Learning Center

Connect the tablet to the Reach

Join the Reach's own Wi-Fi on the tablet, then pick a workflow and tap Emlid Reach. Every step with pictures: the System Check, waiting for RTK Fixed, Pre-Flight Checks in Lite mode, the fix when the app says no NMEA TCP output, and what each connection error means.

  • Ditch Assist Lite

In the app Home › workflow card › Emlid Reach; Pre-Flight Checks › Connect

In Ditch Assist® Lite the tablet talks straight to the Reach over the receiver's own Wi-Fi network, called its hotspot. There are two parts: join that Wi-Fi on the tablet, then connect from a workflow in the app.

Before you start

  • The app is in Lite mode: an orange LITE MODE banner across the Home screen (Switch to Ditch Assist Lite)
  • The Reach is on the machine, with its corrections set up (Get the Reach ready)
  • Satellite imagery and LiDAR for the field saved while the tablet had internet. The Reach's Wi-Fi has no internet (Offline imagery).

Time: about 5 minutes the first time. After that, a minute or two each day, most of it waiting for the Reach to start up and get RTK Fixed.

Join the Reach hotspot

This part happens in the tablet's own settings, not in Ditch Assist.

  1. Switch the Reach on and wait a minute

    Its Wi-Fi and its own little web service take a minute to start. Connecting too early is the usual cause of Couldn't read the receiver ID.

  2. Open the tablet's Wi-Fi list

    Open the tablet's own Settings app (a grey gear), then its Wi-Fi list. Step by step with pictures: Tablet basics: Wi-Fi.

  3. Tap the Reach's network

    Its name usually starts with Reach:, for example Reach:C6:98. It takes the receiver's name, so a receiver named Rover shows as Rover:C7:77.

  4. Type the password

    It's emlidreach unless someone changed it. Typing on the tablet: the keyboard.

  5. Tap Connect

    The tablet joins the network after a few seconds.

  6. Choose to stay connected

    Android warns that the network has no internet. Tap Always connect, or your tablet's "stay connected" choice. None of the Ditch Assist networks have internet; that's normal.

  7. Turn off “Switch to better Wi-Fi networks”

    Samsung tablets only. Left on, the tablet leaves the Reach's Wi-Fi every few minutes, and guidance drops with it. The switch is under Intelligent Wi-Fi in the Wi-Fi settings. Every tap, with pictures: Turn off Switch to better Wi-Fi networks.

  8. Turn Location on

    The app needs it to see which Wi-Fi network the tablet is on. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen and tap Location so it lights up. How: the pull-down panel.

Which Wi-Fi the tablet joins A reference card for each kit. Ditch Assist control module (Full Automation or Guidance Only Kit): join the Wi-Fi network whose name starts with DitchAssist, password 12345678; only one device can be connected at a time. DIG module on an excavator or backhoe: network name starts with MECU_Ditch_Dig, password 12345678 on DIG firmware 1.7 or later; its Wi-Fi is up about 30 seconds after power-on. Ditch Assist Lite receiver, an Emlid Reach RS3 or RS4: the network is named after the receiver, Reach:XX:XX or the name it was given, password emlidreach unless someone changed it. Bluetooth GPS receiver: no Wi-Fi; pair it in the Android Settings app under Bluetooth, then connect from the app; it is for survey and field mapping only and cannot start grading or move the blade. None of these networks has internet: save imagery and LiDAR on shop Wi-Fi first, and when Android warns that the internet may not be available, tap Always connect. Control moduleFull Automation or Guidance Only KitWi-Fi name starts withDitchAssistOne device at a timePassword12345678DIG™ moduleExcavator or backhoeWi-Fi name starts withMECU_Ditch_DigReady 30 s after startPassword12345678Firmware 1.7+Ditch Assist Lite receiverEmlid Reach RS3 or RS4Wi-Fi nameReach:XX:XXor the name it was givenPasswordemlidreachunless changedBluetooth GPSNo Wi-Fi: pair it in the Settings app,under Bluetooth. Survey and mapping only.No internet on these networksSave imagery and LiDAR on shop Wi-Fi first.Android warns? Tap Always connect.
Each kit has its own Wi-Fi network. For Ditch Assist Lite it's the Reach's hotspot: named Reach:XX:XX (or the receiver's own name), password usually emlidreach. None of these networks has internet.

