Pdop, could you clarify what you mean please? AT360's aren't meant for machine control and I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say "go active reflective foil and then it won't be a problem"
If the At360's are picking up interference from trees branches and leaves and losing lock, it is unlikely that they will encounter that problem on a road or services corridor under construction, as they have normally been cleared of all that stuff by then, so there will be nice open sight lines.
With regards to the active foil, it is a much larger surface area than just the small circular glass prisms, so they will be less affected by dust and grime that would be generated by the graders and milling machines, which could impede the signal return.
I am still using passive robotic prisms, but am wanting to get a pair of active prisms, these At360's don't sound like they will do it for me.
Thanks for the clarification pdop. Yes, job sites that are already cleared will perform better in regards to branches and leaves, but as a previous commenter said, then trucks and other job sites obstructions become a factor. Another factor to consider is that fact that you can't do an auto-lock collimation with the AT360. You have to use something with a prism (ie. MT1000 or any other prism) It doesn't sound like you're interested in the AT360's, but I hope the additional information is helpful.
I new to robotic surveying. Does anyone know if the MT 1000 or the AT 360 will work with a Trimble Geodimeter 610, or a Trimble 5600 instrument? I would think it would be better then the Trimble 606 360 w/ infrared target ID and the Power Sticks.
Floyd Davis, post: 331646, member: 10346 wrote: I new to robotic surveying. Does anyone know if the MT 1000 or the AT 360 will work with a Trimble Geodimeter 610, or a Trimble 5600 instrument? I would think it would be better then the Trimble 606 360 w/ infrared target ID and the Power Sticks.
MT1000's and AT360 are NOT compatible with Geodimeter's or 5600's. The 600 series of RMT's are the only 360 prism that works with that older equipment. Hope this helps.
squowse, post: 310710, member: 7109 wrote: Anyone tried this yet?
Fairly vague claims about increases in accuracy over MT1000.
It should certainly be lighter anyway.Getting a trial of one later today so I will be conducting a few tests. As far as I am concerned, the only week point of the MT1000 is questions over the vertical accuracy during steep sights. I will compare with the newer one.
We have sold several of these and reports back from the field are mostly positive. Aside from the very accurate verticals, the horizontal is more accurate as well, there is no chance of it grabbing a prism off to the side of the center prism like the MT1000 because it stays directly in the middle of the cylinder.
The one killer feature is the built in level vial that is transmitted via BT to your data collector! Forget your obsolete level vial on the prism pole that is seldom in adjustment and is a slow 40' vial. You want accuracy? simply change the sensitivity on the level bubble to 8', 20'.
it is simple to calibrate and only takes a few seconds. Finally it can be used as a 360 degree back site target because the instrument locks in the center every time. List price is $2,395 VS MT1000 2,895.00
Things to look out for; if shooting short distances through brush 100' or so you need to be sure the EDM isn't picking up leaves or branches as the instrument switches to Reflectorless mode in order to lock onto the reflector cylinder. Over 100' the issue seems to go away. The other limiting factors are the AT360 has around 1400' range VS 2600' MT1000.
If you are doing integrated surveying and use your GPS rover on top of your prism, you might want to wait until Trimble replaces the plastic cap with a metal cap. It is fine for the R10 which is much lighter than the R8s.
Very durable, so far no one has managed to break the glass cylinder, yes my fingers are crossed. (if broken it is designed to be field replaceable)
JSW
$2,395 !!!! HS! What an expensive back sight prism.
This reminds me of a picture I ran across the old RPLS.com site where someone took apart an expensive Trimble battery pack and it contained a cheap motorcycle battery that cost significantly less than what Trimble was charging. Anybody else remember that picture?
imaudigger, post: 331716, member: 7286 wrote: $2,395 !!!! HS! What an expensive back sight prism.
This reminds me of a picture I ran across the old RPLS.com site where someone took apart an expensive Trimble battery pack and it contained a cheap motorcycle battery that cost significantly less than what Trimble was charging. Anybody else remember that picture?
I do, I posted it!
It was a $400 Trimble battery that contained a $17 dollar UPS backup battery.
Here's the link, pictures are gone.
http://community.pobonline.com/forums/viewtopic/70/1216492?post_id=2155723#p2155723
Edward Reading, post: 331736, member: 132 wrote: I do, I posted it!
It was a $400 Trimble battery that contained a $17 dollar UPS backup battery.
Here's the link, pictures are gone.
http://community.pobonline.com/forums/viewtopic/70/1216492?post_id=2155723#p2155723
That picture was hanging on the wall of our office for a long time.
Edward Reading, post: 331736, member: 132 wrote: I do, I posted it!
It was a $400 Trimble battery that contained a $17 dollar UPS backup battery.
