Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › Software, CAD & Mapping › Carlson SurvPC 6.09
I’ve had no issues whatsoever running Leica total stations with Carlson.
You can have Trimble, wouldn’t ever touch that stuff again. Loved TDS Survey Pro. Access, no thanks
What were your issues with access? Old version or the recent (last couple years modern looking version). I believe what software you prefer is greatly affected by your workflow, type of surveying you’re doing etc.
I’ve never used Carlson but heard good and bad about it just like access.
I despise Microsurvey and their horrible Fieldgenius because of all the glitches we’ve had, lack of ability to fix them and the fact that they completely left me out to dry with the Sokkia iX robot. Now with the Leica 1200 the glitches still aren’t bad, but I wonder how it affects the raw data for the office when the software crashes at least once per job, sometimes several times. I will make sure to never recommend Microsurvey to anyone ever again. Nothing against their employees as they’ve made an attempt, but clearly do not have the resources to fix issues as they have been going on for years.
It’s been a few years, so I don’t remember specifically. I’ve use the old TDS on an HP, the SDR33, Survey Pro, and Carlson SurvCE. Had no issues with any of those, even going back and forth from one to another. Access just didn’t feel right, but maybe it’s because it was setup with way too many attributes, etc.
I remember 20 years ago looking at Microsurvey and Carlson for office software. I guess I’m glad I chose Carlson
The “problem” with Access is that it does just about everything and allows for a lot of user customization.
It’s not a problem if you have a wide variety of job types and want to leverage all the cool features. But if all you need are straight up fundamentals, then Carlson or Survey Pro or something similar works just great.
And I say that as an Access fanboy. I love the customizability and the ability to go from simple boundary to deformation monitoring to static network to PPK to hydro survey, etc. all within the same collector platform. Taking panoramas at station setups for office QC, running the LevelMe module for trig levels, scanning power poles with an SX station, all that jazz.
But it’s not really necessary unless you’re going to really make use of all those features. The interface is super simple, but once you start diving into the minutiae of all the settings it can get complicated.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil PostmanSo that was the old version of access, the newer one looks nothing like it. I only used it with GPS but my issue was the map screen was impossible to interact with. You had to always know what points you were using etc. Maybe I didn’t spend enough time with it but I hated it compared to Fieldgenius at the time, an old version running a Leica tcr803 on a Microsurvey tracker extreme. It had very few issues and the map screen was good.
Since then I’ve only used it on robots and they haven’t got it right on any of them I’ve used yet. They also didn’t update the keyboard to work with tablets so you get a tiny keyboard 1/3 the size of the screen for typing.
@mark-silver You are more than welcome to post here without moderation. Perhaps you mean approval from within your own circle?
Your friendly, virtual neighborhood WebmasterMaybe, but I didn’t like it, regardless. All the others I’ve tried have been fairly intuitive, so I don’t really have a need for the pain of another.
Like most other manufacturers, Trimble supports Trimble best, with a small number of additional instruments.
I wouldn’t even want to try and keep up with compatibility issues across the range of geospatial equipment available today, considering how often software/firmware is updated and features are added. Trimble’s software teams have their hands full getting it right with their in-house gear.
And as a former Trimble tech support guy, it’s hard enough to get folks to relay coherent and correct information about a technical problem; when someone throws a third-party item in the mix, it’s darn near impossible to solve any compatibility issues, especially over the phone.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil PostmanI’ve been a 7 years + user of Carlson SurvCE user with Leica 1100 and 1200 robots. I couldn’t imagine myself using anything else for construction stakeout. As a matter of fact , when new equipment was purchased, we chose something compatible with SurvCE/PC, so we got 2 Geomax Zoom90s. The CAD embedded in the program made my life so much easier on many ocasions, especially when changes come the in last minute. Very intuitive and easy to learn.
It looks like it’s going to be a no go getting access running the 1200 unless I had someone to point the instrument towards me all the time. It all seems to work except for the search function and the joystick function.
Maybe it works properly in past versions but we’re now talking about an 11 year old machine and a competitors software that’s been updated many times since then, so it’s not likely ever going to work.
For fun I will try one of the old tsc3’s and older access with it when I get a chance but I can’t live with a TSC3 on a daily basis. It’s just too slow.
