Positioning a RTK Base station in North America
Countries: United States, Canada, Mexico
1. Convert a log file to a RINEX file
- Go to the LOGS tab of your RTK base and click the pencil (
edit) of a complete 24h .zip file.
- A window opens offering to convert the log file into a RINEX file.
- If you are outside France: Use a log file older than 15 days, then choose the NRCAN preset, which is compatible with NRCAN's online services for precise positioning calculations. Click Create Rinex File.
- Wait while the RINEX file is being created; this may take several minutes.
- Download the generated file. Once the window is closed (
close), the RINEX file will also appear in the logs list with a name like YYYY-MM-DD-your_mountpoint_name_nrcan.obs, with a size of about 4 MB.
2. Post-processing
Make sure to use a RINEX file older than 15 days to obtain precise positioning! This step corrects the raw data from your RTK base using the PPP method from NRCAN.
- Go to the NRCAN website
- Start a session by entering your identity information
- Choose Static processing mode and NAD83
- Select the epoch Epoch of GNSS data
- Upload the RINEX observation file generated earlier
- Click Submit to PPP
Download links are sent to your email after a few minutes:
- Click full_output.zip to download it
- Click summary to view it
The two documents (summary and full_output.zip) plus the RINEX file created earlier will be required when declaring your base, so make sure to keep all of them.
3. Report interpretation
Example of an NRCAN summary file:
The NAD83(SCRS) 2025-03-22 coordinates calculated for the RINEX file SEPT0810.25O are as follows:
Latitude N46° 17' 54.9219" ± 0.002 m (95%)
Longitude W71° 39' 25.7527" ± 0.002 m (95%)
Ellipsoidal height 134.493 m ± 0.007 m (95%)
Orthometric height CGVD2013 CGG2013a 162.4271 m
[46.29858940,-71.65715354,134.493]
UTM Zone 19 (North)
Northing 5130655.391 m
Easting 295363.233 m
Scale factor (point) 1.00011479
Scale factor (combined) 1.00009371
[5130655.391,295363.233,134.493]
Cartesian coordinates
X 1389246.816 ± 0.003 m (95%)
Y -4190180.681 ± 0.005 m (95%)
Z 4588337.806 ± 0.005 m (95%)
[1389246.816,-4190180.681,4588337.806]
Orbits and clocks used: RNCan/IGS final
GNSS data: GPS & GLONASS
GRS80 ellipsoid used for the transformation from (x,y,z) to (lat,lon,h)Retrieve the coordinates from the report, for example:
- [46.29858940,-71.65715354,134.493] <---- Your coordinates in NAD83
Adapt them to insert into your GNSS base: remove the "[]" and replace the "," with spaces → 46.29858940 -71.65715354 134.493
Your geographic coordinates are now in a global international reference system. Each continent and/or country often also has its own local coordinate system, such as ETRF2000 in Europe, RGF93 in France, or NAD83 in Canada, in order to account for local tectonic movements.
If you need coordinates that match your country's local coordinate system, please let us know your requirements on the forum.
- Next step: finalize the RTK Base positioning configuration.