System overview¶

The MSX is a precision GNSS receiver made in Italy by SoluTOP sas. It is intended for high-precision land positioning applications: topographic surveys, GIS, precision agriculture, structural monitoring, robotics and autonomous navigation, as well as high-dynamics sports applications such as monitoring athletes on the track (e.g. 400 m) with data at 100 Hz.

The heart of the system is the Septentrio mosaic-X5 module, a multi-band, multi-constellation GNSS receiver in a compact form factor (31 × 31 mm), capable of RTK with centimetre accuracy.

General features¶

Made in Italy product (SoluTOP sas)
affordable cost compared with professional competitors
based on a geodetic GNSS module (mosaic-X5)
RTK with centimetre precision and update rate up to 100 Hz
modular architecture with two or more boards (Main + Carrier)
mini carrier with only the USB-C interface

Modular architecture¶

The MSX system splits the functions across a Main board and one (or more) Carrier board, mated via the mini-PCIe slot:

Board	Function
Main	Hosts the mosaic-X5 module (soldered), the power section, the interfaces, the microSD slot, the LEDs and the LOG button. The GNSS antenna connects here.
Carrier (mini)	Mini carrier: hosts the Main via the mini-PCIe slot and exposes the single USB-C connector to the host.

Benefits of the separation:

reuse of the same GNSS module on different carriers;
evolution of the external interfaces by changing only the carrier;
simplified maintenance and replacement.

Block diagram¶

Antenna GNSS
(attiva, sul Main)
     │ RF
     ▼
┌──────────────────────── Scheda MAIN ────────────────────────┐
│  mosaic-X5 (saldato) ── UART/USB ── interfacce, LED, LOG     │
│  microSD (log)          Alimentazione DC/DC (da USB-C 5V)    │
└───────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┘
                 slot mini-PCIe  │  (USB + power)
┌───────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┐
│  Scheda CARRIER mini — solo connettore USB-C            │
└───────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┘
                                 │ USB-C
                                 ▼
                         Host / Device (PC, smartphone…)

3D model of the complete assembly¶

It rotates automatically; drag to rotate, scroll to zoom, right-click to pan.

drag rotate · scroll zoom · right-click pan

Note

The 3D model is reconstructed from the CAD: material colours are assigned by category (PCB, ICs, connectors, passives) and do not reproduce the real silkscreen.