LOGIN
ArduSimple – high precision RTK survey equipment and solutions made simple
Update (23/05/2026): We have plenty of stock of all our products, find us also in and    How to get a quotation
LOGIN
ArduSimple – high precision RTK survey equipment and solutions made simple

Frequently Asked Questions

ArduSimple.com is the online shop for low-cost RTK GNSS receivers for precise GPS positioning, starter kits for learning RTK, survey-grade GNSS equipment for land surveying, mapping, and geodesy, GNSS antennas, cables, enclosures.

But ArduSimple is not a usual website where there are only products. You can also find lots of easy-to-understand tutorials, user guides, and user-friendly documentation for configuring popular RTK receivers (e.g. how to configure ZED-F9P, how to configure mosaic-X5). And if this is not enough, ArduSimple offers free email support, which is extremely fast for this specific market — you can get a reply within 24 hours. Not AI, but a real support will help to bring your project to live.

The easiest way is to open the product page of the ArduSimple product you bought or are interested in. Scroll down until you find the Documentation section. It contains all related to that product in one place, including:

  • The datasheet (technical specifications)
  • The CAD model (mechanical drawings for enclosures and integration)
  • The User Guide (main manual)
  • A link to the configuration page (how to configure the GNSS / RTK receiver)

If you are looking for a user manual, integration manual, hookup guide, or PCB integration manual, on ArduSimple these are all called “User Guide”. The User Guide explains in simple steps: How to get started, Pinout and connectors, power supply options, available interfaces, LEDs and buttons.

If you want to configure the GNSS / RTK receiver yourself, the configuration pages explain, step by step, how to configure popular RTK modules such as u-blox ZED-F9P, u-blox ZED-X20P, Septentrio mosaic-X5, Septentrio mosaic-G5, Unicore UM980 / UM981 / UM982. 

If you are looking for practical guides showing how to use ArduSimple products with AgOpenGPS, ArduPilot, ROS, Linux, Nvidia Jetson, Post-Processing, check our Tutorials.

If you are looking for only centimeter accurate GNSS positioning, the place to start on the website is go to RTK Boards. That page is basically the “all high-precision receivers live here” page.

If you’re starting out, or you just want a precise RTK receiver without building your own electronics, which is easy to use, pick one of these three:

  • simpleRTK2B Budget (u-blox ZED-F9P) is the one usually recommended first, is the cheapest way to get real centimeter accuracy. If you’re unsure which one to choose, this is the safe choice.
  • simpleRTK3B Pro (Septentrio mosaic-X5) is for when you want the best possible performance. It’s more expensive, but accuracy is millimeter level, reliability is better, it has antijamming and ant spoofing protection.
  • simpleRTK3B Budget (Unicore UM980) sits in the middle: It’s cheaper than Septentrio, but stronger than ZED-F9P. It also supports Galileo HAS, which means you can get high accuracy even without RTK correction services.

If you are building your own hardware (PCB, drone, robot, embedded computer) and integrating RTK and space matters, you’ll want a small form factor:

But this is not all option for boards which ArduSimple offers. To find more variants, filter and compare them easily, when you’re on the RTK Boards page, scroll down to the Specification table. That table lets you compare everything clearly. You can filter by GNSS module (u-blox, Septentrio, Unicore), accuracy, update rate, interfaces (USB, UART, I2C etc), board size and format. This is the fastest way to find the RTK board that matches the technical requirements you need.

Let’s clear up one important thing first: all ArduSimple RTK receivers can work without RTK corrections. When you don’t use RTK or NTRIP, they work in standalone mode. In standalone mode, even RTK boards usually give you about 1 to 1.5 meters accuracy — better than a phone, but not super precise.

If you only need sub-meter accuracy and if your goal is better than smartphone GPS, no RTK corrections, no base station, simple setup, a cheap price, then go to Submeter and Timing Boards. This page is for people who want high-quality standalone GPS without the complexity of RTK.

