Hi all,
I am a new poster to SurveyorConnect.com. I work as a party chief and am not currently licensed but am in the process of learning. We have been experiencing problems with our Leica 1200+ RX1200 receiving satellite signal. First off, we tried calling our rep but he said our unit is near end of life and was a bit hesitant to help us. He has been great up until now.
Anyhow, we receive good radio signal from our Pacific Crest PDL radio. It seems like we get intermittent satellite though. We will have 6 satellites and get tight quick sometimes and then others we have nothing and we will be out in the open with no overhead obstructions. Most, if not all, of our surveying is done in Central Montana where their is little tree cover. We have noticed most of our issues have been in the afternoon. I was told the afternoon blues are mostly because satellites are behind the mountains.
On our typical good GPS day, we have 12 satellites seen 6 used L1 and L2 and no problems. Within the last three months our good GPS day has gone from 12 satellites seen to 10 or less and 4 used on L1 and L2. Today we had 10 satellites seen 4-5 on L1 and L2 and we couldn't get tight. We even tried putting the rover on the base and running off of our car battery and it still read the same. It was snowing today but I have been told that snow has little to no effect on the signal.
We have replaced our cables from the rover to the rod GPS antenna. We also replaced cables from our radio to our base.
Does the 1200+ have any capabilities to pick up Russian Satellites? If so how does a guy go about setting that up?
Any advice is greatly appreciated! We have been fighting this thing for the past year off and on. Thank God for having a Total Station for backup!
Cheers,
Joe Gill
Townsend, MT
Hello Joe,
Did you guys do the big firmware update that was out, from memory, mid to late last year? It fixed some upcoming satellite tracking issues.
I don't think we have. That's what this issue feels like. I know my boss is always reluctant for change. But when you cannot get work done, it costs more money than an update.
Thanks! I'll look more into it!
Cheers,
Joe Gill
Townsend, MT
Any time you have satellite problems the first thought should be the cables. You have replaced he cables, so the next step is to delete the current almanac. If that doesn't help, then it is most likely the firmware is out of date.
I use the Russian satellites. I think I paid Leica $10K for the privilege, and it was money well spent.
To delete the almanac:
5 config
2 instrument settings
2 satellite settings
shift F4 init
(wait 15 minutes)
Thanks for the info Bruce!! That's helpful info to know. My boss (and father-in-law) knows a great deal on how to run his GPS but is not as tech savvy as some. He relies on our dealer to do most technical things. But when the dealer doesn't deliver someone has to step in. I'll have to continue looking at a few things. Cables than updating Almanac. I doubt he's ever updated the Almanac... You'd probably be very surprised how long it takes us to get tight most days... I sure am!! But I'm relatively new with the survey grade equipment.
I appreciate all the help! I have to keep this site in mind for help. So far it's been very informative!!
Cheers,
Joe Gill
Townsend, MT
Hi Joe
The Measurement Engine (in the antenna) most likely needs updating. You can check which one you are on by pressing the following buttons from Main Menu
press USER > press F3 > press 3 > press F6
What is ME number
If you register your product on the Leica Myworld website ( https://myworld.leica-geosystems.com) the Measurement Engine Firmware is actually a free download.
Let me know if you're still struggling.
Phil