iGage iG3s User manual

iG3s
Static GNSS Receiver
User Manual
Revision R2017.05.20 (B9630)

2
Copyright 2017 iGage Mapping Corporation
All rights reserved.
‘iGage’, ‘iGage Mapping Corporation’ and ‘iG3s’ are
Trademarks of iGage Mapping Corporation of Salt Lake City
Utah, USA.
All product and brand names mentioned in this publication
are Trademarks of their respective holders.
FCC Notice iG3s receivers comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to the Part 15 of the FCC rules when
it is used in the Portable Mode.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This
device may not cause harmful interference and (2) this
device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.

3
Table of Contents
Table of Contents...........................................................................3
Introduction ...................................................................................5
The Really-Quick-Start Guide ........................................................6
In the Field .................................................................................6
Office / Desktop.........................................................................6
What’s in the iG3s Box?.................................................................8
Technical Assistance ......................................................................9
Warranty ........................................................................................9
Safety Information.........................................................................9
Warnings and Cautions ...............................................................9
Use and Care..............................................................................10
Battery Safety and Disposal.......................................................10
Battery Warnings.......................................................................10
Batteries .......................................................................................11
Battery Charger............................................................................12
Optional Accessories....................................................................13
Front Panel Operation .................................................................13
Pushbuttons ...............................................................................13
On/Off Pushbutton..................................................................13
Record Pushbutton..................................................................14
LED Indicators ............................................................................14
Collecting Static Data...................................................................16
OPUS-Static, OPUS-RS and OPUS-Projects .............................16
Downloading, Processing and Archiving Data............................18
Installing the Download Tool ....................................................18
Downloading Data from iG3s Reciever.....................................18
Starting the iGx Download Tool ................................................19
Using the Download Tool ............................................................20
Submitting an Occupation to OPUS..........................................21
Setting the Receiver Type..........................................................24
Viewing the Observation Log ....................................................24
Trimming Occupation Files........................................................25
Performing Quality Control Checks ..........................................26
The MSS Factory Support Button..............................................26
The Send to Factory Support Button........................................26
Advanced Download Settings......................................................27
Configuring the Download Tool ..............................................27
'Base Project Folder' ................................................................28
'Archive All Projects' ................................................................29
'GPS Mounts on Drive'.............................................................29
‘Minimum File Size to Transfer’ ..............................................30
‘Show UTC Time’......................................................................30
'Default HI' ...............................................................................31
'Default Agency'.......................................................................31
'Default Operator'....................................................................32
'Decimate OPUS Submission to ...'..........................................32

4
'Your Email'...............................................................................32
'Show Advanced Settings'........................................................33
‘PPP Service’.............................................................................33
Export 8.3 Filenames ...............................................................34
Format Extended .....................................................................34
Use Direct OA Submission .......................................................35
Utilities........................................................................................35
“1. Undelete Occupations” .....................................................35
“2. HcRINEX Convertor” ..........................................................36
“3. Mark One File Unread”......................................................36
“4. Mark All GPS Files Unread” ...............................................36
GPS Settings..................................................................................36
The ‘Log’ Tab ..............................................................................37
GPS 'Settings' Tab.......................................................................37
Recording Interval....................................................................39
Auto Sessioning........................................................................40
Elevation Mask.........................................................................40
Update Firmware.....................................................................40
OPUS: What is it? .........................................................................44
OPUS-RS (Rapid Static) ..............................................................45
OPUS-Projects ............................................................................46
OPUS Error Messages and Failures .............................................46
Interpreting OPUS Results ...........................................................47
Getting ready to use OPUS..........................................................49
Using OPUS-Projects ....................................................................51
Troubleshooting the iG3s Receiver .............................................52
1. Receiver won’t turn on:.......................................................52
2. Is the receiver tracking satellites? ......................................53
3. Is the receiver storing observation data?...........................53
4. The RED Power LED is flashing!...........................................53
5. The GPS receiver won’t mount as a Disk Drive..................53
6. Yellow and Green LED’s Flash Once Each Second..............54
iG3s 10-Pin Connector .................................................................56
iG3s PC Data Cable.......................................................................57
iG3s Antenna Model ....................................................................58
‘Slant Height’ to ‘Vertical Height’:...............................................60
Manually Converting Heights..................................................60
Examples ..................................................................................60
Warranty.......................................................................................61
Exclusions .................................................................................61
RMA ..........................................................................................62

