Stuck in FLOAT? Check this one setting

Hi, I'm Seth Zora. I run reality capture at a surveying company in Pennsylvania and I've flown commercial drone jobs for AEC clients since 2016. The Fix Report comes every two weeks, and each issue takes about 2 minutes to read.

In this issue

• The setting that makes VRS send nothing
• Ohio's free state network, and how to get in

01 / One Fix

Turn on GGA (or VRS sends you nothing)

Many networks hand out VRS or "nearest station" streams. VRS means virtual reference station: the network builds a pretend base right next to you so your corrections stay accurate. To do that, it has to know where you are.

Your rover tells it with a short location message called GGA. If GGA is off, the login works and the mount point looks right, but corrections never arrive, or they come from a station that's far away. You sit at SINGLE or FLOAT and wonder why.

Do this before your next job:

1. Open your NTRIP settings (in DJI Pilot 2 that's Custom Network RTK; in Emlid Flow it's the correction input profile).
2. Find "Send position", "Send NMEA" or "GGA" and switch it on.
3. Get a satellite fix outdoors first, then connect. If you connect indoors, some apps send a 0,0 position and the network picks a useless station.
4. Check the baseline, meaning the distance to your base, in the status screen. If it's huge, GGA probably isn't getting through.

Read the full fix

From my field kit: The one thing I check before the first flight: coverage. If the site isn't covered, nothing else matters. Check coverage

02 / Network Spotlight

Ohio's free state network (ODOT ORTN)

Nobody paid for this spot.

• Who runs it: Ohio DOT.
• Cost: free. There's no fee or payment step. You just email for a login.
• How to sign up: email [email protected] and ask for a login, then put the settings below into your rover.
• Caster: 156.63.133.115, port 2101. We checked it on Oct 17, 2026, and it answered with 7 mount points.
• Mount points include: ODOT_VRS_RTCM3 (most receivers), ODOT_VRS_CMRx (Trimble), ODOT_VRS_ODOT_Ag (ag equipment), plus RTCM 2.3 and CMR+ versions.
• Satellites: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou. Formats: RTCM 3 and CMRx.
• Good to know: these are VRS streams, so turn on GGA (see One Fix above). You'll also need cell data or a phone hotspot at the rover.

Ohio is one of 22 states with a free state network listed on FixFinder. To see if yours is one of them, open your state's page.

Ohio on FixFinder All states

03 / Your Turn

Hit reply and tell me

Hit reply and tell me: what's the one RTK problem that wastes the most time on your jobs? I read every reply, and the best questions become a future From the Field. I won't use your name unless you say it's OK.

Spot a wrong price or a network I missed? Send a correction.

Next issue: why your drone loses RTK after a battery swap, and when a 6-month plan beats paying monthly.

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Thanks for reading,

Seth

Always confirm with the operator before you buy or work in the field.