My take on Topcon, I like their hardware it does what it says. I have had no issues in over a year I downloaded the firmware upgrade and it improved the feel of the tuning knobs. Remove the batteries when not in use, not ideal but not a deal breaker. I don't know much about Trimble or modern Leica I had assumed they were more expensive. I was impressed with Sokkia for my last instrument so that good feeling has continued. I do not use the GT with the RC-5 and re-locking is a bit Old School. I would like to see a hand held thing that you could point at the instrument to help it find you, maybe it could live in a holster on a tether, I've just thought of that it will come to nothing I expect, but for anyone who has been far away from their instrument and is trying to see where it is pointing and hopefully see the guide lights ,a very manual fix I use is a monoscope in my pocket which has a large blob of BlueTac on it, if I get in this situation I mount the scope on top of the prism and adjust the pole to make it viewable, this much improves the stability and gets me going again.
My experience with anything Topcon software has been disappointing Magnet Field has bugs and is difficult to Learn, I know this by comparing how easy is was to learn Carlson SurvCE. On this note I don't like how Topcon has locked Carlson or any other software out by not allowing them access to their GT source code. Even if you do decide that you can learn Magnet Field the manuals are bad and any other online learning opportunities are limited. Topcons website is not well indexed or easy to navigate and if you do find a video to 'teach' you, you might just as well turn off the sound as it will most likely be pointless music. Maybe a webinar? these I have found to be typical rambling, non scripted and not the concise information I wanted which was not clear from the title. Magnet Office is a different animal, sure they work together and MO has some cool features, but if you come from an AutoCAD background it's weird and for every thing I liked there was plenty I didn't. I keep asking myself do I really want to re-learn this? It is respected in Australia since its pedigree is CividCAD however learning resources are limited, my guess is its reputation is from people who have grown up with CivilCAD or maybe I can imagine a survey department with a resident genius who can smooth the path for the others.
As for the Software entirely subscription based model, WTF ouch. Well I suppose I could change the software in a years time, oh I forgot Topcon won't let me use Carlson! I use enough software in various environments to know that these days the bar is quite high and allot of software can clear it. Topcon when looking at the software, support and access to help resources, doesn't.
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I found the routine to stake 2d line with a surface. In Magnet go to Stake >Linework?ÿ
Press the M logo in top left.
Go to Setup >Reference Surface
Thanks mate, I'll give it a go when I manage to steal the jigger back from my grader operator, you're a champ ??? It's good to be able speak to someone that takes the time to understand their equipment instead of writing it off as rubbish the moment it gets complicated.
@leegreen Hey Lee, I'm led to believe that its the TS-Shield software onboard that drains the power out of the batteries whilst the instrument is off.
