Configure an Outback or other receiver

Any RTK receiver with an RS-232 NMEA output can feed Ditch Assist®. That means it can send its position, in the standard text messages called NMEA, out of a serial data plug (RS-232) and down a cable. Outback receivers and most others have the setting in their own menu.

The menu names differ by model and firmware, so use this page alongside the receiver's own manual. What matters is that the result matches the table below (the full list with reasons is on What your receiver must send).

Before you start

Time: 10 to 15 minutes, with the receiver's manual to hand.

• The receiver powered up, with its display or setup screen in front of you (on some systems that means on the tractor, connected to the display)
• The Ditch Assist GPS breakout cable for your receiver's connector
• RTK corrections set up on the receiver the way its maker describes

What to set

Step by step

1. Open the receiver's menu

   Usually on the receiver's own display or setup screen.

2. Find the NMEA output settings

   Look for a section called communication settings, serial port, or NMEA output.

3. Turn NMEA output on

   On the serial port the Ditch Assist cable will plug into.

4. Turn GGA and VTG on

5. Turn every other message off

   For example GSA, GSV, RMC, ZDA and GST. Extra messages crowd the cable.

6. If there's a talker ID, pick GP

7. Set the baud rate to 38,400

8. Set the rate to 5 Hz or 10 Hz

   If each message has its own rate: GGA at 5 or 10 Hz, VTG at 1 Hz or faster.

9. Save the changes

   Then leave the menu.

10. Plug the receiver into the Ditch Assist GPS cable

11. Switch the control module on and watch Status 2

    It should blink. That shows data is arriving. How fast it blinks doesn't tell you the rate: that's the GGA rate you set in the receiver. The GPS badge in the app shows the settings are right. See Read the Status 2 light. On DIG, check GPS State in the DIG web interface instead.

If it doesn't work

• Status 2 not blinking: nothing is arriving. Output not on, wrong port, or the cable's transmit and receive lines (Tx/Rx) don't suit this receiver. Status 2 not blinking.
• Status 2 blinks, but the app has no GPS: baud rate not 38,400, or GGA and VTG not on. Status 2 blinks, but no GPS.
• Blade slow to react or overshooting: check the GGA rate in the receiver's settings. It must be 5 or 10 Hz. The Status 2 light can't show you the rate.
• Blinks in bursts with pauses: data is arriving unevenly; the cable and output work. Leave only GGA and VTG on.
• The app shows a fix, but never RTK: Stuck on Float.