Hey guys, we recently upgraded our total station+data collector?ÿand have ran into some problems. Our rep where we bought it from has not been much help and I was wondering if anyone else has had some of these issues with the new Topcon equipment.
This is our current gear setup:
Topcon GT 505 total station (New last year)
FC-5000 data collector (New last year)
Hiper-SR GPS receiver
Magnet Software
Verizon MIFI
Problems:
FC-5000:
The screen is absolutely awful when it gets wet. We have tried different stylus', using our finger, and the variety of touchscreen options that they include, but nothing seems to help. As an example I was RTKing in the woods for some rough measurements and while tying some flagging to a tree some snow fell on the data collector screen. I was unable to unlock it and use it until I dried it completely and let it sit for a minute. (Took me 10 mins to get collecting again)
The second problem is that is has a very hard time connecting to the Verizon MIFI. We have been to Verizon, talked to our rep, and troubleshooted with windows to try and fix it. It still can take 10-15mins to connect sometimes. We often have to restart both a few times, or leave them on and next to each other on the way to the job and hope they connect.
GT-505:
We have experienced what we think may be some gear slipping but it is still covered by warranty. Anyone else have any problems with the gears?
Thanks,
Nate
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My experiences with Topcon...is not good, with the exception of their manual TS that use no data collector, just basic traverse/topo gun. GTS and ES series have all worked fine for me.?ÿ
Yeah, we have some older Topcon?ÿtotal stations that we use with a Spectra Precision data collector and have never had any issues.
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We have the same feeling - the older Topcons seemed to be workhorses.
We had some rather large issues with our newer GT 1003 which finally led to getting a new robot. The gun was in the shop 3 times before Topcon gave us a new one. I know the guys seem to like the FC-5000 overall but I think they have the same issue with them as far as rain. We don't often work in the rain but when they need to, they actually started putting the collector up higher and facing it down so the rain water would not hit the screen.
hopefully your FC-5000 is setup to use only the Topcon keyboard. There is a windows keyboard that will sometimes be on instead or at the same time as the Topcon one. Once we shut this off I thought the guys were going to hug us! It made a big difference in usability.?ÿ
Hope you get some things worked out with that gun. The new one we have seems to work great.
One other thing is we were having large vertical errors and then the dealer ran through the instrument constant in configuration but you must also do number 3 which is "Image Sensor-Reticle Offset" to correct that error. See page 137 of the users manual.
Good luck!
I've been using the GT505 for over a year now with my FC5000. In the rain, I change the touch profile to rain mode and it seems to work just fine. I've only had some tracking issues when the prism and gun were wet.
I have the same FC-5000, Hiper SR, but with verizon built in. The screen is touchy for me when wet, also tough to work with at or near zero deg. F.
THE most frustrating things have been:
1) needing to do a hard reset 30 miles from my office and my charger.?ÿ You will need a charger to get it going again if you ever need the 'nuclear option'. You don't lose your main battery charge, but some battery on the board becomes compeletly dischaged and needs a little help to get back up and going
2) Windows pushing updates at a very inoportune moment.?ÿ Originally, my dealer had it set up to prompt me for installation of updates, but he claims the microsoft nanny state took away that freedom.
Steve
@Gregg-gafney
Thank you, yeah I thankfully dealt with the keyboard issue right away. I have noticed slightly higher vertical errors than our older gun so I will check that out. We haven't done any topo with it yet. Overall I like the FC-5000 for field collection, but it can be frustrating occasionally. My boss has come pretty close to putting it in the lake a few times haha
@arctan(x)
When you use the water setting do you use a stylus or your hand? It seems to work sometimes but I always have problems trying to select anything in the corner of the screen.
That is frustrating. I work in Maine so we have run into a few times when it?ÿhad problems in cold weather, but I believe its only rated for -5 F and?ÿthe?ÿpast few weeks?ÿhas been consistently below that.
We stopped auto updates by setting our wireless connections to metered. Thankfully we haven't had to do a hard reset yet, but we carry a converter so we can charge our equipment in the car in a pinch.
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.. we recently upgraded our total station+data collector?ÿand have ran into some problems. Our rep .... has not been much help .... new Topcon equipment....The screen is absolutely awful when it gets wet. .... We have experienced what we think may be some gear slipping....?ÿ
Won't work with a wet screen? No wonder I haven't seen this model in Oregon/Washington.?ÿ
I use a Topcon PS, which is now 2 1/2 years old, with Survey Pro on a TSC3. I don't like it for reasons I have previously described in detail, but at least it works in the rain.?ÿ People who buy Trimble or Leica pay more but they rarely experience buyer's remorse.?ÿ?ÿ
?ÿIf I were you at this point I'd be looking to get my money back.
