Just wondering what was being used, likes/dislikes/ $. We are in need of a couple and saw some aluminum for about $100, carbon fiber tele for about 270. We have used the standard 2m carbon fiber 2piece but what do y'all use, why, and how much.
I prefer the collapsible 2m carbon fiber rods because of their light weight and ease of storage.
I use the Seco 2 meter Snap-Loc rods. They work great for me. I have a two piece carbon fiber 2 meter rod, that gets used only when I am running 4 static units.
I haeGPS ROVER POLES
I have the standard metal two-piece fixed pole that came with the rover, but I bought an extendable carbon fiber pole that is my first choice for almost all work. Carbon fiber because it is light, and the extendable feature paid for itself the first week. Very, very useful. (It also means buying longer cables to match.)
Depends... right?
The 11.5' carbon rod is only .5 lbs lighter than the aluminum version.
If you are mapping parking lots or surveying cornfields, the fixed rods may work fine.
If you are running lines in canopy or tall brush, you will want to have
a number of sections to get the rover head up.
The other thing you may want to consider is how fragile the carbon rods
are, especially when used with unmodified Seco bipods.
While carbon rods are cool, they definitely have a shorter lifespan.
If you have ham hand klutz crews sharing equipment, the carbon rods
will be torn up pretty quick.
Yeah, but, half a pound times several miles in a day times 250 days in a year times several years adds up. Go for the lightest and best, I say.
Aluminum or carbon fiber
> Go for the lightest and best, I say.
Applies to both field crews and poles 🙂
> Just wondering what was being used, likes/dislikes/ $. We are in need of a couple and saw some aluminum for about $100, carbon fiber tele for about 270. We have used the standard 2m carbon fiber 2piece but what do y'all use, why, and how much.
2m fixed carbon fiber Trimble Seco.
FWIW, adjustable ht. carbon fiber Trimble Seco for the robots.
I like aluminum for the durability. Carbon Fiber is lighter, but most of your weight is in the DC/Receiver/Antenna, so you won't really notice much difference between the two.
Fixed height is also nice, though the collapsible is good if you're having to get in and out of a truck a lot since you can fit it into the cab with you without hassle.
I use a twist lock seco 8-foot aluminum pole with aluminum seco bipod with a plastic pole clip and attached ranger 3. Kinda heavy for a setup, but carrying a collapsed pole through the underbrush is a little easier than a two meter pole. The bipod gives me a steady read on a point. My atv does most of the carrying for me! The twist lock is a little bit of a nuiscance in that I have to keep the threads lightly lubricated and tight. A quick lock lever is constantly getting caught and hung on vines and branches. I like setting up on a point and raising the rod straight up through branches and hope I get a good signal.
Spring has sprung around northeast Mississippi, and we almost have full-grown leaves on all the trees, so my GPS reception is way down.
I've had a couple differnt ones so here is my take:
2m 2-piece alum rods for static. Weight usually isn't an issue.
The collapsible alum snap lock rods for rtk and robot work.
The reason is I find the extra alum pole weight to not be an issue (and weight is a huge deal for me) but more importantly I find the pole more balanced. The carbon fiber pole wit the rover on top is way too top heavy, and the alum pole gives more control when staking out.
Also, the carbon fiber ones just don't last - and I don't think that I am that hard on equipment.
We have two of these http://www.stakemill.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3611 and we like them. They don't look as "cool" as carbon fiber but they work fine and the weight has not been an issue.
Can't stand the carbon fiber 2 meter ones except for static locations, keep some around for that. Use only the extendable aluminum rods, I want to make them small for the 4-wheeler and to get in and out of the truck, and to change H.I.'s to change multi-path and check locations.
But any rod I use needs two bubbles in sync with each other.
Seco collapsible 2m carbon fiber rods.
Yep, that is the one that I use. Love the gradations on the side for construction stakeout.