As a beginner, you just want something that works quickly. simpleGNSS Pro is the easiest way to try sub-meter positioning: around 0.9 meter accuracy in normal standalone mode, around 0.7 meter accuracy when SBAS is available. People use this for asset tracking, navigation of trucks, trains etc.

If you are familiar with PCB design and integrating a board into your own hardware, simpleGNSS Micro board has small form-factor boards for embedded systems and gives you the sub-meter accuracy but are much easier to integrate into small products.

To avoid confusion, many people think: “I don’t need RTK, so I should still buy an RTK board and just not use RTK.” You can do that, but: it costs more, you don’t gain anything for sub-meter use cases. If you don’t plan to use RTK corrections, our Submeter and Timing Boards are the better choice.

Choosing the right antenna really matters for accuracy, stability, and reliability for the measuments of position. Think of the antenna as the “ears” of your GNSS receiver. Even the best RTK receiver will perform badly if the antenna is wrong. We suggest avoiding low-quality antennas sold online because they often have poor performance, inconsistent quality, and unreliable specifications, which can seriously degrade GNSS/RTK accuracy and stability.

Go to GNSS/RTK antennas that have been tested, confirmed for quality, and work with receivers.

  • u-blox ANN-MB-00 is the most popular and affordable antenna which many people start the RTK project with. Choose this if you want simple and reliable antenna and you want good performance for low cost.
  • If weight is very important (drones, UAVs, etc), Lightweight Helical Multiband GNSS Antenna trades size and weight for convenience and portability. Choose it if your project is weight-sensitive, you use a drone, you need small and light antenna.
  • For the best accuracy for surveying and mapping but still budget-friendly antenna, we recommend Budget Survey Tripleband GNSS Antenna. It is best choice for RTK surveying and mapping and base stations without paying for high-end survey antennas.

For more options, scroll down the RTK Antennas page to see the specification table with many more antennas. This table is the fastest way to find the right antenna for your accuracy needs, budget, mounting constraints, and performance level.

An RTK Starter Kit is a ready-to-use set that gives you everything you need to start getting centimeter-level GPS accuracy fast. You don’t need to figure out cables, antennas, power, or accessories — the kit is already matched and works together. To find your perfect kit, go to RTK Development Kits. ArduSimple uses the names RTK Development Kits, RTK Starter Kits, and RTK Evaluation Kits for the minimum set of items that work perfectly together. ArduSimple has many different different RTK kits. They are grouped into three main board families. To make things easy, ArduSimple highlights most common and easy-to-start kit from each family.
  • Budget-Friendly Kits: pre-configured low cost RTK kits ,and needs NTRIP correction service and internet coverage in your area.  simpleRTK2B – Basic Starter Kit is the most affordable kit if you have mobile internet (4G/5G) in your working area, you can use an NTRIP correction service, you want the cheapest way to get centimeter accuracy, you are starting with RTK.
  • Base + Rover Kits: are built for remote locations and autonomy from internet, NTRIP, when you want total independence. Long Range Radio – RTK Starter Kit includes GNSS base and rover with radio interface, work up to about 10 kilometers with line of sight.
  • Heading Kits: Dual-antenna kits deliver full orientation data – including roll, pitch, and yaw—ideal for robotics, marine, and advanced automation projects. The simpleRTK3B Compass Kit uses two GNSS antennas, allowing the system to know precise position, heading, and platform orientation.
If you want to build a custom RTK kit with specific technical requirements, ArduSimple provides the RTK Starter Kit Builder, which helps you select a fully compatible set of items so you don’t need to worry about compatibility.

Go to Survey and Mapping kits if you are looking for professional RTK surveying equipment and kits, surveying RTK kits. There are lists ready-to-work RTK kits for professional surveying, and meant to give survey-grade performance at a more affordable price.

If you are a professional surveyor or just looking for traditional survey performance at affordable cost, RTK Smart Antenna is the easiest way to start professional surveying. it gives you centimeter-level positioning accuracy, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, more than 12 working hours of battery life. You simply connect your phone and start surveying. Its affordable price means you can buy instead of renting professional surveying equipment.

