TopNET-V: Installation and configuration (Part 1 of 5) - Getting started

TopNET-V is the vector component of TopNET+. 

It allows the user to add, edit, and configure which reference stations in the network are to be used for single base network RTK and network RTK.

With TopNET-V, the user can set up NTRIP and TCP/IP services to output RTK corrections (in a variety of formats) to network rovers. 

TopNET-V also manages all NTRIP user access to the RTK network.

Depending on the needs of the user, TopNET-V may need to have additional functionality activated.

Additional functionality not already enabled on the USB hardware key or via an existing option file will need to be uploaded via an *.opt (options) file.

This additional functionality may include:

• Network RTK services
• Increasing the number of reference stations that can be used for single base network RTK and network RTK
• Rover Accounting module

To activate TopNET-V options on the server, please perform the following steps:

1. Open TopNET-V on the PC.
2. Navigate to Help > Activated Options.
3. To save the existing *.opt file to be used to activate any new options, click Save to File.
   • The *.opt file will be written to C:\ProgramData\Topcon\TopNET.
   • This *.opt file will need to be sent to Topcon in order to generate a new *.opt file with the newly purchased/leased options.

To load a new *.opt file,

1. Click Load from File.
2. Navigate to the location on the PC of the new options file and click Open.
3. Once the *.opt file has been loaded successfully and the options displayed reflect the options that have been purchased/leased, click OK to exit the options screen.

To configure when TopNET-V will not use a particular reference station for RTK, as well as various timeouts related to added reference stations, navigate to Setup > Preferences.

In the Preferences dialog box, click the Don’t use a Reference Station if… tab.

Configure the following as necessary:

• Number of GPS and GLONASS satellites needed to use the reference station for RTK
• Distance between the current standalone (or precise) position of the reference station vs. the known surveyed position before not using the station.

In Preferences, click the Periods and Timeouts tab.

Configure the following as necessary:

• Period before the reference station is reported as offline
• Timeout before attempting to automatically reconnect to a downed reference station
• Time interval to send a new base position message to the rover
• Time interval in which a connected rover must send a valid NMEA GGS before becoming disconnected from the server
• Time interval to disconnect a rover if TopNET-V cannot send RTK corrections to the rover

Once all TopNET-V preferences have been configured accordingly, click Apply.

Once finished, click OK to exit.

Like other TopNET+ modules, alarm emails can be sent to a recipient list when a particular reference station(s) is having issues.

Navigate to Setup > Alarms to open the Alarm Mail Setup dialog box.

TopNET-V allows the user to set up email alerts under the following conditions:

• When a receiver tracks fewer than a user-defined number of satellites for longer than a given timeframe
• When a receiver goes offline for longer than a user-defined set of time
• When a downed receiver comes back online
• When a receiver’s position reports as incorrect for longer than a user-defined timeframe
• How often to send alarm emails to the recipient list.

To set up email alarms, the user needs to do the following:

1. In the Alarm Mail Setup dialog box, click SMTP Settings.
2. Enter a Server address (requires no authentication).
3. Enter a valid Name and Address of the sender.
4. If you are unsure of either of these, please consult your network IT administrator.

Once all settings have been configured accordingly, click OK.

Once the SMTP settings have been configured, in the Alarm Mail Setup dialog box, click Add.

1. Enter the Recipient name and E-mail address and click OK.
2. Repeat this process as necessary to populate the alarm email recipient list.
3. The user can also edit/delete users from the list as necessary.
4. Once finished, click OK.

The file logging options in TopNET-V can be found by navigating to Setup > File Logging.

To record GNSS raw data files recorded from incoming reference station data, select Setup > File Logging > Reference Station Files.

Configure the following:

1. Check/uncheck to Save raw data from the Reference Stations (off by default).
2. Specify the folder location and how long to keep raw data files before deleting them.
3. Select the reference stations that will have raw data files collected from the list.
4. Specify FTP upload parameters for collected raw data files.
5. Click OK.

To log NMEA GGA messages from rovers and base corrections data, navigate to Setup > File Logging > Rover Files.

Configure the following:

1. Check/uncheck to log incoming rover NMEA GGA messages (off by default).
2. Specify the folder location and how long to keep NMEA GGA messages before deleting.
3. Check/uncheck to log all base RTK corrections sent to the rovers.
4. Specify the folder location and how long to keep the base data sent to connected rovers before deleting.
5. Click OK.

The TopNET-V program logs contain various information, including:

• Any performed actions connecting or reconnecting to reference stations 
• Received responses from rovers  

Essentially, they contain the information in the real time log at the bottom of the screen in TopNET-V.

By default, these logs are enabled and logged indefinitely.

To specify the folder locations for the TopNET-V logs, navigate to Setup > File Logging > Program Logs.

The Estimates management dialog box allows the user to log some of the byproducts of the TopNET-V network RTK engine including:

• Reference Station Clocks
• Tropospheric activity
• Ionospheric activity
• Estimated reference station coordinates

To select estimates to log,

1. Navigate to Setup > File Logging > Estimates in TopNET-V.
2. Check/uncheck the Estimates to log.
3. For each one enabled, specify the File Rotation period and Sample Rate of the log file.
4. Specify the folder location and how long to keep the estimates data for all items checked before deleting.
5. Click OK.

The Miscellaneous data management dialog box allows the user to specify the folder location where automatically downloaded IGS ultra rapid ephemeris data of different satellite systems will be stored. 

These files are updated approximately every 6 hours at 3:00, 9:00, 15:00, and 21:00 hours UTC.

1. Navigate to Setup > File Logging > Misc.
2. Specify the folder location for the ultra rapid ephemeris files and the duration to keep the downloaded files.
3. Click OK.

To log satellite tracking history for all reference stations connected to TopNET-V:

1. Navigate to Setup > File Logging > Satellite Tracking History.
2. Specify the folder location for the satellite tracking history log files and the duration to keep them.
3. Click OK.

To log rover accounting data for all rovers that have connected to TopNET-V, navigate to Setup > File Logging > Satellite Tracking History.

This information can be used to invoice users that have been connecting to the reference station network.

Specify the folder location for the rover accounting logs and whether to convert them to a *.csv file. Once finished, click OK.