iG9 FAQs

frequency asked questions

Additional Technical FAQs for the iG9 can be found [ here ]

NOTE: A FCC license is required to use the iG9 or iG9a as a UHF Base. We highly recommend that you use [ FIT ] to obtain a license.

1. What is the difference between the iG9 and the iG9a?

The iG9a does not have IMU based Tilt Compensation, the iG9a costs less.

The iG9 and iG9a are otherwise identical.

2. Is there a difference between the iG9 base and rover?

No, the devices are identical. We choose the device with the lower serial number as the base when configuring Base/Rover pairs.

The standard Rover and Base-Fill-Out kits have different items included. The full Bill-of-Materials can be found [ here ].

3. Are dual head boxes available?

Yes. By default we will ship iG9 receivers in single head cases. Dual-head cases are available on request when purchasing a pair. Please call for availability.

4. What are the benefits and disadvantages of the iG9 over the iG8 receivers?

iG9 has IMU based tilt compensation. [ Video ] The iG9a does not have tilt-compensation.

iG9 / iG9a have a BD990 engine, which tracks a few extra signals: Galileo E6, BeiDou B3, RTX and IRNSS. MAXPro/ProPoint tracking is enabled on the iG9 / iG9a.

iG9 has 2-watt UHF radio, iG8 has a 1-watt UHF radio.

iG9 has higher resolution display.

iG9 has a 4G cellular modem, iG8 has a 3.75 HSDP cellular modem.

iG9 has a nano-SIM card. Early iG8 receivers had a micro-SIM card, recent iG8 receiver have a nano-SIM card.

iG9 has a USB Type-C connector, iG8 receivers have a USB Type-B connector.

iG8 (rover) costs ~$2,655 less than the iG9. A iG8 pair is ~$5,456 less than an iG9 pair. The iG9a receiver has essentially the same price as the iG8.

iG8 has a Satel UHF radio the iG9 has a Harxon radio.

iG8 has an IGS Absolute Type Mean antenna calibration, the iG9 has a NGS calibration.

5. Will the iG9 work with SurvCE / SurvPC software in the USA?

The iG9 receiver is not currently geofenced by Carlson in the USA, however only SurvPC Version 6.06 through 6.08 will work with the iG9 / iG9a receivers. Subsequent versions of SurvPC have iG9 drivers removed.

SurvCE versions 6.06 through 6.08 will work with the iG9 with the IMU disabled.

The CHC i90 receiver (see the next question) is geofenced in SurvCE and SurvPC, the CHC i90 will not work in the USA south of Detroit or North of San Diego.

We strongly recommend X-PAD, FieldGenius or LandStar7 for new applications.

6. What is the difference between the iG9 and the CHC-i90 receiver?

The CHC i90 receiver is available in a Standard edition that does not have tilt and has a UniCoreCom UMB40 engine and a Professional edition that has a Trimble BD990 OEM engine and an IMU based tilt compensator for tilted rod measurements.

The iG9 is a CHC i90 Pro with a unique part number that allows it to work in SurvCE / SurvPC without geofencing in the USA.

The iG9a is a iG9 without Tilt Compensation.

7. Does the iG9 generate G-Vectors in Carlson?

Yes. G-Vectors are optionally generated and the iG9 is compatible with 'Advanced GNSS Averaging'. Don't feel bad if you don't know what G-Vectors are, very few people need or care.

8. How accurate is the iG9 tilt compensation? How difficult is it to initialize tilt?

The tilt compensation results in approximately 2 cm of uncertainty with a 2-meter range pole. Once the receiver obtains a fixed position, initialization is automatic or can be forced by holding the receiver level and then dipping a few feet while holding the pole point in a fixed location.

Please watch this video which highlights tilt operation in SurvPC: [ Tilt Expectations ], performance using X-Pad is 4 times faster and slightly more accurate.

9. Are the batteries standard?

Yes, the battery form factor is a standard size. We use the same batteries in all these receivers:

iG9, iG9a iG8, iG4, iG3s, CHC X900S-OPUS, CHC X90D-OPUS,
CHC X91+, CHC X900+, CHC i80

They are available from Amazon and most online battery vendors. Some are as little as $12 / pair delivered. These 2nd market batteries will work great in iGx/CHC devices however after a few charge cycles you may find that the capacity is reduced.

We are currently shipping the highest capacity and quality batteries that we can procure. They are 3,400 mAH cells and they hold nearly their full capacity after many, many charge cycles.

After using our high capacity batteries you will probably be very disappointed with other batteries. However, we know you can find hundreds of compatible battery offerings on Amazon and eBay at a substantial discount.

For safety reasons, please don't use our chargers to charge non-iGage supplied batteries for you system; and don't charge iGage batteries in 3rd party chargers.

10. Will the iG9 Base run without internal batteries?

We strongly recommend that you have at least one, charged, battery in the iG9. This assists in providing enough startup current when the device is turned on.

In addition the batteries slightly change the antenna phase center. The iG9 antenna was calibrated with two batteries in the case, so heads with batteries won't match those without batteries as well. That said, the difference is only a few millimeters, which might not be a big deal for your application.

11. How does the iG9 compare with the iG8 under moderate and heavy canopy?

In our extensive testing the iG9 / iG9a with MAXPro are slightly better than an iG8 under moderate and heavy canopy. The iG9 without MAXPro (not available) has identical performance to the iG8.

12. Can the iG8 be used as a base for the iG9?

Yes.

There is a theoretical advantage to using an iG9 or iG9a as the base because of additional signal tracking. We are unable to see this difference in most appicaitons.

13. How compatible are the radios in the iG8 and iG9?

Both radios support Transparent EOT, TT450 and Satel formats. The Satel format is available in the iG9 with or without FEC. The Satel format is available in the iG8 with or without FEC, however you must use the Web interface to control FEC as SurvCE / SurvPC only displays the setting and does allow FEC ON/OFF setting.

14. How does the iG9 / iG9a perform under canopy?

We have performed more than 100,000 dump cycles using our robotic testing machine on the iG9 testing the iG9 against several other 'leading' receivers and we believe the iG9 is as good or better under heavy canopy.

Checkout this testing video:

14. Can the iG9/iG9a be used as a base for RTK UAV use?

Yes: see [ iG9iG8_FAQ_NTRIPCaster_via-WiFi ]