USING THE SX10
The SX10 isn't an adapted platform, it's a new class of
instrument designed and built from the ground up. It has
the functionality of, and excels as a total station, along with
full scanning and imaging capabilities. The traversing for
project control and conventional surveying data collection
are performed on the same instrument as the scanning, so
there are no problems with proper registration of scans and
images. The benefits of a single-field instrument environment
also reduce subsequent steps in the office software. The
instrument was widely used on the project.
"Adapting to the SX10 was no problem," said Balens, "BAM
Contractors use a lot of Trimble equipment and software,
including the "S" series robotic total stations, TSC3 data
collectors, Dini levels and Trimble Business Center office
software." The features were familiar, which made learning
the operation of the SX10 painless. In fact, the new features
on the SX10 became favorites, Balens said. "There was no
eyepiece, no active tracking, and we had not worked on
a tablet with our total stations. But operating the SX10 is
similar to operating our total stations. Finding yourself and
the prism on the tablet view, which operates on the rod
robotically, is very fast, and after a while we didn't miss the
active tracking."
"During layout, the tablet balances well on the survey rod,"
Egerickx added. "Now when I use one of our old total stations
and the small screen of the data collector, I miss the tablet.
