Curious how long is the lifespan of a robot? 2006 Leica TCRP 1205 here. Hope it runs forever but afraid of the day when something goes out and parts are unavailable. ?ÿWhen do you upgrade? Or do you just run it till it dies?
Run it till it dies.
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I am sure parts are getting scarce - the radio ( if you are using a leica one) is on its way out for sure - there are other options, but you will need to have some tech abilities - I used my 1103 until it died and still have a 1203 but it has not left the case for most of a year
It took a while to get used to the new CS20 - I had a carlson Allegro which I loved and still miss it sometimes, but as long as you plan for your work -?ÿ the SC20 works well - at least as good as TDS
I ended up with a MS60 and use the scanning a lot and even added a used P20 for more scan data - in a half day I can gather more than I could before and draw away in CAD - why get 700 pts a day when you can get 900,000,000 or more and extract whatever you need - never have to go back to get something you missed it is in the cloud
1998 Leica TCA 1100?ÿ
I have a 2004 Leica TCRA1102plus that I bought from a colleague in 2011.?ÿ I used it daily for about 4 years, but it started acting up so I retired it in late 2015 and bought a new GeoMax Zoom80.?ÿ The Leica worked great when it worked, but every now and then it would get semi-comatose and require a reboot, sometimes more than one.?ÿ I could go for days without that happening, but sometimes it happened several times a day.?ÿ It was just too unreliable to base my business on, so I put it on a shelf.
Have a Leica TCRP1203 and a TCRP1205+, sold the 1103 2 years ago. It all depends on the work you do. For boundary and stake out the TS are still very good. If you have to measure miles of roads in urban area or in the city or in dense wood every day, so in general, if you use your robot continual then I would buy a more recent gun.
so in my case: run it till it dies or till it is beyound economical repair or till you can buy a more recent gun for a low price.
I think it is more wise to have a recent gnss receiver....they do not last as long as a gun. What i mean is that the technology with gnss goes a lot faster as it does with a robot. But it all depends on the situation in your working area (vrs/ntrip/ cell coverage......) 4 constellation was a huge turning point with gnss.
If your busy enough and cashflow is good definitely upgrade if it's more than 10 years old. I have a Topcon GPT robotic I bought new in 2006 that still gets used from time to time but upgraded to Trimble robotic and GNSS a few years back and it really makes a massive difference. I am a solo operator with helper.
My 1999 Leica TCA 1105 last 18 year, but, I was the only user.?ÿ
My 1999 Leica TCA 1105 last 18 years, but, I was the only user. Run it 'til it dies, once you start replacing parts, the next failure is not far off.
I am a solo operator with helper.
If you have a helper, you're not a solo operator.
the radio ( if you are using a leica one) is on its way out for sure - there are other options, but you will need to have some tech abilities - I used my 1103 until it died and still have a 1203 but it has not left the case for most of a year
The radio problem the 1100s had was not with the instrument but on the RCS.?ÿ The radio on the 1200's is external (either in the handle or hanging from the tripod).?ÿ I still have an 1201 and an 1203.?ÿ The 1201 still sees occasional use as a backup when the MS50 is elsewhere or I don't want to hump it around the mountains all day.?ÿ I can use it with either an RX1220, CS15 or CS20.?ÿ I really need to get rid of the 1203 since it has not even been out of the case in 5 or 6 years.
I forgot to mention something important in my post. I use 2 x CS15 with RH15 on my TCRPs.?ÿ
Solo operator with occasional helper. Geesh.
It's not an academic distinction, at least not to me.?ÿ When I started using a robotic instrument I still had a part-time employee, with all of the scheduling and overhead headaches that entails.?ÿ Over the next several years I slowly transitioned to true solo status, which meant -- among other things -- being a little selective about what kinds of jobs I would take.?ÿ Anything that requires leveling I now either pass on or (very rarely) contract out the leveling part.?ÿ (That pretty much means I've given up on geodetic leveling, as I don't trust any of the crews available to me to do the job right.?ÿ But those jobs are rare these days anyway.)
I went full solo about 5 years ago, and the no-more-employees part plays a big role in making my life easier.?ÿ The one hangover from my days as an employer is that I have several contracts with public agencies that require me to carry workers comp insurance, even though there's no one to cover.?ÿ So I pay about $500 a year for the privilege of obtaining that work.?ÿ Cost of doing business.
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I agree. The RCS radio tends to give up well before the TCPS26B hanging off the tripod. I've always found that to be odd, because the TCPS26B converts a 12V signal down to 6V, while the RCS runs on 6V directly. There must be something dirty about the current in the RCS, or it might be that the RCS gets knocked around a lot more.
Replacing both with a Parani SD1000 works better for range. I actually mounted one inside my 1100. It works nicely if you are prepared to butcher the SD1000.
@micheal-daubyn-
Now that you're here.. ?????ÿ
As an expert on keeping the 1100 going long past it's sell by date...
Have you ever dealt with the changing of the built in battery?
Mine is year 2000, so it's hopefully been changed at least once, but should it die, I'm curious what the options are, as I'm sure the official response from Leica is "Time to buy a new gun!"?ÿ
I gather the firmware needs to be reloaded, the circles reset, basically a whole bunch of stuff..
Anyone else with experiences, happy to hear too.
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Yes I still run a TCA 1100, great instrument, slow, heavy, external power and modem but built well, a quality instrument.
We have the Leica in the original post as a backup gun at our office (inherited from a local company my boss recently bought out). They haven't been able to use it as a robot in years (not sure if the Bluetooth handle is dead or the archaic Leica data collector has a problem or what). I can't use it robotically with my Panasonic tablet. The motor still works (a bit noisy) so I can use it for auto rotate. I was using it the other day manually with my helper when we sent our broken Sokkia ix-503 away and hadn't received a loaner yet. The ix needs it's 2nd ultrasonic motor replacement in 2.5 years.?ÿ
We had much better luck with the Sokkia SRX. The one crew uses it every day still and it's gotta be about 8-9 years old now. It's our second one, the first one got traded on the iX which is a lemon.?ÿ
The SRX does usually get used manually since it is pretty slow, so that likely increased the lifespan quite a bit. I don't believe he's even had to get new batteries for it yet.?ÿ
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You can level by yourself.?ÿ It take little more time and a lot more exercise.?ÿ I currently have a single rod w/ bipod for my DNA03.?ÿ I'm getting ready to purchase a second rod setup that will cut my walking significantly.
For longer runs I have gone the temp agency route to hire a rod person.?ÿ Does not take much in the way of knowledge to run the rod.