Used Leica TS15 or Trimble S6?

I heard the TS15 is going to be discontinued, the one I used did not have imaging.

john gaddass, post: 454108, member: 13171 wrote: Need to get a "new" used gun. Both the Leica TS15 and the Trimble S6 have imaging capabilities which look interesting. Is it a gimmick or do you actually use it?

Main question though is - which one is best?

:clink: John

The Trimble S6 I had didn't have imaging capabilities. The Company I sold it to, loves it.

any comments from those who have used both?

This is the age old debate - Lincoln verses Cadillac.

I have used both and both are great instruments!

Leica has more customization with the DC format. Trimble is very proprietary. Trimble has the best office software for hardware (instrument) providers.
Leica cases are 1000% better and smaller than Trimble gear. Leica batteries are very interchangeable with other instruments (levels, TS, etc.).

So if I was on Supermarket Sweep TV show and I could choose I would grab the Leica. Only because I think they have a slight edge on build quality over Trimble, hold their value a littler better than Trimble and the export formats seem to play better with third party folks. Also the Leica come with a faceplate - which is huge in value and versatility!

But I want to go on record to say the S6, and Trimble in general, is seriously good stuff. Now, R10 or Javad LS - ask me on Monday....

See first sentence above...

They're both great instruments. I prefer the S6 because the tracking speed is much faster and if you use the MT1000 the tracking is far better. I'm also a big fan of Trimble Access, but Leica's field software works fine. To be fair, it's been a long time since I've run a Leica in the field.

My first robot was a Leica TCRA 1105 in 2000. At the time it was the coolest thing ever. During the downturn our Phoenix office slowed to a crawl so they sent their Trimble S6 up and I was floored. The tracking was so so so much faster it was almost magic but I did have problems with it locking onto tail lights which I did not have with the Leica. Phoenix picked up a job so the S6 went back and the 1105 had found a new crew in the meantime. Our Washington office sent down a spare Trimble 5603 which I despised passionately. After a few months I lobbied for a Trimble VX that had an active track prism and I was back in heaven. That company went out of business a couple years later and I and 2 partners started our own gig. I bought the old 1105 I had started with and while it was slower tracking than the newer Trimble's I still did very well with it. After that I found a sweet deal on a used Leica 1203 which I found to be very similar to the S6 without the random bad lock issues. Fast forward to today and I still have the 1203 and have added 2 MS60's and a TS15 (3 second R1000 but without imaging). The MS60's have imaging which gets used frequently so it's not a gimmick IMHO.

The only reason I went down the Leica road instead of the Trimble one was that initial 1105 purchase I made first starting out as a new company. Having used both and having used a large spectrum of both their offerings, they each do the same thing and similarly spec'd instruments between the two will function almost identically. Maybe your favorite color is green, maybe it's yellow. The face plate option mentioned above by StLSurveyor and being able to run the controller software onboard the gun itself while standing at the gun is probably the biggest difference between the gun hardware.

The software between the two, both on the controller and in the office is where you'll find the greatest disparity between the 2 manufacturers. Not knowing your individual workflow it's hard to suggest which might be better for you and honestly I don't know that your workflow really matters that much. If you pick one and embrace how it works and integrate it into your process correctly you'll be successful with it. If you buck the way it wants you to work you'll hate it and come home mad about your purchase every day. Just my $0.02. Good luck!

Cameron Watson PLS, post: 454177, member: 11407 wrote: Maybe your favorite color is green, maybe it's yellow.

Mine's yellow. GeoMax yellow, not Trimble yellow. (Though I still have a dozen or so Trimble receivers hanging around for the occasional control project.)

The imaging feature is neat, and a good marketing tool. In 2 years, I haven't had a use for it in the field, but I am waiting for that job.
It would be handy if you did a lot of ALTA or urban topo work, particularly if work was a long ways from the office.