Trimble Outdoors thunderbolt 64057-00-eng Benutzerhandbuch

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2     Setting up and Running the ThunderBolt E
18     Trimble ThunderBolt E GPS Disciplined Clock User Guide
Timing information
Packet 0x8F-AB (primary timing information) and packet 0x8F-AC (supplemental 
timing information) contain most of the information that you need to monitor the 
ThunderBolt E. In the default configuration, these packets are broadcast once per 
second.
Elevation Mask
This is the minimum elevation angle for satellites that is used in a solution output by 
the receiver (see 
Satellites that are near the horizon are typically more difficult to track due to signal 
attenuation, and are generally less accurate due to higher variability in the ionospheric 
and tropospheric corruption of the signal. When there are no obstructions, the receiver 
can generally track a satellite to near the horizon. However, when this mask is set too 
low, the receiver may experience frequent constellation switching due to low elevation 
satellites being obscured. 
Frequent constellation switching is associated with undesirable timing jumps. If the 
mask setting is too high, it may reject good satellites. The current mask is set to ten 
degrees and provides a reasonable trade-off between the benefits and drawbacks.
Signal Level Mask
This mask defines the minimum signal strength for a satellite used in a solution. There 
is some internal hysteresis on this threshold that allows brief excursions below the 
threshold if lock is maintained and the signal was previously above the mask. The 
factory default mask is zero. High accuracy users may use a slightly higher mask of 6.0 
to 8.0, since weaker measurements may be slightly noisier and are often caused by 
reflected signals that provide erroneous ranges.
Note – A level of hysteresis in the signal level mask is allowed in the core operating 
software. The hysteresis allows the receiver to continue using satellite signals that fall 
slightly below the mask and prevents the receiver from incorporating a new signal until the 
signal level slightly exceeds the mask. This feature minimizes constellation changes caused 
by temporary fluctuations in signal levels.
Reference position
When the antenna is connected and power is applied, the GPS module generates a 
precise PPS signal, a 10 MHz frequency output, and several miscellaneous periodic 
outputs. It calculates a clock-only solution from the GPS data. In clock-only 
(position-hold) mode, a static reference position is established and all of the available 
satellites are used to solve for a time solution. The reference position may be 
determined automatically by the ThunderBolt E (self-survey) or may be uploaded to 
the ThunderBolt E by the host, if the position is known. The accuracy and integrity of 
the timing solution is highly dependent on the accuracy of the reference position.