Wi-Fi settings for SPS585

The SPS585 smart antenna contains Wi-Fi. Please take the time to understand its powerful capabilities.

Before you use a smart antenna, ensure that the dealer has activated it. The smart antenna shipped from Trimble, has Wi-Fi enabled which can be used for activating the receiver and installing upgrades and options. Your Trimble dealer must load the activation code before these services are available. If you need to load the Activation code yourself, see Activating your SPS GNSS Smart Antenna.

The smart antenna can be used as a Wi-Fi Access Point or a Wi-Fi Client.

Access Point mode

You use this mode when the smart antenna is set up as a base station. Access Point mode enables other Wi-Fi devices to communicate with the smart antenna without needing another Wi-Fi device. Up to five devices can simultaneously connect to the smart antenna. Devices connected to the smart antenna in Access Point mode can communicate with each other, not just the smart antenna. After you have connected to the smart antenna, you can use the web interface to review and change the settings of the smart antenna. This mode is useful if you are in the field, but do not have a Trimble Tablet or the Siteworks or SCS900 software.

In this mode, you can scan for the smart antenna from a laptop, Smartphone, or other Wi-Fi enabled device, to locate the smart antenna Access Point:

  1. Turn on the smart antenna in Access point mode. The Wi-Fi LED will flash.

    By default, the smart antenna is in Access point mode. If you are not sure if it is in Access point mode, you can reset it to the factory defaults by pressing the Power button for 15 seconds.

  2. From a Wi-Fi enabled device such as a laptop, connect to the smart antenna.

    On a computer running the Windows operating system, click the Network icon in the status bar . The smart antenna will be called something like "Trimble GNSS 2201". Select it and then click Connect.

  3. Enter the encryption key. By default, it is abcdeabcde.

  4. Open a web browser on your Wi-Fi enabled device and then type GNSS into the address bar.

    The smart antenna web interface appears. With some devices, you may need to enter either http://GNSS or 192.168.142.1 to access the web interface.

    On Android PDAs, Trimble recommends that you install the free Opera Mobile browser for this feature to work.

  5. Log into the web interface. Select Security / Login. The default username is admin. The default password is password.

Client mode

You use this mode when the smart antenna is set up as a rover. In this mode, the smart antenna is connected to an Access Point. You can view the web interface of the smart antenna in Client mode via the Access Point. An Access Point on a site could be another SPS585 smart antenna or a Cisco router.

When the smart antenna is in Client mode and is connected to an Access Point, you cannot use http://GNSS to communicate with the smart antenna. Instead, you need to use the applications Bonjour (Zero Configuration Networking), UPNP, or get the IP address from the Access Point.

The smart antenna with internal radio has an internal Wi-Fi antenna. It is in the white radome on the side of the smart antenna, however the antenna gain is equal in all directions so the base station radome does not need to point to the work area, and the rover radome does not need to point to the base station. In the smart antenna with no internal radio, then the Wi-Fi antenna is routed to the TNC connector, so when using Wi-Fi in this receiver, it is essential to use the supplied black whip antenna.

Using the smart antenna Wi-Fi with the SCS900 software

To set up a smart antenna internal Wi-Fi to receive GNSS corrections (in the case of a rover), you will need the latest version of the Siteworks or SCS900 Site Controller software. When using the Siteworks or SCS900 software, the SPS585 rover is configured as a Client.

The use of Wi-Fi in the smart antenna is license free. The line-of-sight range can be greater than 300 m although it is restricted if trees, machines, or buildings are between the Wi-Fi devices.

Setting up a smart antenna Wi-Fi Rover without the Siteworks or SCS900 software

Use this method to connect the rover to a Wi-Fi base station such as the SPS985 for short-range rover operations (limited by the range of the Wi-Fi).

  1. You must have the Rover mode (Location RTK or Precise RTK ) selected.

  2. Set the smart antenna as the client. To do this, select Wi-Fi / Clientunder Client Configuration.

     Click Save and Reboot. The receiver is now in Client mode, which means it is not in Access Point mode so your computer will not see an SSID (you will not be able to log in using Wi-Fi).

  3. Connect your computer to the smart antenna rover web interface. To do this use PPP over a Bluetooth serial port connection.

    The web interface can be opened in a browser from a Windows 7 device by using the Bluetooth PAN Access Point service instead of PPP over serial.

  4. Go to the Client web interface page (see Client mode).

  5. Under Client Configuration, select Scan For Networks. Select your Access Point from the drop-down list.

  6. Enter the Access Points Encryption key and click Connect:

  7. In the I/O Configuration page create an UDP port with the same port number as created on the base station previously.

  8. The I/O Configuration page should be as follows:

    The UDP port needs to be set to 'UDP Broadcast Receive' mode and the Client IP address will automatically be set to 255.255.255.255 with the specified port. This enables the Wi-Fi rover to receive corrections broadcast from the Wi-Fi base without the base having to specify the IP address each rover.