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Trimble Receivers & Catalyst DA2: NTRIP Setup

Set up Trimble Access, Earthworks and Catalyst DA2 with RTKdata NTRIP. Single Base RTCM v3 instead of VRS, mountpoint AUTO, and the Catalyst tier cap.

This guide covers setup for Trimble Access, Trimble Earthworks, and other Trimble controllers (TSC5, TSC7, T7, Tablet). Trimble receivers are fully compatible with RTKdata — but require specific settings because RTKdata is NOT a VRS network.

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Important: RTKdata is NOT VRS

RTKdata delivers standard RTCM corrections via NTRIP from physical base stations. It does NOT provide Trimble-proprietary VRS/iMAX/CMRx streams.

If you select a "Network RTK" or "VRS" survey style in Trimble Access, the software will wait indefinitely for virtual reference station data that never arrives. This is the #1 cause of Trimble connection failures with RTKdata.

Trimble Access Setup (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Create a New Survey Style

  1. Open Trimble Access

  2. Go to Settings > Survey Styles

  3. Tap New (do NOT modify an existing VRS/Network RTK style)

  4. Name it: RTKdata Single Base

Step 2: Configure Correction Source

  1. In the survey style, go to Rover options > Correction source

  2. Select: Internet connection

  3. Set correction type to: RTCM v3

  4. Do NOT select "VRS", "iMAX", "Network RTK", or "CMRx"

Step 3: NTRIP Settings

Setting
Value

Connection type

NTRIP

Host

eu.rtkdata.com (Europe) / rtk.rtkdata.com (Global) / aus.rtkdata.com (Australia)

Port

2101

Mountpoint

AUTO

Username

Your NTRIP username (starts with rtk)

Password

Your NTRIP password

Step 4: Start Survey

  1. Go to Survey > Start survey

  2. Select the RTKdata Single Base style you just created

  3. Wait for satellite lock (6+ satellites)

  4. Wait for RTK Fix — this should happen within 30–90 seconds

Common Trimble Problems

"Starting Survey" Stuck at ~90%

Cause: You are using a Network RTK / VRS survey style. Trimble Access is waiting for VRS data that RTKdata does not provide.

Fix:

  1. Stop the survey

  2. Create a new survey style as described above

  3. Make sure the correction type is set to RTCM v3 (NOT VRS/iMAX)

  4. Restart the survey

Empty Mountpoint List

Cause: Some Trimble controllers (and Topcon MAGNET Field) cannot parse the RTKdata sourcetable correctly.

Fix: Do NOT browse for mountpoints. Instead, manually type AUTO (ALL CAPS) in the mountpoint field.

"No Corrections Received"

Check these in order:

  1. Is your survey style set to RTCM v3 (not VRS/CMRx)?

  2. Is the mountpoint AUTO in ALL CAPS?

  3. Are you using your NTRIP credentials (not website login)?

  4. Does the controller have internet access?

Trimble DA2 and Catalyst: read this before you subscribe

The DA2 works differently from every other receiver on this page, and the honest answer is that RTKdata makes sense for it in one specific situation and not otherwise. Three things decide it.

A Catalyst subscription is mandatory, and it already includes corrections. The DA2 is sold as part of the Catalyst positioning service and does not operate without an active subscription. Every Catalyst subscription includes access to Trimble's own correction services through the Trimble Corrections Hub at no extra cost. So a working DA2 setup already has a correction source.

Your subscription tier caps the accuracy, whatever the correction source. Trimble states that when you configure an external NTRIP service, the accuracy achieved "will be not better than your subscription level" (1 cm, 10 cm, 30 cm or 60 cm). Feeding centimeter corrections into a 30 cm subscription still produces 30 cm. You cannot buy a lower tier and make up the difference with a third-party caster.

The free tier does not accept a third-party caster at all. With a Catalyst Free subscription, correction settings made in Trimble Mobile Manager are not applied and no external corrections reach the receiver.

When RTKdata is worth it on a DA2

One case, and Trimble names it in their own documentation: when you work outside the area covered by Trimble VRS Now and RTX-Fast, you need your own correction source to reach the accuracy your subscription allows. If you already pay for a centimeter subscription but the coverage is not there, RTKdata fills that gap.

Outside of that, if your Trimble corrections work where you work, there is nothing for us to improve, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a subscription you do not need.

Setting it up

Corrections for the DA2 are configured in Trimble Mobile Manager, not in the field app. This matters even if you use Trimble Access, because Access takes its position from Trimble Mobile Manager rather than talking to the caster itself. Configuring Access alone will leave you on Autonomous while TMM still holds its own correction source.

In Trimble Mobile Manager, open Configuration, set the correction source to a custom NTRIP source, and enter your regional host, port 2101, mountpoint AUTO in ALL CAPS, and your RTK credentials. The receiver must be outdoors with a satellite position before corrections can be assigned.

Trimble Earthworks (Machine Control)

Trimble Earthworks handles NTRIP differently than Trimble Access and is generally easier to set up:

  1. Go to GNSS Configuration > Corrections

  2. Select NTRIP as the correction source

  3. Enter the RTKdata server details (same as table above)

  4. Mountpoint: AUTO

  5. Enter your NTRIP credentials

Earthworks typically connects without issues because it does not enforce VRS-specific protocols.

Trimble Access vs. Earthworks — Key Differences

Feature
Trimble Access
Trimble Earthworks

VRS enforcement

Yes — must explicitly select RTCM/Single Base

No — accepts standard NTRIP

Survey style needed

Yes — create "Single Base" style

No — just configure NTRIP

Common issue

Stuck at 90%

Rare connection issues

Mountpoint browsing

Often fails — type manually

Usually works

Recommended Settings Summary

Setting
Value

Survey style type

Single Base / RTCM

Correction format

RTCM v3

NTRIP version

v1 or v2 (both work)

GGA sending

Automatic (enabled by default in Trimble)

Mountpoint

AUTO (typed manually, ALL CAPS)

Port

2101

Still Not Working?

Before contacting support, gather:

  1. Screenshot of your survey style settings (correction source section)

  2. Screenshot of the NTRIP connection settings

  3. Your Trimble controller model and software version

  4. The exact error message or behavior

Contact support at support@rtkdata.com with this information.

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