Proud X-90 Owner

Your battery looks a little heavy!

Look at that grin!

Can't say enough about Mark, a great man and company...congrats on your new toy..

He's been talking about this unit for 6 months.

It doesn't look like this receiver/antenna has been calibrated by the NGS.. is that right? Otherwise looks like a solid and cheap replacement for those Trimble 4000s.

I believe it is in the NGS menu under chc

Yes, under CHC Navigation Group: CHCX90D-OPUS
Also can be found under the main Antenna Calibration pagefor the NGS and CHC.

Matt,

I second that notion. I took delivery of my X90 receiver back in December. I have compared the results to my Topcon Hipers, and the results were impressive.

I am very happy with mine, and will be purchasing another one very soon.

Mark is a great guy, and I cannot say enough good things about his top notch customer service, both before and after the sale. I can recommend this receiver to anyone needing a dual frequency receiver. I bought my first one before the price drop.

The download software is as impressive as the receiver. The receiver has been calibrated by NGS, and this receiver was designed for OPUS submission.

Jimmy

Is Champion GPS stuff from China?

I had used ProMark 2s to establish a bench at my office using NGS monuments. It took me some time to observe and re-observe. A twenty minute observation sent to OPUS about one hour after the end time is within .08' (vert) of my earlier efforts. It's also then within .11' (vert) of a friend's RTK unit. His was low, mine was high and the X90 is snuggled right in between them. I'm now ready to find some bottom floors and some next higher floors to put elevations on. I gotta get those HAGs and LAGs guys. I can't be hangin' 'round here chewin' the fat.

yes

I am blushing and my ears are burning. Normally I would not chime in on this thread, however I have a unique perspective on China GNSS. (indeed.)

In my opinion, the goal is to NOT build 'cheap' equipment. The goal is to build the highest quality equipment at a reasonable cost.

Granted, if one goes to China and says "I want to build the least expensive waffle iron, I will do anything to save $0.10 on my cost." You will end up with a cheap waffle iron.

However, one can also say "I want to build the best receiver possible. If it costs an extra $50, so be it. If I can spend $100 extra and make it even nicer, lets do it." And you will end up with excellent equipment. The price may be reasonable.

The cost of engineering in China is not much less than it is here in Utah. The cost of living (say in Shanghai) is actually much more expensive than the cost of living here in Salt Lake City. The difference is not necessarily the cost of labor, the major difference is the accessibility of the supporting industries. Injection molders, cable makers, fasteners, cases, foam inserts. Everything is SO MUCH easier to 'get' in China.

We are not building equipment in China because it costs less, we are doing it because it is possible to get-er-done. And we should be honest here, the price of equipment is greatly due to the cost of marketing, advertising, building distribution / retailing structures and (hopefully) support.

Back on subject...

Hi Target is based in Guangzhou China. They have a variety of data collectors and GNSS devices. This is their website:

http://www.gnss-gps.com/

I have been following Hi-Target's stock (300177.sz) for the last year. It has been an amazing performer, however I don't have the guts to buy any.

Lonnie Sears, of Champion Instruments / eGPS imports the Champion Instruments receivers from Hi-Target. I met Lonnie twice last year, once at the Carlson convention in Cincinnati and again at the NGS Corbin training center when we took the OPUS-Projects and Blue-booking course. Lonnie is a great stand-up guy and adds up 100%. He runs some big networks in the southeast and that experience makes him a great resource alone.

All of the companies in China are fierce competitors today. I believe over the next five years there will be a series of mergers and takeovers. It will probably be a wild ride. Here is my short list (the long list is three times larger) of the major new GNSS players on my radar today (in no particular order):

• Hi-Target (Champion)
• SuZhou FOIF
• CHC
• Unistrong (Hemisphere)
• Pentax (TI Asahi)
• KQ GEO
• Kolida
• South
• North
• Ruide
• Horizon (Singapore)
• GPS COM (Russia)
• NAVCOM (Deere)
• Tianjin Setl
• Stonex
• TI Precision

Not to mention Dr. Ashjae (JAVAD) (who’s new mega-channel engine is absolutely the most interesting GNSS development for 2014) and the regulars: Trimble, Leica, Topcon, Spectra Precision, Altus and Carlson SW.

As you look at this field of players, most devices are based on GNSS Engines from Trimble. However I argue that there are a significant number of other major engines: NovAtel, Altus, Javad, Deere, Ashtech (even within Trimble) and Unistrong.

I predict that over the next year or two you will see a half-dozen decent new GNSS engines produced directly in China. And I think you will find another half-dozen purely software engines.

Me thinks the field is crowded. It will certainly make for good theater this year. Get your pop-corn ready 😉

Mark

Good perspectives, Mark. It was asked recently if these low prices on precision GNSS gear were sustainable. I think the better question is, "Are the exorbitantly high prices on other precision GNSS gear sustainable?"

Yes. Absolutely. (Prices can be both High and Low.)

The case in point is the (most excellent) R-10. They sell like hotcakes at a very-stiff-premium price because there is more to those sales than just a GNSS receiver.

Consider:

• integration with other devices, (a system approach)
• performance
• the color of one's blood (yellow, red, lime-green, blue, orange, burnt yellow)
• marketing
• distribution
• support
• advertising

When you can strip off a 'task' (like OPUS in the case at hand) you can make something that fulfills the requirement completely and compete nicely on price.

But as you add other requirements, ones ability to answer enough questions gets more difficult.

M

If I had one of those X90's and I wanted to use it to get survey control around an area, how much time would be typical for each observation? With my old Locus units, I commonly used 1 hr as a standard, that I was pretty sure of getting the shot.

Of course, I had a cluster of 6 of them, so overkill was the normal.

N

You should get pretty good results with 20 minutes. I did one obs yesterday for 20 mins. I did another today on the same point for 20 mins. In comparing the two results, I had .02' difference in elevation and .04' in horizontal displacement. We don't have to go into the details about what direction the displacement was in or anything like that. Let's just say I got the same results from two separate observations of 20 minutes. I'm very pleased with those results. It'll take a few more checks and double checks but I think it's going to give me great results. Remember, too, that with 6 receivers cooking, you need someone out there watching them (at least I would).

We were out in rural areas, and commuting between them with atv. We never lost one.
N

Pure yes JJJJ

looks like junk

I carry a sokkia GSR1700CSX all day long and the next best would be the TOPCON SR
at lite weight the next light weight Champion to the GSR1700CSX

I challenge put down the coffee cup and cart that boat anchor and compare
pick up a nice lite RTK Lieca or NOVAtel or topcon

These junk products just make it difficult for REAL GPS Corps to make small tougher
and price them self to this Junk Level

PK

Is your opinion about this "junk" based on actual usage? Do these receivers not deliver results as advertised? I'm confused, both by your assertions and your incoherence.