Introduction
Thank you very much for choosing to purchase and use an
iG3s static GNSS receiver!
The iG3s features outstanding performance and is easy-to-
use with automated downloads and submissions, we know
that your new static receiver will be a valuable tool that
quickly pays for itself.
This guide is designed to help you familiarize yourself with
your new equipment and to offer basic information on the
operation of NGS OPUS.
If you have questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to
contact us:
iGage Mapping Corporation
1545 South 1100 East Suite 1
Salt Lake City UT 84105 USA
[phone]
email: [e-mail]
Your input is extremely valuable to us and we will listen to
your suggestions!
Software updates and news are available from:
www.ig3s.com

6
The Really-Quick-Start Guide
In the Field
1. Put a charged battery in the receiver.
2. Mount the receiver over the point you want to
survey. Level and measure the Instrument Height
(HI.) For best results: align the button panel so it
faces north, double-check your bubble and the
instrument height (HI.)
Record the HI, start time and point description in
your field notes.
Point Description HI Start Time End
1001 NW C Sec 14 2.0M V 9:45 am 1 March 2013 12:18 pm
3. Push the ON/OFF button and hold it for 1-second
until the lights flash. After 30 seconds the blue LED
will flash once for every tracked Satellite.
4. Verify that the yellow ‘Files’ LED flashes once
every 5-seconds as the receiver logs data.
5. Let the receiver record data for at least:
OPUS-Rapid Static: 16-minutes
OPUS-Static: 121-minutes
6. Turn the receiver off by pushing and holding the
ON/OFF button for 1-second.
Office / Desktop
7. Install the download tool from the included DVD
or get the latest version from www.ig3s.com.
8. Put a freshly charged battery in the receiver, turn
on the receiver, wait 10-seconds for the power
LED to flash and then plug your iG3s into a USB
connector on your computer.

7
9. When/if you see the Windows AutoPlay screen:
click on the red ‘X’ button on the upper-right
corner.
10. Start the iGx Download tool from your desktop,
push the ‘Download from GPS’ button:
11. Highlight the occupation, set the Point ID, the
Description and the HI; push the ‘Submit to OPUS’
button.
12. When prompted press OK, then Control-V (to
paste the file location and name,) then press the
“Enter” key on your keyboard, or click on ‘Open’
to set the ZIP filename.
13. Finally press the ‘Upload to Rapid Static’ or
‘Upload to Static’ button as prompted at the
bottom of the screen.

8
What’s in the iG3s Box?
Other than a suitable tripod or pole, iG3s receivers are sold
as complete kits, ready to record OPUS compatible static
raw data sets.
Each receiver kit includes these items:
A Hard Shell Carry Case This User Manual
iG3s GNSS Head The iG Download DVD:
GPS to PC Data Cable:
Serial, USB and Ext. Power
A high capacity 7.4 V Lithium-Ion
Battery
Quad Battery Charger Power Adapter with Cord:
A SECO 91641 Stedi-Rest:
External Battery Power Clips

9
Technical Assistance
If you have questions or issues with your receiver, support is
provided both by your dealer and iGage Mapping
Corporation in Salt Lake City Utah:
iGage Mapping Corporation
1545 South 1100 East STE 1
Salt Lake City UTAH 84105
[phone]
For support questions by email: [e-mail]
Warranty
Please see the full warranty at the end
of this manual for details.
The iG3s GNSS receiver has a 2-year warranty.
Cables and chargers are warranted for 1-year.
Batteries are warranted for 90-days.
Advanced replacement programs are available for mission
critical applications.
Service is provided by iGage Mapping Corporation in Salt
Lake City Utah.
Safety Information
This manual describes the iG3s GNSS Receivers. Before you
use your receiver, please make sure that you read and
understand these warnings and safety requirements.
Warnings and Cautions
An absence of specific alerts does not mean that there are
no safety risks involved. Warning and Caution information is
intended to minimize the risk of personal injury and/or
damage to the equipment.

10
Use and Care
The iG3s receiver is a field ready instrument; however it is
also a delicate electronic instrument. Take suitable care to
avoid damage to the instrument.
Avoid dropping the receiver as it can change the phase
center of the antenna.
Avoid storing the receiver at excessive temperatures (hot or
cold) as it will damage the internal batteries.
Avoid storing the batteries at temperatures less than -40° F
(-40° C) and temperatures higher than 160°F (70°C) as it will
permanently reduce the battery capacity and life
DO NOT leave the iG3s or accessories inside a vehicle in the
summer. Temperatures higher than 160°F will permanently
reduce battery capacity and battery life.
GNSS receivers and especially Lithium-Ion batteries are like
puppies: in the summer if you leave them in your vehicle with
the windows rolled up, you will kill them.
Battery Safety and Disposal
The batteries are lithium-ion type cells.
Battery Warnings
WARNING - Do not damage the rechargeable Lithium-ion
battery. A damaged battery can cause an explosion or fire,
and can result in personal injury and property damage.
To prevent injury or damage:

