Before You Head Out

• Check satellite visibility forecast (mission planning). Use a GNSS planning tool to check predicted satellite geometry (DOP) for your site and time window. Avoid windows with poor satellite geometry if your schedule allows flexibility. An example website is Trimble GNSS Planning.
• Charge everything the night before, then charge again. Batteries degrade faster in cold weather — bring at least one full spare for your receiver, and consider a backup power bank for long sessions.
• Format/clear storage cards before departure. Don't discover a full memory card in the field. Confirm you have enough space for your planned logging rate and session length.
• Pack a spare cable and connector for every cable type on the unit. Antenna cables and power cables are the most common field failure point.

Choosing the Physical Location

• Clear sky view is everything. Aim for an unobstructed view down to at least 10–15° above the horizon in all directions. Trees, buildings, hills, and even your own vehicle can block or degrade signal.

• Avoid reflective surfaces nearby. Metal roofs, chain-link fences, parked vehicles, and water bodies cause multipath — signals bouncing off these surfaces before reaching the antenna, which shows up as noise in your data.

• Stay away from active radio interference sources. Keep distance from cell towers, powerful Wi-Fi routers, radar installations, or heavy machinery with electrical motors.

• Pick stable, undisturbed ground. Avoid soft soil, areas prone to frost heave, or anywhere foot/vehicle traffic could bump the tripod during the session.

• If you'll reoccupy this point later, mark it permanently. A rebar pin, survey nail, or marked monument lets you set up over the exact same spot next time, which matters a lot for comparing results across sessions.

Setting Up the Tripod & Antenna

• Level the tripod carefully — don't eyeball it. Use the bubble level and take your time; a few degrees of tilt on a long occupation introduces avoidable error.
• Force-center over the point when possible. A tribrach with optical or laser plummet is far more accurate than trying to center a standard tripod by eye.
• Measure antenna height twice, two different ways if possible. Use a fixed-height pole where available — it removes an entire category of human measurement error. If measuring slant height with a tape, measure to the same reference notch every time and record which method you used.
• Record antenna height and site details on paper, not just in the receiver. Firmware settings can get lost or the receiver's internal log corrupted — a paper backup with time, date, antenna height, and photo of the setup saves headaches later.
• Take a photo of the entire setup before you leave. Include the tripod, antenna orientation, and surroundings — useful for troubleshooting later and for confirming nothing shifted.
• Orient the antenna north (if it has a directional marking). Some antennas have a north-reference mark used in the calibration model — check the manufacturer's guidance and be consistent across sessions.

Powering & Logging

• Double-check the receiver is actually logging before you walk away. Confirm on-screen or via a status light/app — don't assume power-on means it's recording.
• Set the logging interval before startup, not after. Confirm 1s is set for the observation rate.
• If leaving the station unattended, secure it against wind, animals, and curious passersby. Guy lines on the tripod, a visible "survey equipment in progress" sign, and a lockbox for the receiver (if available) all help.
• For multi-day or unattended sessions, check remote monitoring if your receiver supports it. Cellular or Wi-Fi status pings let you confirm it's still logging without a return trip.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Setting up under partial tree cover "just for a couple hours" — even short gaps in satellite tracking can hurt your accuracy.
• Forgetting to note which antenna height measurement method was used (vertical vs. slant) — this is one of the most common sources of post-processing confusion.
• Assuming a full battery charge lasts as long as the spec sheet says — cold temperatures and older batteries reduce real-world runtime.
• Leaving the base running but not verifying data is actually being written to storage.