I have a Mavic 3E with a RTK module.  Everything seems to work great but when I attach the RTK Module I cannot get it to work.  Preflight check says RTK Not Connected.  In the Pilot 2 app it says RTK signal Weak cannot fly. If I go under the UAV Health Managment System it says RTK "Caution". Under the Pilot 2 App I have "RTK positioning" set on, and "Maintain Accuracy Mode" turned on. I have select "RTK Service Type" set to none.  What am I doing wrong?

The rtk module isn't of any use without some sort of base station. You need either a physical base station or an NTRIP provider. It's not as simple as mounting an RTK module and magically getting centimeter grade accuracy like DJI marketing would like you to assume. You'll never be able to take off with your current setup if you have RTK enabled. You can still PPK your photos with this switch turned off however.

Johnnokomis Posted at 8-23 16:00
The rtk module isn't of any use without some sort of base station. You need either a physical base station or an NTRIP provider. It's not as simple as mounting an RTK module and magically getting centimeter grade accuracy like DJI marketing would like you to assume. You'll never be able to take off with your current setup if you have RTK enabled. You can still PPK your photos with this switch turned off however.

Thank you for the quick response! Well this is freaking bull..., I told them I wanted RTK for accurate mapping and they told me I just have to buy the RTK Module, never said anything about a $3,600 base station. So if I set "RTK positioning" set to off but leave "Maintain Accuracy Mode" turned on, does that automatically not use "Maintain Accuracy mode" any benefit to still keeping that on? Any benefit to leaving RTK module on the drone?  Will PPK be that much better for Mapping to create photogrammetry 3D models?

9 out of 10 times PPK will give you better results than RTK anyways. It's just a little bit of extra work in post processing. If RTK isn't enabled, the Maintain Accuracy Mode toggle won't make a difference either way. I don't have the resources to buy a $4000+ base station either. Depending on what state you live in your state's DOT might offer a free NTRIP service. For example I'm in Alabama and ALDOT offers this 100% free of charge. I can usually achieve between 4-10cm of accuracy depending on how close I am to one of their CORS stations. This obviously requires having an internet connection during flight but you can also download their Rinex files after the flight and PPK off of them. It will absolutely improve the results of your maps/models. If you're using Metashape with no RTK/PPK photos then by default it will give your photos a 10 meter margin of error in each direction during the initial alignment step. With photos that have received corrections this same margin of error is usually brought down to just a few centimeters. Not only resulting in a more accurate model, but also speeding up the alignment portion of the processing.

Johnnokomis Posted at 8-23 18:04
9 out of 10 times PPK will give you better results than RTK anyways. It's just a little bit of extra work in post processing. If RTK isn't enabled, the Maintain Accuracy Mode toggle won't make a difference either way. I don't have the resources to buy a $4000+ base station either. Depending on what state you live in your state's DOT might offer a free NTRIP service. For example I'm in Alabama and ALDOT offers this 100% free of charge. I can usually achieve between 4-10cm of accuracy depending on how close I am to one of their CORS stations. This obviously requires having an internet connection during flight but you can also download their Rinex files after the flight and PPK off of them. It will absolutely improve the results of your maps/models. If you're using Metashape with no RTK/PPK photos then by default it will give your photos a 10 meter margin of error in each direction during the initial alignment step. With photos that have received corrections this same margin of error is usually brought down to just a few centimeters. Not only resulting in a more accurate model, but also speeding up the alignment portion of the processing.

So to be able to use PPK I would have to connect to a free NTRIP service? Or just having the RTK module on the Mavic without a base station it would act as a PPK?  Sorry I'm new to this.  Yes this would be used with Metashape.  I use to use a Mavic 2 pro with dronedeploy and Metashape and got pretty good results and that had no RTK or PPK, so having at least PPK would be great.
So having the RTK module on the Mavic 3E is litterally doing nothing, not helping at all?

Don Farese Posted at 8-23 18:50
So to be able to use PPK I would have to connect to a free NTRIP service? Or just having the RTK module on the Mavic without a base station it would act as a PPK?  Sorry I'm new to this.  Yes this would be used with Metashape.  I use to use a Mavic 2 pro with dronedeploy and Metashape and got pretty good results and that had no RTK or PPK, so having at least PPK would be great.
So having the RTK module on the Mavic 3E is litterally doing nothing, not helping at all?

