LIVERMORE, Calif. – Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) recently announced the release of its Version 3.4 G3 receiver firmware that significantly upgrades the performance and usability of all Topcon GNSS receiver platforms including the industry-leading GR-3 and new GRS-1 systems.

Jason Killpack, TPS director of product management, said, “This new firmware represents the next generation in tracking technology. It has an array of new features to aid Topcon users in the field.”

He said, “The 3.4 G3 firmware is the first in the marketplace to be able to automatically detect the make of the network receiver creating corrections for the rover and applying the proper bias to the GLONASS system measurements contained in the GNSS network solution.”

Killpack said, “Different manufacturers have different offsets (or biases) for the GLONASS constellation of satellites. As each hardware manufacturer outputs different values for GLONASS measurements, it has been a challenge for a customer to mix systems or to operate inside of a GNSS network that was not of the same make as the rover.”

“In the past,” he said, “the user had to utilize same-brand bases and rover units to realize the added benefits of GLONASS measurements. Now the Topcon user can enter the make of the base or network manually inside of TopSURV 7.2.3 field software, or the system will apply the proper offsets from the broadcast RTCM 1033 message automatically.”

Topcon’s 3.4 firmware gives the flexibility of using different makes and models of base stations with Topcon rover systems. “In today’s network environment, the user is connected to a network that may or may not provide a bias to the GLONASS signal information. The new 3.4 version firmware solves this problem,” Killpack said.

MAC Network RTK messages are now supported as well as user configurable troposphere parameters; also additional new RTCM messages are supported, he said.

The ability for the user to determine the bias offsets manually or automatically is a large step forward for receiver firmware technology, Killpack said. “This new version of firmware is the perfect upgrade to any Topcon receiver system.”

This new 3.4 version firmware, including detailed release notes, as well as all other Topcon firmware and software upgrades, are free downloads to Topcon customers from the Topcon support site.