Adam, post: 439017, member: 8900 wrote: Javad himself has a little to say about that in this months American Surveyor. Here's a link http://amerisurv.com/emag/2017/vol14no8/index.html
There's a brief field test comparison with R10 in that article.
Scott Ellis, post: 439053, member: 7154 wrote:
Well.........if ya got nothing good to say just throw out some useless meme, those always have a positive effect on a conversation.
Just A. Surveyor, post: 439090, member: 12855 wrote: Well.........if ya got nothing good to say just throw out some useless meme, those always have a positive effect on a conversation.
Personally, I found it to be useful.
Just A. Surveyor, post: 439090, member: 12855 wrote: Well.........if ya got nothing good to say just throw out some useless meme, those always have a positive effect on a conversation.
Personally, I found it to be useful.
As previously stated, its all a write off anyway. The equipment we use generally lasts a long time because we care and understand its value to us.
I purchase from the guy down the road not the guy out of state or out of country. It is good professional business practice. They support our local professional groups, sponsor continuing education and are there during the same business hours that I keep. That counts for something more than a few dollars.
As for the quality of the stuff they sell. If it were crap than I would expect that they would tell me so rather than me hearing it from my friends at Brand X or my monthly society meeting.
My story is old, so it may not have much relevance, but a few years back, the yellow company had their special brick batteries they sold for use with their equipment. Had the special plugs on the connectors, local radio and electronic shops couldn't replace the ends. I took a battery apart one day, and inside of this $280 marvel was a deer feeder battery that could be bought at tractor supply for about $38.99. I have been very skeptical of any name branded items that were not the main components of a GPS system or Conventional System since then. I can check my cheaper carbon fiber rods for plumb. I can check my cheaper tribrachs for plumb, tighness, etc. My aftermarket cables can be tested with a multimeter. My aftermarket batteries dont last as long, but at slightly less than 1/3 the price, if I get slightly over 1/3 the life, I am ahead.
Monte, post: 439136, member: 11913 wrote: My story is old, so it may not have much relevance, but a few years back, the yellow company had their special brick batteries they sold for use with their equipment. Had the special plugs on the connectors, local radio and electronic shops couldn't replace the ends. I took a battery apart one day, and inside of this $280 marvel was a deer feeder battery that could be bought at tractor supply for about $38.99. I have been very skeptical of any name branded items that were not the main components of a GPS system or Conventional System since then. I can check my cheaper carbon fiber rods for plumb. I can check my cheaper tribrachs for plumb, tighness, etc. My aftermarket cables can be tested with a multimeter. My aftermarket batteries dont last as long, but at slightly less than 1/3 the price, if I get slightly over 1/3 the life, I am ahead.
Ahhh, ye ol' Cow Bell Batteries.
I have "rebuilt" several of these babies for some of my unfortunate friends who lost their souls to the Yellow Devil. In my experience you can not only get BETTER batteries from Batterys Plus, but upgrade from 7.5 AH to 9AH (or maybe more).
Loyal
Loyal, post: 439139, member: 228 wrote: Ahhh, ye ol' Cow Bell Batteries.
I have "rebuilt" several of these babies for some of my unfortunate friends who lost their souls to the Yellow Devil. In my experience you can not only get BETTER batteries from Batterys Plus, but upgrade from 7.5 AH to 9AH (or maybe more).
Yes, Trimble just made the case and cables. The actual battery is one you can buy at your nearest Batteries Plus store or via the internet if you want to pay even less. I've kept a couple of those Trimble batteries alive by trips to Batteries Plus and, yes, the batteries available now have a greater storage capacity in the exact same configuration.
Jim Frame, post: 439028, member: 10 wrote: If you want Leica quality without Leica pricing, take a look at GeoMax. The guns are a generation back, but aside from color seem to be genuine Leica.
I've heard good things about the geomax. However, the ip rating is 54 v. ip 68 Leica. Leads me to believe they are not put together as well, even if most components are the same.
