u-blox GPS Module Data Procesing (u-blox ZED-X20P)

Tooling for evaluating u-blox ZED-X20P all-band GNSS modules, targeting buoy deployments. Converts raw u-center capture files (.ubx) into corrected positions and produces a full diagnostics report, and supports live streaming with real-time corrections.

Two operating modes:

Mode	Script	Accuracy	Correction source
Post-processing	process_gps.py	dm-cm (PPK)	NGS CORS base data, auto-fetched (free, open)
Real-time streaming	stream_gps.py	1-3 cm (RTK fix)	GCGC RTN NTRIP (free registration) or Galileo HAS (FW ≥ HPG 2.10)

Both consume/produce standard formats (RINEX 3, .pos, CSV, KML) via RTKLIB (demo5 fork) and widely used open-source Python libraries (pyubx2, pygnssutils, numpy, pandas, matplotlib).

Motion policy (important)

Processing never assumes the antenna was stationary. Buoys drift slowly and drift within a few metres is statistically indistinguishable from measurement noise. Everything defaults to kinematic; pass --static to process_gps.py only when the antenna is independently known to have been fixed (e.g. bench/roof test).

Quick start

bash setup.sh                                    # one-time environment bootstrap
venv/bin/python process_gps.py <capture.ubx>     # process a capture
# results in processed/<capture-stem>/  (report.html is the human summary)

Requirements

Linux with python3 (3.10+), gcc/make, git, curl, and network access for setup.sh downloads. No sudo required and everything installs into the project directory (venv/, tools/).

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setup.sh

Environment bootstrap (safe to re-run; each step skips if already satisfied):

1. Python venv (venv/): pyubx2, pygnssutils, pyserial, numpy, pandas, pyproj, matplotlib.
2. RTKLIB demo5 v2.5.1 built from source into tools/bin/ (convbin, rnx2rtkp, pos2kml). The demo5 fork is required: stock RTKLIB 2.4.3 silently drops all BeiDou and GPS L5 / Galileo E5 observations from this receiver (~30% of the measurements). If the build fails, setup falls back to the stock apt package and creates a tools/STOCK_RTKLIB marker — process_gps.py then adds a prominent data-loss warning to every report until a demo5 build succeeds.
3. Antenna calibration models into tools/antex/: igs20.atx (IGS, covers CORS base-station antennas) and ngs20.atx (NGS absolute calibrations, covers the rover antenna). The rover antenna is resolved automatically and written to tools/antenna.json (see Antenna configuration below).
4. CRX2RNX (Hatanaka RINEX decompressor) — fallback for CORS stations that only publish compressed .d observation files.
5. NGS CORS station catalog cache (used for nearest-base auto-selection).
6. Self-check summary of every tool and the resolved antenna.

process_gps.py

venv/bin/python process_gps.py <capture.ubx> [options]

Stages (idempotent — outputs are cached, so re-running later only fills in what was previously unavailable, e.g. CORS/IGS data that had not been published yet):

1. inventory — parses the .ubx (RXM-RAWX/SFRBX raw observations, NAV-PVT/SAT/SIG, MON-RF) and the .uc2x sidecar's session metadata. A capture without raw observations (e.g. u-center debug-mode logs) gets a diagnostics-only report and a clear notice.
2. rinex — RINEX 3.04 obs+nav via demo5 convbin; verifies epoch count and BDS/L5 presence; extracts broadcast ionosphere parameters.
3. single — standalone single-point solution (~1 m, works offline).
4. ppk — differential post-processing against the nearest operational NGS CORS station (auto-selected by distance from the capture's own mean position; MSEV at 34 km for the Hattiesburg test site). Hourly base files are fetched automatically (~1 h publication lag; if not yet published the stage reports "re-run later" and everything else proceeds). Base antenna type is read from the base RINEX header; base coordinates are ITRF2020, velocity-propagated to the capture epoch.
5. ppp (--ppp) — precise point positioning against IGS rapid/final orbit+clock products (anonymous download from BKG/ESA, ~1 day lag). Kinematic PPP by default per the motion policy; note RTKLIB's PPP-kinematic engine is weak and may yield no solution — PPK is the reference method.
6. track — track.csv (UTC + decimal-degree lat/lon + per-epoch quality and 1-σ sd columns + onboard comparison columns) and track.kml.
7. diagnostics — diagnostics.json, report.md, report.html (self-contained, figures embedded) covering: constellation metrics (per-band C/N0, cycle slips, residuals), ionosphere (broadcast Klobuchar + measured dual-frequency slant delay/TECU), positional error metrics (RMS/R50/R95 dispersion, formal σ, inter-solution offsets), validation of every computed solution against the receiver's own onboard NAV-PVT positions (epoch-matched, PASS/FAIL), timing (epoch jitter, tAcc, leap seconds), and RF health (jamming indicator, AGC, antenna supervisor state).

