Why might I be having trouble reading Active station RINEX files into my GPS processing software?
A. Small change to RINEX data file As part of the significant changes to the Active GPS network that have happened since late July 2005, Ordnance Survey have now updated from version 2.0 to version 2.1 of the RINEX format for most GPS station’s raw data files. The only change that a user may see is in the small header above each data block. Between each 2-digit satellite number there is now a letter ‘G’ which identifies that the satellite is a GPS satellite. This ability to differentiate between satellite systems has been in Version 2.0 since 1990, but either a space or a G could be used. The new system that Ordnance Survey uses to generate RINEX data now puts in the G. The outcome of this should be non-existent to the vast majority of users. Some older software packages however may have trouble in reading these new RINEX files. The solution is to either get an updated version of software from your vender or to do a “Find / Replace” operation on the files – replacing the G’s with space
