I sold my Allegro CX, and picked up a Carlson Surveyor+ to replace it. It isn't much different, but the Bluetooth is stronger, and it seems a little faster, both of which I like.
However, I'm having a problem with the screen alignment, and I can't seem to figure it out. I'm wondering if any of you have had problems with the screen on a Surveyor+, or even on any Windows Mobile Device, and if so how you were able to fix it.
Here's the issue - when I press the center of a button on the screen using the stylus in SurvCE, say the "S" or "Store" button, it pans the map view. So, I have to press the "S" button to the right of center. The difference between where I press, and where the computer thinks I pressed varies with time. Sometimes, it is to the left, and sometimes it is to to the right, sometimes the difference is small and sometimes the difference is big.
This evening, when I turned on the data collector, I saw that I had not entered the last shot of the day. So, I pressed the green check box on the upper right of the Enter Point Description screen, but instead of entering the point data, the computer thought I had pressed the red exit button, and as a result I lost the shot data. Now, I might have to go back to the site to get that one point.
This in addition to the time wasted on the site trying to figure out whether the displacement is left, right, etc.
Of course, I have gone through the process of Start>Settings>System Tab>Screen>Align Screen, and this usually improves things for a little while. But, invariably, not long after, the random displacement shows up again.
I'm thinking this is not a software issue, but rather a hardware issue or defect. Any thoughts on what might be going on, and how to correct it?
Thanks,
Al
We have EXACTLY the same issue with one our newest Carlson Surveyor +
Interested in hearing any solutions.
(Please don't say to calibrate screen.)
Wow, that's interesting!
I would like to know, have you owned that particular Surveyor+ since it was new, or did you purchase used. If the former, do you know whether the unit has ever been disassembled?
Do you have another Surveyor+ that works OK?
I took the screen protector off mine, just now, and noticed something. Curious whether yours exhibits the same characteristic. Look closely at the screen, and how it behaves when you touch it. On mine, there is an area of the screen where I see a pattern like oil on water. It is about 3/4" wide and about 1/2" tall, and occurs about 2/3 of the way down from the top of the screen and a little left of center. At first, I thought this was oil on the surface of the screen, and so I tried cleaning it off. Then, as I was cleaning it, I noticed that the oily area would change shape as I wiped, and if I touched a different area of the screen would disappear.
I don't know how a touch screen works, but I would think that whatever the mechanism is, it would need to be uniform throughout, and my screen looks as if there is an area where things are different. What do you notice when you look closely?
Al
Hello
I have 3 surveyor+ two are over 2-4 years old and are rock solid and never absolutely never had to
calibrate the screen on any over 4 years . So what is calibration is it Trimble thing...?
3 months past have purchased a new of the line surveyor plus if the older units fail which i
may most likely never happen..
These surveyor plus i think where modeled after the Husky FS 3 use magnesium
make it smaller and just as tough.
The only issue is the screen could be bigger for my 54 year old eyes and a VERY slightly better blue
tooth even in test to our Leica robot TS 12 is 600 ft and gps would like to see a least or better 600 ft 200 meters to rover.
But blue tooth to new topcon SR and Leica TS 12 robots is more or less perfect and i
would ditch the UHF radios and go long range blue tooth 1000 meter (3280 feet) then pull out the UHF
radios now and then as required
The only thing could be done ?? for i have had zero screen issues on units that are worn
thru the cover finish to magnesium and also to the point the screen protectors look like snow.
Are you taking about Carlson Surveyor 2 possibly..
Peter K
Peter,
I'm glad to hear of your positive experiences with the Surveyor+. I definitely have the Surveyor+ and not the new Surveyor2.
What dmyhill reports as calibration, I think, is the Windows Mobile Screen Alignment routine. This can be found at
Start>Settings>System Tab>Screen>Align Screen
I am not aware of any other procedure to align or calibrate the screen.
By the way, I'm using Carlson SurvCE on the Surveyor+.
Al
Juniper Systems provides this page providing detail and possible solutions when "Touchscreen not responding or not accurate"
Just got an email containing the following, but now don't see it posted here. Maybe it was deleted? In any case, CSHarmon, I couldn't find the thread you refer to. Would be glad for any assistance....
