On Usability of Dual-frequency, Compact GNSS Modules for Long Baseline RTK

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Real Time Kinematic (RTK) is a popular technique for obtaining instantaneous high-quality position solutions. This manuscript presents the novel results on the usability of compact, low-cost, dual frequency GNSS modules with commercial GNSS patch antenna for RTK Rover applications instead of conventional geodetic grade, costly receiver-antenna combination. Using concurrent data from two such modules (uBlox ZED F9P and NTLab 104) and a uBlox antenna for short to long baseline lengths, the results establish the suitability of such modules for use as RTK Rovers. Up to a baseline distance of more than 200km, submeter level precision has been obtained in GPS+GLONASS hybrid operation. The results would be useful for the GNSS user community in cost and power efficient application development without dense Base station network.