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Getting Started
The three tabs, projects, the position source
ReconGPS has three tabs along the bottom: Collect, Map and Projects. Settings, Help and ReconGPS Pro are under More, the three dots at the top right.
Points are collected into a project. Start one on the Collect tab, or reopen an earlier one from Projects. One project is open at a time; its name is at the top of the Collect and Map tabs, and tapping it shows what can be done with it.
Free point collection uses Device Location: the position supplied by the phone itself. ReconGPS Pro adds supported external-GNSS integrations.
The dark panel at the top of the Collect tab always shows which position source is in use and how it is doing. If something needs attention (location permission, a lost connection), it says so there, with a button for the next step.
Saved points stay with their project and can be reviewed, mapped, exported, or deleted.
Point Collection
Rapid, Standard, Timed, the dial, what is saved
Choose how to collect under Collect as. The choice is remembered. Then press Collect; the button shows the name the point will be saved under.
Rapid collects 3 accepted fixes for a fast position.
Standard collects 30 accepted fixes and is the normal collection method for most work.
Timed collects accepted fixes for 60 seconds.
While a point is being collected, the dial shows each accepted fix as a dot where it fell around the running mean, with north up. The newest fix is yellow. The dashed ring is the scatter so far, and the rim fills as the collection progresses.
A finished point is saved at once, under the next automatic name (P001, P002, ...), so it cannot be lost. Use Name or note to rename it or to write a note about it.
ReconGPS records statistics with each point so it can be judged in context: the accuracy the receiver reported, the scatter of the fixes themselves around the saved position, and how many fixes were used and left out.
The screen stays on while a point is being collected.
If positions stop arriving, ReconGPS says so and shows how old the last position is. An old position is never collected.
Reading the Numbers
Units, decimals, bright and dim digits
A number is written no more finely than its source supports: to a tenth of a foot or metre for Device Location, and to a hundredth of a foot or a millimetre for Catalyst.
On the dark panel, coordinates are shown to eight decimal places. The digits that are finer than the accuracy the source is reporting are drawn dim. This follows the receiver's own reported accuracy; it is not a statement by ReconGPS.
A point's details and the CSV export always keep every digit that was recorded.
Accuracy is what the receiver reports about itself. Scatter is how far the fixes actually fell from the saved position.
Device Location
The phone's own position and the acceptance limit
Device Location uses the position supplied through the phone's operating system. Its quality depends on the device, connected hardware, environment, and operating-system behavior.
ReconGPS does not intentionally limit a high-quality Device Location stream. If the phone supplies a position that satisfies the acceptance limit, ReconGPS can use it for point averaging.
The acceptance limit in Settings is a quality-control filter. Fixes reporting horizontal accuracy worse than the selected value are left out; fixes reporting better accuracy are used normally.
Device Location needs Precise Location turned on for ReconGPS in the phone's Settings.
Projects and CSV
The notebook, importing targets, exporting points
Projects organize collected points and imported targets. The Projects tab shows the open project and earlier ones. Opening a project lists its points day by day, each with its note.
A project and any point in it can be renamed and given notes.
Target points can be imported into the open project from a CSV file at any time, with Import targets. The first row must name the columns: latitude and longitude, in decimal degrees, are required, and a name column is optional.
Before anything is added, ReconGPS shows what it found: how many targets are ready, which rows cannot be used and why, and how many are already in the project. A target that is already there (the same name at the same coordinates) is not added twice.
Imported targets are kept distinct from collected points. Collected points are shown as circles and stake targets as diamonds, in lists and on the map.
Export CSV provides every point of a project for use in other software, with heights and accuracies in both metres and feet. Select on the Projects tab exports several earlier projects into one file.
Map View
Points, targets and your position
The Map shows the current position, collected points, and imported targets, each with its name.
Use Fit project to frame all project points. Use My location to return the map to the current position.
Tap a point to see its name, how far it is from you and on what bearing, and to open its details.
Your position is the yellow dot. A grey dot means the position has stopped updating.
A point can be collected from the Map as well as from the Collect tab.
