The Monitor/Skyplot command allows you to review local position and quality of data.

• Monitor: Under the Monitor tab you see values for northing, easting, and elevation. Additionally, you can monitor horizontal and vertical RMS values, as well as PDOP, HDOP, and TDOP values. Some instruments refer to RMS values as CEP and SEP.  For the CSI DGPS and the Sokkia Axis 3 receivers using OmniStar, the BER value will be shown to give indication of the strength of corrections received.  When set to CSI DGPS, the age of corrections is also displayed. The number of satellites (SATS) is shown.

The Status is shown as either:

AUTONOMOUS: No radio communication between base and rover.

FLOAT: Communication has been established, but ambiguities have not been resolved.

FIXED: Position has been resolved.

• Lat/Lon: Under the Lat/Lon tab you see the current position given in latitude, longitude, and elevation.  State plane northing (SP North) and easting (SP East) values are shown.

• SATView: Under the SATView tab, the spatial orientation of the satellite constellation is shown.

• SATInfo: Under the SATInfo tab, the number designation (PRN) of each satellite is given along with the azimuth (azi) and the elevation (ELV) of the satellite above the horizon.

• Ref: The Ref tab to the right of SAT Info appears with most GPS configurations (not with GPS Simulation). The Ref tab will show the base station information stored to the reference file, as created using Configure Base.  The Thales GPS, for example, would also show the distance from rover to base.  The base coordinates can also be stored by pressing the Store button.

You simply enter a point number and description, and the precise base coordinates are stored in north, east and elevation form, according to the localization file settings.  Then the base coordinate point can be used for total station work as a setup or backsight.  If a base position of 0,0,0 is detected, representing in invalid base setup, the Store button is ghosted.

With Leica GPS, shown in this last dialog, it also shows the status of the radio signal in the middle two lines. If the radio signal is interrupted, a “No Radio” message will appear.  The Utilities button associated with the Leica GPS configuration takes you straight to the radio settings, including cell modem configuration.