John Thompson
Pleasant surprises:
The visual stakeout works well. This a feature that I would use.
The tilt compensators/compass work better than I expected. The precision of the measurement is better if I use a pole with a bipod that holds it steady. The monopole is fine for topo work, but for shooting a survey monument I would use a steadier setup. The tilt compensators are great for getting those shots where some obstruction is leaning over the monument preventing the pole from being plumb.
The RTK engines work well. I have not done a side-by-side comparison with my current RTK system, but I'm sure this receiver stays fixed where mine does not.
Unpleasant surprises/Items that need work:
Q
The touchscreen is less than stellar, and the on-screen keyboard is abysmal. I carefully calibrated the screen with a stylus when I updated the software, but it didn't help much. I have found that if I deliberately touch each key in the center with a stylus and hold each touch for about a second, it sometimes helps, but sometimes not. Most of the time I use the arrow and check buttons, which is considerably slower than the touch screen.
A
Javad: We are switching to a new display with capacitive touch pad in the released version. The new one is much more sunlight readable too. We will change for those who want to keep their units.
Q
The stakeout screens give me different answers for distance to the target. I took some screenshots to document this, but I can't figure out how to get them off of the LS. Also the stakeout screens need to show northing and easting, not just azimuth and distance. And it needs to show south and west instead of negative north and east.
A
Javad: Please see the documentation for screen shots in “PLS Update” on how to get them off the LS. Please review the “PLS Update” daily. We do show N/E in action screen in white boxes. Do you need it in Guide screen too?. We can simply add.
Q
The range of the UHF link (I have the HPT401BT transmitter) is about 1/2 mile. Shawn Billings tells me that he can approximately double the range with an external UHF antenna on the Triumph LS. I am used to getting about 4 miles, depending on terrain, with my current RTK system. Much of my work is in spread-out places, so I need the radio range.
A
Javad: You can have the range of up to 50 miles if you use our HPT435BT with tall transmitter antenna.
Q
I'm used to working with point numbers, not point names, and though it's nice to have the flexibility of alphanumeric names, I can't see a compelling reason to use them much. I have a lot of existing points that are numbered, not named. The point name keyboard ought to default to numeric.
A
Javad:
It will be done in this week’s version. Also note that when you select a point number, subsequent point numbers will get auto incremented. It this helpful to you?
Q
I don't do a lot of construction stakeout or plan & profile work, so the tags and codes are not a big advantage to me. I would like to see the comment or point description field in the points list, rather than just the name/number. I would also like to see a favorites list of descriptions, or maybe a dropdown list to pick from.
A
Javad:
It is in our plan to add making canned messages and select them in all places.
Q
I often stake a point multiple times. I usually have a control point, often near the base, that I check in to first thing in the morning, last thing before shutting down, and maybe before and after lunch or battery swaps, or when I happen to be close by. I save these check shots so I can document what went wrong and when. This software doesn't have an easy way of doing this.
A
Javad: You can assign a “Page” to your “control point check” and save your check shots in there. You can view and see all details on this page by just selecting to view only that page. You see the spread and all details. This is very simple. Please try this and tell me how it works. Let me know if you need more explanation.
Q
If I tap on the audio icon on the home screen, I get a list of tones that indicate stand-alone, float, fixed, etc. The receiver doesn't make a sound when it changes to float or fixed as I expected. Also what does L=9 D=0 at the bottom of this screen mean?
A
Javad:
Tones will be activated in this weeks’ release.
Q
What does the 3-digit number below the satellite icon on the home screen mean?
A
Javad:
L and D are for light meter and distance. Ignore it. We will remove.
Q
With the last update of the software I have, in the base setup routine the user is prompted for antenna height after transferring settings to the base. Then it does another transfer. I think it would be better to use the wizard or recall settings, then enter height, then choose which point the base is on or choose to read from GPS, then toggle static collection for OPUS, then transfer it to the base.
If I choose to read the base position from the GPS and choose to store static observations, I am probably going to correct all points with OPUS. It would also be nice to have it prompt me to save the base position in this case.
A
Javad: First connection is not for transfer, it is for reading settings. I think most of this we already have. We will add others.