Tracking
> I find the results of that video to be non-typical, especially the last two comparisons.
Yes, the Leica TPRS 1205+ tracked brilliantly. The quality and sophistication of the instrument design and of all the accompanying pieces and accessories are what I'd think a professional surveyor would want.
Tracking
> > The quality and sophistication of the instrument design and of all the accompanying pieces and accessories are what I'd think a professional surveyor would want.
This has always been my thoughts exactly. We dont use anything else.
This whole conversion ordeal has got me thinking though, as I have been wanting to evaluate using Star*Net instead of my current LS package. I sent an email to my direct Leica dealer and also head of support to see if he had any suggestions or work arounds.
Tracking
My 1200 system has never tracked like that. Either the person doing this test didnt know how to use it properly, or it was done on purpose to make the Topcon stand out.
I at least know the Leica probably had better results than the Topcon. I would like to have a Topcon dealer for once tell me the failure rate of instruments that are sent back because of malfunctions, etc. What I have heard from some ex-Topcon people is alarming.
Tracking
> This whole conversion ordeal has got me thinking though, as I have been wanting to evaluate using Star*Net instead of my current LS package. I sent an email to my direct Leica dealer and also head of support to see if he had any suggestions or work arounds.
I've learned that Leica actually did distribute a Star*Net converter once upon a time. I don't know whether it is still available for download or not, though.
Basically, there are three Star*Net data types that ought to account for pretty much all total station measurements:
DV From-To SlopeDist ZAngle HI/HT 'Descriptor
M From-At-To HorAngle SlopeDist ZAngle HI/HT 'Descriptor
SS From-At-To F1onlyHorAngle SlopeDist ZAngle HI/HT 'Descriptor
The station order can also be At-From-To. The only difference between the M and SS data lines is that the SS line isn't included in error propagation, so it would be appropriate for single face measurements to topo features. Those SideShot (SS) lines can be turned on and off as a group in the network plot, also.
Possible Solution
Kent
I may have found what you are looking for. Under my Leica myWorld I found a Design to Field converter to convert LGO data, there does list an option to convert to SDR data.
If your dealer cant get you a copy, let me know and I can probably put it on my FTP site for you. I have never used it and it may be for import only, but it might be worth a try.
Possible Solution
> Under my Leica myWorld I found a Design to Field converter to convert LGO data, there does list an option to convert to SDR data.
Well, if it will convert a typical Leica field measurement file to SDR format, I know that Star*Net's Star*SDR converter works perfectly to generate Star*Net input files. So that would do the trick as far as getting Leica total station files into Star*Net goes.
Oh, you laugh now. SDR was probably the last truly functional product ever made. I only ever got to watch someone else use it for a week, it seemed pretty good, so your claim of flawless translation into Star*Net speak seems vaguely plausible.
I tried every Leica converter I could find. *.RW5 makers, *.fbk translators. They all failed miserably. They all assumed you wanted to traverse with sideshots and had clumsy & clunky implementations of free stations & resections (if they had them at all). So I evolved the Notepad method briefly expounded above.
Sometimes I think of writing a script to do it automagically. But I enjoy the few minutes it takes to do the Notepad trick, as it allows me to compare the Leica data with the paper notes.
The only real improvement I can think of is to get one of those Adapx handwriting-capture pens and book all the notes directly into Star*Net format.
> SDR was probably the last truly functional product ever made. I only ever got to watch someone else use it for a week, it seemed pretty good, so your claim of flawless translation into Star*Net speak seems vaguely plausible.
Oh, the SDR-to-Star*Net conversion utility program, Star*SDR, works like a charm. I've used it for years. You just feed a day or a week's worth of field work into it and out comes the Star*Net .DAT file, ready to run.
The Leica program that Matthew describes sounds as if it will generate an .SDR file from the Leica measurement file. If so, the only missing piece is the conversion utility, Star*SDR.
So, leica to SDR, then SDR to star*net? Reminds me of a joke: some computer scientists were working on a program to translate from English to Russian and vice versa. They fed it the phrase "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" and they got back "the vodka is strong but the horsemeat is rotten."
So if your blue-haired software can make it safely to church going slow in the fast lane, god bless it.
> So, leica to SDR, then SDR to star*net?
Yes, works like a champ. Highly recommended. There should be a Leica to Star*Net converter somewhere in the Leica holdings, as well. I know at least one surveyor who has used it. As a rule of thumb: something generally beats nothing. Either option ought to beat the hell out of the hunt-n-peck editing methods you're stuck with.
Kent
Here is the Leica to Star*Net converter. Now I just need to find my login info.
http://www.leica-geosystems.us/en/Support-Services-Downloads_65879.htm?cid=7830
When you export data from the VIVA CS15 you will probably have to select to export as system 1200 data.
Leica has so many different utilities available, it sometimes just takes awhile to find them.
Robots can't strew flagging in trees. Found this abundant falgging near one of Kent's caps. This job was riddled with Kent McMillan's paraphernalia, 2" cap, PK nails with washers, etc.
Who is going to slam all those control points for you?
Can a robot see through a cedar tree like my I-man?
> Who is going to slam all those control points for you?
Uh, the same fellow who installs those 3/8" x 8" spikes with stamped 2" aluminum washers right now? If you find a 3/8" spike with one of my stamped 2" aluminum washers in the top of a concrete curb, it took a gasoline-powered drill to install that spike and washer and I was running the drill.
(If your field helpers told you that the 3/8" spike was a "PK Nail", you might tell them to actually look at what they've found next time. What a concept! :>)
> When you export data from the VIVA CS15 you will probably have to select to export as system 1200 data.
>
> Leica has so many different utilities available, it sometimes just takes awhile to find them.
Thanks for finding that link, Matthew. You have to have a Leica customer number to actually download the software, but I'll bet I can sic the dealer on that one so we can verify that it works as well as it should. If so, problem solved completely!
I requested for them to re-send me my login info. If your dealer cant get it, let me know.
What do you have against a surveyor setting a 2" cap. Standard procedure here at my company.
> I requested for them to re-send me my login info. If your dealer cant get it, let me know.
I just called my local dealer. That Star*Net converter should be arriving in my email box shortly. Once I get it and a sample Leica measurement file, I'll be able to verify that it works.
I hear there's a new robot out there that comes with a...
2-bit rebar puller. Might be worth looking into.
Also comes with an optional fence locator, but I'm guessing its not something you'd be interested in.
just an fyi.
Just got the Leica>Star*Net converter tool. It accepts either a System 1200 file or an FOD file as input for conversion.
The conversion has a toggle that looks as if it may take two passes through the data if you want to extract the traverse data as other than normal measurements at stations, i.e. as Star*Net "T" lines rather than "M" lines.
I don't use the "T" lines myself since I don't care what the proportional error of closure of traverses is if the adjustment passes the chi-square test and has no abnormally large residuals.
It doesn't offer a station order option (From-At-To vs. At-From-To) for the conversion, though, so I'm not sure which it uses.