Spectra Precision FAST Survey Reference Manual - Manual (Page 118)

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Peripherals
A Peripheral is a device that must be used in tandem with a GPS receiver or a total station. Peripherals can all be
configured from the Peripherals menu under the EQUIP tab. Lasers, Light Bars, and Depth Sounders are all supported
as peripherals. If a peripheral is not currently in use, it is strongly recommended that you deactivate it, so it does not
slow down other operations. Lasers such as the Leica Disto can be used for horizontal offsets, and can be set to
supplement the rod height for data collection “at the pole” using robotic total stations or GPS for marine or ATV
surveys.
Lasers
Currently supported lasers are Laser Atlanta, Leica Disto, Laser Impulse IP200, Laser Impulse CR400, and Sokkia
Contour. If you have a different laser, contact Ashtech to discuss adding support for it. With GPS enabled, a laser can be
used to provide an offset from a GPS reading. For more information, see the GPS Offset section of the manual. With a
robotic total station enabled, a laser can be used to automatically measure the rod height of each total station reading.
To activate a laser for use with GPS, follow these steps:
1.
Plug in your laser to any of your device’s COM ports; make sure that it is adequately charged, and turn it on.
2.
Enter the Peripherals menu, and select the LASER tab, as shown above.
3.
Check Active
4.
Select the type of laser you are using.
5.
Enter the height of your laser from the ground. This value will be added to the vertical offset returned by your laser.
For accuracy, this value should be specified with respect to the same ground elevation that your GPS rod height was
specified.
6.
Directions for aligning your laser will be given in a different section. For now, leave the laser alignment value set to
0.
7.
If you want GPS to be automatically updated between each laser read, enable Auto GPS Update. If you want the
Read Laser
button to automatically trigger the laser, enable Auto Laser Read.
8.
Set appropriate COM port settings. To load the default settings for the laser you specified, select the Default
button. However, you will still need to set your COM port number manually.
9.
Click OK to save settings, or Cancel to revert back to your old settings.
Activating a laser for use with a robotic total station follows a similar procedure. Attach the laser to the prism, pointing
towards the ground. Every total station read will automatically trigger the laser, and the read value will be used as the
rod height.
Using the Laser
1.
Once the laser has been properly set up, enter the GPS Offset method and press Read Laser.