The newly launched Trimble DA2 GNSS receiver comes in a lightweight, compact form and delivers even better performance over the DA1, while retaining its unique selling point of being easy to use for a wide variety of applications.
To those engaged in GIS mapping and data collection, the Trimble Catalyst GNSS Positioning Service is a highly-acclaimed service—a true market leader. Its strength lies in ProPoint. Now the compact DA2 GNSS receiver, which was launched in September 2021, has made the package even better from the user’s point of view.
The new DA2 GNSS receiver for the Catalyst Positioning Service is a small, low cost, second-generation receiver and digital antenna that allows high-quality GNSS signals and satellite corrections to be passed to the Trimble Catalyst app. Enhancing the DA2’s performance vastly is the Trimble ProPoint, the fifth-generation, high-precision positioning engine that is engineered to provide position and orientation data from the fusion of GNSS signals, globally accessible high-accuracy correction services, and measurement data from a variety of sensors. The receiver is Bluetooth-enabled and adds iOS support to the Catalyst service (which has already featured support for Android for some time), greatly increasing the range of devices, workflows, and apps that can be used with the Catalyst solution.
“Trimble Catalyst brings easy-to-use precise positioning to location-enabled workforces,” says Gareth Gibson, Marketing Director, Trimble Mapping & GIS. “The addition of ProPoint technology, together with the DA2’s support for iOS devices, means Catalyst can now deliver Trimble quality positioning to more geospatial professionals than ever before.”
How it works
Catalyst’s flexible subscription-based model offers users the freedom to pay by the hour, month, or year. This gives them a tailor-made product which users begin with selecting the level of precision they need, followed by purchasing the service’s subscription and the DA2 receiver itself. DA2 offers optimal performance with every subscription plan, providing a perfect integration with the service.
“The strength of the Catalyst positioning service has always been the unique combination of precision, simplicity, and low price. The increased flexibility and GNSS performance of DA2 brings this solution to an even broader range of users and industries,” adds Gibson.
Once paired with a mobile device like a smartphone or a tablet, the lightweight DA2 is ready-to-go, offering high-precision for an extensive variety of applications in a package that is not just simple and affordable but also very flexible and precise.
Any off-the-shelf USB power bank or USB-C equipped field device can provide the DA2 with power in the field. Multiple mounting options, including standard 5/8×11-sized survey accessories, or Trimble’s own custom designed push-fit system, add to the convenience of its usage.
Since a single receiver can be used for every workflow—60 cm, 30 cm, 10 cm, and 1 cm—the user enjoys the flexibility of choosing a service level that is best suited for the job, with Catalyst taking care of the rest.
Trusted pedigree, new benefits
A maximum horizontal precision of 1 cm and a maximum vertical precision of 2 cm, integrated with Bluetooth version 4.2 while being compatible with Android and iOS, are complemented with the ProPoint technology that offers excellent phase-center stability and robust multi-path rejection characteristics in difficult GNSS environments, reducing convergence times and improving positioning accuracy when operating near trees and buildings. Alongside, the Trimble Corrections Hub delivers seamless correction services worldwide, both online and offline, for all Catalyst subscribers.
Multi-band support for all global and regional GNSS systems, such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC/IRNSS, SBAS, and MSS/L-Band, is included, making the DA2 a universally acceptable proposition. It now has the enviable position of being Trimble’s smallest, lightest, and most portable RTK-capable GNSS receiver at only 330 grams (less than 12 ounces).
Where it shines
The DA2 is ideal for every application that uses positioning-as-a-service. In GIS mapping and data collection, especially when it comes to mobile GIS applications, the receiver provides survey-grade positioning performance that in conjunction with Catalyst is affordable enough for everyday operation and yet can cater to any industry, thanks to the utilization of Esri’s ArcGIS Field Maps. It is particularly apt for land surveying, managing land and cadasters (where land parcel and boundary mapping are required), as well as for efficiently maintaining critical infrastructure in utilities and public administration. So, whether the user is in archeology, survey, or zoology, the DA2 meets the positioning need for any industry in a cost-effective manner. Summarizing its benefits, Gibson says, “DA2 makes the Catalyst Positioning Service even more attractive to the location-enabled field workforce.”