Just A. Surveyor, post: 439052, member: 12855 wrote: ...how do you know what you're getting anymore when the big name manufacturers sub contract all their work to a 3rd party vendor.
you test the gear. It has specifications, be it tripod, tribrack, prism or total station. If it performs to the specifications then you got what you paid for. I don't see it as philosophical question and it shouldn't need debate. finish and country of manufacture are not relevant to whether it performs as advertised.
If it isn't specced then don't buy it. You'd just be buying a thing that is built to look like another thing, and it may or may not perform like the thing that it is made to be like.
Duane Frymire, post: 439149, member: 110 wrote: I've heard good things about the geomax. However, the ip rating is 54 v. ip 68 Leica. Leads me to believe they are not put together as well, even if most components are the same.
the leica TS15 is/was specced to ip55. Its equivalent the geomax zoom90 is similarly specced to ip55.
The leica sprinter 250m digital level is specced to ip55 and its equivalent geomax ZDL700 is also specced to ip55.
The leica 1200+ / TS12 total stations and the equivalent geomax zoom 80 series were both specced to ip54.
The top 2 models of leica and geomax GNSS receivers are ip68 rated.
Ratings taken from available brochures and manufacturer's websites. Seems quite similar to me.
Just A. Surveyor, post: 438963, member: 12855 wrote: and nearly all of them are made elsewhere, Malaysia, Hungary, etc.. so they are contracting out a lot of theor work as is every other manufacturer.
This is just manufacturing circa 2017; companies aren't necessary "contracting out" work, rather they are globalizing their production.
If you fly a Delta Airbus A350 or a United Airlines 787 the Rolls Royce engine was made in Singapore. Pratt & Whitney produces a number of the elemements of their engines in Singapore as well. If you buy an Audi or a Lamborghini the engine was made in Hungary. Mercedes builds a number of their newer models in Hungary as well.
One of the reasons that firms can move their manufacturing out of their home country without a drop in quality is the huge increase in robotics in the manufacturing & assembly process. Not related to surveying products, but a certain orange shaded politician recently promised to bring steel manufacturing jobs back to the USA. The problem with this is that we produce the same about of steel domestically that we did in 1980; we just do it with 80,000 employees in 2017 as opposed to 700,000 in 1980. Things just aren't made by humans any more.
Babies and pregnant women might argue with that final sentence.
Holy Cow, post: 439161, member: 50 wrote: Babies and pregnant women might argue with that final sentence.
Let them argue; anyone who would refer to a baby as a "thing" doesn't deserve my consideration, only my contempt.
Who makes the robots that make the stuff?
Dave Karoly, post: 439171, member: 94 wrote: Who makes the robots that make the stuff?
Ironically, the Swiss
Conrad, post: 439152, member: 6642 wrote: the leica TS15 is/was specced to ip55. Its equivalent the geomax zoom90 is similarly specced to ip55.
The leica sprinter 250m digital level is specced to ip55 and its equivalent geomax ZDL700 is also specced to ip55.
The leica 1200+ / TS12 total stations and the equivalent geomax zoom 80 series were both specced to ip54.
The top 2 models of leica and geomax GNSS receivers are ip68 rated.
Ratings taken from available brochures and manufacturer's websites. Seems quite similar to me.
I stand corrected, thanks.
[USER=136]@James Fleming[/USER]
At 2:00 a.m. when one won't shut up, it's been called far worse than a "thing". Especially if it's in the apartment next door.
Just A. Surveyor, post: 439090, member: 12855 wrote: Well.........if ya got nothing good to say just throw out some useless meme, those always have a positive effect on a conversation.
Actually, it's a quote from a move "Tommy Boy", and it sort of supports your thesis. The protagonist played by Chris Farley, was representing a automotive parts manufacturer (his dad) against a larger corporation, owned by Dan Akroyd. The thing that Akroyd kept saying he had over his smaller competition was a great warranty. Farley was making the argument that the warranty was only words on the box and not nearly as important as the quality of the component itself. To your thesis, the foreign made accessories may be made to great quality even if they don't have the less consequential text on the box.