Are there any plans from the Emlid team for a new Reach “RS2” based on the new ublox ZED-F9P multi-frequency chip that we’re now seeing in products like the Ardusimple SimpleRTK2B board?
2 Likes
Very interesting indeed!
Maybe there will be a ZED-F9T which will be cheaper? Yes there is!
1 Like
What is going to even more interesting is how this the big guys approach to GNSS hardware. If Emlid decides to do a dual frq solution, some of the main selling points of Trimble/Leica will be undermined. Yes, there will be a lot of infrastructure and software where they are still miles ahead, but a key feature will have been undermined.
2 Likes
I think it is interesting what EMLID will do. One can get one of those new receivers with antenna for 300 € from Sparkfun. If you add a battery and a bluetooth module and get your correction data online one may be ready to achieve better results with an mapping app than Reach does now. I think that is not the best news for EMLID and us.
So the software side and the usability will be the thing which will have to convince the customers to choose an EMLID device.
It’s all a matter of perspective. Different markets and operating capital makes or breaks software. More like light-years behind, but that’s not their market. In my opinion, any Surveyor or GIS person that is using one of the big three instead of Emlid or like is wasting there money. Construction is the one market where this level will never fly. Ease of use and durability are two big factors, but having full GPS machine-control solutions is the biggest. If Emlid doesn’t jump on dual-frequency quick they might as well wait for multi-frequency with the development of L5.
Some months ago I was measuring 50 gcps with an Trimbel and with an EMLID device. If you do that regularly a Trimbel device saves you an enormous amount of time. Then it is just a question what you calculate for your working hour. Suddenly a Trimbel is a cheap solution, without accounting for the higher reliability etc.
Wow, how big was the project to have 50 GCP’s? The time savings is because of the dual frequency… hence the excitement if Emlid were to gain the capability.
It was only 15 ha but we wanted to have extensive repetitions for our test. We even did it twice with Reach do get a day to day variance. Unfortunately Reach did not save the beginning and end of the observation time (earlier firmware version), so I’m still working on a script to determine them automatically. When I’m finished I will report the results.
Yes, I’m also looking forward for a dual frequency receiver and hope it will nicely integrate into the existing ecosystem. It would be great to have a dual frequency receiver at least for the base.
I think there are several advantages of a Trimbel receiver etc…
- It needs only seconds to calculate the position,
- you can rely on the position under more difficult circumstances,
- the output can be in your working coordinate system without any additional effort and
- with the new ones you do not even need to hold the pole exactly vertical but the receiver will account for an offset if you don’t, so you do not need to look at the water bubble when placing the pole.
So I think that all of those companies have their market.
For sure and I love your approach to the testing. People think I am crazy sometimes because, when in testin, I will fly the some project multiple times and process each effort twice to verify the results.
Dual-Frequency is the primary reason why we can shoot control for 30-45 sec and topo shots for 3-5, but I am skeptical of the dual-frequency helping the RS series as much as we hope because of the software. One of the secondary reasons we can shoot the way we do is because of the localization. I have harped on this in the forum for a while now and ended up going with FieldGenius for the reason alone. I tried getting the receiver to connect to my Topcon Magnet FC-500, but there is some sort of language barrier between the two systems that is misinterpreting the Fixed condition.
Better reliance in adverse conditions is also because of the dual-frequency, but the power of transmission also has some to do with that. Our Topcon Hipers auto-correct the power output to adjust to the conditions so as your signal gets noisy it isolates which frequency and powers it appropriately.
I have a couple of colleagues that use Trimble and have had mixed results with the tilt compensation. You might try shoot the same points with a gun and prism to verify your coordinates. The problem arises when you tilt past 20deg and you loses the base plane and the mask angle is no longer effective. You can also try lowering the mask angle when you know you are going to get into that condition to tighten it up.
Great stuff! Keep it coming.
I’ve seen demos of the new ZED-F9P. Really great: locks in fast, a robust fix that’s stable around buildings, trees and other obstructions to the sky. The real question is what company can take these devices and make a good turnkey product, at a good price point, before the competition.
I’m hoping it’s Emlid. But I’ve been wrong with such guesses in the past. Who else has a turnkey system? Polaris Alpha RTK, SXBLUE, Juniper Geode, Piksi Multi? None can compete with the Reach RS+ for a well integrated, usable system, at a reasonable price. But things may change a month from now. Don’t let the “radio silence” make you think everyone isn’t racing to get out a L1/L2 product.
I love the idea of a “tilt” detector so the pole doesn’t have to be vertical. But it’s going to take more than that for Trimble to justify their price. I’ve sold over 50 Reach RS+'s to licensed surveyors in the USA. Change is coming!
Very exciting stuff…
2 Likes
relevant
3 Likes
Eventhough everyone should know by now, updating this thread for the reference 
https://reachrs2.emlid.com/
2 Likes
I guessed the name correctly at least! 
5 Likes
Yeah YA DID! ; )
This topic was automatically closed 100 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.