We have been testing the JAVAD equipment lately. The receiver we used is the Triumph-LS which has the receiver and data collector incorporated into one unit with a battery life of 30 hours. It utilizes all the current satellite systems, is designed to incorporate additional systems when they become available. It comes with a lifetime offer of software upgrades. The main reason we offered to test it was to see if it would produce better results under canopy than our present equipment and IT DID. It utilizes over 800 channels and 6 engines and an auto-verification system that will guarantee the results if you follow the guidelines. If fact, if you can prove you got a bad fix, they will pay you $10,000. Cameras are incorporated in the unit. The software programs have lots of useful tools and their customer service was very good. They are very open to suggestions for improvements or changes to the software and very efficient at incorporating beneficial recommendations. We are considering ordering units for all our surveyors if affordable.

One important thing we learned while testing the equipment: If you are using a VRS signal when you are working in areas with lots of tree cover and getting lots of multipath signals when trying to get fixed RTK results, you will get better results if you set up your base nearby and use the base instead of VRS (that applies to all brands). And with the JAVAD equipment you may get additional satellites.

The JAVAD equipment is also much-much less expensive that other brands, has tilt compensation, has a collapsible rover rod, has a touch screen with an alternate touch pen in case you don’t want to use your fingers and the entire unit is much more compact so it takes up much less space in your vehicle.

I have always dreamed of the "black box" that would give you accurate location coordinates no matter where you are. The Javad equipment is the next step.

Gary Kratz
Regional Land Surveyor
US Fish and Wildlife Service

For a while I have been eagerly awaiting my equipment trial and it has finally come. I realize that a lot of feedback has already been received and lots of changes and modifications have already been made before I have received my trial equipment, which is great to see.

Here are some random thoughts, suggestions, and notes after I have had a chance to use the equipment.

I am no stranger to GNSS equipment and this stuff performs!It is very evident that this setup was designed from the ground up. There is no imitation in the design and there is no equal out there on the market that I know of in terms of features, performance and price. Your team has definitely thought “outside of the box” and that has made all the difference!The small footprint of the equipment is amazing. I would suggest to include/offer a custom pelican case that can hold base, rover, radio, cables, etc. Being compact is very attractive to me.

Hardware: I love the bluetooth radio!Not having a cable from the base to the radio is great. I had my concerns about the range of the 1W radio... until I tested it. With the antenna mounted approximately 20 feet above the ground,

I was able to maintain a radio link 3 miles away in rolling hills here in northeastern Ohio. That is pretty impressive compared to some of the other systems that I have used. One suggestion is that I would love to see backlit buttons. The downward facing flashlight is great and if the buttons were illuminated, I might never come home at night!

Software: I really like the flexiblity of changing units and coordinate systems on the fly. The page concept is great. Having DPOS built into J-Field is amazing but I think it needs a little refinement. I processed a base point through DPOS and then through OPUS and the difference in values was about 0.5’ horizontally and vertically. Matt Johnson looked into this for me and some changes were made, but it leaves me wondering. The effort made to be able to do all of this right from the receiver is fantanstic and when I presented this issue to him, he and the team checked into the problem promptly and responded very quickly. I have been very pleased with the turnaround time and the idea that I can talk to real surveyors with my questions and concerns is great. Well done here!

Joseph Paulin, P.S.

Without question, the Triumph-LS is the most mind-blowing piece of technology that I have ever held in my hands and being able to work with it is the highlight of my 40-year career in land surveying. Intertwined and commensurate with that highlight has also been the incredible honor and privilege in working with Javad Ashjaee, his amazing Moscowbased team of scientists and engineers, as well as some of the brightest surveyors in the United States, all in the shaping of the Triumph-LS and its graphical user interface, J-Field.

There are so many features of the Triumph-LS worth highlighting, it's difficult to know where to start; from the built-in frequency scanners for both UHF interference and GNSS interference, the automated shifting of project coordinates after the base file has been submitted to DPOS (Javad's own version of OPUS for .jps files) and its adjustment received – all being done by J-Field, or to start by mentioning Visual Stakeout using J-Field's unique and way cool Guide feature. The ability to locate objects using photogrammetric methods is another exciting tool included in J-Field's extensive tool-set.

Being a person that has always gravitated to understanding things visually, J-Field's approach and graphical displays has aided my transition from strictly being an L1 guy for more than a dozen years; (6) ProMark2 Ashtech¹ receivers, to finally get with today's surveying using RTK. Of course, the Triumph-LS's very competitive price point also made this transition possible.

Shown here is just one example of the visual presentation of information given the surveyor. It includes being able to see at a glance the image of the rod bubble beneath the instrument's second camera and the textual display of Triumph-LS's internal pitch and roll values.

If I was limited to saying only one thing about the Triumph-LS that has impressed me the most, I'd have to say that it doesn't have anything to do with technology whatsoever. It has to do with a GNSS manufacturer that has so openly embraced the surveying profession during the development of a specific product, and most notably, professional land surveyors in the United States. As a matter of policy, Javad GNSS users are encouraged to suggest improvements and new features to all Javad GNSS products. And nowhere is that policy reflected more clearly than in J-Field.

The Javad PLS Support Network is an other reflection of Javad GNSS's commitment to supporting the U.S. Professional Land Surveyor and their use of Javad equipment. Composed of a core group of licensed professional land surveyors scattered across the United States, the so-called 5PLS members stand ready to assist by phone or email. The best method of support is actually using the website's support forum which serves not only as a portal to quickly getting answers to questions from all of the licensed land surveyors, Javad GNSS geodesists, scientists, engineers and even Javad Ashjaee himself, but also ever increasingly the support forum serves as a reference source and suggestion box.

V. Kelly Bellis, PLS
Horizon Surveying Co., Inc.
Ellsworth, Maine 04605
kellybellis@gwi.net