I'm COMPLETELY in the dark about this so hopefully I'll be able to ask this question so it is understandable.

I'm in the process of my 1st purchase of GPS. Briefly (and simply please)could you tell me the benefits of having a 3rd receiver running when I initialize to one base and running kinematic while taking static shots? I'm of course concerned about time gathering field data, and accuracy, as I understand is involved. I am primarily concerned with rural land survey work i.e. re-subdividing government sections and gathering enough data from existing section corners and fence lines to accomplish this.
And is this "kinematic kit" something that I really should have to be efficient?
Thank you

Iowa,

Adding a third receiver to your setup is definitely the way to fly. Granted, I have only done 1 job in the kinematic mode, and that was with just two receivers. Out of about 340 vectors only about 7 of them failed the quality control settings of .039' horizontal and .066' vertical at the 95% level. Checking things like pipe inverts with a total station they were very very close, like a couple hundredths. I should think the third receiver would give you a "loop closure" on all your kinematic points, using two bases and 1 rover. But in the adjustment, I would use the base-base vector from another session in the loop closure. This gets into the "trivial vector" argument, which is something you have to decide for yourself whether or not it is a valid argument. NGS says it is, so I'll play along by their rules.
In static mode, the third receiver effectively reduces your observation times by 1/2, in the sense that you are including 2 vectors (remember, you are excluding one of them, doesn't matter which one, of the 3 vectors per session). Same amount of time required to get one vector with just a pair of receivers, but since you have three running you get a pair of vectors that are independent.
The kinematic kit (I believe) is a must for the kinematic sessions where you are only collecting a few seconds of data per point. The handheld syncs the data with the receiver download.
Personally, I like using the handheld from the kinematic kit when I run static, you don't have to go into the software and manually enter the site specifics, yet you need to check them against your hard copy field notes you keep for every receiver/session. You can interface with the receiver in the field and see your current sat. configuration etc. Well worth the money IMHO.
Maybe I answered part of your question, you have found the best place to ask questions about Locus (and anything Ashtech for that matter) and I'm sure some of the other regulars here will expand on the post.
Best Regards from MS
Dave

Dave said it better than I, IMHO.

The only thing about the kinematic kit. The init bar is a pain to use. Pick a static point that has been previously set for your init. point and I think it goes easier.

Jimbo