Catalyst and ReconGPS Pro
What Pro adds, and what stays in Trimble Mobile Manager
ReconGPS Pro adds direct support for position information supplied through Trimble Mobile Manager and Catalyst.
ReconGPS does not configure Catalyst corrections, reference systems, subscription quality, or other advanced GNSS settings. Those functions remain within Trimble Mobile Manager and the associated GNSS system.
ReconGPS records or averages the position stream it receives and reports collection statistics. ReconGPS Pro does not itself make the position more accurate; position quality is determined by the GNSS system, correction service, environment, and configuration.
Every message from Trimble Mobile Manager is checked before it is used. A message that is not a real, current position (zero or impossible coordinates, no accuracy, a repeat, or an impossible jump) is left out and counted. A position that is merely less precise, for example when corrections are lost, is kept and recorded as it is.
If the connection to Trimble Mobile Manager drops, ReconGPS reconnects by itself. If it cannot, it says so and shows how to reconnect.
Targets and Staking
Guidance, the rings, sound and the compass
Imported target coordinates can be viewed on the map and used for navigation. Tapping any point shows its distance and bearing from you.
With ReconGPS Pro and Catalyst, tap a target on the Map and choose Stake this target. Catalyst staking guidance compares the current reported Catalyst position with the selected target coordinate. The distance is shown in the units chosen in Settings.
Walking in, the Map shows a line to the target with the distance, the bearing and an arrow. Close to the target the Map gives way to close guidance: the target at the centre, you as the yellow dot, and rings around the target.
The normal practical close-guidance target zone is 30 cm. Finer 10 cm and 5 cm rings may be shown for additional reference when conditions support them.
Close guidance turns with the phone, using its compass. If the compass has no heading, the display says so and is drawn with north up.
Sound and vibration tick faster as you close on the target and give a clear signal when you are inside the target zone. They can be turned off in Settings or on the close-guidance screen. The sound follows the phone's silent switch.
Guidance pauses whenever the Catalyst position stops updating; an old position is never used to guide you.
After establishing a target location in the field, collect a ReconGPS point at the position actually established when a record of that location is needed. On the close-guidance screen, Collect here does this without leaving it.
Datums
Yours to control; ReconGPS never converts
ReconGPS is a visual tool for simple point collection and target guidance. It is not Trimble Mobile Manager and it is not a GIS.
The datum and reference frame of a Catalyst position are chosen by you in Trimble Mobile Manager. ReconGPS shows and records what Trimble Mobile Manager sends, including the frame it names.
The datum of an imported target file is whatever the file was written in. ReconGPS reads the latitude and longitude as given and does not ask which datum they are in.
ReconGPS never converts between datums. When staking, make sure the target file and Trimble Mobile Manager are set to the same datum; a difference between them appears directly as an error on the ground.
Heights
Mean sea level and ellipsoid heights
Device Location heights are height above mean sea level, as reported by the phone using its own built-in model.
Catalyst heights come from Trimble Mobile Manager: a mean sea level height, with the geoid model Trimble Mobile Manager names, and an ellipsoid height.
Each exported point names the height model it was recorded with.
Important Information
The notice shown at each app launch
ReconGPS is a field position collection and navigation aid. Location quality depends on the device, external receiver, correction service, environmental conditions, and settings used.
ReconGPS does not determine, certify, or guarantee positional accuracy or fitness for a particular purpose. When using an external GNSS system, ReconGPS consumes position data provided by that system and records or averages the data as configured by the user.
Target and staking guidance indicates the relationship between the current reported position and a target coordinate. It does not guarantee that a physical position has been established to any stated accuracy.
ReconGPS is not intended for emergency navigation, life-safety use, or any application in which loss or error of positioning information could cause injury, property damage, or other material harm.
Users are responsible for evaluating collected positions and determining whether they are suitable for their intended use.
Trimble, Catalyst, and Trimble Mobile Manager are trademarks or products of their respective owner. ReconGPS and RMBAKER LLC are not affiliated with or endorsed by Trimble unless expressly stated otherwise.
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