Magellan Professional ProMark500 Frequently Asked Questions
Not at this time. There are two different versions of Fast Survey without compatibility. A merge of those version is planned.
In terms of resources on ProMark 500, 75 channels are available. Among these: - 5 are dedicated for low-sensitivity acquisition and tracking for better signal detection in difficult environment - 70 are dedicated for standard satellite tracking. 38 (GPS + GLONASS + SBAS)
Compatibility with other Magellan equipment is based on the radio link and RTCM versions, which must be compatible. Any equipment supporting RTCM 2.3 or 3.0 and using Magellan or Pac Crest radios should be compatible with ProMark 500.
The hard case is available as an accessory and must be ordered separately. This hard case can accommodate a full system of 2 ProMark 500 receivers with accessories. Basic ProMark 500 receivers are delivered in soft bags and the dealer or end user will have to order the hard case separately.
Magellan professional is going to offer a new service in order to improve the overall customer experience, by shortening the repair process and avoiding extra costs related to product shipment and customs issues. This service will enable dealers to become Magellan repair centers. Certified dealers will be able to have access to predefined spare components and will swap locally these components in case of faulty products.
When measuring antenna height total error is made up of: - Variable errors that can be characterized by using a repeatability study. Three users are asked to perform repeated measurements on the height of an installed PM500, with the same PM500 and tape measure. Statistical calculations can deduce from this data the variable error that comes from the operator. It characterizes - variable error that comes from the way you hook the tape measure on the PM500 - variable error that comes from the way you read the indication on the tape measure - variable error depending on how hard you pull on the tape measure when taking the measurement (this is what flexes the PM500 belt) - Systematic errors that are given by tolerances or precision classes. - systematic error that comes from the tape measure itself - systematic error that comes from the dimensions of the PM500 casing itself (negligible) After statistics tests and analyze we can say that: - Variable errors= 0.81 mm. This error comes essentially from reading the indication on the tape measure and the flex of the PM500 belt. - Systematic error: (for a height of 1,6 m) 0.62mm from the tape measure, negligible for the PM500 housing tolerances. This is to be compared with the general precision we give in the spec sheet : +/-10 mm I must emphasis that measuring a distance with a tape measure must obey certain rules (of the art) such as applying a given force to the tape. If these rules (of the art) are not respected (pulling too hard or not hard enough) then the variable error of the measurement will of course increase. These rules (of the art) are well known by any surveying professional, otherwise, he can not pretend to achieve the precision needed in his data collection.
ProMark 500 is Galileo upgradable. Magellan strategy is to be prepared to implement the right feature at the right time and this is what ProMark 500 is ready to offer. When sufficient Galileo signals are available to benefit the user, Magellan will offer an upgrade kit (firmware version + GNSS module). Thanks to the modularity of the receiver this upgrade will be easily done at the dealer level by replacing the upper part (including antenna and GNSS board) of the receiver. Q: Is ProMark 500 compatible with L2C and L5? If not when? ProMark 500 hardware is compatible with L2C, but the tracking of the signal will require a new firmware. Magellan is planning to release this new firmware in the second half of 2008. L5 compatibility will require an upgrade of the GNSS module (see Galileo upgrade) as well as new firmware. Magellan is planning to make this available in 2009.
Magellan U-link radio is configurable in 0.5 W or 4 W. Only the 0.5W version is FCC certified. The only limitation (in US) for using this transmitter is the output power. Although the transmitter is able to output up to 4W, due to a FCC rule we are only allowed to transmit at 0.5W. The limitation is due to the radio link speed at 4800bps. In order to be authorized to transmit at full power we would need at least a 9600bps air link speed. Thanks to the Magellan radio´s unique performance even with 0.5W the range could be between 1 and 3 miles (depending on the environment)
Yes, this cable is the same as the one used with Z-Max.
The PM3 RTK radios are not compatible with ProMark 500 as the cabling is specific for ProMark 3. At this time no license free module is available for ProMark 500.
Magellan UHF radio power is max 4W. Thanks to unique design and technology the performances reached with these radio are very good and typical range is up to 4 miles
Bluetooth implemented in ProMark 500 is Class II, with transmitting power of 2.5 mW (4 dBm) and a range of 15-20 meters.
It depends about the radio receiver type: - PM500 UHF receiver at 12.5kHz is compatible with both Magellan and Pac Crest (configuration can be made through HyperTerminal and $PASH commands) - PM500 UHF receiver at 25 kHz is only compatible with Pac Crest protocol (as the Magellan radio doesn't exist with 25 kHz channel spacing) External Transmitter PDL Magellan 12,5 kHz 25 kHz 12,5 kHz 25 kHz Integrated receiver 12,5 kHz Yes Yes Integrated receiver 25 kHz Yes
There are 5 connectors available at the bottom of the ProMark 500 receiver: - UHF antenna - GSM antenna - Power in - Serial port - USB
No. External antenna capability will be available on a new product available end of 2008
Yes. A new RINEX converter is available with GNSS solution 3.0. This new version supports ATOM and new versions of RINEX enabling any kind of conversion.
No, not as an RTK correction format. For RTK the preferred format is RTCM 3.0, but RTCM 2.3 will also work.
ATOM has to be converted to RINEX first What is the best correction rate in RTCM 2.3? When using the Magellan radio the minimum rate must be 3s. Fast Survey will automatically configure the receiver at 2s, so an update of the configuration will be required systematically
ProMark 500 supports time tagged RTK at 1 Hz and Fast RTK at 2Hz. This will be improved in a later release.