Connect in the app

Tap a workflow card

On the Home screen, tap the big square for the job you're about to do, for example Ditching (top left). Any workflow will do: the connection stays when you change workflows later.

A window opens, for example Ditching — Connect.

Home screen in Ditch Assist Lite: the orange LITE MODE banner above nine big squares, one per workflow. Ditching is top left.
  1. Ditching. Top left. Every square connects the same way.

Tap Emlid Reach

It's the green button in the middle of the window. The app starts looking for your receiver.

The white Simulate button under it runs a practice simulator with no receiver at all.

Ditching — Connect window: Connect to receiver, a green Emlid Reach button and a white Simulate button under it 1 2
  1. Emlid Reach. Finds the Reach on its Wi-Fi.
  2. Simulate. Practice without a receiver. It doesn't unlock LiDAR & Mapping.

Wait a few seconds

The window says Looking for a receiver…. The app checks the tablet is on a Reach's Wi-Fi, reads the receiver, and connects.

A red message appears instead? It says what's wrong. See Connection errors.

Connect to receiver with a spinning circle and the words Looking for a receiver… 1
  1. Looking for a receiver…. Takes a few seconds.

Check the receiver is connected

A window called System Check opens. You should see a green tick on the top row, Receiver Connected, with your receiver's model under it: Emlid Reach RS3 (or RS4).

The two rows under it spin for a second or two while the first positions come in. The green Continue button stays grey until they do.

System Check on a real Reach: Receiver Connected, Emlid Reach RS3, with a green tick. GPS Signal, Waiting for signal…, and GPS Accuracy, Waiting for fix, with spinning circles. Continue is grey.
  1. Receiver Connected. The tablet has the receiver.

Wait for RTK Fixed

Watch the bottom row, GPS Accuracy. Wait until it turns green and reads RTK Fixed.

RTK Fixed is the most accurate kind of GPS position, and the only one good enough to survey and grade. It needs corrections reaching the receiver, from your base or over its SIM card. Once you're in, the GPS button at the top of the survey and grade screens shows a green RTK.

System Check with all three rows green: Receiver Connected, GPS Signal 22 satellites, GPS Accuracy RTK Fixed — 0.8 HDOP. A green Continue button at the bottom.
  1. RTK Fixed. Green: ready to survey and grade. (Shown here with the simulator. With your Reach, the top row says Emlid Reach RS3.)

If it stays amber, wait

Amber means the position isn't good enough yet. Continue already works, but don't survey or grade on amber.

  • GPS — grading accuracy reduced: no corrections are reaching the receiver at all. Check your base is on, or the receiver's SIM and NTRIP login (RTK problems).
  • FLOAT — grading accuracy reduced: corrections are arriving, but the receiver isn't fixed yet. Give it a minute, with clear sky above the receiver.
System Check on a real Reach: Receiver Connected, Emlid Reach RS3, and GPS Signal, 7 satellites, both green. GPS Accuracy reads GPS — grading accuracy reduced, in amber. Continue is green.
  1. GPS — grading accuracy reduced. Amber: no corrections yet. Wait for green RTK Fixed.

Tap Continue

Tap the big green Continue button at the bottom of the window. The workflow's choices come next, for example New Survey or Load Survey / Design.

System Check with every row green and the green Continue button at the bottom
  1. Continue. The big green button at the bottom.

Activate the receiver, the first time only

A receiver that isn't activated works as a plain GPS. You can survey with it. But when you tap Start on the Grade screen (the big green button top right), the Activate Ditch Assist Lite window opens instead of guidance.

You do this once per receiver: Activate a receiver.

Grade screen with a 0.50 % downhill grade set. Start was tapped with a receiver that isn't activated, so the Activate Ditch Assist Lite window has opened in the middle, with a QR code and request code (both blurred).
  1. Start. With a receiver that isn't activated, it opens activation.
  2. Activate Ditch Assist Lite. The activation window.

If a window says “Your tablet may drop this Wi-Fi”

Some tablets are set to leave Wi-Fi networks that have no internet. If yours is, the app warns you once, after you connect or activate: Your tablet may drop this Wi-Fi.

