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There is a reason there are separate licenses for PE and LS. It’s a tall bill for one person to serve both professions well. Commonly the survey side suffers.
There are good options in the $5k range for a capable non EOL antenna. There’s a Leica GS15 on Ebay right now for $4,500. The 15’s are even L5 capable and have the option for an internal radio. Getting a capable antenna/controller combo might be a little more difficult for under $5k but if you keep your eyes peeled you might find the right deal somewhere. My Dad always told me, on important purchases buy the best you can afford. If $5k is what you can afford, that’s all you can afford and one of your initial desires for constellations or EOL my have to suffer. That or rent on an as-needed daily basis until your can build a bigger budget.
Without that internal radio is it really an RTK unit, or is it a static unit that could be upgraded?
It’s a port, it could be empty and run VRS using the controller’s internet, inserted with a cell modem to receive it’s own internet corrections or a radio to pair with a base. I guess I maybe mistakenly defaulted to thinking network operation to reduce the hardware demand because of the budget. Depending on what’s available in the area of operation the network access could be a hidden cost and a base might make more sense in the long run. Lots of variables to consider.
When I started my business I spent over 40k on new equipment. The last time I bought some gps stuff I spent 3k on used equipment. I currently use a used trimble 5800 along with trimble 4700’s all are from used sellers. You can get 4700’s, 5700’s, 5800’s easily for 5k off of EBAY, but you might want to wait until after April 6th or 8th to find out if the legacy stuff still works. Keep an eye on this forum.
That may be your experience in your area and I can appreciate that but some of the most thoughtful and professional LS’s I’ve encountered are dual licensed as PEs. Different strokes, different folks. Have a good one.
I ran a Trimble 4000 series receiver set on a 1st order control station continuously during the last rollover event; no problems whatsoever with positioning accuracy and continuity.
Edit – Replacement for this post:
My 4000sse receivers make a dat file that works in OPUS, but doesn’t convert properly to RINEX with TEQC because of the 1024 week rollover unless I specify the proper week.
.Bill93
I Have Ashtech Z-Extreme and used to use it for OPUS solution until the 1024 rollover April 6th 2019. I’ve used TEQC as well at times to trim my data for better results. I can’t for the life of me find were to make the 1024 week correction so my date is correct for OPUS. Can you by chance help me in this situation. If this had been explained please point me in the right direction. Thank you in advanced.
I put this in a DOS batch file named Dat2Rinex.bat , which runs in Win XP and probably later operating systems. I edit the file name, antenna type, and week as appropriate. You can also specify start and ending times to trim a file.
@ECHO . Batch file to run TEQC on GPS data file to create Rinex
@ECHO .
@ECHO . Update week number as displayed on receiver.
@ECHO . Exclude any satellites with useless data using -G12,17 etc.@REM Be sure all lines of command except last end with the continuation carat ^
“C:Program FilesTrimbleteqcWinTeqcteqc.exe” ^
+ap ^
-O.ag MyAgency ^
-O.o “MyName” ^
-O.at “TRM14532.00 NONE” ^
-week 2052 ^
-O.dec 30 ^
+nav[file(s)] gps_nav.nav ^
+err teqc_err.txt ^
+out FileName.19o ^
FileName.datteqc_err3.txt
.GPS systems have come a long way now. You can get china ones or even I3GS for less than 1/5 of what you would pay when gps started and tracked 10x more satellites. In terms of budget, how about trying buying new but non yellow or green. You can try mark silver’s GPS, they are cheap and works quite well.
Go for Sokkia GSR2700ISX. You can find it cheap on ebay.
It is End Of Life but it works fine with the latest firmware and no issues with GPS Week Rollover.
First and foremost use a local dealer. I could have gotten all my equipment for less money if I had purchased out of state from the Internet but I take some comfort in knowing I can go to their office and get help and not have to mail it.
As for the GPS, I gotta tell you that technology has made incredible advancements in the last few years that it has become my primary equipment of choice.
I currently have a VRS Rover and have been quite happy with it and if you live amd work in a urban areas that may be all you need. It is amazing to be able to get of your truck and immediately go to work.
I have just ordered a base unit to compliment and expand my capabilities as I often find myself in areas with poor cell phone coverage.
I use eGPS Solutions out of Norcross Georgia.
i have one for 7 years now and it still works great. It’s heavy but does the job, only no Galileo but i use it in open spaces with good reception. Everything else is sone with the TS
Thanks for all the recommendations.
I ended up finding a used Leica GS15 on ebay and a CS15 from my local dealer. They upgraded everything to the latest firmware and helped me setup the VRS connection. Total expense was approx. $5k and I’m happy & comfortable with the setup.
Sounds like you have a good dealer.
Ed
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