WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) is a signal that most Trimble mapping units can use. This will increase the accuracy in the field (or in “real-time”) of your unit. In some cases, it can turn a 10 meter position to submeter. WAAS White Paper

WAAS is used mostly to enhance navigation capabilities. It should not be used as the primary mode of high-accuracy GPS data collection. Even with the two new satellites, there will be some places where WAAS is not available and post-processing is recommended. Post Processing White Paper

On July 16th, 2007 the FAA will be turning off the two legacy WAAS satellites in favor of two new ones. While this will help the coverage of WAAS in North America, it will require most Trimble mapping devices to be updated to accommodate the new satellites. Without these updates, most devices will stop tracking WAAS entirely since they are going to be looking for older satellites that are no longer broadcasting signals.

WAAS Update for all Trimble Receivers

• Step 1: Right-click on this link and save target to your desktop or a folder that you can locate later: Geo2003 v1.26 firmware
• Step 2: Place your Geo2003 in the black cradle and make sure it it plugged in to A/C power. Before proceeding, view the following document Using the Geo2003 (black cradle) with a USB 2.0 connection
• Step 3: Ensure that you have Microsoft ActiveSync installed on your PC and are at version 4.5. If not, uninstall any older version and download the program here: ActiveSync v4.5 download
  Plug the black cradle into your computer’s USB port and establish an ActiveSync connection and hit “cancel” when the synchronization window comes up. This will establish a “guest” connection.
• Step 4: Now double-click the Geo2005 firmware you have and follow the on-screen directions on your PC and note the progress that occurs by viewing the screen on your Geo. The upgrade takes approximately five minutes. At the end of the upgrade, there will me a message: “Successfully upgraded GPS firmware”. It will take about 20-30 seconds to connect to the GPS receiver the first time after the upgrade. Keep the unit in the cradle and connected to ActiveSync.
• Step 5: Right-click on this link and save target to your desktop or a folder that you can locate later: SBAS.ini
• Step 6: Make sure that you have your field software installed on your unit (Terrasync, ArcPad/GPSCorrect, etc.)
• Step 7: On your PC, navigate to My Computer/Mobile Device/My Windows Mobile-Based Device/Program Files/Common Files/Trimble. Place the updated SBAS.ini file downloaded in Step #5 into the “Config” folder. Accept the message to overwrite the existing SBAS.ini file. You will now be able to track the new WAAS satellites.
  
  
  

• Step 1: Right-click on this link and save target to your desktop or a folder that you can locate later:
  Geo2005 v1.81 firmware
• Step 2: Place your Geo2005 in the gray cradle and make sure it it plugged in to A/C power.
• Step 3: Ensure that you have Microsoft ActiveSync installed on your PC and are at version 4.5. If not, uninstall any older version and download the program here: ActiveSync v4.5 download
  Plug the black cradle into your computer’s USB port and establish an ActiveSync connection and hit “cancel” when the synchronization window comes up. This will establish a “guest” connection.
• Step 4: Now double-click the Geo2005 firmware you have and follow the on-screen directions on your PC and note the progress that occurs by viewing the screen on your Geo. The upgrade takes approximately five minutes. At the end of the upgrade, there will me a message: “Successfully upgraded GPS firmware”. It will take about 20-30 seconds to connect to the GPS receiver the first time after the upgrade. Keep the unit in the cradle and connected to ActiveSync.
• Step 5: Right-click on this link and save target to your desktop or a folder that you can locate later: SBAS.ini
• Step 6: Make sure that you have your field software installed on your unit (Terrasync, ArcPad/GPSCorrect, etc.)
• Step 7: On your PC, navigate to My Computer/Mobile Device/My Windows Mobile-Based Device/Program Files/Common Files/Trimble. Place the updated SBAS.ini file downloaded in Step #5 into the “Config” folder. Accept the message to overwrite the existing SBAS.ini file. You will now be able to track the new WAAS satellites.

• Step 1: Right-click on this link and save target to your desktop or a folder that you can locate later: GPS Pathfinder Pro Series v1.80 firmware
• Step 2: Connect your GPS Pathfinder ProXH or ProXT receiver to an office computer: Connect the ProXH or ProXT receiver to the power supply provided with your receiver. Then connect the power supply to a suitable AC power outlet. Using the null modem cable (P/N 18532) connect the serial connector on the GPS receiver to the COM port on the office computer.
• Step 3: Upgrade the firmware. On the computer, browse to the location where you saved the firmware upgrade file and double-click "GPS Pathfinder Pro Series v1.80 GPS Firmware.exe" to run the file. Ensure the receiver is connected to external power, and select the COM port on your office computer that the GPS receiver is connected to. Click Connect to continue. When the two progress bars are at 100% the firmware upgrade is complete. Click Finish to close the firmware upgrade file.
• Step 4: Right-click on this link and save target to your desktop or a folder that you can locate later: SBAS.ini
• Step 5: Make sure that you have your field software installed on your unit (Terrasync, ArcPad/GPSCorrect, etc.)
• Step 6: If you are using a Windows Mobile/CE data collector, ensure that you have Microsoft ActiveSync installed on your PC and are at version 4.5 If not, uninstall any older version and download the program here: ActiveSync v4.5 download. Plug the data collector into your computer’s USB port and establish an ActiveSync connection and hit “cancel” when the synchronization window comes up. This will establish a “guest” connection.
• Step 7: On your PC, navigate to My Computer/Mobile Device/My Windows Mobile-Based Device/Program Files/Common Files/Trimble. Place the updated SBAS.ini file downloaded in Step #5 into the “Config” folder. Accept the message to overwrite the existing SBAS.ini file. You will now be able to track the new WAAS satellites.
• Only if you are using a laptop or pen-tablet as a data collector and are using Terrasync or GPSCorrect, copy the SBAS.ini to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Trimble\Config. If you are using GPS Analyst version 2.x as your field software, copy the SBAS.ini to C:\Program Files\Trimble\GPS Analyst\Bin. Accept the message to overwrite the existing SBAS.ini file. You will now be able to track the new WAAS satellites.

ProXR/XRS receivers with part number 29654-xx or 33302-xx will not support the new WAAS satellites. Therefore, these older receivers will not be able to track WAAS satellites after July 16th, 2007.

For further assistance, please contact Alex Mahrou at (800) 728-5066 x 332.