I get this plantation boundary survey job [Lat N0.930440°, Long E102.019500°]on the other side of booney land, a full days travel from home. On checking into a hotel, I am asked for my passport & work permit details [usual for foreigners]. One hr later, a knock on the door by the police requiring more docs. I start to get this uncomfortable feeling about this place. I tell the cop all is in order & will deal with it tomorrow. The next morning I have to report to the police station, where they tell me after a 4hr interrogation I am in for whopping $3k fine. In the meantime I can go & measure [with police escort] while more docs are sent. So I get out to the job & turn on the PM3s. I have police with hand guns, army with M16s and locals who have not seen a real foreigner all around me like flies. After setting up the units & trying to look like I know what I am doing the rover goes down, like someone pulled out the plug. I then shut down the base, but that just kept resarting until I pulled out the battery. Two units down within 10 mins - I cant believe it- What the F? is happening here. How can I get out of this one? - the option of doing a runner came up, but I knew I could not get far.I then got the idea of measuring in stand alone MM mode on the 2nd unit to do something. After 2 days like this I finish the work & say time to go, but the cops say no, until I produce the money. Following some nego-I mention I did not have that kind of stash with me & since they do not accept credit cards, they finally let me go for $300. What a job-won on the release deal but lost big time on the PM3s. To add to the bill, I noticed that some of the pins on an I/O module are limp rather than fixed rigid. That could explain some of the problems with other units in connection & charging.

Police?

Was it extortion?

When you say the units went down,do you mean you had no sats?

Wages out here are low, so the authories [typically police] often look for other sources of income. The short answer is yes.
The rover pm3 will not boot at all, no screen - it is dead. The base unit probably has a keyboard problem, causing it to continually restart. So now the exercise is getting them repaired and how long. Has anyone noticed where these units are made [China].

I've had my problems and I'm aware of others who have had their problems with these units.

But, you really can't say anything bad about them here without the "amen-section" jumping up in a prayerful crecendo.


Modified By John Francis on 5/1/2006 at 10:51 PM

which is under warranty?

you send it back for repair or replacement.

they may have quality issues but you have to make 'em fix the problem.

I haven't had trouble with my hardware, the keys tended to stick a little at first but that has cured itself over time. The sticky NAV key makes it flip through the screens but pushing it a few times frees it. There has been the clock setting issue which Thales is aware of although they haven't fingered it out yet apprarently.

I have had some problems of late with the GNSS software, that product definitely needs some work. It mostly works but phantom problems (software glitches) seem to crop up. Problems that shouldn't be a problem but they are.
Modified By David Karoly on 5/1/2006 at 11:12 PM

David I see you're working in Indonesia. WOW! I was wondering about the police and army, but I see now. I just thought surveying was tought in the USA.

Good Luck! Please Don't Run!3

jjp

I'm not about to buy something new then send it in to do without for a couple of months.

Some people think that's the way it "is", but I say it's crapola.

I also know of units sent in for replacement and the sender having to wait for a replacement.

Make it right the first time and test it thoroughly, then people don't have to send the things in for repairs and replacements

like my Dad used to say, "David, Mow the lawn."

me-"I don't wanna mow the lawn :-("

Dad, "You don't hafta wanna mow the lawn, you just hafta mow the lawn."

My Carlson Explorer had a major hardware failure. I had to send it back, only had it a month. Waited a month to finally get it back. It had to go all the way back to 2technologies. Like the old saying, life is a b!tch then you die.

If the thing isn't working now then what harm is there in sending it in for repairs? At least that way you'll eventually have a working unit. I know it pisses you off but that's the sad way it works.

I not only makes me mad . . . especially when the particular miriad of problem seems to be more widespread than just in my equipment . . . it makes me feel like I'd been "had".

I used to write and market software, years ago.

When I made a package I would beat the program half to death and attempt to make it crash every which way I could before I released it. It wasn't fool-proof, but it was close.

Now-a-days, I don't think anyone, particular really wants to make their equipment to fail, with the idea of improving/correcting the problems before release, since it would potentially screw up some planned release.

Get it out and then let the users be the real beta testers.

when it works it's pretty good but it has these phantom bugs that are hard to nail down.

I bet if I sent the files to support they would work just fine like my old Volvo wagon that would die every quarter mile unless I took it the mechanic then it would run fine for him.