For the record, Microsurvey's website (Field Genius) is equally as bad.
I'm having a hard time pegging down actual costs and what's included with the software. I'm really just looking for data collection, the ability to import/export DWG's/DXF's, and have a live display of the DWG/DXF. Robotic control and decent hardware support. More or less the "fundamentals" from 15 (or so) years ago. I *think* Carlson fits the bill but I am having an agonizing time navigating their website, seeing what their program actually does/doesn't do, seeing which of the 4,000 different modules are required to puzzle together the features I need. I mean there is a program just for f'ing trenches. What's next? A program specifically tailored for sidewalks? Just make one, two or even three f'ing programs. Even Autodesk isn't this modular. It really seems unnecessary and I don't think they are doing themselves nor their potential customers any favours. There's actually a lot of overhead involved in dividing up the software.
Partner sites are a mixed bag of either much the same or very dated information. If it wasn't for the fact that the program is well revered by many of this forums members I would have concluded that it was total garbage. Based on what I see on YouTube it looks pretty good. Often times a good community makes up for such shortfalls but 'f me do I ever wish they had a better website.
Apologies to anyone who wasn't expecting to read a good 'ol late night Friday rant. For the record I'm keen on hearing your experiences with Carlson (and Field Genius) positive or negative. I'm always gunning for the little guys hence my interest in Carlson specifically (also based on feedback from this community) so I'm not quite throwing in the towel; just venting.
Not a fan of the software itself personally but I'm guessing they want everyone to buy through the relevant dealer who has access to full manual/sales support info etc. so website never intended to do much more than point out the headline features (check out Lecia or Trimble's field software pages as also pretty limited as even stronger dealer first approach)
I've been using Carlson SURVCE, SURVPC and Carlson Survey on the computer for almost a decade. No complaints worth mentioning. And I don't think I've ever said "I wish it did ....." Customer support is the best I've known. Of course, I was perfectly content with SMI version 5 on an HP48, when I didn't know there was anything else.
Amen brother. ?ÿStarted using Carlson in office in 1998. ?ÿStarted data collecting with it in early 2000's. ?ÿVery buggy with Topcon robot back then. ?ÿSo buggy, I did beta testing for them to sort things out. ?ÿI was an SMI user, and lover, from early 1990's. ?ÿStanley Trent was the best. ?ÿI upgraded from a standard cogo card to a data collection card when I got first electronic total station, upgrade from Topcon Guppy. ?ÿSMI had THE BEST support ever, and he was located not far away, went by there a few times and was always welcome. ?ÿAnyway, Carlson is the best today, in my opinion, after Eagle Point acquired SMI around Y2K. I got out of surveying for 13 years and recently fell back in. ?ÿData collectors have changed quite a bit in that time, as well as robots and gps. ?ÿNever say never. ?ÿCarlson is not perfect, but it is the best I have seen/used since SMI.
so website never intended to do much more than point out the headline features
Fair enough! I quickly learnt that this forum is a great knowledge base as well. The post itself was just a beer-field end of week burn-out rant. As I type this however I'm forgiving myself as one site I just visited gives a security error and another has an outdated PDF as their best attempt at gaining a new customer.
To be honest I figure they ought to donate to this site as you guys' are by far the most productive arm of their marketing team.
Perhaps it would be more productive if I just list my specific needs:
- Good hardware (Total Station) support (Carlson seems to be the leader here based on what I've read).
- More or less basic stakeout features. PDF's/Google Earth underlays are a bonus but I only really need DXF underlays. DWG compatibility would be super convenient but not a requirement.
- Robotic control (seems to be an add-on for whatever reason).
- And I need to make sure the licensing jives with my current "experimentation" with different data collectors. I won't be using multiple copies, but I need to ensure I can easily transfer the license from one device to another. And since I use older data collectors, I need to make sure that I can get the program installed on a replacement should I have a device crash or fail on me (or those times when the data collector and total station just don't want to talk for whatever reason).
For the later point I'm thinking about getting a network license, even if it costs a little more. I use one for a program called Rhino and it's next to seamless. But this highly varies from company to company. It's worth noting that it's extremely unlikely that we would ever need to switch the license while at the same time not having internet access.
?ÿ
I've always found their website to be reasonably easy to navigate and find info that I needed.
Link to the full Surv PC manual:?ÿ https://files.carlsonsw.com/mirror/manuals/SurvCE_V6_Manual.pdf
That should tell you most of what you want to know about the features that are in the software.
Supported hardware: http://survce.com/supportedHardware
?ÿ
At least one partner site (first one I looked at) seems to have fairly detailed pricing info:?ÿ https://thatcadgirl.com/shop/carlson-survpc-basic-total-station/
I don't know if it is up to date.
?ÿ
I've also found the Microsurvey site to be pretty useful as well and both companies have some really good support as well.
At least one partner site (first one I looked at) seems to have fairly detailed pricing info:?ÿ https://thatcadgirl.com/shop/carlson-survpc-basic-total-station/
I don't know if it is up to date.
I wonder if they are updating it as we speak. I get a "privacy error" when I try to navigate there. I remember her site it was good. She does YouTube videos as well. Some of the information might have been dated.
Hi,
If you want, yo can download and try SurvCE/SurvPC (it seems to be possible for other software), with 15 pts maxi, no time limit.
Last release notes, with detailed hardware support list are here. The manual isn't actually updated.
Regarding the features you require, I can confirm you would need FieldGenius for Windows Premium. ?ÿThis is the version purchased by most customers and it includes all features.
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