P4RTK dongle and simcard USA

Joestefano · Mar 27, 2020

I have a dongle and simcard installed in my RTK standard RC. My hotspot isn’t
reliable where I fly. The network diagnostic screen shows the dongle and simcard are connected but no internet. There is a green light on the dongle. Is this feature turned on? Am I missing something?

GlennJohnsontt · Mar 28, 2020

I have 2 dongles, and for USA, they don't work in the controller and they don't work in the base station. That stinks, because I really would like to have a more seamless setup. Right now, I use a wifi hotspot.

Joestefano · Apr 9, 2020

Glenn, I bought a dongle from amazon that was recommended by Arkansas drones. It works great in the rc. No more hotspot. Same model as the one I got from ebay except it has a blue light instead of red/green

GlennJohnsontt · Apr 9, 2020

Joestefano said:
Glenn, I bought a dongle from amazon that was recommended by Arkansas drones. It works great in the rc. No more hotspot. Same model as the one I got from ebay except it has a blue light instead of red/green

Wow! do you have a link? Thanks!

Joestefano · Apr 10, 2020

Amazon.com: ZTE MF833V Unlocked 4G LTE USB Modem, liveU compatible, Android Head Unit (MTCE firmware only) pls inquiry before buy: Computers & Accessories

Buy ZTE MF833V Unlocked 4G LTE USB Modem, liveU compatible, Android Head Unit (MTCE firmware only) pls inquiry before buy: Modems - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

GlennJohnsontt · Apr 12, 2020

Joestefano said:
Amazon.com: ZTE MF833V Unlocked 4G LTE USB Modem, liveU compatible, Android Head Unit (MTCE firmware only) pls inquiry before buy: Computers & Accessories

Buy ZTE MF833V Unlocked 4G LTE USB Modem, liveU compatible, Android Head Unit (MTCE firmware only) pls inquiry before buy: Modems - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Thanks, I got the last one. I see a signal on the P4PRTK controller, but still nothing. Who is your cell provider??? I'm on AT&T but I'll switch if necessary...

Joestefano · Apr 13, 2020

I have AT&T, With the old dongle the diag. screen showed the dongle and simcard connected but no internet. The new one connected right away

GlennJohnsontt · Apr 13, 2020

Joestefano said:
I have AT&T, With the old dongle the diag. screen showed the dongle and simcard connected but no internet. The new one connected right away

Nice! Hmmm I took the SIM card out of my wifi hotspot. I’ll go over to the att store and get a new sim. Attached is a photo of what i got from that amazon site. It has red led that goes green when it is on the network. Is yours the same?

Joestefano · Apr 13, 2020

Looks the same except when connected my light is blue. My old one was green.

GlennJohnsontt · Apr 13, 2020

Joestefano said:
Looks the same except when connected my light is blue. My old one was green.

Oh, that’s what you were referring to. Hmmm....

GlennJohnsontt · Apr 13, 2020

Joestefano said:
Looks the same except when connected my light is blue. My old one was green.

I just came back from the AT&T store. He programmed a new SIM card and guess what? IT WORKS!!!!
So, what I learned.... I was trying to use a SIM card from my wifi hotspot, but AT&T won't let that work in the ZTE, because for whatever weird reason, the ZTE is classified as a phone. The new SIM fixed it.
Before, I had a red LED, and it went to green when it detected the carrier. Now, it goes from red to blue (steady at first), then blue flashing when data is being transferred..
Thanks for your help!!!!

GlennJohnsontt · Apr 13, 2020

Joestefano said:
I have AT&T, With the old dongle the diag. screen showed the dongle and simcard connected but no internet. The new one connected right away

Have you tried the dongle in the base station? if so, any result?

Joestefano · Apr 27, 2020

I did try it but I don’t think that option is activated yet. Besides I like having it in the rc Can’t do anything without it anyways.

ARMeyer · Apr 29, 2020

I have the RTK-2 Base station and have had great success with precision (of course localization is done using GCP’s in my PC software). What is the purpose of using a dongle in the base station?

GlennJohnsontt · Apr 29, 2020

ARMeyer said:
I have the RTK-2 Base station and have had great success with precision (of course localization is done using GCP’s in my PC software). What is the purpose of using a dongle in the base station?

well, it appears to be a promise that DJI hasn’t fulfilled. But the DRTK-2 was supposed to be able to work as a stand-alone rover with a smartphone or tablet, where you wouldn’t need the RC controller. Did you notice that you got a cell phone holder with the base?
anyways for some people, (not me), the latest firmware updates do allow you to use the DRTK2 as a rover but you still need the RC controller.

ARMeyer · May 7, 2020

GlennJohnsontt said:
well, it appears to be a promise that DJI hasn’t fulfilled. But the DRTK-2 was supposed to be able to work as a stand-alone rover with a smartphone or tablet, where you wouldn’t need the RC controller. Did you notice that you got a cell phone holder with the base?
anyways for some people, (not me), the latest firmware updates do allow you to use the DRTK2 as a rover but you still need the RC controller.

Okay, I understand now. Instead of using the traditional GPS base & rover setup, the dongle connects to the cellular network which acts as the base, allowing the rover to be used by itself with the cell phone as the data collector. So does it currently use the RC Controller as the data collector then? That would be quite cumbersome!