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+--- Thread: Is the NVQ worth it? (/showthread.php?tid=3716)
Is the NVQ worth it? - kevin wooldridge - 3rd February 2011
moreno Wrote:The 1200! Been looking at second hand machines. The 900 series is more in my price range...can always work up!
I would jump to the 1100 as a minimum because at least its robotic and programmes and coding systems are interchangeable with the Leica1200
I have recently seen a reconditioned Leica 1100 for less than ?1500....I was told a few years back that the high-price of 2nd hand Leica equipment was due to a big demand from eastern european countries unable to afford the prices of new Leica equipment. That might have been the case, but we bought 3 reconditioned 1100 machines (minus batteries) from a Danish company 2 years back that cost us less than ?3000 all in (OK fair enough we didn't have to pay the VAT equivalant so maybe add 20% to find the 'true' cost)....
Is the NVQ worth it? - moreno - 3rd February 2011
kevin wooldridge Wrote:I would jump to the 1100 as a minimum because at least its robotic and programmes and coding systems are interchangeable with the Leica1200
I have recently seen a reconditioned Leica 1100 for less than ?1500....I was told a few years back that the high-price of 2nd hand Leica equipment was due to a big demand from eastern european countries unable to afford the prices of new Leica equipment. That might have been the case, but we bought 3 reconditioned 1100 machines (minus batteries) from a Danish company 2 years back that cost us less than ?3000 all in (OK fair enough we didn't have to pay the VAT equivalant so maybe add 20% to find the 'true' cost)....
Thanks for the insight. I'll keep that in mind when I start shopping for equipment
I saw an advert for a 1105 TCRA for ?1700, but was put off when I read "all you need is a 12v battery to get started".
Is the NVQ worth it? - kevin wooldridge - 3rd February 2011
I think the problem is that by the time the machines get to the point of being 'refurbished' the original rechargeable batteries are usually knackered. So most 2nd hand machines come without batteries (honestly you wouldn't want them) and then you have to contact your local Leica dealer for replacements. And yes like printer ink, they don't come cheap (c ?50 each), but should last four of five years if treated right.....
Is the NVQ worth it? - kevin wooldridge - 24th February 2011
A recommendation. !!
Just to update this thread..... I have been playing with the free QGIS (Quantum GIS) package the past few days. And I would like to recommend it. For a freeby this is easily as good as some of the earlier versions of ArcGIS and most of the commands are very similar so one could easily lead to the other and vice versa. Very very good!! (There is a slight incompatibily in that QGIS doesn't save files in the same .mxd format as ArcGIS, but the constituent parts (the shape files are interchangeable)....
Gosh, if only the rest of life was as good as this.....
http://www.qgis.org/
Is the NVQ worth it? - GPStone - 24th February 2011
A certain largish organisation cottoned on to this some time ago and has been using and developing QGIS as standard for many tasks. It is rather good, isn't it. And very easy to pick up if you've got a basic knowledge of that sort of program (thankfully for me).:face-approve:
Is the NVQ worth it? - kevin wooldridge - 24th February 2011
Absolutely..... I would put this up there with Open Office as essential software on any archaeologists lap-top....