-3
15 +Supply J7-1
A4
Not to scale
mm
5mm
2 CAN - J1-10 N/A
14C0038B J4
CAN
3 CAN Ground J1-17
6 CAN Ground J4-3
J6 is a RJ45 UTP patch lead
7 CAN + J1-9 which is cut to length and
90 24
terminated at J1.
XX Wire Types:
J7-1, J7-3 16/0.2
Length XX is denoted in the part ordered 1 Digital 1 J1-11
All others 7/0.2
2 Digital 2 J1-8 See manual for details
by the final digits of the part number in J1-13 & J1-20 Twisted pair
3 Digital 3 J1-15 of the signals on
centimetres. 40cm is the default length J1-14 & J1-21 Twisted pair
J5
Digital I/O 4 Digital 4 J1-19 Digital 1 to Digital 5
if not specified. 5 Digital 5 J1-5 Cables outers braided and
6 Digital Ground J1-18 connected to J1-22, J1 shell
For example 14C0038x-100 specifies a 7 Digital Ground J1-18 and J7 shell (through cable
cable length of 100cm. (x is the revision) 8 Digital Ground J1-18 assembly braiding).
9 Digital Ground J1-18
Please populate all unused
pins with empty crimps.
1 Ethernet (ETX +) J1-20
J6
2 Ethernet (ETX -) J1-13 Ensure that the cable legend
Ethernet
3 Ethernet (ERX +) J1-21 text precisely matches that
6 Ethernet (ERX -) J1-14 given in diagram.
L2 300mm 05/10/11
L3 300mm 1 Brown +Supply (10-25 Volts DC) J1-1
J7 14C0038B
L4 300mm
Power 2 White Sleeved and made safe
L5 3 Blue Supply Return J1-2
300mm
4 Black Sleeved and made safe RT3000 User Cable
L6 300mm
L7 300mm 1 of 1
77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
Oxfordshire
OX25 5HD
www.oxts.com
Pin Definitions The information in this document
3 4 is confidential and must not be
J1-1 (Brown) Positive 12V Power supply (9–18V d.c.) or in part to other parties or used to
2 1 J1-2 (White) Positive 12V Power/Charger supply (11–18V d.c.) build the described components
J1-3 (Blue) 0V/GND Oxford Te chnical Solutions.
View from front J1-4 (Black) 0V/GND
of socket
0 10 20 30
Print Size: A4
Pin 2 Scale: 1:1
Units: mm
Pin 1 Tolerances: 1mm
77C0002B
Projection: N/A
Notes:
J1
10/04/02
J2 Alternative Part Number
added
Parts Connections
RS291-5881 M12 4w 5m PVC straight Connector J1-1 (Brown) – J2-1

FEC 658-376 Car Cigarette Lighter Plug J1-2 (White) – J2-1
RS399-524 Yellow Heat Shrink 6.4mm J1-3 (Blue) – J2-2
RS399-934 Clear Heat Shrink 6.4mm J1-4 (Black) – J2-2
(Alternative Part: RS 266-0250

Car Cigarette Lighter Plug - 8A fused)
Date: 05/05/11
Fuse
Littelfuse Part Number 0214005 (5A Torpedo Type Fuse, 25 x 6mm, 36V) Part #: 77C0002B
Document:
RT2000 Power Cable
Sheet: 1 of 1
77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
Oxfordshire
OX25 5HD
www.oxts.co.uk
0 10 20 30
Print Size: A4
Scale: 1:1
Units: mm
80.7
88.7
Tolerances: 1mm
Notes:
L1 Ant. - Blue Rim
L1/L2 Ant. - Black Rim
5/8-11 UNC Adaptor
41mm should be left under the

antenna for the cable bend radius
41 (Cable/Connector shown below)
Date: 23/07/09
Part #: GPS-600
Document:
Novatel GPS Antenna
Sheet: 1 of 1
77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
Oxfordshire
OX25 5HD
www.oxts.co.uk
54 24 6000 Oxford Te chnical Solutions.
0 10 20 30
Print Size: A4
Scale: 1:1
Units: mm
Tolerances: 1mm
Notes:
TNC Connector
19
Date: 23/07/09
Part #: 201-990146-789
Document:
Magnetic GPS Antenna
Sheet: 1 of 1
77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
Oxfordshire
[17.30] 0.68 in
X,YPHASECENTRE= 0 OX25 5HD
www.oxts.com
(CENTREOFANTENNA) © Copyright Oxford Technical Solutions, 2013
Z PHASE=
(1:2) Confidential Information
[21.96] 0.86 in
dia [68.81] 2.71 in 0 10 20 30
Print Size: A4
Scale: 1:1
Units: mm
Tolerances: 1mm
10-32 UNF- 2B Projection: 3rd Angle

x 0.250 DP
Notes:
GPS/GLONASS Antenna
SMA Connector
magnetic
( 1 :2 ) 2 cm
OmniSTAR
[62.74] 2.47 in
NAME PLATE
4x MAGNETS(FLUSH)
Date: 06/05/11
3x6-32 UNC- 2B Part #: 110-00012-601

90°APART
Document:
(FOROPTIONAL MOUNTING)
G5Ant-2AMNS1
Sheet: 1 of 1
[119.38] 4.70 in 77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
Oxfordshire
[40.64] 1.60 in
[83.82] 3.30 in OX25 5HD
www.oxts.com
[76.20] 3.00 in