11
Do not use or charge the battery if it appears to be discolored,
warped, or leaking battery fluid.
Do not expose the battery to fire, high temperature, or direct
sunlight.
Do not immerse the battery in water.
Do not store the battery inside a vehicle during hot weather.
Do not drop or puncture the battery.
Do not open the battery or short-circuit its contacts.
Do not charge the batteries in chargers other than the
supplied charger or a direct replacement.
Do not charge similar batteries in the supplied charger, even if
they fit well.
WARNING - Avoid contact with the rechargeable Lithium-ion
battery if it appears to be leaking. The battery fluid is
extremely corrosive, and contact with it will result in
personal injury and/or property damage.
If battery fluid gets into your eyes, immediately rinse your
eyes with clean water and seek medical attention. Do not
rub your eyes!
If battery fluid gets onto your skin or clothing, immediately
use clean water to wash off the battery fluid.
Batteries
One Lithium-Ion battery is supplied with your receiver.
A battery, when new, will power the receiver for 5 hours at
temperatures higher than 50 degrees F. At lower
temperatures battery life is shortened.
If you plan on running the receiver for longer than 4-hours,
it is suggested that you use the supplied Battery Clip Cable

12
to connect the auxiliary power connector to an external 12-
volt battery.
Heavy-duty external power cables are available as optional
accessories from iGage.
Consider fully charging the batteries using the supplied
charger before first use. To meet shipping regulations,
batteries are discharged before shipment.
Battery Charger
The battery charger will charge 4 batteries at once.
Plug the charger into the supplied wall transformer or use
the supplied alligator clip cable to connect to a 12 Volt
battery. We supply alligator clips instead of cigarette
adapters so you don’t have to leave your keys in the ignition
if you need to field charge batteries.
The supplied charger has a RED LED on each side to indicate
that power is attached.
Next to each battery is a GREEN LED.
GREEN
LED
STATUS
Off
No Battery Inserted
Blinking
Battery Charging
ON Steady
Battery is fully charged
It is okay to leave charged batteries in the charger for
extended periods of time.

13
Optional Accessories
Optional Heavy-Duty External Power Cables are available for
the iG3s from iGage. They are reasonably priced and are
perfect for attaching your receiver to external power for
extended operation.
The matching part number for the iG3s is ‘M9’.
Front Panel Operation
Pushbuttons
The receiver’s front panel has two pushbuttons On/Off and
Record:
On/Off Pushbutton
Press the On/Off button for 1-second and release to turn ON
the receiver.
If the receiver is ON, press the On/Off button for 1-second
to turn the receiver OFF. The receiver will not begin shutting
down until you remove your finger from the button.

14
Record Pushbutton
iG3s receivers are factory configured to automatically begin
recording after the receiver is turned on and tracking
satellites. (You probably won’t ever need to use the Record
button.)
If the receiver is recording data, pressing the Record button
for two seconds toggles the receiver from collecting data, to
not collecting data and closes the current occupation file.
The yellow Files LED will stop flashing when recording stops.
When the receiver is not recording, pressing the record
button again for two seconds will open a new observation
file and begin collecting observation data.
You can also use the Record button to check the collection
state:
Tapping the Record button will cause either the Serial or the
Files button to flash:
Serial green receiver is recording
Files yellow receiver is NOT recording
LED Indicators
There are four LED indicators on the receiver:
Power (Red)
Power is ON. If flashing, the battery charge is very
low.
SV’s (Satellite Count) (Blue)
Blinks once for each tracked satellite, waits 5-
seconds, repeats.
Serial (Green)
Blinks when data is received by the serial port.
Blinks when the ‘Record’ button is pressed if the
receiver is storing to a static file.
Files (Yellow)

15
Blinks each time data is stored to the static file.
When the receiver turns on:
All LEDs will flash.
The Blue SV’s LED will flash three times, then after 1-
second, once more.
The Red Power LED will flash three times.
After the Blue SV’s LED flashes three times, the receiver
will automatically begin searching for satellites. When
enough satellites are found to determine the receiver
position and current date/time, a new occupation file is
opened and the Yellow Files LED will begin to flash,
once each epoch (the default epoch is 5-seconds.)
NOTE: If the receiver is deployed after not being used for
more than a month, or was last turned on more than a
couple hundred miles from the current location, it may
take an extra few minutes for the receiver to obtain a
position.
NOTE: if the Yellow LED is not blinking, then the receiver is
NOT collecting data. If you have waited a few minutes and
the receiver is not collecting data, something is wrong.
After the Blue SV’s LED flashes three-times, you may plug
the receiver into your PC and it will mount as a fixed USB
drive.
To turn the iG3s off, press and hold the On/Off button for
one second. All four LED’s will quickly flash three times and
the receiver will power down.
NOTE: If the two right LEDS (Green and Yellow) flash at
the same time, then the flash memory has been
corrupted (typically by removing the cable while
downloading data.) Check the troubleshooting section
at the end of this manual for instructions on fixing this
issue.

