I'm looking for a replacement for the old DL101. the dealer tells me that not only do they now cost 3 times as much, but that they will not read the old barcode rods. Is this true; and if so, why do you think that Topcon works so hard at alienating its loyal customers?
I am sure they dont want to alienate you, and are actually working very hard to keep you happy. No easy job with conservative surveyors and new technologies.
But I can see why a barcode change might be warranted.
The first digital levels needed to be able to see quite a length of staff to read, and had problems close up and working near the ends of the staff.
The newer ones need only a short length of staff.
But the encoding is different.
I would be betting that if your level is old enough to need replacement, your staves will be so old knocked around, bashed and battered that they will be near dead anyway - in my experience they get a rough life
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Hello - I am also looking at purchasing a digital level - any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated.
I have only used Leica myself.
I use (a lot) a Dini12. I have regular rods and invar rods as well. As far as I know, this level has not been improved at all since it came out. I had a previous Zeiss Dini 12 but that got smashed in a door on a deformation project.?ÿ
I went to Intergeo a few years ago, NONE of the manufacturers had a digital level on display.?ÿ
I was disappointed that Trimble at Dimensions earlier this month also did not have a digital level. Seems like they just want to keep selling the same old model with no improvements.?ÿ
I recently was told about the Sokkia SDL1X, which seems like a newer model that has some improvements like autofocus and remote trigger.?ÿ
I contacted a dealer (Hayes) who was 1 hour away from where I was going to be doing a project that included digital levels (about 10 hours from my office). I wanted to see how well it worked before I made the decision to buy, which means getting all new rods.?ÿ
He did not want to come to the project site, expected me to go to his office. Doesn't sound like someone who wants to make a sale.?ÿ
They advertise a "super invar" option, but I believe the price for that rod is about $13K, at least that is what someone told me.?ÿ?ÿ
@john-hamilton The Dini is a good one. ?ÿEspecially with the invar rods. We had a special box built to fit the box lol. Mounted on top of our HUMVEE. ?ÿThe biggest issue with the large invar was mobility. Flying it all over the world it was a thorn in my side. Try getting one on a ship. Through the small turns and such. But they worked well in the heat of Africa and cold of other places. I did only run in Africa from sun up for like two hours or so then 2 hours before sun went down when temperatures were over 120 degrees f. ?ÿThe sun angle I learned could give you some issues at times. Getting a reading. But great results. ?ÿRan older leica years ago in Colorado and it worked well also. But that was private sector so no invar rods. Two piece. But we did have good enough results.
I do get really good results with the Dini. But, my issues are problems with reading the rod when there is sun behind it, or shadows, or sometimes just no discernible reason. Ideal day is overcast, even then it sometimes acts up.?ÿ
When we shipped our 3 m rods (I have 3) out for calibration to SLAC, we had to ship by LTL freight, the rod with box is over the 10' limit of UPS and Fedex. It will actually fit in one of my vehicles, a Grand Cherokee L, but on my Silverado we have a PVC sewer pipe mounted on the roof to carry the 3 m rod. We also have 2 m invar for flat dams.?ÿ
For less accurate work, I use a 3 or 4 m folding rod. I actually "calibrated" those against a one piece invar to account for any mismatch at each joint, so I have a correction factor for 0 to 1 m, 1 to 2 m, 2 to 3 m, and 3 to 4 m. I also a 1 m fiberglass (one piece) and a thin 0.50 m invar strip for marks set vertical.?ÿ
So I would hate to have to replace all of those if I switch brands.?ÿ
i have a Sokkia Sdl30. Standards rods (fiberglass). Works good but onboard sofwtare sucks. You'll need a connection to Magnet Field to use it with ease.
@beuckie Thanks for that insight. I really would not buy without trying it first, but there is no dealer in my home area
Did a bunch of monitoring and control networks with a Leica DNA03.?ÿ Loved it.?ÿ Easy flash card to take out and upload, came with a free (rudimentary) leveling program, and we used the thing in all sorts of weather.?ÿ Expensive, but it was worth it if you used a digital level a lot.
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I have read that Carlson also supports the Sprinter series, but cannot personally confirm that.
i have never used a digital for levels. optical with a good quality Wild, Kern and 3 wire it. young persons now, they don't have a clue about such. using an out of adjustment instrument and not knowing about the errors so you can keep working. pack it up and grab a?ÿ beer. walk that 4000' again tomo . dadgum
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Digital is just the same as optical - same rules apply - only you dont have to write down the numbers.
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Accurate too - the DiNi is spec'd at +-0.01mm, good to +-0.3mm in the field
Besides precision of the instrument, you have less chance for human induced reading blunders.?ÿ Be they cause by eye fatigue or just plain miss reading.?ÿ And don't forget speed, they are way faster than booking everything needed to run 3 wire levels.