If you want more flexibility (for example adding radios or choosing a different GNSS receiver inside), look for RTK Smart Antenna Configurable version to fully customize the configuration: choose receiver, additional interfaces like radio etc. One important future feature to know about:

RTK Smart Antennas are tilt-compensation ready. What this means in simple words: Tilt compensation is a feature that lets you measure positions accurately even when the pole is not perfectly vertical. This feature is currently under development and planned to release by 2027. When tilt compensation becomes available you will not need to buy a new Smart Antenna,  you will just order a small additional plugin module, you plug this module into the Smart Antenna socket, your existing Smart Antenna will be upgraded with tilt compensation. So the RTK Smart Antenna you buy today is future-proof: you can upgrade it later with new features instead of replacing the whole device.

If you want something portable and easy to carry for surveying, we recommend RTK Handheld 2 Mapping Kit. You can hold it in your hand, walk around, and map areas comfortably. It’s great if you want to use your smartphone as your main screen and controller while you work. People usually use this kit for mapping construction work, forestries, 3D scanning, geofencing and boundary checks. This is a really good choice if you walk a lot while working, you need to map large areas, you often work in the field with one hand, you want something lighter and easier to carry than a traditional survey pole setup.

If you work in remote areas with poor or no internet, you’ll want a base + rover setup. That way you’re not dependent on NTRIP or mobile coverage. In practice, this means either using two RTK Smart Antennas Configurable with radios (one as the base, one as the rover). 

And if you’re planning to set up your own permanent base station (CORS), and serve corrections over NTRIP, the usual setup is an RTK Base Station with Budget Survey Tripleband GNSS Antenna. That’s the stable, long-term configuration for continuous operation and easy monitoring and configuration via user-friendly web interface.

If you want to add extra communication interfaces (radio, 2G/3G/4G/LTE, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Bluetooth Low Energy, Wifi, CANBus, RS232, MicroSD) to your ArduSimple RTK board, you can do this very easily.

First, this works for ArduSimple RTK boards in Arduino UNO size (69 × 53 mm) and RTK Starter Kits that use the same board format. These boards have a special connector called the XBee socket. You can find it on the board – it looks like two parallel rows of small pin holes about 2 centimeters apart. This socket is used to plug in communication plugins.

To find possible communication plugins on the site, go to Communication Plugins. There you will find different types of plugins, grouped by use case.

To add a plugin, just plug it to XBee socket of RTK receiver. To send NMEA data to the plugin, you may need to load a configuration file called Send NMEA messages to communication plugin. To find it, Scroll to the footer of Ardusimple.com, open the configuration page for your GNSS receiver, Go to the section “Examples of configuration files” and Download the file and and load it to your receiver by following step-by-steps on the same page.

It also possible to add not just one, but two plugins in the same time with the help of accessory – Shield for Second Plugin Socket. It adds a second XBee socket on top of your board. To connect the shield, your RTK board must have soldered header pins.  If not, you can solder them yourself -the header pins are included with the Shield. After adding the shield, you can plug in any two plugins you need.

So you can add 1 communication plugin to an RTK board using the built-in XBee socket). With the Shield for Second Plugin Socket, you can add 2 plugins at the same time.

You can use ArduSimple products with many different software apps and platforms. This includes mobile apps, desktop software, and tools for mapping, surveying, robotics, farming, drones, and embedded systems. If you want to know which software works with ArduSimple, go to Compatible Software. You will find a list of software and apps that we have already tested and links to tutorials for those apps.

If you do not see your software in the list, or you are not sure what to use, you can contact us. ArduSimple can test compatibility for your software and prepare step-by-step instructions for your use case. ArduSimple support replies fast  – you usually get an answer within 24 hours.

ArduSimple team provides technical support for every customer. But before contacting support, it’s a good idea to quickly check the documentation. This often solves the problem faster: use the search bar at the top of the website and type the name of your product, open your product page, scroll down to the section called Documentation. There you will find the User Guide, configuration pages, datasheets.

You can also find many step-by-step tutorials on the website. Just scroll to the footer at the bottom of the website, click the link called Tutorials. On the Tutorials page, you can search and filter by topic, software, or use case.

