Single-base RTK is the traditional form of Real-Time Kinematic positioning where a mobile rover receives corrections from a single stationary reference station positioned at a precisely known location. This straightforward configuration, one base, one or more rovers connected by radio or cellular communication, delivers centimeter-level accuracy within the base station’s effective range and remains widely deployed for surveying, construction, and precision agriculture applications.
The operational concept is simple and robust. The base station, positioned over a known control point or autonomous position, continuously transmits RTCM corrections containing its observations and coordinates. Rovers within radio/cellular range receive these corrections, difference them against their own observations, and compute high-accuracy positions through carrier phase ambiguity resolution. Under favorable conditions (good satellite visibility, strong signals, short baseline), rovers achieve fixed RTK solutions delivering 1-2 centimeter horizontal accuracy.
Single-base RTK performance degrades with baseline length, the distance between base and rover. At short ranges (under 10 km), atmospheric conditions affecting base and rover are nearly identical, allowing effective error cancellation. As distance increases, ionospheric and tropospheric delays become increasingly decorrelated; the base station corrections no longer accurately represent conditions at the rover. Beyond 20-30 km, reliability degrades significantly, and centimeter accuracy may become unachievable. This range limitation drives the need for Network RTK approaches for wide-area applications.
Despite range limitations, single-base RTK remains practical for many applications. Construction sites, farms, and small survey projects can operate entirely within the base station’s effective range. Setting up a base station requires only minutes with modern equipment. Operating costs are lower than subscription-based network services. Single-base RTK provides an accessible entry point to centimeter-level GNSS positioning, while Network RTK and PPP-RTK address applications requiring broader geographic coverage or permanent correction infrastructure.
