Can anyone tell me if the trimble target ID shown here needs to be facing the instrument for a distance to be measured, or does it only need to be facing when the instrument is performing a search?
I know the multitrack target is omnidirectional which would be a lot better but it is a lot more expensive.
Thanks
To get distance, no.
Thanks, that makes sense. I thought I read in an article or something that the software would check for the correct target ID continuously or when a distance was measured at least. I could see that being important for machine control.
You have a few different settings to choose from which control if you are using active target ID or not. In the prism settings Target ID can be set to: Off, Search, Search and Measure, and Always. The options are slightly different when using the multitrack target. Those settings are Active, Semi-active and Passive. I have found that the tracking is better when using the multitrack prism, but it is expensive.
With using the Target ID in search only, you will not have a problem with the instrument locking onto the wrong target when you are trying to re-establish lock, but there is still a small chance that the instrument could lock onto the wrong target if you were to move the target behind another prism or some other reflective object. Just watch the numbers on the screen and make sure that they are changing when you move the rod 🙂
OK that's ideal that you can customise it to suit your need.
I wonder what "semi-active" mode is? I am still undecided whether to splash out on the multitrack or not. I will maybe see how we go in passive mode.
Thanks a million for the tips anyway. I am surprised there isn't a trimble forum as their support (depending on dealer) can be a bit lacking.
semi-active uses target id when locked onto the prism, but it turns off target id when actually taking a shot in standard mode (target id is still used in tracking mode). This mode has better vertical accuracy than the active mode. If you are buying from a dealer see if you can try out the multitrack prism and compare it with the other prism
