GPS World

Tag: Eclipse

  • Hemisphere GNSS launches Vector V500 GNSS compass smart antenna

    Hemisphere GNSS launches Vector V500 GNSS compass smart antenna

    Hemisphere GNSS has released its RTK-enabled Vector V500 smart antenna. The company made the announcement at the Oceanology International conference being held this week in London, U.K.

    The V500 supports multi-frequency GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS and IRNSS (with future firmware upgrade and activation) for simultaneous satellite tracking. The V500 is powered by Hemisphere’s Athena RTK (real-time kinematic) engine and is Atlas L-band capable.

    Using Hemisphere’s Eclipse Vector technology, the all-in-one V500 is a complete compass system that offers GNSS-based heading, pitch, roll, heave and RTK positioning, the company said.

    The V500 introduces support for Ethernet, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in addition to NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 and offers unmatched ease of installation.

    Purpose-built for challenging applications, the V500’s rugged enclosure works reliably in harsh environments and is designed for professional marine applications requiring high-precision heading combined with RTK or Atlas positioning.

    The V500 is Hemisphere’s flagship rugged smart antenna. It combines the recently announced Eclipse Vector H328 OEM board with two superior multipath- and noise-rejecting antennas (spaced 50 cm apart) in a single enclosure.

    The V500 requires a single power/data cable connection, allowing for fast and reliable installations even in the presence of strong radio transmissions.

    According to Hemisphere GNSS, the V500 delivers 0.17 degree heading accuracy along with RTK positioning and Atlas L-band accuracies of up to 8 cm (95 percent).

    “The Vector V500 combines our expertise in GNSS, smart antenna design, and our new technology features such as Atlas,” said Lyle Geck, senior product manager at Hemisphere GNSS. “With very competitive RTK performance and the simplicity of installation offered by the all-in-one smart antenna design, it is an incredible product.”

    Atlas GNSS Global Correction Service. Atlas is a flexible and scalable GNSS-based global L-band correction service providing robust performance and correction data for GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou, the company said. Atlas delivers correction signals via L-band satellites to provide accuracies ranging from sub-meter to sub-decimeter levels, and leverages approximately 200 reference stations worldwide, providing coverage to virtually the entire globe.

    Atlas is available on all Hemisphere Atlas-capable single- and multi-frequency, multi-GNSS hardware and complements third-party GNSS receivers by using Atlas corrections with Hemisphere’s SmartLink and BaseLink capabilities. Atlas creates fast convergence times, and is robust and reliable near wharfs, piers, offshore rigs, cranes and other overhead obstructions.

    Atlas Basic provides users of both single- and multi-frequency Atlas-capable hardware the ability to achieve better than SBAS performance anywhere Atlas correction service is available. Atlas Basic offers accuracy of 30 cm (pass-to-pass 95%) to 50 cm (absolute 95%) and offers instantaneous sub-meter accuracy.

    The Vector V500 is featured in the Hemisphere GNSS booth (G500) at the Oceanology International exhibition and conference in London, UK, March 13-15. The new V500 will be available soon through Hemisphere’s global dealer network.

  • Hemisphere GNSS Offers New Eclipse Positioning Modules

    Hemisphere GNSS Offers New Eclipse Positioning Modules

    Photo: Hemisphere GNSS
    Photo: Hemisphere GNSS

    Today, Hemisphere GNSS introduces the Eclipse P306 and P307, the latest models in the Eclipse series. The Eclipse P306 and P307 track multi-frequency GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou satellite signals and are Galileo and QZSS ready. By tracking more signals, RTK positioning performance improves especially in challenging environments.

    The Eclipse P306 and P307 are the first products to utilize the company’s new SX4 ASIC. Capable of simultaneously tracking code and phase signals on 89 satellites, SX4 boasts 372 channels and can be configured to address several diverse applications through software.

    Smaller than a business card, the Eclipse P306 upgrades existing designs using Hemisphere’s standard 34-pin modules. The Eclipse P307 is a drop-in upgrade for designs based on the industry accepted 20-pin module. Both products offer scalable performance. RTK accuracy is achieved in either single- or dual-frequency mode. When subscribed for multi-frequency, multi-constellation RTK, Eclipse receivers have fast RTK initialization times even over long distances.

    “While the Eclipse P306 and P307 provide outstanding RTK performance,” commented Dr. Mike Whitehead, Chief Technology Officer of Hemisphere GNSS, “non-RTK users benefit from our COAST, SureTrack, and HeadStart technologies.” COAST and SureTrack work together to maintain sub-meter positioning for 40 minutes when differential corrections are lost. HeadStart reduces the occurrence of cold starts by keeping time while the receiver module is powered off, providing faster startup times.

    Support of the Chinese BeiDou GNSS constellation is significant. The BeiDou constellation not only fully covers China, but extends beyond, covering 2/3 of the world’s land mass, benefiting 5.8 billion people. Coverage currently includes Asia, Australia, New Zealand to South Africa, Europe and all of Russia, as well as Hawaii with, on average, three or more BeiDou satellites visible above 15°.

    In February 2013, Hemisphere GPS changed its name to Hemisphere GNSS, Inc., after parting ways with its agriculture unit. While both names are owned by the company, in order to reflect the company’s support of all GNSSs and update the company’s image, “Hemisphere” has been adopted as its brand name. The company also has adopted a new logo and has launched an updated website, www.HemisphereGNSS.com.

    Hemisphere will be introducing the new Eclipse P306 and P307 OEM positioning modules at the annual Intergeo conference in Essen, Germany, October 8th-10th, 2013 at Booth #A3.070.