I hear mixed things about Carlson. Some people swear by it others hate it. Some talked about lots of glitches and my experience with Microsurvey Fieldgenius makes me think any third party software is going to be a huge bug fest since they can only put so much time into testing with each device and it’s definitely not enough.
Access and magnet field both seemed much more dependable.
South GNSS receiver’s have also been removed in 6.09.
I have SurvPC 5.09 installed on my data collector due to having a Trimble 5600 that is unsupported in version 6 but always kept an up to date demo of version 6 on my laptop. When I updated to 6.09 I noticed South receiver’s were omitted but the instrument profiles I had previously saved were still there and I was still able to use the receiver. This is the same with the latest update 6.11.
Since then I have managed to install both versions 5 and 6 on my data collector by first installing 5 and changing the name of the installation folder then installing 6 as normal. By installing 6.07 and setting up and saving instrument profiles then updating to 6.11 I was able to stay current.
Hope this helps anyone moving forward.
- Posted by: @gav_turner
When I updated to 6.09 I noticed South receiver’s were omitted but the instrument profiles I had previously saved were still there and I was still able to use the receiver. This is the same with the latest update 6.11.
Well…. that’s good to know. Maybe good enough reason to SWITCH from MicroSurvey FieldGenius to Carlson???? MicroSurvey does this same crap by dropping equipment drivers etc. Should be NO reason to do this… just hurts the loyal customer.
I.e. MicroSurvey dropped TRIMBLE equipment after v9.0.20.3 (DEC 13 2016). Last version to support some TRIMBLE equipment. i.e. 5600 series. Yes, I know TRIMBLE’s doing really, to phase it out. MicroSurvey said TRIMBLE wouldn’t help with the driver support anymore… obviously for good reason, for themselves…not their customers of course. Hell, it’s just the way it is anymore… look at Windows 11 …. UGGHHH.
Appears the device drivers are hard-coded into the software by MicroSurvey. If Carlson software doesn’t do these shenanigans, then more then enough reason to switch. It’s not like this equipment is cheap or anything… so nobody wants to be forced to move to new equipment if it works perfectly fine before, just because of a developer version change. If you are still able to use the equipment just by having previous instrument profiles to keep them alive, than that is a WIN.
Carlson is making a HUGE mistake removing various instruments (Hemisphere, South, whatever…)
This removes the very reason to buy Carlson.
-All thoughts my own, except my typos and when I am wrong.@dmyhill I wish they would not have done that either, but being able to quickly talk to a real person about your problem is one of their mainstay products. Their smallest product market area had consumed a majority of their technical support time (and selling more BRx7’s also).
The very reason to buy Carlson is to operate cheap GNSS equipment? Have you tried FG?
Agreed 100% I invested heavily in Carlson for the reasons above, good support and the ability to work with other hardware. This change in Carlsons direction to stop supporting certain hardware is very disappointing. I am now looking hard at FG for data collection. and dare I say it AutoCAD. I am that disgusted with Carlson, I am ready to chuck it all. FG with Android would also get me away from Windows 10 which I loath. Full disclosure, I do run hemisphere gnss units, s321+ that still work fine with survpc, but am looking to upgrade to the newer s631.
Welllll…. MicroSurvey pulls this same crap too unfortunately with FieldGenius.
But go back and read the post below how it may be possible to still use your hardware that was removed?
You CANNOT do this with FieldGenius as their drivers are hard coded into the program. So Carlson “may” still be your only bet??
https://surveyorconnect.com/community/software-cad-mapping/carlson-survpc-6-09/paged/3/#post-561313
- Posted by: @roger-st-amand
FG with Android would also get me away from Windows 10 which I loath.
For Robotic Total Station users, FieldGenius for Android doesn’t currently support them…. but… they have mentioned it’s being worked on… possibly in a release by end of this year? But thats still Work In Progress, whereas the Windows version is complete.
I run FG on my Sokkia grx2. I only use it occasionally, mostly I use the Leica robot but it seems to work okay. Post processing seems to be a pain to get working. The biggest upside to Fieldgenius is the linework and interacting with the map screen. Downside is glitches not getting fixed.
I do wish I could try Carlson but the office is trying to eliminate multiple softwares not add in any more.
Log in to reply.