  1. Tap Open Wi-Fi settings

    The tablet's Wi-Fi settings open.

  2. Turn off “Switch to better Wi-Fi networks”

    Tap its switch so it turns grey. If you don't see it, tap Intelligent Wi-Fi first. Pictures: the full fix.

  3. Press the tablet's Home button

    It's on the bar along the bottom edge of the screen (where it is).

  4. Tap the Ditch Assist icon

    The app opens where you left it.

Not now closes the window, but expect the Reach to drop every few minutes until the switch is off.

If it says “no NMEA TCP output”

This is the most common Ditch Assist Lite connect problem. The app found the Reach on its Wi-Fi, but the receiver isn't sending its position over Wi-Fi.

Ditching — Connect window with a red message: Reach found, but no NMEA TCP output is configured. Open Settings → Ditch Assist Lite → Setup guide. Emlid Reach and Simulate buttons below it. 1
  1. Reach found, but no NMEA TCP output is configured. The tablet reached the receiver, but its Wi-Fi position output is off.

The usual reason: the receiver was set up as the cabled Rover for a control-module kit, which sends its position down a cable only. The message points you to the Setup guide, which means setting it by hand in Emlid's own app. Quicker: let Ditch Assist program it. Keep the tablet on the Reach's Wi-Fi the whole time. It takes about two minutes.

Tap Settings

It's the fourth button down the right-hand side of the screen, with a gear icon. The Settings screen opens.

Home screen in Ditch Assist Lite. Down the right-hand side, big buttons: Home, Survey, Grade, Settings with a gear icon, Manual, and an orange Pre-Flight Checks button.
  1. Settings. Fourth button down the right-hand side, with a gear icon.

Scroll to the very bottom of Settings

Put your finger on the Settings list and slide it up. Do it again and again until the list stops moving (how to scroll).

You're at the bottom when the last white box is Dealer Code.

The bottom of the Settings screen: the About, DIG Module Firmware and Dealer Code boxes, and under them the Emlid Diagnostics button
  1. Dealer Code. The last white box. When you see it, you're at the bottom. (Picture from Ditch Assist mode; in Lite mode there's no DIG Module Firmware box.)

Tap Emlid Diagnostics

It's the last button on the Settings screen, on its own under Dealer Code. A window called Emlid Diagnostics opens and shows Looking for a Reach on this Wi-Fi… for a moment while it reads the receiver.

Bottom of the Settings screen: About, DIG Module Firmware and Dealer Code boxes, and under them, on its own, the Emlid Diagnostics button.
  1. Emlid Diagnostics. The last button in Settings. (This picture is from Ditch Assist mode. In Lite mode there's no DIG Module Firmware box above it.)

Check what it's set up as

A receiver set up for a control module shows a green line, Configured as Ditch Assist Rover. Lower down, the row Position output 1 reads serial UART 38400: its position only goes down the cable.

That's right for a cabled kit and wrong for Ditch Assist Lite.

Emlid Diagnostics window: Reach RS3 · Rover, firmware 33.1, a green tick and Configured as Ditch Assist Rover, then a list of settings including Position output 1, serial UART 38400 NMEA · GGA 5 Hz, VTG 1 Hz. Retry and Configure buttons at the bottom.
  1. Configured as Ditch Assist Rover. The cabled control-module setup.
  2. Position output 1: serial UART. Down the cable only. Nothing goes out over Wi-Fi.

Tap Configure

It's the green button at the bottom right of the window, with a wrench icon. Three choices appear: Base, Rover and Lite Rover.

The same Emlid Diagnostics window. At the bottom right, a green Configure button with a wrench icon, next to Retry.
  1. Configure. Bottom right of the window.

Tap Lite Rover

It's the third box, at the bottom of the three: On the machine, no control module. The tablet connects straight to the receiver over its Wi-Fi hotspot (Ditch Assist Lite). Its round button fills in green.

Emlid Diagnostics with three choices: Base, Rover (selected, because that's how the receiver is set up now) and Lite Rover. Below them LoRa frequency (MHz) 902.000, Back and Program receiver.
  1. Lite Rover. The third choice. The window opens with the receiver's current setup (Rover) picked.

Check the LoRa frequency

Under the three choices is LoRa frequency (MHz). It's the radio channel your Reach base sends corrections on. It must match your base. Leave it as it is if it already does.