0 10 20 30
4xdia 5.11 THRU Print Size: A4

dia 9.78 X 100°
[10-32 MTGSCREWS] Scale: 1:2
[22.81] 0.90 in
Units: mm
X,YPHASECENTRE= 0 Tolerances: 1mm
(CENTREOFANTENNA)
Z PHASE= Projection: 3rd Angle
Notes:
* L1/L2/L5 GPS/GLO.
* OmniSTAR
* Precision carrier phase
* Suitable for 2 cm
[5.99] 0.24 in
[18.14] 0.71 in
products
[14.53] 0.57 in
* Typically for aircraft

* TNC Connector
* ARINC Form Factor
* Must be mounted on a
metal surface for
optimum performance
5V, 35dB Gain
Weight 227g
NAMEPLATE
TNC
[3.76] 0.15 in
TSO
NAMEPLATE Date: 06/05/11
Part #: 110-00148-601
Document:
'O' RING [6.48] 0.26 in
G5Ant-42AT1
Sheet: 1 of 1
[119.38] 4.70 in 77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
Oxfordshire
[40.64] 1.60 in
[83.82] 3.30 in OX25 5HD
www.oxts.com
[76.20] 3.00 in

0 10 20 30
4xdia 5.11 THRU Print Size: A4

dia 9.78 X 100°
Scale: 1:2
[10-32 MTGSCREWS]
[22.81] 0.90 in
Units: mm
X,YPHASECENTRE= 0 Tolerances: 1mm
(CENTREOFANTENNA)
Z PHASE= Projection: 3rd Angle
Notes:
* L1 GPS/GLONASS
* Suitable for up to
20 cm precision
[5.99] 0.24 in
[18.14] 0.71 in
* TNC Connector
* Typically for aircraft
[14.53] 0.57 in
* Must be mounted on a
metal surface for
optimum performance
* 5V, 35dB Gain
* Weight 227g
NAMEPLATE
TNC
[3.76] 0.15 in
NAMEPLATE Date: 06/05/11
Part #: 110-00149-601
Document:
'O' RING [6.48] 0.26 in
G3Ant-42AT1
Sheet: 1 of 1
77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
12x [4.75] 0.187in THRU Oxfordshire
EQUI SPCD 4.676in PCD OX25 5HD
www.oxts.com
TAPERULESHOOK Oxford Te chnical Solutions.
0 10 20 30
[8.51] 0.34 in
Print Size: A4
X,YPHASECENTRE= 0
(CENTREOFANTENNA) Scale: 1:2
dia [127.00] 5.00 in Z PHASE=
Units: mm
Tolerances: 1mm
Notes:
[10.44] 0.41 in
* L1/L2/L5 GPS /GLO.

* OmniSTAR
dia [66.04] 2.60 in * Precision carrier phase
[1.57] 0.06 in
[29.49] 1.16 in
[42.66] 1.68 in
* Suitable for 2 cm
products
* TNC Connector
* Mount on survey poles
UNC 5/8"-11 Thread
Alternative mounting
4x 6-32 UNC-2B
5V, 35dB Gain
5/8-11 UNC- 2B Weight 250g
NAME PLATE
Date: 06/05/11
Part #: 110-00150-601
4x6-32 UNC- 2B Document:

X 0.250 DP G5Ant-52AT1
EQUI SPCD58.57[2.31in] PCD Sheet: 1 of 1

User Manual: Inertial and GNSS Measurement Systems

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2 Oxford Technical Solutions

4 Oxford Technical Solutions

Antenna placement and orientation 28

Inputs and outputs 44

Setting up the base station 89

Using OmniSTAR corrections 95

6 Oxford Technical Solutions

Using the orientation measurements 100

Operating principles 101

CAN messages and signals 105

Revision history 117

Drawing list 118

To obtain high-precision measurements, the RT uses mathematical algorithms

 The outputs are available with very low, 3.5 ms latency.

 The RT recognises jumps in the GNSS position and ignores them.

8 Oxford Technical Solutions

Installation and operation of the RT could not be simpler. There is minimal

Table 1. Supplementary manuals

10 Oxford Technical Solutions

For applications on aircraft or marine vehicles, or road vehicle applications on low-

GNSS-only dual antenna systems require open-sky environments to operate because

Satellite differential corrections

To improve the positioning accuracy of standard GNSS, two satellite-based differential

12 Oxford Technical Solutions

OmniSTAR is a subscription service. RT systems that have OmniSTAR capability

For more information see OmniSTAR’s web site: www.omnistar.com.

RT2000 system components

Table 2. Summary of RT2000 system components

14 Oxford Technical Solutions

RT3000 system components

Table 3. Summary of RT3000 system components

Table 4. Summary of RT4000 system components

16 Oxford Technical Solutions

Figure 1. Typical RT system and cables in transit case.

 After a warm-up period of 15 minutes continuous operation.

 Open-sky environment, free from cover by trees, bridges, buildings or other

Optionally, extended measurement ranges covering 30 g acceleration and 300°/s

18 Oxford Technical Solutions

Table 5. RT2000 performance specification

20 Oxford Technical Solutions

Table 7. RT3000 / RT4000 dual antenna performance specification

Table 8. RT common specifications

To achieve full accuracy in real-time, the RT products will require appropriate

For OmniSTAR XP and OmniSTAR HP, at least 30 minutes of open-sky condition

22 Oxford Technical Solutions

The RT2000 products have no environmental protection rating.

GNSS antenna operating temperature

Export control classification number

24 Oxford Technical Solutions

 Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna.

 Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.

The RT conforms to the requirements for CE.

Regulator testing standards

 47CFR15.109:2010 class A (radiated emissions).

 EN 300 440–1:2008, test methods 8.3.2 (conducted emissions) and 8.3.3

 EN55022 class A according to standard EN 301 489–1:2008 (conducted

 EN6100–4-3 criterion A according to standard EN 301 489–1:2008 (radiated