Preliminary report on data quality with a Trimble 5700 GPS receiver and an Ashtech Choke Ring Antenna

Date: May 22, 2002

Author: Mike Jackson

A critical issue with the use of the Trimble 5700 GPS receiver for use as a geodetic base station system is the difficulty and added expense required to use the receiver with existing Trimble Choke Ring Antennas. This is primarily due to the output voltage of the 5700 antenna port (5.05V without and 4.97V with an antenna) is insufficient to power the Trimble Choke Ring which requires 7-28V. To use a Trimble Choke Ring antenna with the 5700 requires a special antenna power adapter (PN43216-00) that requires a separate power source and two additional cables. Cables and power source increase the cost of the system by about ~$1200. For DC based permanent station installations this not only increases the cost but also increases the overall power draw of the system, which in effect negates its use as a low power system.

[See attached .pdf file for more.]