Here's the link, pictures are gone.
http://community.pobonline.com/forums/viewtopic/70/1216492?post_id=2155723#p2155723
I discovered the same thing independently a few years back and it resulted in this: https://surveyorconnect.com/threads/4000sse.112644/#post-117396
Geoline, post: 331685, member: 9338 wrote: We have sold several of these and reports back from the field are mostly positive. Aside from the very accurate verticals, the horizontal is more accurate as well, there is no chance of it grabbing a prism off to the side of the center prism like the MT1000 because it stays directly in the middle of the cylinder.
MT1000 in active mode is also centred on the LEDs, not the prisms, so will not "grab a prism" to the side. In passive mode it will.
Geoline, post: 331685, member: 9338 wrote:
The one killer feature is the built in level vial that is transmitted via BT to your data collector! Forget your obsolete level vial on the prism pole that is seldom in adjustment and is a slow 40' vial. You want accuracy? simply change the sensitivity on the level bubble to 8', 20'.
it is simple to calibrate and only takes a few seconds.
It is difficult to rely on the ebubble on a full size pole as the threaded mount can put it off angle a midge. This will then get exaggerated through the height of the pole. Needs to be calibrated for each set up really, so not such a time saver.
A better calibration routine would be if it could be reversed on a near plumb pole and the error taken out that way. But that;snot how the calibration works.
I need to do more tests on the "reflectorless" interference. I don;t see that it is in reflectorless mode. But if Trimble say it is then I suppose it must be.
Thanks Chris S for the info about the current Trimble prism (MT 100 & AT 360) to work with the older Trimble 5600 instruments. Rod Taylor at US Survey Supplies got me taken care of with a prism and some after market radios to get Trimble 5600 up and running in the robotic mode with auto tracking.
About 12 V batteries. I had Jump Starter unit that I got as a promo for buying some tires sometime back. I got a "Y" cable with a SAE connector for power from Western States Cabling, www.wscable.com . Then with the SAE connection I got a 12v Cigarette Lighter Adapter with the SAE connects $7.00 on the internet, www.batterystuff.com. There is also a cable with a SAE connector with alligator clips. So you have an option for either type of connections.
The Jump Starter units are very inexpensive, $47.00 at Walmart, here is a link: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-600-Peak-Amp-Jump-Starter-J309/14560015?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=14560015&placement_id=irs-106-m2&strategy=PWVAV&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=66dab139-aa90-4b60-bd25-11c8e6aadd9a&customer_id_enc&config_id=106&parent_item_id=13035281&parent_anchor_item_id=13035281&guid=c07500c4-3534-4d09-afeb-0f80e6ef285e&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n .
The 12v plug in is on the left under the yellow tab. With a built in charger, you just plug it in at night and you are ready to go the next morning. Also be a hero an jump start someone in need, done this on several occasions. I had to get a battery replacement for my unit, but it was very reasonable, can't remember the cost, current prices on the internet are in the $10 to $20 range. My unit isn't very heavy and I like the idea that the battery is contained in a plastic case, protects the internal battery.
Just another alternative for field power.
I got to use one of these prisms for the past few weeks . The S5 seemed to track it more smoothly and faster than a normal passive 360 prism and re-aquire lock faster . I did not notice anything better in the precisions.
I usually run two robots at a time and both use passive prisms, so we often have the problem of getting cross lock on each others prisms, but if I get one of these, that problem will be over. I only came across a few issues when compared to a passive prism..
- It can only work in active mode, so if the battery is flat, it can't be used at all.
- You can't get closer than about 2-3m from the robot or else it will lose lock, a passive prism can get about 0.5m away.
- It could not track the prism at steep vertical angles, see photo showing the angle when setting out a retaining wall, we had to bolt a passive prism on top of it to get the points.
In all I was impressed and will probably get one to sort out my cross tracking problem.
The solution to the steep angels :
pdop 1.0, post: 366406, member: 459 wrote: I got to use one of these prisms for the past few weeks . The S5 seemed to track it more smoothly and faster than a normal passive 360 prism and re-aquire lock faster . I did not notice anything better in the precisions.
I usually run two robots at a time and both use passive prisms, so we often have the problem of getting cross lock on each others prisms, but if I get one of these, that problem will be over. I only came across a few issues when compared to a passive prism..
- It can only work in active mode, so if the battery is flat, it can't be used at all.
- You can't get closer than about 2-3m from the robot or else it will lose lock, a passive prism can get about 0.5m away.
- It could not track the prism at steep vertical angles, see photo showing the angle when setting out a retaining wall, we had to bolt a passive prism on top of it to get the points.
In all I was impressed and will probably get one to sort out my cross tracking problem.
The solution to the steep angels :
You might also demo one of the older style active targets that came with the S6's. They have the traditional 360 prism like you added to the top of the AT360 with a row of LEDs above and below the prisms. When the battery goes, you just go into the software and toggle the prism from active tracking to passive tracking and continue until convenient to swap out the battery.
