Wondering if anybody has any experience they would care to share on using mismatched brands GPS for their base and rover combo.
Having been using Survey Pro, I am considering trying to make a base/rover pair by adding a radio to my old Z-MAX and purchasing another used supported unit to keep the cost down.
My experience with the Z-MAX in the past led me to believe the rover end of the pair had a week radio receiver, since radio range with the 35 Watt base seemed very poor many times.
I work in a mostly flat area, but much of it is forested. Cellular coverage is pretty good, but the CORS stations are usually 20 miles away at best, and I find the fixes take a long time and the accuracy is pretty poor, especially when sky-view is not wide open
Looks like Trimble/Spectra, Topcon, Sokkia(same as Topcon?),
and NovAtel are supported in Survey Pro (5.4)
I am leaning towards the Topcon Hyper, and have experience with the Topcon Ga rover with a GB-500 base and it was amazing, compared to what I was used to.
Please also feel free to recommend for or against certain receiver brands or models
of the above listed few. If you have any insight into brands or combinations that have the greatest radio range, that would be something that would also help me make up my mind.
Thanks for your input.
Compare apples to apples, or not.
Not matter what it did in the past that 35 watt radio pretty much has to be replaced.
Consider how often you want to use the second pair, since the Z-Max has a cell phone slot which may be sufficient for occassional use.
Next once a base has converted to a correction output the rover has no idea what it is, it just wants proper corrections.
Matching your current radios should be a priority, since you may want to ease into the extra work by first using a base and two rovers.
Another option is using a network. In such a case the Z-Max is an ideal candidate.
Paul in PA
I should clarify.
Currently, I have only the one Z-MAX receiver.
Previous employer had the RTK kit.
I use this unit for static on occasion to get my traverse work onto SPC or to get an OPUS bench which has its limitations.
My problem is, the TSC3 has a known blue-tooth issue (Trimble blames Windows Mobile), and fails to stay connected reliably with the Z-MAX,
coupled with the issue that Survey Pro does not support the Cell or Web corrections with the Z-MAX.
I tried to get a borrowed GSM to work with a trial version of Carlson SurvCE, but
could not get it figured out without brand or dealer support and gave up. My unit has the European grey antenna, not sure if that had anything to do with it.
Take a good hard look at the Hemisphere GNSS - S320 Receiver. The S320 has both an internal 1watt UHF or 1watt Spread Spectrum radio and Internal GSM modem. Dual Bluetooth, removable 2GB SD-Card, x2 internal Li-Ion batteries that are Hot Swapable.
Base and Rover kit with XF2 data collector with Carlson SW - SurvCE. Supports static script file for OPUS data collection without data collector. Free Rinex Conversion utility SW. Supported RTK formats include ROX, CMR/CMR+, RTCM v3. We also have GNSS Post-Processing SW co-developed with Carlson SW.
You can get S320 Base and Rover kit in one-single Pelican case, or simply pick up one single S320 GNSS Smart Antenna, the S320 can be a RTK Base and/or RTK Rover. The S320 price is very resonable, lots less then the three other guys, Ford, Chevy or Dodge. Plus HGNSS has the best Tech Support in the business; There's a new Sheriff in the Hemisphere...
http://hemispheregnss.com/Products-Solutions/Survey-GIS-Mapping/s320e284a2-gnss-survey-receiver-100
-BbB B-)
