Applicability of Standardized Network RTK Message for Surveying Rovers

Standardization of RTCM SC104 Network RTK is in progress. Several proposals based on the same concept of correction differences as initially described for the Mas-ter-Auxiliary concept in Euler et al. (2001) have been put forward. However, the variations of those proposals are minor and an agreed RTCM SC104 message draft is within reach. The potential of the Master-Auxiliary concept has been proven for actual rover applications in a reference station network in Euler and Zebhauser (2003). Initial feasibility and applicability of the concept was shown using a dis-tance dependent weighting method to interpolate the cor-rection terms applied to the observations. However, the data used in that analysis was collected under special conditions representing an extreme situation. In this paper the results of tests with data collected under more representative conditions is presented. In addition to the distance dependent method of interpolating correction differences, a more sophisticated approach based on a plane surface is investigated. The results demonstrate that applying interpolated correc-tion differences significantly reduces double difference phase biases. The tests also show that the interpolation method based on a plane surface produces superior results when compared to distance dependent weighting.