Reviving an old TCR1105

that sounds like an awesome trip, but i wouldn't go without equipment I KNOW works. (and that I know how to work it)   What happens if you get all the way there and it dies on day 1?  

@andy-j  Hence my questions...

https://tmackinnon.com/2005/PDF/Leica_TPS1100-User_FieldManual_en.pdf

Batteries and charger (non OEM) readily available on ebay - GEB121 and GKL112

If you are sure it is TCR, that is not robotic - TCA and TCRA were the robotic ones.

You are probably better off without robotic for your application anyway.

There is also an internal battery that keeps the firmware and memory alive - it was, I think, intended to last the likely life of the instrument (10 to 20 years?), but if it has died, it would have to go to a Leica shop for replacement.

(If they will do it)

You mentioned sending it for "revision" - I assume you mean to a dealer for a check up and refurbishment?

I would do that, but bear in mind, if you have a low budget/no budget, that won't be cheap.

Good luck, send pictures!

Also, you need to know what programs and licenses you have on board and how/if you are collecting data.  There was a nice program 'DataPro' that worked well with the 1100's as does Carlson CE.  You now have the manual so get a battery and fire it up.  And report back.

Hello @tonyduky. I have had a similar experience last year where I tried to revive a TCA1105plus station. You can find the original post here: https://rpls.com/community/surveying-geomatics/leica-tca1105plus-error-255-and-error-200/

To add up what @cf.67 has said, here are my two cents:

- No the TCR is not a robotic. The "R" in that TCR stands for Reflectorless, meaning no-prism required. The onboad distance-meter can shoot up to about 100-120 meters (Don't ask me how many feet). You cannot use the RCS1100 remote controller with this as it is a manual station.

- If you end up buying a robotic version of the TPS1100 series, there are two main variants: the TCA1100 or the TCRA1100. Both are robotic except that the TCRA ones also have the "Reflectorless option" which I noted earlier. Note that SOME of the Robotic stations also have another feature which is the "PowerSearch" one. This allows the station to directly and actively search for the prism when it loses contact. Keep this in mind if you end up buying a robotic TPS1100.

- Please also note that there is a TCRM variant for the TPS1100 stations. These are NOT robotic although the "M" stands for Motorized. From my understanding, these only have the ATR feature but not the PowerSearch. Please refer to the Datasheet for full details in case I am wrong.

- You may want to stick with the GEB121 batteries only because these are the fat batteries and drastically last longer than the GEB112 ones which are much thinner and have a short life.

- I have contacted several Leica dealer for my TCA1105 from last year. No, they will not refurbish or repair anything on your equipment if it has a fault. The TPS1100 series (the series of your TCR1105) has been EOL'd since the late 2000's/early 2010's and there are no more available parts. Leica dealers won't service anything older than the TPS1200+ as of now.

- Now the software side: Again no! Leica will not give you a Software License for use with this old model. You will NOT get any help from them but you can always try and report back. Also note that if you end up finding another TPS1100 around and one that has a software license in it, you CANNOT transfer that to your TCR1105 because these licenses are hooked up with the serial numbers and cannot be transferred. One thing I did was to contact a guy in Poland and send my station to him. He could service it and got a License back. What he did was run some special software on it and spoof the serial number so that it could accept a software license transfer. That is how I was lucky enough to get a fully working "TPS EXPERT" software license at no cost from him (This includes 18 programs)! If you ever contact him, tell him that you were referred by Billy from Madagascar. I'm sure he'll appreciate. DM me if you want me to share his contact details.

Well guys,

Thanks a lot for all your replies, this is exactly what i was looking for.

I'm sure it's a TCR1105.

Still dont have my hands on the device (it's in the US, i'm in europe).

So far all I know is that both original batteries are dead wich is not a surprise.

We ordered new batteries and should have more updates this week.

My main concern now would be the internal battery life mentionned by @cf.67 and the fact that according to @billyandriam Leica would not be able to replace it in case of death.

Would this Polish guy be able to replace that part instead?

thanks a lot!

@tonyduky yep he changed the mainboard internal battery on mine. I'm sure he can do it on yours.

When I see these for sale on eBay they are extremely over-priced; so much so that it's indicative of the sellers not knowing much about their equipment. They are high quality but VERY old. You can usually find something newer with the same functionality for similar to slightly higher prices. Even if it's free you're taking a risk by bringing something unreliable out on your trek... but if it's free and that's your budget...

