Hello guys!
I want to replace my Trimble M3 5" by a robotic total station with a tablet-PC.
I've seen lot of hardware, but I'm actually hesitating between these two solutions:
- Sokkia ix1005+ RC-PR5A+ Carlson SurvPC on a W10 tablet (Carlson RC3 or Logic Instrument Fieldbook K80CT)
vs - GeoMax Zoom90 +X-Pad Ultimate on an Android tablet (GeoMax Zenius 800)
In France, both of these two solutions are not very widely used.
Did you experiment them? Have you any good advice?
Note: I ever asked this question on reddit without answer
Sorry for the edits but I had mismatch with URL links...
Currently, I work with my Trimble M3 (with Digital Fieldbook) on the field (for archaeological excavations) and with ArcGIS at office. AutoCAD combined with a french survey software is used for background maps & control points prerairing and topographic computing. Currently all the drawing is done with ArcGIS (with some scripts), but for the new station, I want it done on the field (at 90%, last 10% on ArcGIS).
The GeoMax one seems me a good hardware but with old firmware and has no active prism... and X-Pad (on a Android tablet) seems beautiful and easy to use but a little bit young and maybe unstable?
As the opposite corner of the ring, the Sokkia seems very efficient with the RC-PR5A, but noisy and not so easy for manual use and Carlson SurvPC seems to be powerful, but less intuitive, with a very rough GUI... and even maybe painful to adopt fior a guy used to the easy access Digital Fieldbook (very similar to Trimble survey controller/ survey office)
What do you think about it?
Do you experiment them? Total station or software?
Why not, GeoMax Zoom 90 Robotic?ÿ w/ Carlson SurvPC.?ÿ I personally would not want an active prism.
Curious why you wouldn't want an active prism? I'm an old Geodimeter/Trimble 5600/S6 kinda user and always loved the powered prism. Now I work at a firm that uses old Leica stuff, and am NOT impressed with how slow it turns and how long it takes to find a passive target.
Curious why you wouldn't want an active prism
Same as andy-j, I am surprised by your?ÿ choice. Why wouldn't you? Because of weight of the pole?
In my case, I will work sometimes above 3 meters ground heap and I want the RTS to be able to track and find the (active or passive) prism.
Thanks to both of you?ÿ for these little answers.
?ÿ
I own a Geomax Z90 and the crew that uses it loves it. If you left a Topcon robot at our office that is where it would stay... at the office. We are done with Topcon gear.?ÿ
Leica only has passive targets. If you're talking a robotic model that lacks ATR & PS then I certainly understand the struggle. A model like that wasn't really meant to be used 1-person anyway.
What's your budget??ÿ I think there are much better options to both available depending on what you can afford.
I own a Geomax Z90 and the crew that uses it loves it. If you left a Topcon robot at our office that is where it would stay... at the office. We are done with Topcon gear.?ÿ
Did you tried the "X-Pad Ultimate" software, for Android DC ? It's part of the package proposed by my local Leica/Geomax reseller. It's because there's hardly anyone who use Carslon in France. And he prefers probably to sell Geomax software!
I read a bunch of post of surveyor complaining about Topcon software. But as reported by @Nimal here, and quickly summarized, Sokkia is Topcon hardware but opened to other software, as Carlson. What soft did you use with your Topcon?
?ÿ
?ÿ
What's your budget??ÿ I think there are much better options to both available depending on what you can afford.
My request : Total station + prism(s) to work from 0.4m to 3.5m height + tripod +tablet + software + training and set up
Commercials offers that I received are between 20 and 25000 ?ª tax free.
yes, I've never used Leica gear in my own biz. always geodimeter/trimble with active targets when I sold my company I should have kept my S6 to show the new boss' what a modern robot can do.
running 2 person crew with an old Leica 1205 (?) that I hear complaints about every day.
Why have the additional communication when you rarely loose lock with a passive target. But then again, I believe lose of lock is an operator problem, not a software/hardware problem. Slow turning is only a problem when you are not near the field of view (how did you get so far away) and slow location is probably too large of a search pattern. But then again, again, I am my own I-man, so I am biased.
Is Sokkia's "UltraTrac technology," basically, the same as Trimble's active tracking??ÿ Can one use it with SurvCE combined with the "find prism via GPS" option?
Didn’t even try it. We run Carlson in the field and in the office. The requirement for hardware is that Carlson drives it well.
The UltraTrac technology is just a name given to another generation of tracking refinement really. The RC-PR5 unit is used for communication and target re-aquisition, Sokkia and Topcon instruments actually track passively. Trimble are the only instruments I know of with active tracking, to clarify this, they're the only ones which can track the LED's instead of the glass.