NTRIP RTK Coverage for Australian and New Zealand Precision Farming

Check the correction coverage available at your farm

Use the map to search for an address, enter GPS coordinates, or select a location directly. VKLink will show the NTRIP RTK correction options available at that position for precision farming and agricultural GPS equipment.

Coverage map key

• Purple: acceptable physical-base coverage within a 30 km baseline.
• Orange: rough physical-base coverage between 30 and 40 km.
• Magenta: virtual reference station (VRS) coverage.
• Outside the coloured areas: your farm may need a VKLink Additional Reference Point.

Select your farm on the map, then read the explanations below to understand the expected accuracy and receiver behaviour.

Acceptable RTK coverage: 0-30 km baseline

The acceptable coverage area places your rover within 30 km of an existing physical reference station. This provides:

• Approximately 2.5-5 cm position accuracy.
• Approximately 2.5 cm pass-to-pass accuracy.
• The best opportunity for compatible precision agriculture receivers to obtain and maintain an RTK FIX.

Rough RTK coverage: 30-40 km baseline

The rough coverage area places your rover between 30 and 40 km from an existing physical reference station. This provides:

• Approximately 2.5-7 cm position accuracy.
• Approximately 2.5 cm pass-to-pass accuracy.
• A longer baseline that may cause some receivers to take longer to obtain an RTK FIX.
• A greater chance that some receivers will lose their FIX in difficult conditions.

Virtual reference station (VRS) coverage

VKLink virtual bases are selectively positioned inside a suitable triangle of physical reference stations. There is no GNSS receiver installed at the virtual location. Its correction data is derived from observations collected by the surrounding stations.

Virtual coverage provides:

• Approximately 2.5-10 cm position accuracy.
• Approximately 2.5 cm pass-to-pass accuracy.
• Coverage in selected areas that are outside the preferred baseline of a physical station.
• Compatibility with many, but not all, agricultural RTK receivers.
• An initial convergence period that can take up to 10 minutes before the virtual base produces correction data.

VKLink Additional Reference Point

A VKLink Additional Reference Point is our Australian-designed, value-for-money option for farms outside existing coverage. It behaves like a physical reference station and appears on the coverage map as a physical base.

An additional reference point provides:

• Approximately 2.5-5 cm position accuracy within the acceptable baseline.
• Approximately 2.5 cm pass-to-pass accuracy.
• Correction data suitable for compatible precision agriculture receivers.
• A reference station positioned where your farm needs it.
• Operation using a reliable internet connection and continuous power supply.

Warming a virtual base before work

Virtual stations need time to converge. If a virtual base is assigned to your account, the VKLink dashboard lets you warm it before starting work. You can start it during your morning coffee, then head out to the machine. A manually warmed virtual base remains available for two hours.

VKLink does not mark a virtual base as ready until its network solver reports that usable correction data is available. This prevents a receiver from beginning work against a virtual station that is still converging, so your lines do not move around the paddock.

Not sure which option suits your farm or receiver? Contact VKLink with your location and equipment details.