Which one would you pick?

Assuming you already have a 360° prism for your pole, I'd go for the standard RMT on the backsight. The range to the latter is much greater than with the 360°.

Thanks Jim. Yes, I have a 360º for the prism pole.

Or you can choose for the first,
advantage:
if you break one you'll have allready a spare one on site
no problems with prism contstants (if they're different - don't know, never worked with the second type)

Christof.

First, I have both.

If you already have the mini 360, I would definitely go with the SLR (long range). The range on the SLR is about twice that of the 360. It will be a nice addition to your "tool box".

Also, I use the SLR for my control work as it provides better accuracy than the mini.

My advice if you do purchase the SLR, don't even bother using small batteries that fit inside the unit. Connect a cable and brick battery.

If I'm not mistaken, you are using this equipment to survey landscaping and improvements on a single estate that is covered with dense vegetation? I doubt the additional range will be very helpful to you. Have you ever exceeded the range of the 360 degree prism?

The 360 prism is beneficial in that you don't have to adjust the back sight if you move the instrument.
I believe the other prism will yield better traverse closures, but for your application, I doubt you will see the difference.

Aloha, thanks for all the replies. It made me to think logically.
Imaudigger, I was leaning toward the SLR, you made few logical points that applies my workflow. I will only be using it on single estate which is close to a tropical forest!! I never exceeded the range of 360º prism. I love the fact, I will not have to adjust back sight when I move the instrument.

I do believe the SLR will be a good tool have; however, I don't have the budget to add it now. I'll add it to my wish list.

Thank you everyone for helping me to make a logical decision instead emotional one:-D

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Target Locked, I will keep the brick battery idea in mind if I buy it in the future.

One things that wasn't mentioned is that the 360 prism needs external power, and the "brick" prism runs off internal AA batteries. That is a reason why I prefer the brick prism for backsights, although it's always nice to have a back-up 360 prism.

As I shopped for a backsight prism for our 5603, I found there are 2 types of backsight prisms for the 5600 series - one long-range prism that has a cable for external battery, and the other has built-in AA battery compartment. Check to be sure which models fit which instruments. From what I remember in posts here, is that the newer S-6 and S-8 instruments do not work with the 5600 series prisms, or the Geodimeter series.

For a back site or Traverse you should ALWAYS use a single prism. The 5600 or 600 is a little more forgiving since it uses the diode to lock on the center but in all cases the EDM might accidentally pick up the wrong prism (one not facing you) and give incorrect distances.
JSW