Options

Flag	Meaning
--interval N	track.csv output interval in seconds (default 1 = native rate)
--static	antenna verifiably stationary: enables static PPK/PPP solutions and static error framing. Never for buoys.
--no-ppk	skip base-station download/processing
--ppp	additionally run PPP against IGS precise products
--base SSSS	force a specific CORS station id (e.g. MSEV)
--max-base-km KM	base-station search radius (default 150)
--force-stage S	delete and re-run one stage (rinex,single,ppk,ppp,track)

Antenna configuration

Receiver-antenna phase-center corrections (PCO/PCV) matter at the cm level and are applied during PPK/PPP via ANTEX calibration files.

• Automatic: setup.sh downloads ngs20.atx/igs20.atx and searches for the project's antenna (ArduSimple calibrated quad-band, NGS calibration AS-ANT3BCAL01). The resolved 20-character ANTEX type string is written to tools/antenna.json:

  { "antex_name": "AS-ANT3BCAL     NONE", "source": "ngs20.atx" }
  

• Different antenna: edit antex_name in tools/antenna.json to the exact ANTEX type string of your antenna (padding/spacing matters, copy it verbatim from the TYPE / SERIAL NO line of an antenna block in tools/antex/ngs20.atx or igs20.atx). Browse available calibrations at https://geodesy.noaa.gov/ANTCAL/ . If your antenna has an NGS calibration but a different model string, also update the ANT3B search pattern in setup.sh so future setups re-resolve it automatically.

• No calibration available: set antex_name to null (or leave it unresolved) — processing continues without rover PCO/PCV and the report carries a warning. Expect a few cm of systematic error, mostly in height.

• Base antenna needs no configuration: its type is read from the CORS RINEX header and looked up in the same ANTEX files.

• Antenna height: assumed 0 (positions refer to the antenna reference point). For a surveyed monument, subtract your ARP offset downstream.

Other important settings and inputs

Capture requirements. Input .ubx files must contain raw observations: UBX-RXM-RAWX + UBX-RXM-SFRBX enabled (plus NAV-PVT; NAV-SAT/NAV-SIG/MON-RF enrich diagnostics). In u-center, do not record with the "debug messages" option — it floods the log with undocumented TRK/TUN/DBG/SEC messages and, in past sessions here, raw output was configured in flash but not active in RAM. The optional .uc2x sidecar (u-center 2 index) is only used for its session metadata header.

Real-time credentials (stream_gps.py). Free registration at http://rtn.usm.edu/RegisterAccount.aspx (Mississippi GCGC RTN), then:

export GCGC_USER=<username> GCGC_PASS=<password>
venv/bin/python stream_gps.py --port /dev/ttyUSB0     # or COM7 on Windows

Key streaming defaults (buoy-oriented): receiver dynamic-platform model sea (--dynmodel to override), live NMEA GGA uplink so the network-RTK virtual reference follows platform drift (--gga-fixed for bench tests), raw RXM-RAWX/SFRBX always logged so every session is post-processable, and --replay <file.ubx> offline test mode. Galileo HAS (~20 cm, no internet) activates automatically as fallback when firmware ≥ HPG 2.10 is detected.

Datums. PPK output is in the CORS base frame (ITRF2020, current epoch); GCGC real-time corrections are NAD83(2011) epoch 2010.0 — a constant ~1.5 m offset from ITRF/WGS84 in CONUS. Each CSV records its frame in the header; comparisons in the report account for the reference used. Onboard receiver positions are WGS84-aligned.

Data-source timing. CORS hourly files: ~1 h lag, expire after ~2 days (daily files remain, decimated to 30 s after 30 days). IGS rapid products: ~1 day lag. The pipeline caches everything it fetches under processed/<stem>/ and tells you when a re-run will find more data.

Repository layout

setup.sh                 environment bootstrap (run first)
process_gps.py           post-processing pipeline (Mode 2)
stream_gps.py            real-time streaming client (Mode 1)
run.sh                   convenience wrapper
notes/                   manual workflow notes + combine_rinex.sh helper
tools/                   built binaries, ANTEX models, caches   (generated)
venv/                    Python environment                     (generated)
processed/<capture>/     per-capture outputs: RINEX, .pos solutions,
                         track.csv, track.kml, figures/, diagnostics.json,
                         report.md, report.html                 (generated)