Announcements

12/01/2012 - NETWORK RATE INCREASE

For those unable to attend this year’s RTK Network meeting held at TSPS, you may have missedseveral announcements regarding actions taken over the last year to modernize and improve yourCooperative Network. Improvements that include upgraded software and servers, improvedbackup and redundancy, additional management resources, and most exciting of all, the updatesto more closely match CORS NAD 83 (2011) EPOCH 2010.00. The DFW and Houston Islandsare currently in Test Phase and should be available soon with other Islands to follow. The currentNetwork will remain available for some time beyond the completion of updates for all of theislands so no interruption of service is experienced.


For the first time, the Renewal Fee for Members beyond their third year will increase slightly to$250. This increase is necessary to maintain the modernization efforts and to offset the drop inrenewal fees due to a high percentage of Members who have surpassed their third year ofrenewals at $500. As our Membership base matures beyond their third year, the Renewalrevenues decrease.


We understand any increase in fees is never desired, but remember, $250 per year breaks downto less than $1 per day for access to the largest, most advanced, and most widely used RTKNetwork anywhere. For comparison, most networks charge $295 per month and more. Pleasekeep in mind any Memberships allowed to expire will be forfeited and required to start over asnew Memberships at the full rates.


If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.


Sincerely,


Your WDS RTK Network Management Team.


01/24/12 - NETWORK EXPANSION

Western Data Systems is proud to announce a major Network expansion is underway. Within the next few months, we will be adding up to 10 additional reference stations that will give you VRS network coverage on almost all of the Eagle Ford Shale area. Since this is an area that is seeing tremendous growth in survey crews (and much better cell phone coverage), we felt it was vital to expand the network for the benefit of all the members who are or will be working there.

We have been installing receivers to act as single base stations. When we have enough in place, we will tie them together for a new island within the network. The following cities are either already in place or in the process of being installed.


Laredo (installed)
Victoria (installed)
Dilley (installed)
Childress (installed)
Vernon (installed)
Ballinger
McCamey
Freer
Three Rivers
Kingsville
Hebbronville
Del Rio
Eagle Pass
Marfa
Pecos


Remember, you may always see Network updates at www.txrtk.com. We will announce when VRS corrections are activated.

For those who are working in the Eagle Ford area, Western Data Systems has also initiated scheduled free deliveries of supplies (including wood). If you are interested in having your supplies delivered to your Eagle Ford office or job site, please contact Jocko at 713 683-7066, or your local WDS contact.


Michael Hefer
Western Data Systems
281 987-1815



04/08/11 - NEW NETWORK

The rumors and talk of the new network are true. The software and hardware has been purchased and installed. Two new servers are online and running. The new network software is called VRS3Net. It will offer a number of user-level features, including:

  • The ability to see the live state of the network at any time via a public website.
  • Download of cors station data from the same website (no more FTP), with on-the-fly conversion to any format you choose.
  • Download of virtual station data (just enter your coordinates!)
  • DGPS service from all reference stations, not just a select few.
  • Automated email reminders when a subscription is due for renewal.
  • Customized usage reports on demand.
  • The ability to directly look-up your network logins/passwords.
  • A significantly shortened mountpoint list; single base users will no longer have to figure out which station is closest – the network will determine this for you!
  • Support for CMRx.

To allow for all this, network logins & passwords will now be organized in a different way. EVERY network member company will need to create at least one account on the new above-mentioned website, at the RTK logins and passwords will be connected to these accounts. Here’s how it will work, using the fictional company, XYZ Surveying:

  • A representative of XYZ will connect to the new website, and set-up a personal account. This will register both him and his company.
  • This representative will be required to enter an email address. This email address will become his website login name. He may choose his password.
  • Once registered and approved, I will add any existing or requested RTK network logins & passwords to his website login account. Thus, he will be able to see them whenever he chooses – along with whether they are currently activated and their activation and expiration dates.
  • Additional users for XYZ Surveying may register and request network logins & passwords. They will have access to the logins & passwords under their user account, though XYZ may request that any or all of their website users be designated as company admins, giving them access to the data associated with ALL of their user accounts. This also assures that XYZ will not lose access to any of their data due to staff changes.

Note that this new method of password organization IS NOT OPTIONAL, but is a hard requirement of the new software. Thus, EVERY NETWORK MEMBER COMPANY MUST REGISTER WITH THE NEW WEBSITE, otherwise, they will no longer be able to log on to the new RTK network once it goes live.

The current plan is to “throw the switch” sometime in June of this year. For this to go smoothly and expeditiously, it will be necessary that everyone begin creating accounts in advance.

Please go the VRS Network home page, VRS Network, and click the “Register” link at left in the site map window.

A few notes about the process:

  • “District” means STATE.
  • Disregard the “GSM phone Number for TNC” field. This is for overseas users.
  • Fill in ALL other fields, though your HOME number is optional.
  • Fill in the “Organization” field with your complete company name. For example, we at WDS would spell out, “Western Data Systems.”
  • Your user name MUST be your email address, no exceptions. Accounts created with anything else will be edited to correct for this.
  • The Captcha security code at the end of registration is case-sensitive.
  • The database will not allow for duplicate user names.
  • Whether registered/logged-in or not, anyone may log into the website and click “Sensor Map” to see a snapshot of the current network state (i.e. which stations are up, and their coordinates). Note that it does NOT auto-refresh.