StormCaster Cloud Based RTK Subscriptions

StormCaster replaces the radio link, not your base station itself. You still own and set up your own reference network (or use a shared one), StormCaster just moves the correction data from base to rover over a cellular SIM instead of a UHF radio. That’s the core difference from a traditional setup: no radio hardware, repeaters, or line-of-sight requirements between the two, but you still need a functioning base somewhere sending corrections.

It’s not locked to one receiver brand. StormCaster works through FieldGenius and standard cellular/NTRIP connectivity, so any RTK-capable receiver that can take corrections over a cellular connection can use it, not just Hemisphere hardware. If you’re running a mixed fleet of receivers from different manufacturers, that’s not a barrier to using StormCaster across all of them.

They solve different problems. StormCaster is a bring-your-own-base service, it bridges corrections from a base station you own (anywhere) to your rovers over cellular, useful when you don’t want to deal with radios or you’re working somewhere without RTK network coverage. Chinook is a regional NTRIP network built around fixed reference stations, so if you’re working within its coverage area, you don’t need your own base at all. If your projects move around a lot or fall outside network coverage, StormCaster is usually the better fit; if you consistently work within Chinook’s coverage, a network subscription may be simpler and cheaper.

You can run as many rovers as you would like off a single base station. StormCaster charges per base setup, not per rover.

No, and this is the honest tradeoff to plan around. StormCaster removes radio range limits by relying on cellular data instead, which means it’s only as reliable as your cell coverage. In a genuinely remote site with no signal, a traditional UHF radio setup (or a high-power external radio) will still work where StormCaster won’t. Multi-carrier SIMs help reduce dead zones by switching to whichever network has signal, but they don’t fix a location with no cellular coverage at all.

The shorter terms exist for project-based work, a single job in an area with bad radio conditions (urban interference, long linear corridors, no line of sight) where you need the flexibility without committing to a year. If StormCaster becomes part of how you run most jobs rather than an occasional fix, the 1-year term works out cheaper per month than repeatedly renewing shorter terms.