a TSC3 question of trechnique:

Sometimes I'll just make a note of what that point number is and keep working. When I want to retrieve NEZ data, just go to "key in point" and enter the number. It tells you that point exists but then it will give you all the information you want. Pretty simple.

Also "review current job" is better than "point manager" for that stuff. It seems that point manager is one of those options that is just a PIA

I'm sure there are smarter Trimble gurus here, but that is what I do.

Is a DiNi bluetooth? I don't know, but you can also just transfer point data via the bluetooth. At least between DC's, computers, etc so I don't know why it wouldn't work for that.

As Wayne said:
CTRL-R to review the job will give you all the info on the point,
You may have to change the data read out with the option button on the lower right I guess (TSC2 here - I suppose you run the Acces software)
I feel the same as Wayne about the Point Manager - I only use it to change the name/pointnr. of a measured point.

Chr.

Make sure both Review Current Job and Point Manager are in your Favorites menu - two touches to get to either of them from anywhere in the program.

Stakeout Styles File

I assume that you are using the 'stakeout' program..

check your styles file.

Main trimble menu
Settings
Survey Styles
"choose your surveying option (e.g. GNSS RTK)"
Rover options
Stakeout
On the first page make sure that "view before storage" box is ticked.
this will mean that you select the point that you want to stake out, walk over to it, take your shot, then the data will be displayed and if you like the data you hit "store" and it will record it.

Stakeout Styles File

No thanks, that does not work for us - we want the autostore.

What we are doing is surveying manholes in some pretty inaccessible locations. We use a GPS to place a local benchmark, then level the pipe inverts in terms of that point.

We also use the GPS to get position of the pit, and the surface positions of the pipes

We cant use the GPS to get the invert levels directly, but still need the levels in terms of our local datum with a reasonable level of certainty (preferably better than +-15mm, 20mm at the absolute outside).

Sometimes we cant get GPS positions on the manhole and have to use a Total Station, working from two GPS points placed somewhere convienient with good sky view.

Only about 150 more pits to do...

Had another play today.

The 'review current job' is way better than 'point manager' as it has the most recent observation at the top of the list, rather than having to scroll all of today's hundreds of observations. The scroll bars on the touch screen, and in fact the whole touch screen are one of the worst features of the TSC3 for me.

So I've added 'review current job' to the favourites menu, and the whole process is now much smoother.

Unfortunately our DiNi is an early one, and does not have bluetooth, but all I'm looking to transfer is a single backsight for each manhole, so it is not a problem.

A much bigger problem is that yesterday the DiNi focus knob came off in my hand - at the end of the day luckily for us. We get great support from GeoSystems, our dealer, who had a replacement available for me to pick up first thing this morning. When you are working very hard to meet a tight deadline, dealer support like that can make or break a job.

Jim,

we're keyboard users over here,
works best for us in all weather conditions.

Does the Control-R for review and Control-M for the Map view no longer work??
I've never used the Favorites Menu.

I suppose you also have the two user definable buttons on the top of the keyboard as on the TSC2.
We configured them to show the joystick and to perform a search, you can define one of them to show you the Review Job screen.

Chr.

With your GPS on or near the point you want to review, go to map, click the up arrow at the bottom of the screen next to Measure, click Pan to, set scale length to 3' or 1 meter, click here at the bottom of the screen, long hold on the screen on the point in question and click Review on the popup menu. Seems like a long process, but it isn't after you do it a few times.

Thanks,

I did not know about the keyboard shortcuts - I'll give them a try.

I could really use a single key that works as 'jump to next field' in the data attributes entry. I find I repeatedly stab at the screen with the stylus - and sometimes it works, sometimes not. I find this hugely frustrating, and it is worse in bad weather. And its not that the screen isn't aligned, or clean, or that I'm particularly rough on the gear.

I do wonder how much real-life field use these toys get from the manufacturers. I've spent time working for Trimble, and I know they put significant effort into product testing - but it seems testing new gear in an open field on a nice day is very different from using two year old gear in bad weather on a real job.

Maybe I should drag one of their product managers around with me for a few days - and then see what he thinks of the gear. But being Trimble I suspect the response would be probably be "go buy our new latest and greatest bells and whistles all singing all dancing models and your troubles will vanish"

Because I'm taking the data straight into the DiNi immediately after getting the GPS shot, I like Christoph's solution more - one keyboard press keyboard to open "Review Current Job", the point I need is sitting right at the top of the list, then one screen click to view the NEZ data.

Maybe I can also find a keystroke to can replace that screen click - I'll have another play today...

The tab buttons will jump you through the available fields.

For Moving from field to field I use the big Navigation button.

The Center = Enter
Tap Right Side will take you to the next field or button
Standard the text in the edit field is selected so when you input new data the old is overwritten.
Tap Left side to deselect the text and position the cursor at the end of the line
Tap CONTROL Left Side to position the cursor at the beginning of the line

Use your shift, select text , CTRL-C and CTRL-V as on your regular windows pc to copy and paste.

I use the touchscreen mostly during the station setup and in the map window to select lines for staking. Most other actions are done with the keyboard.

Of course the Up and Down keys work as well!

Chr.

ps 1. I just reread the beginning of the post. Maybe another option is tho measure from within the map screen. (Hit measure or Enter or the center of the big navigation button) then you will be taken to the measure screen. If you don't have to change the feature code Tap the same button again to measure. once the point is stored you're back in the map view. Under the Options button in the map view you can choose to display the elevations. Set your Scale Length to .20 meter or so in the 'pan to point' menu and set the 'Automatic pan to current position' enabled. You now should have only the last point on the screen with the elevation on the display. Not sure when the attribute window will pop-up.

ps 2. How many fields do you have to enter for the manholes? We often do the same type of work and collect almost 30 field I think. Years ago we did it with a Psion3, but that software is never updated. I'm currently looking to program the whole stuff for our TSC2. It would be interesting to see how you deliver the product and what steps you make to get there. Do you have to add digital pictures of location and of the manhole itself?

> ps 2. How many fields do you have to enter for the manholes?

There are about 12 attributes for the pit, and a similar number for each pipe - usually only need to enter or change half of them.