Hi guys, just picked up a TCRP1203 at an ex government auction with the intention of adding a RH16 and using it with a CS20 controller. My previous experience with the TCRP series has been that there were electrical connectors under the standard handle that allowed the connection of a radio handle but I was surprised to not find them on this instrument!
Was this something that came along later on and they just didn't distinguish it with a new model number? (this is a 2004 model instrument). I imagine the only way the contacts could be added is by updating the two side panels?
The first 1200's used an external radio similar to the 1100 series.?ÿ As a matter of fact, I think the communication port was an extra even after it came out.?ÿ I choose to upgrade mine when the radio handles came out.?ÿ It was not cheap but worth it.?ÿ?ÿ
It is only one side that needs replacing.?ÿ Leica does make an external radio that is compatible with the long range bluetooth found on the CS20.
On a side note, what did you have to pay for the 1203?
Thanks John, I called my Leica rep after posting and had a bit of a chat. She jogged my memory that some 1200s have 'Bluetooth' marked on the side as they have the 'Communications Side Cover' installed, this is what I have always seen in the past but it didn't come along until a couple of years into the 1200 models.
It was $3500AUD with a calibration report from August of this year. It's dirty (spent most of its life on a West Queensland mine) and the motors seem to have a bit of slack in them (when changing face or turning 180 deg it starts slow turning, speeds up, overshoots the mark and has to turn back) so may yet send it back to the seller for a refund.
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You might want to look into a separate LR Bluetooth device like the ParaniSD1000. It will hang on the side of the tripod and connect to the inst. via the comm/power port. A number of folks here (myself included) use them with good results.
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@beartow Thanks Stargeezer,
This is the setup I currently use to control my Leica 1100 with a controller running SurvCE.
I had hoped to switch to Captivate running a newer instrument but as far as I am aware Leica controllers don't like talking to off brand bluetooth adapters?
The TCPS29 is the external version of the RH16 radio handle.?ÿ It requires a Y cable and external battery (which also runs the instrument).?ÿ This is plug and play with the instrument and CS20.
I bought a 7-year-old TCRA1102plus from a colleague and paired it with a Parani BT radio for a few years, and thought it was a pretty slick setup.?ÿ When gun started exhibiting quirky behavior I bought a GeoMax Zoom80 with a BT handle.?ÿ I didn't think that losing the offboard battery, tripod-hung radio and Y cable would be a big deal, but I soon changed my mind.?ÿ Being able to just take the gun out of the case, screw it on the tripod and be ready to go is a big improvement in usability.
@jim-frame Out of sheer boredom, I added mounted a Parani inside one of my semi-broken 1100's for excactly that reason. I won't say that it worked like a charm, but it did work.