Knockoff Prisms-Leica

Probably no help to you but, - I tried knock off batteries from ebay due to cost of Leica and it was waste of money.
Several problems with them and finally just junked them.
Field work is challenging enough without adding additional logistics like substandard glass or batteries.

I agree some things are not worth the trouble and headache over saving money.

When I first started my company I did the same, worked okay, you will want to do some checks on the offset obviously but fine for topo. I don't do control with the 360 anyway.

As another opinion, I've bought batteries tribrachs, plummets and mini prisms all from ebay and all from the same vendor and never had any issues at all with the quality of the items, the tribrach and plummets where tested before first use however to be on the safe side.

All my prisms are set to 0mm PC so no issues, running between prisms either, i do construction staking, so the mini prism don't seem to last that long, especially when you chainman is usually an operative.

> Has anyone used Leica knockoff prisms like the ones in the link below? Leica ones are $1200-$1400 so i am trying to find something cheaper but still what it to produce the same results.
>
>> http://m.ebay.com/itm/161162970841br >
yeah mate, we've bought leica knock-off mini, 360 and circular prisms. max tested deviation from quoted offset was 1mm for the mini prism. longevity has not been an issue but our staff isn't really hard on the gear so none of it has been tested to it's breaking point. for the price of the knock-offs we could handle a few breakages.

Thanks for the info. Do you happen to have the vendor name?

Thanks for your input. I think I might try a few and test their quality.

> When I first started my company I did the same, worked okay, you will want to do some checks on the offset obviously but fine for topo. I don't do control with the 360 anyway.

Aloha, FJ: can you please share which prism do you use for controls?
Thanks

http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/cntoolstore?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

I will second the statement regarding control with the 360 prism.

Many years ago when I was using Leica gear, the salesman told me that we needed to use the circular prisms for control. He told us that IF we had to use the 360, to make sure that the yellow arrow on top of the prism was pointed towards the instrument. He said it would definitely make a difference.

I never did any comparisons to see what kind of differences it would make, but just took his word for it.

As far as the vendor that Silversabar recommended, I have bought some accessory type stuff from him, and the quality was acceptable, especially for the price.

> Many years ago when I was using Leica gear, the salesman told me that we needed to use the circular prisms for control. He told us that IF we had to use the 360, to make sure that the yellow arrow on top of the prism was pointed towards the instrument.

Note that the mini 360 (GRZ101) has the same 1 mm centering error specification as the regular round (GPH1). The older big 360 (GRZ4) has a 2 mm spec, presumably higher when an arrow isn't pointed at the gun.