HotShoe RTK - Centimetre accurate geotagging device for any DSLR cameras

The HotshoeRTK device allows the acquisition of image coordinates at centimetre accuracy using GNSS RTK or PPK technology. It can be equipped to any camera with ISO centre pin hot shoe. The HotshoeRTK is used across multiple industries, including surveying, infrastructure, architecture, archaeology, geology, mining and many more.

This manual provides instructions for using the REDcatch HotshoeRTK. We place high value in this documentation, but it is impractical to discuss all the possible applications of the HotshoeRTK. 

Therefore, this manual and related tutorials do not replace professional training but should help to prepare for training sessions and act as a reference thereafter. 

Please contact your local distributor or our company directly if you have need for a training session and workflow integration at your place of work. Do not hesitate to contact our support team directly if any questions arise on the topics described in these documents. 

Create a new support ticket if you have questions https://redcatch.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new or contact us by phone.

INTRODUCTION

Product Delivery

The following parts are included in the purchase of the HotshoeRTK:

• Camera add-on with ISO center pin hot shoe connector
• USB-C charging cable
• protective carry case
• REDtoolbox software (WINx64) - geotagging software

What else would you need?

To get the device ready for usage, you will need a Android 10+ smartphone and our RTKcamera app installed.

If you like to use RTK (real time kinematics) correction data, you will need to subscribe to a local NTRIP caster. Usually you get the IP address, the port number and username, password to log in and connect to this service.

Getting the device known:

LEDs

On/Trigger LED:     

• solid on ........................... the device is switched on
• blink .................................  number of satellites available
• short interruption ........ a photo was taken and the trigger was recognised by device.

 RTK state LED:

• off  ..................... no RTK (single solution, no correction data)
• blink .................. RTK float solution  (decimetre)
• on ...................... RTK fix (centimetre accuracy)

 Charging LED

    when USB cable is connected

• off ........................................  fully charged
• blink .................................... charging
• fast blink (Flashing)  .... . battery empty

How does the device work?

The HotshoeRTK camera add-on is the central device for receiving GNSS signals from satellite and trigger information from camera. To get centimetre accuracy, the GNSS signal must be corrected. Therefore a connection to a NTRIP caster trough internet is required. RTKcamera will handle all this for you and will forward the required information to the HotshoeRTK. 

Communication between HotshoeRTK device and your smartphone is over Bluetooth.

Please note, that the geotagging itself is not in the camera. The Gnss data is saved in your smartphone and once, back in office the geotagging of the photos is performed in REDtoolbox software (included with device).

GETTING STARTED

1) Go physically to the right place

• If you are still in your office, please go outside.
• Look for a place where there are no obstacles that could negatively influence the GNSS reception. That is, somewhere that has a large view of the sky.

2) Mount the HotshoeRTK on the camera

• First, place the HotshoeRTK camera add-on on the hot shoe of your camera. The LED on the HotshoeRTK should face toward you.
• Tighten the screw gently to fix the HotshoeRTK on the camera.

3) Powering on and off

• To power on, tap TWICE  briefly on the power button on the top of the device. The “on-LED” lights up now. 
• To power off the device press the “On button” for 3 seconds.

4) Connect the device with your Smartphone using Bluetooth

Switch Bluetooth on your smartphone on and start the RTKcamera app. 

For first time users, you will need this Android App: RTKcamera App manual (LINK)

- Please refer to this article: Connect using Bluetooth (BT). 

- and you have to set up the NTRIP connection credentials. See Setting up NTRIP Caster (LINK) article

To start the RTK connection and logging, visit the home screen of the app, an klick Start RTK to connect and save the logfiles.

If this fails, see Troubleshoot NTRIP connection problems (LINK) article

5) Start taking photos

Once the RTK connection is established, you are ready to take you photos.

Some important reminders:

• After turning on the HotshoeRTK, do not move the camera abruptly. Use smooth movements.
• Do not rotate the camera (tilt and roll) more than 40° from horizontal. The GNSS signal will be lost and you will have to wait another 2 minutes for it to re-initialise. This can easily happen while picking up the camera for the first time after GNSS initialisation process.
• While walking keep the camera at an approximately constant height, eg. in front of your face. Do not lower the camera between taking photos.
• It is suggested that you begin recording by taking a photo of your hand as this will serve as a reminder that it is the first image corresponding to the log file.
• 
• The “ON” LED should blink off briefly each time you take a picture. If not, your data is not being recorded! 

  If the device is mounted correctly but the LED is still not blinking, please contact the REDcatch support team https://redcatch.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new

• Begin taking the images for your survey. You should not take more than one photo per second and should only use single-shot mode.

Charging

Use a 5V (1A) USB device for charging. The cable is included, whereas the socket is not. The approximate charging time is 4 hours if the device is completely discharged.

! When the charging wire get plugged in the device will power on automatically. Press the “On button” for 2 sec. to power off the device.

Power bank charging:

If the HotshoeRTK is at risk of running out of battery while recording your images, you can charge it from a power bank while in operation. To do this, plug the supplied USB charging cable into the charging socket of the HotshoeRTK and into the USB socket of your power bank.

PLEASE respect to SAVETY INSTRUCTIONS article if you are using this device! Safety-instructions-for-installed-1-cell-lipo-battery

Save logfiles and geotag your photos

Back in office you need to assign the logfile to the images and write EXIF information and/or create txt files containing the required information.

The logfiles on the smartphone can be found in Documents folder. See article Where to find your photos and log files 

We recommend deleting the files after copying to have a better overview and reduce the chance of mixing up files.

REDtoolbox software will assign the coordinates to the photos, please follow these steps:

Copyright

When using material from us, please respect CC - BY - SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ and mention our company REDcatch GmbH, Austria and re-link our webpage