16
Collecting Static Data
OPUS-Static, OPUS-RS and OPUS-Projects
Additional information on OPUS-Static and OPUS-Rapid Static
can be found in the ‘OPUS’ section of this manual.
Prior to using the receiver, charge the battery to ensure that
the static occupation is not interrupted by power failure.
A fresh battery when new and fully charged will run the
receiver for about 5 hours.
When making occupations longer than 4-hours you should
provide external power to the receiver with the included
battery clips (or the power supply.)
1. Place a freshly charged battery into
the receiver.
2. Place the receiver above the point
you want to survey.
3. Rotate the receiver so the
pushbutton panel faces the North.
4. Level the receiver.
5. Record the ‘Vertical Height’ from
the top of the survey mark to the
bottom of the receiver;
alternatively, you may measure a
‘Slant Height’ to the bottom of the
blue rubber gasket.
6. At a minimum, make a careful note
of the following items in your field
book:
Start Time and Date
Instrument Height (HI)
PID (Point ID, Mark Name)
Description
Point Description HI Start Time End
1001 NW C Sec 14 2.0M V 9:45 am 1 March 2013

17
7. Turn on the receiver. After 30 to 90-seconds, you
will see the Yellow “Files” LED flash once every
epoch (default 5-seconds) as the receiver records
observables. Check that 5 or more satellites are
tracked (the blue LED will blink 5 or more times.)
8. Wait an appropriate time period for data
collection:
OPUS-RS (Rapid Static)
Minimum of 15-minutes
Maximum of 2-hours
OPUS-STATIC
Minimum of 2-hours
Maximum 48-hours
4-hours suggested minimum
Remember that the data is going to be decimated
to 15-second intervals. It is best to wait at least 1-
minute longer than required to insure that the
decimation process does not leave your file too
short.
9. At the end of the occupation Press and hold the
ON/OFF key for one-second until the receiver
closes the current file and turns off.
10. Make a note of the end time in your field book:
Point Description HI Start Time End
1001 NW C Sec 14 2.0M V 9:45 am 1 March 2013 12:18 pm

18
Downloading, Processing and
Archiving Data
Your iG3s GNSS receiver includes a download, preprocessing
and archive tool called
iGx Download
for use with the NGS OPUS, RTX, AUSPOS and IBGE online
products.
Installing the Download Tool
You can always get the latest version of the iGx Downloader
from the internet and install it directly:
http://www.ig3s.com
Look for the ‘UPDATES’ button on the top of the page. Or
insert the provided disk in the DVD ROM drive of your
computer and the installation tool should automatically run.
If you don’t have a DVD ROM drive, you can download the
latest version of the tool from
Follow the on-screen instructions to install the download
tool and support tools on your computer.
Downloading Data from iG3s Reciever
Summary: Turn on the GPS, wait fo 10-seconds; plug in the
USB Cable to your computer.
The iG3s receiver mounts just like a USB thumb drive (flash
drive) on your Windows computer. No special drivers are
required.
To download data from your receiver:
1. Turn on the GPS receiver

19
2. Wait 10 seconds for the power LED (Red) to blink
3 times.
3. Plug the USB connector into a port on your
computer
4. Wait for the Windows disk mount screen to
appear
When/if you see this ‘AutoPlay’ dialog, close it by clicking on
the red ‘X’ in the upper-right corner.
The first time you attach a receiver, you may need to wait
up to 2-minutes for standard device drivers to be
downloaded / installed.
The drivers are built into Windows XP, Windows Vista,
Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.
If your iG3s receiver does not mount or an error message is
displayed, you can usually unplug the receiver, wait a
moment, then plug it back in.
If you continue to have problems check the
‘Troubleshooting…’ section at the end of this manual.
Starting the iGx Download Tool
You can start the iGx download tool by clicking on the iGx
shortcut on your desktop:

20
Using the Download Tool
Assuming the iG3s receiver is plugged in and has mounted
(as a lettered drive), just press:
The program will automatically switch to the '_New' project
and download every new file from your receiver.
As the .HCN binary files are downloaded from the receiver
they are automatically converted to RINEX and added to the
'_New' project and finally displayed in the occupation grid.
You can sort the grid by Filename, PID, Description,
Operation, Agency, Start Date/Time, End Date/Time and
Length by clicking on the column header. Clicking twice on
the header will reverse order the grid.
If you have any really short or unneeded occupations, you
can select and delete them with:
<- the ‘Delete Occupation’ button