Hi Big Al,
CSHarmon has posted a reply on "Carlson Surveyor+ Screen Alignment Issue":
Subject: Carlson Surveyor+ Screen Alignment Issue
I had this problem earlier this year/late last year, the whole key pad except for the alpha was shifted. Someone on here helped me get it re-pathed. I'm heading out the door now but if you look up CHarmom it'll be one of top post and it's a pretty easy fix. good luck
URL of this posting: https://surveyorconnect.com/index.php?mode=thread&id=315213
We have two Surveyor+ data collectors running SurvCE 4. One is about a year and a half old and we've had no problems with it.
The other is only about six months old. We just got it back from Juniper due to screen issues. It had a spot similar to what you describe in the center of the screen. Every now and then it would go out of alignment. It wasn't a big deal for a while, because realigning it fixed it. About a month or so later the screen occasionally temporarily stopped responding to touch. Sometimes it lasted for a shot or two, but became more and more frequent and lasted longer. When it did this, rebooting it seemed to correct it for a little while. One day it stopped responding to touch and nothing we did would make it work again. I tried everything listed on Juniper's troubleshooting page.
I contacted our Carlson dealer as well as Carlson, and had it shipped to Juniper for repairs. The screen was replaced under warranty. Maybe they had a bad batch of screens? We've had it back for about a week now and everything seems to be working as it should.
I don't know if the new screen has the "oil slick" looking spot on it. I'll have to check when the field guys get back.
Keith
http://www.carlsonsw.com/support/knowledge-base/?action=display_topic&topic_id=700
Not sure what happened to my post but I've been having problems lately. Had to start with a new screen name again.
I don't know if this'll help it's for re-aligning the key pad not the screen, but again it seemed to solve my problems.
Just received this message from Juniper Systems representative:
The “oily” appearance on the screen at certain angles and under certain lighting conditions is referred to as “newton’s rings”, which are normal and should not affect operation. It is caused by ambient or office lights reflecting off of the underlying transflective LCD and then being refracted by the top flexible yet “resistive” touchscreen.
CSHarmon,
Were you having problems with your touchscreen before this fix? What data collector does your solution apply to? The link you provided doesn't seem to be working for me....
Thanks for your help.
Al
I have the same problem with my Carlson Supervisor. I even took off the screen protector and it helped a little, but I still have to calibrate it often at least once a day. It does it the most when with temperature changes. I'm ready to get rid of it; I'd like to get a Tesla, but I don't think Magnet Field will work with my Leica.
The only suggestion I have would be to:
1. Make sure all data is properly backed up.
2. Pull the battery(ies) from the unit.
3. With the battery(ies) removed, press and hold the Power button for at least 20 seconds to drain the internal capacitor of the unit.
4. Re-insert the battery(ies) and power the unit on. The data and software settings should still be in effect.
5. You might need to re-calibrate the screen once but a fresh/clean boot of the collector should resolve the problem.
Essentially, the above procedure is equivalent to a cold boot of a traditional computer. If this doesn't solve the problem, Carlson or Juniper Systems technical support should be contacted for additional corrective options and/or a determination if the unit needs to be serviced.
Thanks for the suggestion, Ladd. It is great that Carlson is participating on this forum.
Best,
Al
I've decided to send the DC to Juniper for their evaluation and/or repair. I'm inclined to think that this problem that I have described, for those who have it, is likely a result of defective hardware - basically, Juniper got a bad batch of touchscreens.
Hoping it gets resolved quickly for you.
From the time I sent our collector out to the day I received it back was around two weeks, maybe a little less. I received an email when Juniper received the unit, as well as when the tech started looking at it and again when they determined the problem. Another email to verify the return shipping address and I think I got another one letting me know it had shipped.
They had very good communication throughout the process.
Keith
Turnaround from Juniper has been very quick. I put it in the mailbox on Saturday, USPS delivered it on Monday afternoon. Juniper worked on it today, the repairs are done, and it has been repackaged for shipment tomorrow by UPS. Should have it back soon.
By the way, the technician that evaluated my data collector said that the touch screen on the surveyor plus is a resistive touchscreen and can be damaged and rendered quirky by scratches and or dents - the resistance apparently changes at these points where the scratches are. My screen did have a couple of scratches on it.
