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Hemishphere GNSS and Carlson users beware!
Just wanted to give a heads up to other surveyors, so that you don’t make the same mistake I did. Starting with version 6.02 Carlson will no longer support Hemishpere receivers in US. They will appear in the equipment list as if they will work, but due to an installed geofence you will not be able to store data. There seems to be some kind of power struggle going on between Carlson and Hemishpere which is odd being that Hemishphere makes the receivers for Carlson. I guess Carlson didn’t like the fact that the same receiver can be purchased thousands of dollars less than their labeled version. This troubles me because the whole reason I switched to Carlson 6 years ago was that they played well with every hardware manufacturer. Now I have software that I can’t update with revisions and bug fixes in the version that I paid for. 6.01 still supports the receivers, but we all know how buggy the first versions can be.
Good day!
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9 Replies
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Thanks for the heads up. Not cool, Carlson.
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So is this just for Hemisphere brand receivers or for the Carlson brand version also?
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Just Hemishpere.
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Hi,
I have been using Hemisphere relievers for some time (R330, S320, S321) and find great value there.
Do you mean there is no support at all as in they are no longer included on the receiver list in SurvCE setup?
When I used S320 I always just selected the “Carlson BRX5” anyway as Carlson has been very attentive with enhancements to thier own driver. This goes for my S321 now as well, I select the “Carlson BRX6” and everything is good.
Carlson only puts a sticker on the Hemisphere OEM gear so the GNSS firmware and device command infrastructure is identical. I don’t see how any customization to the GNSS firmware would be feasible.
I hope this helps..
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They are in the item list as if all is well, but when you try to store an error message says driver not supported. From what I understand this only happens in US Using the Carlson setting doesn’t work either. The geofence must be smarter than that Carlson has made an announcement about it
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OK, wow. That is amazing that they are forcing users to buy their branded version.. No wonder the dealer list for hemisphere gear has shrunk significantly. Perhaps they have the sole rights to market hardware now.
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Yes it’s unfortunate because freedom to choose was Carlson’s biggest selling point. I can only assume Geomax will be next manufacturer not supported due to similar reasons They both can be purchased for thousands less for basically the same unit.
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I now also see that Hemisphere has published an urgent notice all over their website.
They even have a direct download for the last version to support hemisphere gear (6.0.19).
I find it odd that Carlson did not mention this massive change in their 6.02 release notes.
There is very little info from either company.
- Is hemisphere gear still supported by SurvCE outside of restricted region? Or is that it for any hemisphere powered gear besides the Carlson branded.
- Did Carlson refuse to continue support or is Hemisphere / Unistrong / Stonex creating their own software and no longer wanted a deal with Carlson?
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- I think it’s just US
- Totally a Carlson decision. They didn’t like the fact that Hemisphere dealers were selling the identical unit for several thousands less
My biggest compliant is that was decided mid version. I purchased 6.0 with the understanding that it supported my hardware. Now whenever Carlson does an update to fix a glitch I can’t take advantage of it or I won’t be able to run my receivers. I feel they should have made the decision for version 7.
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