Posting for a friend:
So my friend who is a civil engineering student just bought a Leica TCA1105plus from the USA and it was imported from Chicago to to Antananarivo, Madagascar.
The item was advertised as fully-operational, like-new and it came shiny in its transport box. The instrument really looks new! It does not have any signs of previous use whatsoever, not a single accessory was missing, and it even has that particular fresh smell of "new sneakers" out-of-the-box. It also has a memory card inside that was basically looks new! Nonetheless, it had one dead battery and the transport case has a few light scratches on it but nothing unpleasant. He spent a little over $4000 for it including UPS shipping charges and hefty customs fees to Madagascar.
Recently, we tested it in the backyard in Antananarivo after fully charging a battery. The software runs smoothly and has no lags nor bugs, the beeping sounds are working, the EGL guiding light are working, the motorization functions works fine and even the ATR Target Recognition works as the robot accurately rotates and follows the 360 prism around when it is being moved.
There is just one problem: When testing it out, it seems as if we cannot get it to shoot a distance and at first we received this error:
Leica ERROR: 255 [EDM Measurement not achieved, interference during EDM Measurement (e.g. no return]
We tried to change the prism as we thought that it might be a prism problem and two different round prisms (a Leica GPR121 and a fake chinese knock-off Topcon prism)
This was very confusing as this instrument was the first TPS1100 I ever put my hands on. My friend just needed me because the Menu language was in English and he is more comfortable with French. So I was just trying to help as much as I could. We tried to follow all the instruction manual as best as we could, and done everything accordingly. That is when this other error came up:
Leica ERROR: 200 [General EDM Error (84): If frequently reported call service]
At that point, his face turned from confused to sad. I really feel empathetic for him as he gets teary eyes on the thought of having spent $4000 (which is a lot of money in Madagascar) on an unusable instrument. My ignorant head just tried to reassure him saying that it might be just a setting issue which blocks the gun from shooting any distance, but deep down I know that is just wishful thinking. One thing we do not understand is how the ATR setting can be working (which means that the robot actually recognizes the prism and follows it around) when the distance is not being measured. I have been reading this forum and found some similar threads:
https://surveyorconnect.com/community/surveying-geomatics/leica-tcr1105-not-shooting/#post-329156
My friend is not comfortable on the idea of sending it to service because there are no authorized Leica distributor/repairer in the country. There are only independent repairmen around.
It would help a ton if anyone can share any idea on this, what are the settings that you are using, etc. Is there anything that we rookies need to be aware of? If the EDM board is failing, can it be replaced with another EDM board from another TPS1100 instrument? Any help on this is much appreciated!
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Bump. ?ÿTTT.
There are thousands of 1101 series and 1101 Plus series Instruments out there that only need EDM repair to be functional. I actually have one of each in my shed. Both lasted less than a year each after non-Leica repair. I still bought another new Lecia Robotic TS.?ÿ If you bought in on eBay, send it back.?ÿ
@brad-ott Hello brad! Unfortunately, I really don't know what the "Bump. TTT" means in your message. Sorry.
@oldpacer Hello Sir. Unfortunately it was not on ebay and cannot be returned. So do you mean that even if it gets fixed, it won't last long before it dies? Did I understand that correctly?
After that, could you be kind enough to recommend anyone that can repair it? I know that Leica does not service 1100 series anymore so it has to go through independent repairshops.
It means "to the top".?ÿ He was trying to help you get more exposure to your topic by bumping it to the top of the page.?ÿ
I don't really know the answer to the problem but it sounds likely it's what oldpacer said. I would agree with trying to send it back.?ÿ
It seems like the 1200 series might be less prone to failure but they're going to be double the price of the 1100.?ÿ
I hope someone else comes up with a better solution for you but it doesn't sound good.?ÿ
@350rocketmike Oh TIL something new. Thanks a lot for the explanation. I totally wished I could send it back as well but sadly it cannot be returned. I am thinking about trying to find a repair service at this point.
Hopefully others can give you some input on this. My only experience with repair was with a late model Sokkia robot and it was under warranty.?ÿ
You could try [email protected]
He is in Poland and has posted on here occasionally, though not for several years I think.
He has stated he repairs Leica EDM's.
Obviously, with the shipping involved, it's not going to be cheap and may not be worth it. He can probably tell you what the error codes mean at least.
It's a shame, the 1100's are still great - the newer 1200's have better batteries and internal radios, which are big improvements, but in terms of performance an 1100 is still an impressive instrument.
I wish there were more people tinkering with keeping them going - there are a few people on here who have a passion for keeping the Trimble/Geodimeter 5600's alive, (even older)
The gentleman referenced above has even said that most Leica EDM repairs are simply a matter of replacing a few motors, although Leica would have you believe you needed a whole new board, so it's doubly frustrating that their isn't an underground network of repair shops scattered around the globe!
Good luck.
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@cf-67 awesome. Thanks a million! I will send him an email right away. What's his name?
His name is Chris if I remember correctly.
There is another guy in Morocco who repairs those boards as well, but he insists that you send the instrument to a guy in France. Then he sends it to Morocco. That sounds very risky. You are better off sending your instrument to Poland.
Mick.
I have a Lecia TCR 1105 (reflectorless -not robotic) that I bought from Foggy on Beerleg. I can't use it?ÿ as?ÿ it won't talk to a data collector and the screen is to faded to see. I wonder if it has the same EDM board as the robotic gun.?ÿ
@micheal-daubyn-2 Hi Myck!
At least, I have two options now: Poland and Morocco. I don't know about the Moroccan guy but it sounds risky at first sight. On the other hand, (and I am speculating here) it makes sense. Morocco and Madagascar are both ex-french colonies but I can only speak for Madagascar. It costs an arm and a leg to pay the customs fee. For example, when you import stuff directly from US, Canada or anywhere else using regular courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc), you'll pay through the nose for these. On the other hand, there are many companies based in France that enjoy duty-free status when importing stuff into the country so when we transit things through France, we just pay a symbolic fee for customs. I think this might also be the case for Morocco but idk honestly.
As a third and last option, there is also a company in St Petersburg in Russia called ANDEX. They claim that they can service any geosystem-related equipment and I will put below their recent Facebook post about it. Nonetheless, I am just posting this last option for completeness of what I have found so far. Since this forum is mainly North American, I don't want to get lambasted by the idea of trying to solicit making business with Russia.
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@larry-best Hi Larry. According to Chris from Poland, it probably won't have the same EDM board. Thanks a ton for reaching out.
There was another thread exactly about a TCR1105 here from a few years ago:
https://surveyorconnect.com/community/surveying-geomatics/leica-tcr1105-not-shooting/#post-329156
2-MONTH UPDATE: THE PROBLEM GOT SOLVED
After writing to Chris, I agreed to sending him the instrument. He was servicing it and installed the new EDM motors on the PCB board. He also installed a new firmware and a new battery for the memory board I think.bWe talked through E-mail and through phone calls.
Last week, I just received the parcel back from Poland. After testing it's working great :).
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Your persistence paid off!?ÿ Good for you when some would just give up!?ÿ Thanks to all the great help here of course! ?????ÿ
@timd1971 Thanks a lot Tim! Yes this wouldn't have been possible without the helpful people on this forum!
Hi Billy
Can you help me to get in touch with that guy in Poland please ? I have some old TCM devices that has lost their firmwares. I want find help from him to see if he can do something.
Thanks a lot.
Dick
Sorry for the late reply Dick. His email is
k w i e c l a w [at] y a h o o . c o m
Just make sure to remove all the spaces and you're good to go. If he asks you, tell him you got his contact from Billy.