To change it, tap the box and type the same number your base uses.

Emlid Diagnostics with Lite Rover selected. Below the choices, the box LoRa frequency (MHz) showing 902.000, then Back and Program receiver.
  1. LoRa frequency (MHz). The same number as your base.

Tap Program receiver

It's the green button at the bottom right of the window. The app writes the new setup into the receiver and checks each part. A list grows as it goes.

It takes about 15 seconds. Don't switch the receiver off or leave the Reach's Wi-Fi while it runs. The window can't be closed until it's done.

Emlid Diagnostics with Lite Rover selected, and the green Program receiver button at the bottom right
  1. Program receiver. Bottom right of the window.

Check it says Lite Rover

You should see a green tick and Programmed as Ditch Assist Lite Rover. Position output 1 now reads tcpsvr :9001 NMEA: the position goes out over Wi-Fi, which is what the app connects to.

The heading near the top still says Reach RS3 · Rover. That's the receiver's own job (a rover, not a base). It's correct.

Emlid Diagnostics after programming: a green tick and Programmed as Ditch Assist Lite Rover; Position output 1 now tcpsvr :9001 NMEA · GGA 5 Hz, VTG 1 Hz.
  1. Programmed as Ditch Assist Lite Rover. Done.
  2. Position output 1: tcpsvr :9001. The position now goes out over Wi-Fi.

Close the window

Tap the X in the top right corner of the window. You're back on the Settings screen.

The same window, with the X close button in its top right corner
  1. X. Top right corner of the window.

Tap Home

It's the top button in the column down the right-hand side, with a house icon. The Home screen opens.

The bottom of the Settings screen. The top button in the right-hand column is Home, with a house icon.
  1. Home. Top of the right-hand column.

Tap your workflow

Tap the big square for the job you're about to do, for example Ditching (top left). The connect window opens.

Home screen in Ditch Assist Lite with nine big squares, one per workflow. Ditching is top left.
  1. Ditching. Or whichever workflow you need.

Tap Emlid Reach again

The green button in the middle of the window. This time there's no red message: the System Check opens. Carry on from Connect in the app, step 4.

Ditching — Connect window: Connect to receiver, a green Emlid Reach button and a white Simulate button under it
  1. Emlid Reach. The green button.

Pre-Flight Checks in Lite mode

Pre-Flight Checks shows the connection at a glance. You can also connect from it, without going through a workflow.

Tap Pre-Flight Checks

It's the orange button at the bottom of the column down the right-hand side of the screen, with a checklist icon. A window called Pre-Flight Checks opens.

Home screen in Ditch Assist Lite. The bottom button in the right-hand column is orange: Pre-Flight Checks.
  1. Pre-Flight Checks. The orange button at the bottom of the right-hand column.

Read the top row

The top row, Controller, names your receiver. With an activated receiver it reads Emlid Reach RS3 · Lite active (or RS4) with a green tick, and the ONLINE label at the top is green.

The rows under it are explained in the table below this walkthrough. Close the window with the X in its top right corner.

Pre-Flight Checks on an activated Reach: ONLINE in green; Controller, Emlid Reach RS3 · Lite active, green tick; GPS; Satellites 6; DOP HDOP 2.50; Lat and Lon blurred; Elevation; Corrections 0.0 s; Updates Live, NMEA; Wi-Fi Signal -66 dBm · Good; Link Speed 26 Mbps · 2.4 GHz; Change and Disconnect buttons; the line Guidance only — no hydraulic control.
  1. Controller: Lite active. The receiver is connected and activated.

Not activated yet? Tap Activate

A receiver that isn't activated reads Emlid Reach RS3 · Not activated in amber, and ONLINE is amber too. An Activate button with a key icon sits at the bottom right. Tap it to activate the receiver now: Activate a receiver.

Pre-Flight Checks on a Reach that isn't activated: ONLINE in amber; Controller, Emlid Reach RS3 · Not activated, amber warning sign; Change, Disconnect and an amber Activate button with a key icon at the bottom right. 2
  1. Activate. Bottom right. Only there until the receiver is activated.
  2. Not activated. Amber until you activate it.

