Made by who?

I get a lot of questions and often times I get the same ones over and over. One of my favorite things is to hear a myth or a misconception on a topic about which I know the truth, or at least more of the story. In this small industry it is so easy to have a piece of information disseminated to the public only to have it interpreted incorrectly. Often times this is done unintentionally and is simply a breakdown in communication or a simple misunderstanding.

One of the latest bits of confusion is on data collectors. While the questions and the answers have little impact on what I do, they are questions that I am getting more of lately so I wanted to push this out there to try to help answer the questions, dispel the myths, or simply shed new light on the topic.

Many of us are familiar with the Allegro line from Juniper Systems.  The Allegro has been around for a long time and has been a recommendation for Field Genius and SurvCE over the years.  Leica also had a radio built in to the Allegro so users could power their Robotic Total Stations with SurvCE.

We were next introduced to the JettCE from Two Technologies.  This unit was branded and labeled for various companies so you saw it around in bright colors such as orange and blue and yellow and black.  Over the years we saw variations on that box with new names and new layouts, but essentially they were all JettCE devices from Two Technologies.

Now, here is where the confusion seems to come in.  We have been introduced to the FC2500 from TopCON and the Surveyor + from Carlson Software.   The Surveyor + line is produced by Juniper Systems and the FC 2500 by Two Technologies.  Both companies went to the manufacturers and designed these units from the ground up with their own specs for ruggedness, durability, function, and performance.

You will still see forms of the Allegro and the JettCE around and available, but it is hard to compare those models to their newer relatives the FC2500 and the Surveyor+.  As I said before, this really does not affect or impact what I do on a daily basis but it is something that has come up more than a few times recently and worth getting out there.

For more information on any of these products including specifications or where to buy visit the websites listed below.

Two Technologies
Juniper Systems
TopCON
Carlson Software

Topcon acquires InlandGEO

Award-winning European dealer of Topcon and Sokkia positioning products expands to distribute Topcon precision agriculture throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa

LIVERMORE, Calif. – May 26, 2010 - Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) has acquired InlandGEO, one of Topcon’s top performing distributors. InlandGEO is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and has four additional offices in Spain, two in Portugal and one in the Canary Islands.

In addition to continuing to distribute Topcon and Sokkia positioning products to the construction and survey markets in Spain and Portugal, InlandGEO will become the headquarters for distribution and support for Topcon precision agriculture products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Established in 1987, InlandGEO “has a deep knowledge of the positioning industry, starting with lasers, machine control and precision land leveling systems,” said Ray O’Connor, TPS president and CEO. “This acquisition reinforces InlandGEO as a premiere Topcon and Sokkia distributor in Spain and Portugal, and now provides the opportunity for rapid growth of Topcon’s position in precision agricultural markets all across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

From 1993 through 2005, InlandGEO was a top European distributor of Trimble positioning products. It acquired one of the world’s largest Sokkia dealers in 2002, and then acquired Topcon distribution for Spain and Portugal in 2005.

O’Connor also announced that Carlos Monreal, InlandGEO president and CEO, will remain president of the company, in addition to his current duties as vice president of global agriculture for Topcon Precision Agriculture (TPA), and he will be responsible for TPA’s European operations. TPA is a business unit of TPS and is led by Albert Zahalka, senior vice president and general manager for the division.

Tony Hirayama, former executive vice president of TPS and president and CEO of TPA, as well as holding several positions with Topcon Corporation in Tokyo, will assume the position of CEO of InlandGEO. Dave Mudrick, president of Topcon America Corporation, the holding company for TPS, will be chairman of the InlandGEO board of directors. Ewout Korpershoek, managing director of Topcon Europe Positioning, Ivan Di Federico, TPS senior vice president of global engineering, and O’Connor round out the board of directors.

Monreal praised the acquisition, saying, “The global scope of the new board of directors, with officers from Europe, the United States and Japan shows a strong commitment to InlandGEO and its expanded customer base. This acquisition is a very positive step for Topcon, InlandGEO, the company’s employees, customers and potential customers.”

Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. (TPS) designs and manufactures precise positioning products and solutions for the global surveying, construction, agriculture, civil engineering, mapping and GIS, asset management and mobile control markets. TPS’ parent company, Topcon Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange – 7732), was founded in 1932.

Fixed Height Tripods for GPS

With a total station the height of the instrument is usually measured to the height of the “eye” or the center of the optic which makes it relatively simple.  With GPS there is no optic, only an imaginary plane that is used to determine elevation by figuring the distance from the ground to this plane.  Ok, maybe it is not imaginary, but the phase center measurements are neither physical positions nor stable points.

The phase center is variable on any GPS receiver based on directional signal information from satellites. These variations affect the antenna offsets used to connect the measurement to the position being recorded.  To handle this, the National Geodetic Survey calibrates each receiver model creating a measurement between the receiver phase center and it’s antenna reference point (ARP).  When we plug in the height of the receiver to our data collector we key in the measurement from our point to the ARP.

Some receivers have “measure points” on the receiver other than the ARP that are easier to get to for measuring.  You can then either do the simple math to reduce the height from the measure point to the ARP, or in some cases the data collection software already has that equation built in so you only enter the distance from the point to your measure mark.  Some units such as the Leica receivers have a tripod hook that has been calibrated to their ARP.  This allows the user to affix the “hook” to the base of the receiver, pull the tape to the point and know the number read includes the distance from the end of the tape to the ARP.

The simple answer here is to do the same thing you do for your rover.  Use a fixed height base.  There are a few options available such as the Fixed-Height GPS Antenna Tripod with Collapsible Center Staff from SECO Manufacturing (SECO PN: 5119-00).  This particular tripod features a collapsible center staff with twist locking mechanism that rotates 360° to check calibration of plumbing with a 10-minute vial, and quick release & twist locking mechanisms on the legs. It is dual graduated and adjusts to three heights: 2 m, 1.8 m, and 1.5 m. It collapses to 50 inches (127 cm).

I highly recommend these for use with the Altus receiver and have a few clients using them with their Sokkia and TopCon GPS units as well.  For more details on how to use this tripod visit SECO’s website http://www.surveying.com/tech_tips/details.asp?techTipNo=13.