Carlson Brx7 or Topcon HiPer VR?

I haven't used either of those setups but I doubt that there is much of a difference in terms of field performance. Nevertheless I think that I would prefer to hitch my wagon to Carlson, as a company, over Topcon.?ÿ ?ÿThey just seem, to me , to be more in tune with the needs of surveyors.?ÿ

I haven't spoken to anyone who uses a Topcon HiPer VR but I have a friend who is extremely happy with his BRx7.?ÿ He's in the Blue Ridge Mountains and claims it out performs his Trimble R10 under canopy.?ÿ He called it a, "game changer".?ÿ Getting a fix under a canopy of rhododendron and pines is enough to steer me towards Carlson.?ÿ I'm also a fan of their field software as compared to Trimble and Topcon.?ÿ?ÿ

We just upgraded to Hiper HRƒ??s and are very happy with the performance under canopy. We switched from survey pro to magnet software and it took a little to get used to a different menu structure but I really do like the functionality of the software for construction staking.

I used Topcon stuff for a couple years and that was long enough for me to scratch them off my list of potential equipment suppliers.?ÿ I do remember getting a set of Hiper Vs (I think) as a loaner when our own gear went down for a week or so, but I don't remember them being anything special.?ÿ In fact, I think the batteries were even smaller than the ones that we had for our current gear at the time.

An LS that I work with now were just talking about the BRX 7 a couple days ago actually.?ÿ Since we're kicking around the idea of switching to Carlson Survey for cad we thought maybe having the equipment to match would really help smooth out the workflow.?ÿ The thing that I think both of us are concerned about is the quality of it.?ÿ I'm guessing Carlson isn't building their own receiver guts, so where are these parts from??ÿ Is it chinese stuff that will break in a month??ÿ Is it 10 year old trimble or leica guts??ÿ Or maybe it's an actual diamond in the rough.?ÿ I think we'll end up trying to arrange a demo of a 7 sometime this summer, but in the meantime I'm also curious to hear what users think about the stuff.

I have a Carlson Brx6 (Base & rover) and a RT3 (with GPS,Robotic and keyboard add-on) for sale.
Used about (10) times.
Only reason for selling is I'm staying with my Leica equipment

I have Topcon Hiper VR system, it works really well when used with the magnet programs, if you are using it for static observations you also need Magnet office or a program to convert the magnet files.?ÿ I get better results under canopy than with my old system but, I would rather break out my total station if I'm worried about getting a signal.

Posted by: @sbye

Only reason for selling is I'm staying with my Leica equipment

And why is that?

I like the Leica Captivate for topo shots with the "stacking" codes, etc.
I used to have Carlson and use their software. It is good stuff. Just not wanting to learn new tricks.

Currently running Leica GS18 base/rover over UHF radio; Trimble R12/R10 base/rover over internet; Carlson BR7x base/rover of internet. Buy the Carlson. I see no difference between the lot of them, but I will let you guess which is the cheapest. (BTW just bought another BRX7 yesterday.)

@i-ben-havin

How much did a BRX7 run you if you don't mind me asking??ÿ We've been browsing a few brands but finding ballpark prices without getting sucked into a sales pitch are hard to come by up here.

@bstrand $12,131.27 including taxes and discounts.

The more I look at the Geomax Zenith 60 and the Carlson BRX7 I wonder if they had the same designer as apart from the power button panel and the bumper on the Zenith 60 they look pretty similar.

I have never personally ran a BRX7 but I'd like to try one given I've worked behind those that have and in the woods they hold their own it seems (even on the VRS network). I can say that the Topcon Hiper VR setups that I have used work OK when running an RTK base/rover setup but it won't hold lock like BRX7 or the R12i seem to do under NC's pine canopy. And I do like both Trimble & Topcon (rented an R12i VRS network rover several months back)