I forgot about the issue that happens with the controller locking up sometimes and will only respond with the power cord. The guys have started taking the power cord with them in case this happens - shouldn't need it in the field but we have to do it just in case.
funny - I was probably close to putting ours in a lake also! Again to be fair though, the new one seems to be working fine.
We also have the the built in Verizon and don't have any issues with that.
The noise you are hearing that you referred to as "gear noise" is likely the normal chatter of the EDM.?ÿ The GT series robots have no servo motors or gears, but use what Topcon calls their "sonic drive" which seems to be Topcon's version of the drive of the other yellow brand starting with a T.
If you have had this instrument for a few months, it almost certainly needs a firmware update.?ÿ Depending on what version the firmware on it is, you may be able to do that yourself over your office WiFi.?ÿ If it is below a certain version number, you will want to have your dealer do the update.
With the FC-5000 touch screen, we found whenever moisture get behind the screen protector (even just on the edge)?ÿit goes haywire until dries out.?ÿPutting it in?ÿa gallon zip lock bag has been our only solution, however only a finger tip seems to work thru the bag, no matter the setting; which has been troublesome with our recent "high" temperatures.
Also it appears that cold temps with high humidity (like under 25 before a storm), seems to raise hell with the alignment of the?ÿtouch screen. Five minutes of the dashboard defroster gets you 10 minutes working time until repeating.
The updates are pita, thought we had the auto-update turned off but we still get them.?ÿ As well as the bi-weekly "Your PC has had an issue, we are collecting data and will reset shortly" which is usually an hour later (unless you hard-reset).
And there is having to do a hard reset coming off the charger?ÿ2 or 3?ÿdays week, to get her to power up.
GT-503
She does hold zero for squat and have found the mirco adjustment to be choppy even top the point of backing up a little to the left when panning right or visa versa
Feeling like?ÿthe GPT-8000 running a TDS Ranger Survey Pro, was Topcon's high water mark. I will be looking elsewhere when the time comes.
With the FC-5000 touch screen, we found whenever moisture gets behind the screen protector (even just on the edge)?ÿit goes haywire until dries out.?ÿPutting it in?ÿa gallon zip lock bag has been our only solution, however only a bare?ÿfinger tip seems to work thru the bag, no matter the setting; which has been troublesome with our recent "high" temperatures.
Also it appears that cold temps with high humidity (like under 25 before a storm), seems to raise hell with the alignment of the?ÿtouch screen. Five minutes of the dashboard defroster gets you 10 minutes working time until repeating.
The updates are pita, thought we had the auto-update turned off but we still get them.?ÿ As well as the bi-weekly "Your PC has had an issue, we are collecting data and will reset shortly" which is usually an hour later (unless you hard-reset).
And there is having to do a hard reset coming off the charger?ÿ2 or 3?ÿdays week, to get her to power up.
GT-503
She does hold zero for squat and have found the mirco adjustment to be choppy even top the point of backing up a little to the left when panning right or visa versa
Feeling like?ÿthe GPT-8000 running a TDS Ranger Survey Pro, was Topcon's high water mark. I will be looking elsewhere when the time comes.
The FC-5000 is NOT made by Topcon, it is a Juniper Mesa 2. Carlson and Sokkia also have flavor of this controller. I don't use them, I prefer Panasonic whuch has built in heater to prevent screen damage on cold days. The only way I have been able to use a tablet PC in heavy rain was using an attached rugged keyboard made for the Panasonic FZ-M1. This way the screen is vertical to let rain run off. The Juniper web site suggest using RainX on your screen. I may try this. See more info in this link.
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The sonic motors do have an interesting sound. The slipping I am talking about is when you are turning it with the circles on the side it will slip when turning it at a consistent speed. One of my jobs at the office is to update the equipment so I have been updating the GT whenever a new update comes out.
Yeah my boss has used a GPT?ÿ3007 for a long time and never had an issue. That was part of the reason he wasn't hesitant about going Topcon again.
I am consistently on Junipers website looking for update but I had not seen that link before. Looks like?ÿI am?ÿgrabbing some Rain-X.
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Update: Rain-X seems to help the problem. Only tested it minimally, but will be out later today in the snow.
