Can you please help a guy out?
Guys, I'm an LS with 20+ years under my belt. About 10 years ago the firm I worked with stopped using Trimble everything but I still kept a copy of Business Center on my desktop because I've just never found a better desktop software for making mass data adjustments/conversions/ etc.
-A while back I started working for a county and I've been tasked with re-habilitating our poorly maintained PLSS system.
-I want to get back into using Trimble for this work. I feel I have a fiduciary duty to the community to spend their money wisely, so I've been hoping to find a decent base station setup to generate state plane networks in our more rural areas. This is being done to help rehabilitate the PLSS, but to also perpetuate the system for future generations.
-Locally, we have a great permanent base station that's a published NGS mark and has a network of UHF repeaters that cover a quadrant of our county. The base station also has an I.P. connection we can access via the net/cell network. I intend to use this local network for any work in this part of our county so the local firms can take the data and get right to work if they choose to.
-HERE'S WHERE I'M STRUGGLING.
-I really don't care much for Trimble dealers. I left the Trimble world with kind of a bad taste in my mouth for their whole business model and the general lack of support we got from our only "licensed" local distributer at the time. For the money they ask.... it just seemed like there wasn't a lot of hard knowledge about geodesy and the intimate details of the equipment they were selling.
-I've been trying to do my research and get back up to speed but CAN I PLEASE ASK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR OPINIONS? There's a lot of seemingly good used equipment out there but what are the pitfalls I should be looking out for? It seems like I can get a decent base setup on the open market but the same set up is almost double (or more) when bought through the dealer.
-Here are some of my concerns
1. Compatibility. I need something that will work with modern cell networks. Ideally, I don't have to use a wifi I carry with me to get a data connection. I'd also like to make sure that the base and rover are compatible... I've been leaning towards buying a couple of R10 (Version 2)... or maybe a regular R10 for the base and a version 2 for the rover.
2. Support. If I bought a used set up, what could I expect if I need help with updates, repairs, etc. I just get the impression that if I don't buy from a licensed dealer then I could expect very little support... even if I'm happy to pay them for their time and services.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
I have a reasonable budget to operate with but it's nothing crazy.. I can't justify buying a Ferrari when I need a gently used chevy.
Look at emlid and their free emlid castor. Contact Joe at e38 in Ohio. Great customer service before and after the sale.
Also look at SNIP caster. if you have any questions about how to set it all up, I would be glad to help
I feel I have a fiduciary duty to the community to spend their money wisely
I entered a job with a mid sized city in Oregon 5 years ago as a long term Trimble user. We needed new equipment of all sorts. I soon learned that Leica offered a 20% discount to government agencies (in Oregon and Washington, at least), which made there stuff significantly cheaper than Trimble. And it is really good stuff. Under those circumstances I really couldn't justify continuing with Trimble.
I don't know if that discount applies to your state of Idaho, but I would recommend that you check it out before committing yourself.
We're a trimble only company and dont need much if any support but our dealers have helped when needed..As far as equipment goes the R10 is fine but its more than a decade old and a municipality should not be buying old used equipment. The R12 and R12i blow the R10 out of the water in countless ways. I'd recommend that.
From my experience, if you can find a good dealer that sells used equipment, you get better service through them than new equipment through “authorized” dealers. I mostly get warranty work done through dealers and ANY other questions or support we have, we go through our preferred contacts.
Specifically, our preference, is Vectors Inc out of Colorado/New Mexico. Never had a bad experience with them.
The R10 is a great instrument, but like the R12 the model 2 version is significantly better under adverse conditions.
But they both have only 3G cell modems.
Don't know about your place, but 3G is shutting down in many parts of the world. If you want to use cellular direct from the receiver an R980 may be a better choice long term. It is effectively an R12 with a 4G/5G modem
=Jim=
(Disclaimer here - I currently work for Trimble, but my opinions are my own)