Hello,
I was wondering if anybody knew the theoretical life expectancy of a Trimble TDL450L.
We have a pretty old unit (more than 10 years).
No sign of any issues so far but we are in the process or replacing old gear at our company (archeology) so i was wondering if we should expect this unit to fail in the near future or if we should instead invest our budget on upgrading other units like the controller or buy more useful accessories ?
Thank you very much for your help!
It's not just the years, it's the mileage. Nevertheless, I'd say that 10 years is a pretty good run.
These things rarely quit working altogether, they have little breakdowns which require parts to fix - parts that are no longer available. Or else the FCC changes rules and makes them illegal to use.
We've had terrible luck with them. There's a stack of them in the supply closet. Most of those were casualties prior to my arriving here, but a couple have quit since. No support/repair available that we have found.
I have been told that other external radios have a procedure to follow that will eliminate, or at least minimize burnout (mainly the chronological order of connection with antennae/power cords) but that procedure was followed with a new one that I used and it's quit now too. We just run the internal radios now and they are doing well. Distance is not what the 450's should be doing, but are transmitting way farther than the ones in the closet.
