Rant on...
So, we have invested in one equipment manufacturer, GNSS, robot, data collector, etc?? A few years ago we found out about a product they offer that would make my job a thousand times easier, and it has. The thing is, this product was not originally made by them, like a lot of their products, and even though it is marketed and branded by them, that section of the company is kind of its own thing. The software does not run inside their main DC software as a module, like every other piece of software they offer, so licensing is different. The license is tied to the DC itself. There is still a yearly maintenance fee, and they send you a license file to copy to the DC yearly, but that license is good for something like 99 years. So, if you don??t pay the fee, you can still use the software but just not install updates. I was told when we purchased the equipment and software, that I??d be able to transfer the license to a different DC in the future. Well, the future has come. I have a new DC and want to use the older one as a back up, or for another employee to use for GNSS data collection.
Now for the real rant??.
I can only transfer the license if I send them my old data collector which they will keep. Yep, that??s right, never to be returned. Since I??ve paid the maintenance/warranty fees on the equipment two months ago, I asked if that fee was going to be credited back me. Of course no answer to that. I also asked if they wanted to trade data collectors for another used one, no answer again. They are trying to push the issue back on the dealer. The only issue with that is that the local dealer is not the dealer of this product. So, it appears that I will probably have to give up a data collector that works decently, just a little slow and old, because a huge company can??t license a product correctly.
...Rant off
That yellow stuff is good equipment but their policies suck.
John Hamilton, post: 430629, member: 640 wrote: That yellow stuff is good equipment but their policies suck.
That is true, and also how they didn't fully integrate this product into their typical way of licensing. The software and/or updates are not available through the usual method of plugging the DC into the computer and it telling you what you have available. There is a special news letter you get, and software portal that you have go to to download the updates to install. Both of which I only found out about two months ago, after owning the product for over two years.
I have been satisfied and will remain so as long as I am busy and never have to move beyond my HP48GX with SMI v7.
Everyone of you are in my prayers each day for what you suffer from some of today's technobabble.
A Harris, post: 430649, member: 81 wrote: I have been satisfied and will remain so as long as I am busy and never have to move beyond my HP48GX with SMI v7.
Everyone of you are in my prayers each day for what you suffer from some of today's technobabble.
In my opinion there is nothing better than SMI on a HP48. Just isn't.....
Well, except for TDS on an HP48....;)
Carlson realized that his cogo could become what the HP48 needed and allowed it to go public.
It was translated and became the basic SMI &TDS & maybe more cards.
Since everyone is wired a bit different, they fall into desiring SMI or TDS or other.
The only difference in them is the menu that drove them.
They share the same Carlson Surveyor1 COGO program that includes curve calcs, closure routines, area, volumes and road & route centerline stationing plus a public sunshot software.
A Harris, post: 430724, member: 81 wrote: Carlson realized that his cogo could become what the HP48 needed and allowed it to go public.
It was translated and became the basic SMI &TDS & maybe more cards.
Since everyone is wired a bit different, they fall into desiring SMI or TDS or other.
The only difference in them is the menu that drove them.
They share the same Carlson Surveyor1 COGO program that includes curve calcs, closure routines, area, volumes and road & route centerline stationing plus a public sunshot software.
People are stubborn creatures, change is hard, but sir you are 100% correct. Robotic wise, I miss seeing the shot distance as the gun is tracking, it really doesn't matter much, but it was piece of mind for me. TDS vs Carlson
John Hamilton, post: 430629, member: 640 wrote: That yellow stuff is good equipment but their policies suck.
So very true. The more you use the Yellow stuff, particularly the different product lines, you realize how much the different division don't talk, work, or play with each other.
I am just coming off of a huge project that involved the Mx-2, Trident, Applanix PosPac, RTX processing and TBC. How well do you think that went?
All are different divisions that are scattered across the globe and all elements are required for a successful project, all Yellow, but all completely independent.
However, mission accomplished and I came out much smarter.
StLSurveyor, post: 430752, member: 7070 wrote: So very true. The more you use the Yellow stuff, particularly the different product lines, you realize how much the different division don't talk, work, or play with each other.
I am just coming off of a huge project that involved the Mx-2, Trident, Applanix PosPac, RTX processing and TBC. How well do you think that went?
All are different divisions that are scattered across the globe and all elements are required for a successful project, all Yellow, but all completely independent.
However, mission accomplished and I came out much smarter.
That's how this was when we first got the product. Since then, they have added state side support. Might as well be across the globe still.
StLSurveyor, post: 430752, member: 7070 wrote: All are different divisions that are scattered across the globe and all elements are required for a successful project, all Yellow, but all completely independent.
That's what happens when you put together an entire division by purchasing existing companies. My understanding is that they wanted to buy out Vexcel as well, but Microsoft showed up in Graz with a suitcase full of money a few days ahead of Team Yellow
Having used TDS and SMI my vote is on SMI. Years ago I would help out an engineering/surveying firm that had TDS on heir HP 48. They had two full time robotic crews so, I would go out with a helper or the PLS himself. Given a choice before going out in the field, I would convert the .txt to .asc and put it in my data collector. For those little survey catch up days we would alternate job to job as Iman/Rodman. One day I hand him my data collector and I hear some grumpus comments. I switched off the SMI shortcut method and let him do the it the TDS way.
As it stands now this solo operator has 3 SMI version 7 cards, 3 memory cards, none of which I will part with and 4 or 5 HP 48s, ditto and a spare SMI case or two. I may actually have the last version 7 card (7.1J) to leave the factory as I talked them into adding a Sokkia robot to the drivers.
Paul in PA
azweig, post: 430627, member: 7041 wrote: Rant on...
So, we have invested in one equipment manufacturer, GNSS, robot, data collector, etc?? A few years ago we found out about a product they offer that would make my job a thousand times easier, and it has. The thing is, this product was not originally made by them, like a lot of their products, and even though it is marketed and branded by them, that section of the company is kind of its own thing. The software does not run inside their main DC software as a module, like every other piece of software they offer, so licensing is different. The license is tied to the DC itself. There is still a yearly maintenance fee, and they send you a license file to copy to the DC yearly, but that license is good for something like 99 years. So, if you don??t pay the fee, you can still use the software but just not install updates. I was told when we purchased the equipment and software, that I??d be able to transfer the license to a different DC in the future. Well, the future has come. I have a new DC and want to use the older one as a back up, or for another employee to use for GNSS data collection.
Now for the real rant??.
I can only transfer the license if I send them my old data collector which they will keep. Yep, that??s right, never to be returned. Since I??ve paid the maintenance/warranty fees on the equipment two months ago, I asked if that fee was going to be credited back me. Of course no answer to that. I also asked if they wanted to trade data collectors for another used one, no answer again. They are trying to push the issue back on the dealer. The only issue with that is that the local dealer is not the dealer of this product. So, it appears that I will probably have to give up a data collector that works decently, just a little slow and old, because a huge company can??t license a product correctly.
...Rant off
The nice thing about Amberg is that I can put the software on any computer. and the field software is the same as the field.
John Putnam, post: 430956, member: 1188 wrote: The nice thing about Amberg is that I can put the software on any computer. and the field software is the same as the field.
I can do that with the office software, it runs with a USB dongle. They just really need to get their $%^& together with the licensing of the field software. Especially with what they charge per seat.