Nothing connected? Tap Connect

With nothing connected, the top row reads Not connected and the label at the top says OFFLINE. Tap Connect, the green-edged button at the bottom left.

When something is connected, the same button says Change.

Pre-Flight Checks with nothing connected: OFFLINE in grey; Controller, Not connected; GPS, No source; dashes in the other rows; Corrections, Not reported. A Connect button at the bottom left and a grey Disconnect button.
  1. Connect. Bottom left of the window.

Tap Emlid Reach

A window opens under the heading Connect to receiver, with two buttons. Tap the green Emlid Reach button. The app looks for the receiver for a few seconds, the same as from a workflow.

Connect to receiver, with a green Emlid Reach button and a white Simulate button under it
  1. Emlid Reach. The green button. Simulate under it runs the practice simulator. (The window from Pre-Flight Checks also has a Close button at the bottom.)

Check the System Check, then tap Continue

The same System Check opens, with a Close button at the bottom. You should see Receiver Connected with your receiver's model. Wait for green RTK Fixed on the bottom row, then tap the green Continue button.

System Check: Receiver Connected, Emlid Reach RS3, and GPS Signal, 6 satellites, both with green ticks; GPS Accuracy, GPS — grading accuracy reduced, in amber; a big green Continue button, and Close below it on the right. 2
  1. Receiver Connected. Your receiver's model. In this picture the bottom row is still amber: wait for RTK Fixed.
  2. Continue. The big green button.

The ONLINE label is green with an activated Reach, amber with one that isn't activated, and purple with the simulator.

RowWhat it tells you in Lite mode
ControllerThe receiver: Emlid Reach RS3 (or RS4), then Lite active in green or Not activated in amber.
GPSThe kind of position. It must read RTK before you survey or grade.
CorrectionsHow old the last correction is. A Reach can show 0.0 s even with no corrections at all, so read it together with the GPS row: only RTK counts.
Wi-Fi Signal, Link SpeedThe tablet's link to the Reach's Wi-Fi. Green is good.
Change, DisconnectChange (Connect when nothing is connected) offers Emlid Reach and Simulate. Disconnect lets go of the Reach.
Guidance only — no hydraulic controlThe line at the bottom, shown with a Reach. Lite mode has no raise and lower tests.

Every row in detail: Pre-Flight Checks.

If the Reach goes quiet

When positions stop coming in, the arrows on the grade screen and the GPS button at the top go dim. That tells you the reading is frozen. After 10 seconds with nothing, the app drops the connection and shows a red connection-lost message. It keeps trying the Reach every 2 seconds in the background. When the Reach answers again, guidance comes back by itself.

A Reach that drops every few minutes is almost always the tablet leaving its Wi-Fi: turn off Switch to better Wi-Fi networks. Also check you chose to stay connected when Android warned about no internet (Join the Reach hotspot, step 6).

Connection errors

When Emlid Reach can't connect, a red message in the window says why. Fix the cause, then tap Emlid Reach again.

Connect to receiver window with a red message: Tablet isn't on a Reach hotspot. Join the Reach WiFi (password emlidreach) and try again. The Emlid Reach and Simulate buttons below it. 1 2
  1. The red message. Each problem has its own message.
  2. Emlid Reach. Tap it again once the cause is fixed.
MessageWhat it meansFix
Tablet isn't on a Reach hotspot. Join the Reach WiFi (password emlidreach) and try again.The tablet is on another network, or none. Or a tablet with a SIM card is sending the app's traffic over mobile data.Join the Reach's Wi-Fi again (how); the tablet may have hopped back to the shop or house Wi-Fi. Tablet with a SIM card: choose Always connect, or turn mobile data off.
Reach found, but no NMEA TCP output is configured. Open Settings → Ditch Assist Lite → Setup guide.The receiver answers but isn't sending its position over Wi-Fi. Usually it's set up as the cabled Rover for a control module.Let the app program it as Lite Rover: step by step.
Reach found. It reports a TCP-server NMEA output, but that port did not accept the connection — make sure the output is switched on and try again.The output is set up but switched off, or the receiver is still starting.Wait a few seconds after switching the receiver on, then tap Emlid Reach again. Still refused: check it in Emlid Diagnostics (steps 1 to 4 above).

More fixes: Fix Ditch Assist Lite problems.

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