I work for the park service and we have been using a TC600 for many years now. Most of what we have been doing is mainly property boundaries and it has worked great. We have several campgrounds, day-use areas, etc and we are going to be doing a considerable amount of work making sites accessible over the next couple of years. To make a long story short, I am going to propose that we purchase a robotic total station instead of me always having to find someone available to help. We purchased a Precision Spectra Ranger data collector this past year so I want to make sure I get something that works well with it. I am not exactly sure on budget, but I think I would be more likely to get something approved if it is in the $8k to $12k range. Is this doable for a good robotic system?
With that budget, you'll be looking at a used setup most likely. Find a dealer near you that sells Spectra Precision and look into that robotic lineup. However, I'll bet you don't have robotic functionality in your new data collector. That will cost extra to get that "turned on."
Remember to ask about what software will be needed to download the data in whatever system you choose. Some make this very easy if all you are looking for is point information. If you need to do more with the data, ie, adjustments, translations, rotations, etc., necessary software will add to the overall cost.
Spectra Precision Focus 8
Plays well with Trimble and Survey Pro.
> I am not exactly sure on budget, but I think I would be more likely to get something approved if it is in the $8k to $12k range. Is this doable for a good robotic system?
Too low, need 2x, 2.5x more. I doubt any department will want go the second hand route. Get a good reflectorless and plan for a bit of extra walking.
VolleyPC,
That budget is a little low, however, if I were you I would look into adding an internal radio into the current Ranger 3 that you have, upgrading the Survey Pro to Robotics and looking into a Spectra Precision Focus 30 Robot. If you can't find one less than 15-17k total let me know, I'll help you. It's a great Robot, priced right.
Keep an eye on the surplus property web sites. About 2 years ago, the military was getting rid or their Trimble 5601 Total Stations. They are not Robotic, but they have all the functionality and can be upgraded to robotic. If you can't find one of those you are probably out of luck. We got a 5601 and all we had to do was have the 3 year service done on it.
