State CORS vs a $40 GEODNET hub
Public CORS is real. It is also rarely the five-minute path a DJI or Emlid shop wants on a Monday morning. Here is the honest split for Texas, California, and Florida.
rtkUSA is nationwide NTRIP on GEODNET: host rtk.geodnet.com, port 2101, mountpoint AUTO, GGA on. $40/month or $400/year. Seven-day trial, no credit card. One account, one rover. You still need cell, open sky, and about 25 km to a live station.
Texas
TxDOT runs a real-time network (txrtn.txdot.gov). It is not a self-serve product for a three-person mapping shop.
Login wants an organization, a username, and a password. Access has long been limited to TxDOT and contractors on TxDOT work. If you are flying a sand pit, a GC progress site, or a private topo, you are not in that queue. You do not get AUTO. You wait on an account.
$40 and a dashboard login is the path that actually starts today.
California
California has CORS. Do not let anyone tell you it does not.
CRTN (Scripps / CSRC) is a statewide real-time network. One NTRIP stream per organization after you register. That registration is a SurveyMonkey form, a $100 non-refundable processing contribution through a UCSD gift page, then an email to wait on credentials. SOPAC says at least 7 business days for the username, then another 3–5 days to get the instrument talking. Extra streams are $1,000/year. You pick a base from a station list. Ports split by CCS83 zone (2102–2105). No AUTO.
That is a $100 headache with a week of wait, not “California has no CORS.” For a DJI/Emlid shop that wants FIX this afternoon, $40 and AUTO is still the simpler buy.
Florida
Florida is the honest exception. FPRN (FDOT) is public and, as of now, free. Anyone with an NTRIP-ready receiver can register at myfloridagps.com. FDOT says there are no plans to charge.
Free is real. It is also not AUTO. You register, pick a product and port (network NAD83 vs single-baseline, RTCM flavor), and you stay inside Florida. That is the right tool if you only work Florida, you will maintain the mount list, and you want NAD83 on FDOT's network.
$40 still wins if you want one login that works in other states, a single AUTO mount, and the Pilot 2 / Emlid Flow setup that takes five minutes. Do not pay us to duplicate FPRN if Florida-only and free is what you actually need.
What you are buying at $40
| Texas | TxDOT RTN exists. Not self-serve for private mapping shops. rtkUSA: same-day trial, AUTO. |
|---|---|
| California | CRTN exists. $100 processing, ~1–2 week wait, pick a station. rtkUSA: same-day trial, AUTO. |
| Florida | FPRN is free and public. Register and pick a port. rtkUSA: $40 for AUTO + nationwide. Skip us if Florida-only free is enough. |
| Mount | state CORS you pick a station or a state product; rtkUSA AUTO (rover sends GGA). |
| Account | agency form, sponsor, or a gift page vs dashboard. No sample creds on this site. |
| Coverage | that state vs nationwide GEODNET. Nearest-base RTK, useful ~25 km. |
Settings (if you start a trial)
| Host | rtk.geodnet.com |
|---|---|
| Port | 2101 |
| Mountpoint | AUTO (all caps) |
| Username / password | From your rtkUSA dashboard. Not your website login. |
| GGA | Required |
Start the 7-day trial at /auth/signup (no credit card).