If you still cannot solve your issue, contact ArduSimple support. You can choose the way that is easiest for you:

  • Send an email to [email protected]
  • Use the floating contact form in the bottom-right corner of the website
  • Open the Contact page from the footer and use the contact form there

After you contact support, a real person will handle your request. Not a chatbot, not automated replies. You usually receive a reply within 24 hours. During business days, the average response time is about 4 hours.

ArduSimple does not list a public support phone number on the website. The main way to contact ArduSimple for support, orders, or technical questions is by email or contact form.

This is done on purpose to keep ArduSimple products affordable. Providing phone support would require a larger support team and higher operating costs, which would increase product prices. This goes against ArduSimple’s goal of offering low-cost, accessible GNSS and RTK hardware.

In some very limited countries, ArduSimple may provide a local phone number for sales or logistics. To check if a phone number exists for your country, go to the top of the ArduSimple website, Find the country / shipping country selector, Select your country. Read the shipping information message that appears. If a local phone number exists for your country, it may be shown there.

If no phone number appears, the correct way to contact ArduSimple, is email to [email protected] or send a message via contact from on the website.

The easiest and usually best way to order ArduSimple products is directly from the ArduSimple website. Since ArduSimple is the manufacturer, buying from them gives you the best prices and the most accurate lead times. You also avoid paying extra margins to intermediaries. ArduSimple ships worldwide, and during checkout you can see the estimated delivery dates for your specific items.

If you prefer to buy from a local supplier in your country, you can also check global distributors like Digi-Key and Mouser. They stock some ArduSimple products and may offer convenient payment terms (like post-payment for companies), but prices are usually higher and availability can be more limited.

The fastest way to get a PDF quotation from ArduSimple is to create your order directly in the online store. This ensures your VAT number, billing details, and shipping address are correct. At checkout, select “Pay by Bank Transfer” and complete the order. This step is not binding until you actually make the payment, so there’s no risk. The system will automatically generate a proforma invoice (PDF quotation) that you can share with your accounting or purchasing department.

If your order includes bulk quantities (50+ units), some products already show bulk pricing on their product pages. To get a quotation with bulk pricing, simply select the relevant bulk option when adding the product to your cart.

If the product page says “Contact us to get bulk price”, reach out to ArduSimple via the contact form or by email to request a quotation. The same process applies for very large orders (500+ units).

We ship from Spain, so VAT rules depend on where your company is based. If you are a company based in the EU (but outside Spain) and you enter a valid EU VAT number during checkout, VAT will be automatically removed from your order.

If you are based in Spain, VAT is always applied and cannot be removed or refunded.

If you are outside the EU, VAT is not charged by us. Your order will be VAT-free at checkout, but you may need to pay local taxes, VAT, or import duties to the courier when the package arrives in your country.

Whether you can pay by invoice depends on the type of organization you belong to.

For private companies, we usually don’t offer post-payment. In most cases, payment is required at checkout.

For universities and public organizations, you can pay by invoice — no credit card needed. If your institution requires supplier registration and we’re not registered yet, just contact us and we’ll handle it.

Just add the products you need to your cart and go to checkout. Enter your institution’s billing details and tax information (EU VAT ID, or for the US mention tax-exempt status in the comments), then select “30-day payment (Universities and Public Organizations only)” and place the order.

You’ll receive a PDF quotation by email. Once you send us the signed quotation or a Purchase Order (PO), we’ll ship your order (usually within 2–4 business days) and invoice your accounting department directly. You can find the full, detailed step-by-step guide by clicking the footer link “For Universities” on our website.

If you’re unsure whether your organization qualifies, just contact us know and we’ll help.

Got any questions or requests?
Contact us! We'll answer <24 hours!

Icon
Contact ArduSimple
Close
ArduSimple – high precision RTK survey equipment and solutions made simple

Want to learn more about GPS and RTK?

If you are busy right now, our engineers can send you 3 short e-mails, explaining all you need to know to start your project.