I was able to play around with a TCRA 110X for a short time (with a non-functioning servo so the robotic features weren't testable). I was able to hook it up to a tablet running FieldGenius software using Bluetooth receivers. I've done this with a TPS700 as well and it actually ends up being a good solution for construction sites when I'm not shooting long distances.

The robotic TPS1100's are okay if you get a screaming deal on them and know how to build a robotic setup with them. It happens to be the bare minimum of what I can get away with. They will be slower (and likely worse at tracking, but I wasn't able to actually test that) than newer stations. On a construction site I don't need to shoot the long distances nor heavily rely on tracking (usually; I won't be trying to track through trees and bushes for example).

For a non-robotic and trekking: A Nikon Nivo or something similar/lighter/newer would be more ideal. I would think that reliability would be a huge concern as well?

@keithscadservices Hi Keith! Now I am very interested in your setup since I am regularly using the TPS1100 and the TPS700 stations regularly.

Please can you share with me how do you hook up thse stations with the Tablet running FieldGenius over bluetooth? Very curious about this! Do you mind if I DM you?

@keithscadservices Hi Keith! Now I am very interested in your setup since I am regularly using the TPS1100 and the TPS700 stations regularly.

Please can you share with me how do you hook up thse stations with the Tablet running FieldGenius over bluetooth? Very curious about this! Do you mind if I DM you?

@billyandriam 

Hi Billy!,

Glad to share, but I may leave out a few details. In all honesty I figured out how to do it thanks to this forum... asking questions, etc... all of those posts should be in the post history here. I'll give you a quick summary but feel free to ask additional questions as I have to dig my setup out of the closet and make sure everything still works.

Here's everything I have:

• TPS700 (a TPS1100 did/should work too),
• A Panasonic FZ-M1 tablet running Windows 7 (if I recall),
• An older demo of Fieldgenius. You'd have to look into whether or not the TPS700/1100 is still supported in newer versions.
• 1-Parani SD with the serial adapter (attached to total station),
• A cheap (ish) portable power bank I picked up on Amazon to power the above Parani,
• An adapter to fit the Parani's serial plug into the total station's,
• 1-Parani SD with the USB adapter (attached to FZ-M1),
• And A LOT of f'king around.

To get it to work I had to really f'k around with drivers. It was either an FZ-M1 quirk, a Windows 7 quirk... or some sort of bad combination. It may have been an issue with the default drivers shipped with the FZ-M1/Windows 7 which actually had to be painstakingly cleared from the system, then I went somewhere and downloaded Toshiba??? drivers of some kind... I don't want to go any further into it right now because 1) My memory, and 2) it might be a non-issue depending on what you're using. I'm really only mentioning it because if you're hoping for "Plug and Play" you might be in for a surprise. You might need a little persistence. Once everything worked it was reliable and I didn't ever have a big fight on my hands to get it to work a second, third, etc... time; Once it was setup and working it worked great.

The settings both in the Total Station and the controller software use a COMM link; it's essentially a COMM cable beaming through the air.

The second USB Parani might only be required to extend range. A tablet with Bluetooth should (or might???) connect as-is without the second Parani. I don't know the exact model numbers of the Parani's but the SD 232 one is the most common variant of that style as well as the USB one. "Pairing" the Paranis requires a bit of YouTubing/Google'ing.

The 232 Parani does have a power bank you can buy for it, but it's expensive.

I never tried this setup in any real whether conditions but other's have (similar setups). Most of the equipment is supposed to hold up in less than ideal weather (except the power bank).

I also never tried this setup as a 1-man robotic solution (but again, others have with similar setups).

The advantages of course are saving TONS of money on the controller and radios. There are definitely disadvantages which I am admittedly ignorant to (I do construction layout not surveying). I've seen quite a few radios kick the bucket and I haven't been in the game that long. Even after spending the money to buy back-ups for the Paranis' I'm still in the black. I also work in close proximity to my Total Station (when using this). Interference with the BlueTooth could be a potential issue especially at longer ranges.

Awesome Keith! Thank you so much for this! I'm glad I'm not the only one f'ing around when trying to get something done.

@tonyduky yep he changed the mainboard internal battery on mine. I'm sure he can do it on yours.

Can I contact you in private please? thank you very much!

@tonyduky of course. in case I get slow and not very active on the forums, you can email me directly at billyandriam@gmail.com