Just received Yarbo today and started setting up the data center.
How do I know if the location for the data center is good?
The signal light is solid green which the manual says is Normal RTK signal.
In the app under diagnosis, the data center section, the connection shows 2. I assume this is the satellite connection. Is this enough? Should I expect more connections?
If I go into RTK detail and see the map of satellites in the sky, there are plenty more.
Under HaLow section, it shows Connection: true, Signal: -56.
I have not got a chance to test the rover’s RTK. It’s still charging in the garage. I’m hoping to get data center setup for good first.
During the data center install process there is a site selection survey mode. You put the dat center in the intended install location and it brings up a signal meter. You are looking for excellent to have the best signal. You can walk around in this mode and find the best spot and then install it and then initialize it in that location.
Ultimately you want a point on your property as high as possible with a clear 120 degree view of the sky. Think of an upside down pyramid from the center of the GPS/RTK antenna on the top middle of the DC. That should be out in the open, not under eaves of the home or tree limbs, etc. That cone expands outward as the elevation goes up from the antenna.
By installing it above your roof line out in the open, it helps with the HaLow signal to reach your entire property and to avoid being blocked by the ground if the rover went down a hill. HaLow signal will not penetrate the ground.
If you want to. check the RTK detail in the diagnostics, you are looking for a CNR of 37+ with 40 being stable. The more satellites in the 40+ range, the better.
DC connection mode 2 is normal and what you want to see for regular operations. It has nothing to do with satellite and everything to do with internet and data communications. Mode 3 is local HaLow mode which means there is no internet connection and the DC is working in offline mode to provide correction data. Solid green is a good indicator, but just means that it has work and is initialized and there isn’t an RTK issue.
Since relocating the data center later requires remapping make really sure to get as clear a view of the sky as you can. In order for Yarbo to work properly it has to maintain the same 4+ satellite lock with an L2 signal as the rover module. So if you stick it in the ground and it’s obstructed on one side of by the house then you might still get green from the number of satellites but expect to have issues on the opposite side of the house because your rover will probably have difficulty seeing the same satellites.
So the 120 degree view of the sky is important in addition to getting green. i.e., Choose your spot wisely up front to avoid rework later down the road.
Am I correct that HaLow is there to help rover positioning when it cannot get the same satellite locks as the data center?
Currently I have the data center at the back of the house. When the rover pass through a narrow passage on the side of the house surrounded by trees, it always loose GPS signal, and so I cannot map this area.
Of course, having data center on one side of the house would not help HaLow get to the side of the house.
Would moving data center to the roof help in this case? Is this because HaLow propagate better from the roof? I imagine it’s not about satellite in this case since my guess is rover just can’t get any satellite lock by itself in this narrow passage.
HaLow is how the rover and data center communicate with each other and the rover receives the correction data. But that correction data has to be from the same satellites for both. Otherwise they can’t compare apples to apples.
Yes, moving your data center to a roof out in the open would help the GPS reception and to see more of the same satellites as the rover. It will also help HaLow go further, but the two do not need line of sight to each other for HaLow signal to work. It’s just WiFi in a different and lower frequency band.
Narrow passages can be tricky. If it’s a small enough area, you could try dead ends and set the speed to fastest.
So is halow, frequency hopping or spread spectrum like wifi? In our area the power company uses scada 902-928 hopping and it will take down spread spectrum as as scada can run at 50+dBm tx. My halow is frequently off line.
Could you explain why data center need an Ethernet cable to connect to the home’s wifi router? The rover in most case will not be covered by home’s wifi so does this cable connection help rover’s navigation in any way?
I’m trying to break down what I can do in steps. Installing data center on the roof is one thing, drilling through the wall for the ethernet cable is entirely different challenge.
Yes it is from what I recall reading about it. But the frequency range is somewhat limited. Have you opened a ticket with support to troubleshoot why it’s frequently down? It might be something else unrelated.
WiFi is inherently unreliable and the variability of implementations can make it challenging to rely on given that everyone’s home and equipment is different. They opted for the most stable connection possible which is the hard wire. This provides a stable and predictable connection to their provided wireless solution, HaLow. HaLow should provide up to 31 acres of coverage if installed on the roof line.
Drilling a hole for the cable is always a bit concerning, but there are other ways to get it into the home that can potentially be viable alternatives such as following an existing conduit like the air conditioning lines, cable tv lines, flat cable window adapters, etc.
Could you explain why data center need an Ethernet cable to connect to the home’s wifi router?
The GPS signal being received by the data center is used as a known fixed point. That data is then sent back through the ethernet connection to some of the Yarbo servers. If you’re running off HaLow then I think technically you can get by with the GPS data communicating (though you’ll lose other functionality like SmartVision and remote control of the unit, so not worth it). If you lose HaLow and it goes to 4G then you can still receive the data center GPS data that’s being sent back through the servers.
So for robust functionality you really need that connection. I ended up running new cables in my house and putting ethernet in a similar box to a weather protected outdoor power box. Don’t forget to ground the station too, if in the US NEC code requires #6 copper to an 8’ deep pole or bonded 4’ deep poles. Good data center install is the most involved part of the process.
As for running the cable through the wall, if you use the provided cable you have to penetrate with a 5/8 or 3/4 inch hole, go get some CMX outdoor uv resistant cable and ends and do your own 568B cable and your penetration is 1/4 inch, much clearer and easier to seal. I’m still having trouble understanding that Yarbo will require 3 IP addresses from your router. 1 for the DC and 2 for the river, I assume the 2for the rover are 1 over the hallow and 1 over the Wi-Fi. If your router has a small DHCP pool, you could have to expand the pool as to not run out of ip addresses.
