I have an earlier post about getting a TSC2 to work with our older Geodimeter, this is because we have recently discovered that purchasing a new S6 that comes with a TSC3, trimble business center adavnced, new rod etc. will cost us a lot more money than we were initially thinking.
I did some reading on this site and feel that some people are suggesting a Leica robot or Topcon over the Trimble. The one thing that really surprised me with trimble is you have to replace the internal batteries every 3 or so years. I learned this when I came to the company I currently work for who has one trimble total station. The trimble total station has "servo" (autolock or tracking), but not the robotic functions. We are looking into upgrading this instrument, but are unsure at this moment.
I am looking for advice on a better robot set up then we currently have. We have a Geodimeter 600 pro, that I use the face plate as a data collector. It has a numeric code system for descriptions. 6=building corner, 71=Top back of curb, etc. This is very cumbersome while working in the field, not to mention when the draftsman starts working with the dumped data. I cannot use descriptions for tree sizes or offsets and the list goes on. It is causing me a lot of extra time in the field (writing notes for 25% of my shots) and also slowing him down in the office when drafting.
The S3 does not look like a good option from what I hear because it will be less effective as far as staying locked on the prism then our Geodimeter.
We do a wide variety of staking, lot surveys, and monitoring with a lot of relief (as in elevation) in most of our job sites.
any suggestions??????
You are going to find that any modern robotic equipment is going to have regular maintenance issues, software upgrades,etc. It's a nuisance. But the jump in productivity is worth it.
I use the orange faceplate too. Yours doesn't have alpha numerics. ? I'd look into a used 5600 robot with reflector less.
yes it has alpha, but I have never used it because with my lack of training on the instrument all I have found is that you have to press the keys 3 times before you get the alpha character you are looking for.
I have used the Trimble 5600 and it is nice, but I do not like the way Trimble wants to over charge you for every little thing you may need later (like any battery).
My suggestion is to find a good dealer and take the Topcon or Leica for a test drive. You can do much better/faster than what you are now.
Don't sweat having to replace the internal batteries every few years. Use it as an excuse to send it in for a calibration as well. Good equipment costs money. The more the instrument will do, the more maintenance that will be required. I've never had to calibrate a plumb bob but if I added a laser pointer to it, it would always be in for service.
How much time have you/your company spent trying to get a (modern) data collector to work with an outdated robot? How much extra time do you spend writing down shots or hitting a button 3 times for the correct code? How much extra time do you spend with the cad guy sorting things out. Most of this time is lost (not accounted for) when considering the cost savings (not price) of upgrading equipment and software.
Do you do monitoring with the Geo 600? That gun is what, 13 years old? How accurate is it anymore? I'm looking at my Geo 610 that I use often. I KNOW it's not capable of being a monitoring instrument.
The survey department is the most expensive and costly one at a firm. Lots of overhead is met with cutthroat pricing. In my experience companies do not make a big purchase for survey equipment very often. The equipment is out of sight and out of mind to the financial decision makers in the office. I still haven't been at a company where new equipment is budgeted for, just maintenance. I understand your frustration. You are left dealing with sub par equipment and little training, while I'm betting someone expects you to meet the productivity of a firm with the latest-greatest stuff.
When your company does make a purchase, they will want to see what their money was spent on. They will assume you can now do more work per day. You can assume they will not want to spend another thin dime on survey for a while. "What do we need to buy that for? Didn't we just spend $$$ on new stuff?!?!"
Your job is to not tell them how much more you'll be able do. You need to show them how inefficient things are now. Be specific. ie; you lose 1/2 hour a day writing codes in the book. That's 2 1/2 hours a week, 12.5 hours a month @ 100/hr rate = a nice payment on new equipment.
Carlson running a Leica would be the best setup to me.
Its worth spending the little extra for a Leica over the Topcon, trust me on that one...
The 1100 was a great piece of equipment, but I have had bad luck with the Leica 1200 and Carlson combo. Leica's customer service is terrible and they will try and over-charge you for everything. I get the feeling they do business under the buyer beware mentality. Everyone told me this before I purchased but I didn't listen, I trusted my dealer instead and just ordered it up. I should have used the setup for a week before you purchase. If the dealer has problems with that then go somewhere else.
What type of problems are you having between the Leica/Carlson combo? As a dealer, I hear the complains and more than 90 percent of the time it ends in user error or lack of knowledge.
As for Leica support, especially when it comes to running Carlson SurvCE - most of that should go through Carlson or the local dealer. There are very few problems that Applies to the Robot. Most of the problems happen in the DC. If this was the case, of course they wouldn't help, it's not their product.
Again though, It is of upmost importance to have a good local dealer. Phone support means very little with the technology out these days.
Leica support seems to be pretty slim right now i.e. have you tried to get a response about Smartnet lately? Leica software was written by Europeans and it is not user friendly (intuitive) for the US types, I think they must switch the nouns and verbs. The basic Leica response to software requests is do it their way or else.
We have a Carlson Surveyor Plus with a Topcon QS Robot and I can't imagine a better setup. We freely switch the Surveyor Plus between a Leica 1200 GPS Rover and the Topcon Robot.
Buy the S6 and TSC3 and accesories. Its well worth it.
I have a VX and an S6 and wouldn't trade them for any other brand.
SmartNet is a different business segment within the Leica company.
Surveyors need to learn how to purchase from a reputable local dealer. I would never not be there for a customer. I cherish my customers and if I have to call cellphones of executives within a manufacturing company in a heartbeat. Further, if you are having trouble with a local dealer call Leica. I doubt the managers at Leica would like to have a dealer not supporting their products as they are supposed to.
Also- you're Surveyor runs the 1200. You'd be surprised at how good.
Should ask your old pal Taylor
He was the man that knew it all at St Cloud and RCTC
Actually though had real good luck with Trimble S3 with TSC3 and Survey Pro Software 4.11. Don't especially care for the Survey Pro 5.0+ software though. See my other post about the Leica 1205 horizontal angle issues.
All accuracy issues aside though the Trimble S3 is by far much faster and tracks better than the Leica 1205. Tracks better in brush and at close range.
The only thing that I don't like about the Trimble setup is the lack of the power search option, but the geolock feature with the TSC 3 works fairly good as long as you are at least 300 feet away from the instrument.
Andy
We do use the Surveyor with the 1200 and the only problem we have is that if Leica resets the network or if they do something that takes us off the network we have to use the Leica paddle and software to reconnect the first time.