Turning off GLONASS is often required with competition´s products. Some of them recommend deselecting GLONASS when working with a third party reference station. Magellan ProMark 500 is able to resolve this problem by calibrating the hardware biases introduced when a rover is connected to a third-party reference station. Magellan is able to get full benefit of GLONASS on any network.
Low-speed charging when the battery is inside the receiver: 9 to 10 hours to reach full charged battery. An optional cable is available to connect the power adapter to the Fisher connector on the receiver. High-speed charging through the external battery charger (less than 1 hour).
ProMark 500 has a 128 MB internal memory. More than 80 MB are dedicated for data recording. This represents more than 400 hours of recording with a time interval of 15 seconds.
In order to increase the storage capacity it is possible to connect a USB key to the ProMark 500 receiver and expand the capacity to the size of the USB key without limitation.
New versions of GNSS solutions are periodically made available. These versions are available for free upgrade at ftp.magellangps.com. The current version is 3.10.01.
New firmware versions are periodically made available for free at ftp.magellangps.com. Upgrade instructions are also posted on this ftp site.
In order to upgrade your current version of Fast Survey to the new V2.3.2.2 you need to download this new software from ftp.magellangps.com, then: 2) Open Fast Survey and if it says you are in "Demo Mode" would you like to register? tap Yes to register now. If you are at the Main menu of Fast Survey already you can tap the "Equip" tab / About SurvCE / tap Change Registration 1) Type in your Fast Survey Serial number into the Serial Number box at the top 2) Tap the "Get Code" button 3) Now go to the following website : http://update.carlsonsw.com/decode_xml.php?reg_type=dc&prod_name=Magellan%2 0Fast%20Survey 4) Fill out this form with your Name and Company information / type in your Fast Survey Serial number in the "Serial Number" box and make sure to include the Dashes 5) Fill in the Hardware #1 and Hardware #2 boxes with the Values displayed on your Data Collector Screen {If you have trouble finding them click the "where is it located link" 6) Choose the Reason for Install of "Reinstall of Magellan Fast Survey" 7) Fill in the Registration Code from the screen of your Data Collector and make sure to include the Dash 8) Click the Submit Registration Button 9) If this is your first time Registering Fast Survey you may need to fill in Some Contact Details then click "Submit Contact Information" 10) If this is your first time Registering this Data Collector with Fast Survey please Select the "Device Model" from the List and fill in the "Device Serial Number" and click the "Register Device to Complete Registration" button 11) Your Change Key will be displayed in a BOX in the Top Left of the Fast Survey Registration summary. Type this change key in on the "Change Key" box on your Data Collector then tap OK 12) You should receive a message saying "Successful Fast S Registration!" / tap OK 13) Fast Survey Software is now Fully Registered. You will receive an Email with a Copy of your registration details to save for your Records
In order to improve ordering processes and give more flexibility to our customers, the ordering rules of ProMark 500 have been changed compared to the previous Z Max. ProMark 500 price schedule does not offer any bundles and system configurations have to be built by picking all individual items. In the order form all configurations must be described individually. Spare or accessories have to be described separately. Radio transmitters or additional spare (not part of a system) have to be listed separately. In ProMark 500 price list Excel file, build every configuration by selecting every single element of the system configuration, indicating the quantity of product, and applying your discount. Then press the order summary button Then press the order summary button Indicate the number of PM500 receivers and your discount Indicate the number of Glonass licence and your discount Indicate the number of RTK licence and your discount Indicate the number of UHF receiver and your discount Then press the order summary button. A page is displayed which summarizes the content of the configuration. Copy these table an paste it in the ordering template as config 1 Config 1 Config 1 — Spare Accessories Order example: In this example among the 3 receivers only 2 are Glonass and the problem is that Magellan will not be able to know if the UHF receiver has to be installed on a RTK only or RTK + GLONASS receiver The right way to place this order is to split the order in: Config 1: 2 x PM500 2 x RTK 2 x GLONASS Config 2: 1xPM500 1xRTK 1xUHF receiver 3x PM500 receivers 3 x RTK licence 1x UHF receiver 2 x Glonass licence
Not by unplugging the power cable. Instead, press the power button
ProMark500 tracks SBAS satellites as reported in the monitor sky plot and on the ProMark500 display, but those satellites are not used in the RTK solution (because of very limited benefit on a dualfrequency system). Version 2.3.3.1 of Fast survey has been modified and now does not indicate "use SBAS" but only "SBAS", which is less confusing.
PM500 uses some dynamic models tentatively describing the movement of phase centre of antenna. When occupying a point, the receiver usually uses a quasi-static model (adaptively estimated or specified by Field s/w when user stops at a point). This model supposes some variations of antenna phase centre (within few cm) because of natural jitter. In this case the antenna dynamic in horizontal direction is usually more noticeable than in vertical direction. Quasi-static model uses such an assumption. As a result it appears that effective averaging time for vertical component is longer than that for horizontal components. In the end, this leads to a better averaging vertical error compared to horizontal error. This "unusual" result is not a bug but is related to Magellan´s implementation.
The first thing to do is to switch off the receiver and then switch on again. This usually corrects the problem. If the problem persists please call Magellan Tech support
This could be linked to memory and can be solved by reformatting the memory. The command $PASHS,INI as to be sent to the receiver. The receiver starting time should improve following reformatting the memory.