I am thinking to purchase Reach RS+ for our bussines but i am not sure if it is the right choice for me. Maybe you can help me a bit.
Main application would be to collect position data in the field such as geological outcrops, drill hole locations and so on. An accuracy of around 0,5 m should be enough mostly. For some projects an accuracy lower 10 cm would be fine. We work most of the time in central europe (Austria, Germany, Italy).
I would like to worke only with one device without setting up own base station. Instead i would use the correction data which are provides via a public Network-RTK-Service. As i understand in central europe Networke-RTK should be available more or less everywhere.
I have tested a smart antenna from Leica (GG04) with network RTK. It worked fine.
But the Leica antenna costs 10times as much then the Reach RS+.
So is the Leica that much “better” or is the Reach RS+ sufficient for my application?
Hi Ben,
how many samples do you want to take? So is time a concern?
I have a Reach RS and reach module I regalarly use. It is easy to use and easy to understand and can be connected to smartphones, pc’s, tablets… So all in all it is very user friendly.
The Accuracy is fine, but you may need to wait a while for the signal to get a fix. However, you may be lucky and don#t need a real fix to get the disired accuracy.
At work we also use a topcon system (l1/l2) which is much harder to use but also much faster in obtaining a real fix. However, it used a Windows CE based handheld and is a bit trickier. It’s more expensive as well, of course.
We also use a Trimble setup which is kind of inbetween the Reach and Topcon in terms of usability but much more expensive. It also gets its fix very fast!
Where are you situated?
So all in all it is a very easy and cost effective solution (that’s why I prefer to use it). It may be slower than L1/L2 solutions, but you need to do the math between spending more money or more time getting the points. I my case the extra time is fine as there are only a few points to sample usually.
Reach RS is very sensitive to trees - it looses initialization instanly. Once you are out of RTK Fixed solution it it hard to tell if you are whinin 0.5 m from true positions or several meters, I would rely only on fixed solutions. If you survey in open areas with moderate trees/buildings covarage this receiver is a good choise, I was considering buying it, but my survey projects are always too obstructed so I did not.