This conversation should be driven by the deliverables you are producing.  What service is it you are selling and what is the customer expecting?

Don Farese Posted at 8-23 18:50
So to be able to use PPK I would have to connect to a free NTRIP service? Or just having the RTK module on the Mavic without a base station it would act as a PPK?  Sorry I'm new to this.  Yes this would be used with Metashape.  I use to use a Mavic 2 pro with dronedeploy and Metashape and got pretty good results and that had no RTK or PPK, so having at least PPK would be great.
So having the RTK module on the Mavic 3E is litterally doing nothing, not helping at all?

Connecting to an NTRIP service is only required if you want to RTK your flight. This requires having an internet connection during the whole flight. You can still PPK your images without either one. Here is a map of just some of the free downloadable CORS stations that you can use for PPK with after your flight. You can find it here https://geodesy.noaa.gov/CORS_Map/

The closer you are to one of these, the more accurate results you'll end up with. I used a Mavic Air 2 for years and had great results with no corrections being used. Like Tony said, it all really depends on what your client is expecting with your final deliverables. The RTK module is still a requirement if you plan to PPK.

TonyPHX Posted at 8-23 22:28
This conversation should be driven by the deliverables you are producing.  What service is it you are selling and what is the customer expecting?

I am using mapping to retrieve 3D models back of sites for use in 3D animations. I need accurate models of sites and building depending on the shots that are needed.

Johnnokomis Posted at 8-24 03:44
Connecting to an NTRIP service is only required if you want to RTK your flight. This requires having an internet connection during the whole flight. You can still PPK your images without either one. Here is a map of just some of the free downloadable CORS stations that you can use for PPK with after your flight. You can find it here https://geodesy.noaa.gov/CORS_Map/

The closer you are to one of these, the more accurate results you'll end up with. I used a Mavic Air 2 for years and had great results with no corrections being used. Like Tony said, it all really depends on what your client is expecting with your final deliverables. The RTK module is still a requirement if you plan to PPK.

Thank you for all that info! I'll look up how to use PPK. I never used it before so don't know how to retrieve or use the information yet.

Don Farese Posted at 8-24 08:54
Thank you for all that info! I'll look up how to use PPK. I never used it before so don't know how to retrieve or use the information yet.

There are many ways to PPK your photos but most of which require paid software. The easiest and also cheapest (free) way I have found is by using Emlid Studio. You just need to download the right Rinex file from the link I provided above. Then it's pretty straight forward with the software. You need to give it the files pictured below.

Johnnokomis Posted at 8-24 10:06
There are many ways to PPK your photos but most of which require paid software. The easiest and also cheapest (free) way I have found is by using Emlid Studio. You just need to download the right Rinex file from the link I provided above. Then it's pretty straight forward with the software. You need to give it the files pictured below.

[view_image]

Oh man, Thanks for that! That really helps! I did a test run with the RTK on the drone still, Probably should have taken it off since it does nothing but probably shorten battery.  But the drone did unbelievably better than the Mavic 2 Pro.  Was so much faster, captured more, and Metashape created a much better model from the photos.

I used Mapping with Smart Oblique turned on, worked great!  I read that creating a Oblique mission instead will create better more accurate models though.

Scratch that, I finally figured why isn't taking off

Don Farese Posted at 8-26 12:14
Scratch that, I finally figured why isn't taking off

Hello, there. Sorry for the inconvenience. May we confirm if your issue has been resolved?

Yes the community has been very helpful!

DJI Wanda Posted at 2023-8-28 02:14
Hello, there. Sorry for the inconvenience. May we confirm if your issue has been resolved?

Hi I have an issue.

I’ve been using my Mavic 3E with RTK for 3 months about 20 hours flying time about 70 flights all with full RTK signal.
A few days ago mid flight I last RTK and can’t get it to reconnect.
My settings are still the same, same base station that is still active (I have a rover also connected to the base) trying in the same location as my pervious flights.
I have taken the RTK module off and put it back on all looks ok, tight fit still.

Any ideas on what to try?

Thanks