Sorry guys, but I just don't like the S6. I used one for years (5+) for my previous employer. The range was limited to +/- 1000'. I could live with that. However, it broke down twice in that 5 years. both times it was sent to Colorado for repair. They never really said what was wrong with it. I'm not confident they knew. My local Trimble rep worked out of his home and was no help. Each time we were without our Robot for at least 2 weeks. We rented the latest Sokkia SRX (Topcon) and it worked just as well.
I won't buy Trimble because of this experience. I've never had a problem with Topcon, Nikon, Pentax, or Sokkia instruments. As long as we didn't drop them; they always worked fine. My Topcon GTS 2b finally died last year, but I've had it since 1994. I agree that you should buy something with dealer support, but you shouldn't need it on a new instrument.
I agree, the S6 is a great robot. :good:
Lee D, Could you be a little more specific on how Access runs the S6 better than SP? I'm using SP w/ my R8 GNSS receivers and trying to avoid mixing up my controller software. Any examples would be appreciated. Thanks. WW
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
They may have cleared it up with subsequent revisions of SP, this was a couple of years or so ago.... but with SP the Snap To Target function in the Search mode didn't work right, and the whole search function was slow. In Access if you have Snap To Target checked it drives straight to the prism as soon as it sees it, and if you don't have a pause set it goes into search mode immediately upon losing lock.
At the time I pointed it out to someone at Trimble, so as I said, they may have fixed it in subsequent releases. But I always got the feeling that even though SP is a Trimble product they (Trimble) either never wanted it to work as well as Access or didn't know or care about the issues.
Of course, the S6 is a complicated system that was developed with Survey Controller and later Access and then adapted to SP, which may also have something to do with it. But if you can have your dealer thoroughly demonstrate all of the search functionality using both programs and see if you have the same experience I did.
I would definitely only buy a robot that had local factory trained and authorized support, as we do here in Louisiana. In your situation the instrument would have been worked on locally and we would have received a loaner from the dealer.
Thanks. Guess I'll find out here soon enough.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Thanks for the update Norman. Didn't know that. Sounds like a typical Trimble move though. Sell sell sell, don't support...... Kind of like when the mystical GPS clock went off in TGO so everybody had to "upgrade" to TBC to process static observations.
Can I retire soon?
We have used Topcon, Sokkia, Trimble and Leica. I chose Leica and have owned an 1100 and a 1200 and after using a TS15 plan on that being my next robot. Most of my work is construction and the passive tracking has never caused a problem except when I used a brand new stainless Leica type prism adaptor. -Gun was occasionally locking 0.3 below prism when I was within 50 feet. Figured it out on a check shot and a piece of duct tape fixed that problem. I can’t think of a more streamlined and lite set up than the 360 prism and a data collector. It makes a huge difference when you are pounding hubs all day or taking topo for 10 hours. I have to use production as my decision point for purchase and the Leica robots have done that for me.
Snap to target forces the instrument to turn to the center of the prism when in field of view.
That command has been fixed in the new versions of Survey Pro.
I am a fan of Survey Pro. I believe the new version still has some work but I think it is easier to use then Trimble Access. I also like the fact that I am not tied to one particular brand of instrument.
Do you have any experience whether the Trimble passive tracking is better or worse than the Leica with regard to this? (trying to follow reflective clothing)
Hi,
the passive target and wearing class 3 hi-vis jacket will not work, you'll never know where exactly the gun shoots the point, on the prism or on your safety clothes.
Even when using the green/red flash light on the gun you can't figure this out because the target is alsway near to your vest.
I demoed the S6 with both prisms ... passive does not work for us, we allways wear safety clothes.
Chr.
> Do you have any experience whether the Trimble passive tracking is better or worse than the Leica with regard to this? (trying to follow reflective clothing)
My experience with both is that the Leica passive tracking is almost as good as Trimble passive tracking
Check out this white paper on the Leica
Leica 1200
> When the S3 was first introduced active tracking was not available, they added it as an option a year or two later. There are some other key differences in the hardware and software; the S3 doesn't have the Sure Point (Trimble buzzwords) functionality, which compensates the angles and pointing when the instrument level changes (due to settling, etc.)
The most lacking feature in the S3 (IMO) is the fact that it doesn't have the optical plummet built into the Trunion axis which does away with your ability to leapfrog.
S3 plummet
Really? The S3 has no optical plummet? It's in the tribrach (like the 5600)?
I wonder why they did that.
> > Do you have any experience whether the Trimble passive tracking is better or worse than the Leica with regard to this? (trying to follow reflective clothing)
>
> My experience with both is that the Leica passive tracking is almost as good as Trimble passive tracking
Do you mean almost as good as the Trimble "active" tracking?
I have had the same problem as Jim, Chris and I'm sure many others with the Trimble passive tracking. Search is usually OK (in my experience) but I have a problem if someone walks inbetween the instrument and prism with reflective clothing. The autolock will get dragged away and end up searching in the wrong spot.
A lot of my work will be quite close up, like 5-10m away and this is the worst scenario. Happily, I have a Multitrack target now so rarely use the passive mini prism. The active tracking is absolutely rock solid but comes at a hefty price.
Haven't used the Leica's that much. When I did I had problems with the search locking onto other objects, I can't remember having a problem with losing autolock, but I was on a fairly empty spacious site.
S3 plummet
> Really? The S3 has no optical plummet? It's in the tribrach (like the 5600)?
> I wonder why they did that.
I was told by a reputable Trimble Person that it was designed to replace the 5600. If so why not improve on the design. It's a shame because the S3 is a pretty dam good gun.
sorry Christ I misspelled your name. I hate it when people do that.
> sorry Christ I misspelled your name.
For your penance, say 2 Our Fathers and 3 Hail Mary's.
>Do you mean almost as good as the Trimble "active" tracking?
Sorry, yes that's what I meant, I have a set up with the MT1000 and the leica compares pretty favorably with it. Of course we're using the Leicas strictly for tunneling and we use Trimble for all else. So it may not be a thorough enough comparison.
I see it has not been mentioned yet. So I will chime in. I have had a Spectra Precision Focus 30 running Survey Pro for the last year and have been very happy. A less expensive option if on a start up budget like I was compared to Trimble and Leica products.