The TDS sales literature claims that the batteries will last up to 30 hours of use, dependent on the usual combination of temperature and various power-consuming functions. We were provided with two long-life battery modules. We saw no change in operations, other than a slight reduction in battery life in the cold weather operation. We did however use it in the typical Upstate New York late fall/early winter weather (sun, rain, and snow with temps ranging from mid 70’s to low teens). The TDS Ranger appears to be as "rugged" as their brochures proclaim it to be, although we did not attempt a 4-foot drop test, nor immerse it in water as advertised.
Our field crew was able to become proficient with the equipment within a few days of use.
We actually completed a job in the field with our first experience with the Ranger. Ray Kerwin, the Regional TDS representative spent about a half day with our field crew and before he left us, we had gained the confidence to set our trusty HP48 aside and use the Ranger every day. Or, if you would rather pair the Ranger up with your existing total station, you can easily switch from one total station to another, or switch the Ranger from crew to crew as needed simply select the instrument from a user-defined list of equipment.įor our evaluation, Tripod Data Systems (TDS) provided us with a complete package: the Ranger 500X data collector (in reality, a minicomputer), Survey Pro software and the new Nikon NPL-362 electronic total station for instrumentation.
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Product Review: TDS Ranger with Survey Pro 4.1 & Nikon NPL-362 Total StationĪ 577Kb PDF of this article as it appeared in the magazine-complete with images-is available by clicking HEREįor anyone out there that is still using the HP48 for data collection, this TDS combination allows for a very smooth transition to the latest in technology.