Seeking advice on purchasing a basic total station setup (reflectorless/prismless), software & controllers.

Prism less/reflectorless are the same thing. If you're doing that a lot go with Leica or geomax.?ÿ

How about a used Leica 1200 or a geomax zoom 80 and a used Panasonic fz-m1 toughpad windows 10 tablet running fieldgenius (what I've been using the past couple years now) or Carlson survPC.?ÿ

My company has "upgraded" me to a Trimble s5 and the reflectorless is terrible among other things.?ÿ

My "extremely out of date" advice is Leica... They were right about narrow beam being better.

I don't know if any others have gone narrow beam, but if they have, it might be worth looking at.

Narrow beam allows you to take a shot, where you want the shot taken. Broad beam forces you to never really know where that return signal came from. Some older Leica units allow more brands of data collector.

Nate

For a reflectorless non-robotic one of these Nikons might be the ticket:

?ÿ

@nate-the-surveyor?ÿ

Exactly. The Leica TCRP1203+ I've been using will run on Leica captivate, smartworx, Carlson, fieldgenius, even Trimble Access (tried it on the tsc5 for an hour one day).?ÿ

Reflectorless is very frustrating to use on the new Trimble after using that one so frequently.?ÿ

@350rocketmike

But not this geomax? 😉

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/255433316200?hash=item3b79031768:g:iSgAAOSwlKNiLZFa

I've noticed that many companies are 'paired up' with another ie Topcon/Sokkia. And Hilti just has Trimble guts?

@nate-the-surveyor

This would be a huge plus! So older stations are more friendly with multiple controllers, but newer Leica stations not so much I guess? I did read a post exclusively on that subject. I only need to transfer points but extra features at extra marginal costs would be welcomed.

@mark-mayer

I've heard good things about these too! They are a little bit elusive locally, but if one comes up for sale I'd jump on it pretty quick.

I forgot to ask:

Using a manual reflectorless total station, is the controller absolutely necessary? Eon's ago, I recall using a total station where we actually just grabbed points from a USB stick. I might be forgetting something, but I recall that we didn't need a controller and (I think) all the software was just built in - that is to say if you simply wanted to get the points off the machine and into a CSV file on your PC you could do that without anything more than either an SD card, a USB cable or USB stick. Unfortunately, this was so long ago that all I can remember from that unit is that it was yellow :-S .

@keithscadservices?ÿ

Leica ts16 works fine with fieldgenius on a Panasonic fz-m1 tablet and I assume with Carlson etc. You won't have the video feed or some other features without using Leica captivate, so maybe better to just buy a ts13 instead. Geomax should be close to the same as having the Leica that it's based on.

And yes Hilti is just Trimble guts AFAIK with a huge price tag.?ÿ

Posted by: @keithscadservices

I've heard good things about these too! They are a little bit elusive locally, but if one comes up for sale I'd jump on it pretty quick.

That screen cap is from the Allen Precision Equipment website.?ÿ Talk to them.

Posted by: @keithscadservices

So older stations are more friendly with multiple controllers, but newer Leica stations not so much I guess?

Yes. The latest units have exclusivity, lacking in the older units. Parts aren't available for older ones. My take is: find an older Leica, and data collector, that I like, and after you get comfortable, buy another. The logic being that you can buy 2 older guns, and data collectors, for less than one new one.?ÿ

Of course it won't be the latest gun, but, from your post, you don't need that.

N

@keithscadservices?ÿ

Yes you can use the onboard software to do basic point collection and stakeout - no data collector necessary for simple tasks. And yes, they all can upload/download to PC one way or another.

Each manufacturer has their own quirky (usually) on board software that isn't always intuitive or user friendly - but if you learn the quirks, they work.

I find, because I need bifocals, I get a sore neck looking at the onboard screens, so I prefer a data collector, but that's just me.

@mark-mayer

I found one a few hours away with FieldGenius installed. Almost a too-good-to-be-true price. More like an as-good-as-it-gets-price. I just have to find the time to drive there.

@nate-the-surveyor

I like that idea! And really, if a guy is into deal finding (which I'm kind of enjoying) they can save a lot of money. I'm scared to invest a lot of money into one setup for a few reasons, but mostly because it would become an "all eggs in one basket" scenario due to the cost. With a $30,000+ setup you have to worry about theft, damage, and even it breaking (rare but not unheard of with newer equipment). In my field, something is going to get trashed every few years. We also barely even need a robotic.

@350RocketMike

Those tablets also seem quite common which is a plus. Most the controllers I've held feel kind of like junk. I'm sure these tablets bite the dust every now and then but you could get 4 for the same price as one controller that bites it just as often. I'm now leaning towards using those in my setup unless I get a deal on a package of some kind. FieldGenius looks pretty good. It's expensive but everything is these days. Software is the one area where I haven't done much research yet.

@cf-67

Thanks for your answer. That adds a whole lot of clarity to something I've been trying to figure out for the last two days. I guess since many of the most basic features are standard they aren't actually advertised.

Thanks everyone for all the assistance!

@keithscadservices?ÿ

We paid $800 Canadian for our Panasonic tablet 2.5 years ago (already a few years old at that time). Still going strong and feels like it will never die. We did get an extended battery which can last 2 days if you're careful.?ÿ

Fieldgenius is very simple to use (imo) but will crash several times a day when used heavily (doesn't sound like you would be using it that hard). The Panasonic will reload the software and fieldgenius reconnected again within about 10-15 seconds and the Leica doesn't stop tracking you when the software disconnects, so it's not a huge deal.?ÿ