I just purchased a trimble 5600 dr200+ robotic total station. Everything is set up and i am using a Remote target RMT606 306 degree prism. I turn on the tracking diode on the rod and click Autolock on the collector (Recon) and nothing happens. I thought the whole point of the diodes was to get the instrument to find the prism. I can get in from of the instrument and get it locked and it will track me but I can't seem to get it to find the prism just off by it self. Am I missing something? Any help would be appreciated.
Is the little green light flashing in the prism housing?
Is there a "search" button on the recon? Autolock only works when the gun is already aimed pretty close to the target.
Make sure in your target manager you have selected the correct prism type. The MT 1000 works differently than the 606. Feel free to email me and I can give you my # and help you trouble shoot.
What Justin said, search first then it will lock unless you're aimed pretty close to the prism. Great gun! enjoy it!
Autolock needs to be "OFF" when using robotically. I know, I know, sound crazy, right? Try it. Autolock helps the I-man lock on when turning manually and was a poor choice of words.
> Autolock needs to be "OFF" when using robotically. I know, I know, sound crazy, right? Try it. Autolock helps the I-man lock on when turning manually and was a poor choice of words.
Exactly, autolock has nothing to do with anything when it comes to the 5600. It's between the gun and the diodes. Once you get it to lock, that's it.
3 1 NO NO on gun if you have a a face plate puts gun in robotic.
data collector set in robotic settings, turn pole blinker on. connect radio modems, point gun in general direction of pole and do a search. it should lock the target.
i have only used allegro / carlson & ranger / tds pro. and the steps are basically the same.
I hope this might help you. It's been a couple of years sense i have used a 5600 but i like them a lot.
😀
It's software specific. In Survey Controller, there is only 1 setting that turns on the tracking to the RMT target. I believe it's called Auto lock. t's used in traditional surveys as well as robotic surveys. It will lock on to the RMT target when you steer it to the rod and get it close enough to pick up the signal.
There is a setting to tell it to automatically search for the prism when it loses lock, but I have not found that to be productive in either a traditional survey or robotic. Traditional - the operator steers the gun close enough to lock onto the RMT. Robotic, you activate the search function.
You can set the horiz. And vert. Limits of the search window.
The trick is to try your best to not lose lock and when you do, search as soon as possible so your not using the joystick to try and get within the search window.
Walk with the rod upright at all times, avoid picking up the rod quickly or lowering it quickly- before and after shots.
I believe you can use a Bluetooth GPS to tell it where your general location is.
I use a Geo600 which is nearly identical to a Trim5600, with TDS, and I use the "AutoLock" button all the time.
I set the gun up, point it near my backsight to start off, and hit "AutoLock", and it will normally find the target if I pointed it close. Otherwise, I hit search.
The gun doesn't start off in a mode where it's looking for a target so you either have to use Search or Autolock to get it looking. Autolock is just a quick way to get it looking.
Also, when you are setting a pin, for example, you can hit "STOP", set the rod down, adjust the pin, stand the rod back up, hit "Autolock", and it's back to locked/updating. I do this because sometimes when you set the rod down, it loses track and will pan so far away that even search won't find you.
If I'm not locked but close enough to line that I can see the light flashing on the gun, I'll normally try AutoLock first, since it's a little quicker than search at regaining lock.
> I use a Geo600 which is nearly identical to a Trim5600, with TDS, and I use the "AutoLock" button all the time.
>
> I set the gun up, point it near my backsight to start off, and hit "AutoLock", and it will normally find the target if I pointed it close. Otherwise, I hit search.
> The gun doesn't start off in a mode where it's looking for a target so you either have to use Search or Autolock to get it looking. Autolock is just a quick way to get it looking.
>
> Also, when you are setting a pin, for example, you can hit "STOP", set the rod down, adjust the pin, stand the rod back up, hit "Autolock", and it's back to locked/updating. I do this because sometimes when you set the rod down, it loses track and will pan so far away that even search won't find you.
>
> If I'm not locked but close enough to line that I can see the light flashing on the gun, I'll normally try AutoLock first, since it's a little quicker than search at regaining lock.
Interesting, I must have autolock on by default. I haven't used the 5600 in a while, but I can't recall changing anything to go robotic.
Ralph
thanks for all the input. I am used to using a topcon with an RC-2 on top of the rod and when you active it, the gun turns directly to the rod. I am always alone so there is no one to turn the gun to me. I wasn't sure if it had a power search like a Leica or topcon. I have been using the joystick to turn it near to me then using search. Autolock is great and will track like crazy.
Using Survey Controller, Autolock is actually ON. Seems to be some backwards thought process by trimble on how features are shown to be ON or OFF on the screen. If say, you see Autolock "OFF" on the screen, that means it is in fact ON and if you hit the button, it will turn it OFF. In other words, the icon on the screen indicates what will happen to that function if you tap it rather than showing you the current state of the function.
S6...
While we're at it, what's the difference between 'autolock' and 'snap to target' with an older S6 running Survey Controller on a TSC2, and when would you use/not use them? Thanks.