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143H Slope Control Systems

Tones

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
3,078
Location
Ubique
Occupation
Ex land clearing contractor, part-time retired
Trimble have a 3D system. A bloke I know uses it for building sports fields which have to be a dome shape. Topcon is another.
 

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,242
Location
Australia
I believe that Cat Accugrade and Trimble are virtually the same product, both marketed by Sitech.
Our 140H had Topcon System 5 on it when we bought it, only 2D but upgradable to 3D etc.
The Topcon has been ok without being brilliant.
I recall pricing both brands in the past and Trimble were very competitive.
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
29,314
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
Through Trimble.
I assume the Cat version is a little pricey?
Dunno - haven’t asked yet.
I’m asking on here on behalf of the owner of the machine who is not a native English speaker. I was just trying to find out what options were out there to ensure that all the bases were covered when it came to getting quotes for a system.
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
29,314
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
Does anyone know if any of the above-mentioned system manufacturers offer used or reconditioned systems.?
An internet search has only revealed Topcon & Trimble. Are there any other manufacturers out there.?
 
Last edited:

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,870
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
When I was chasing machine trades for the Cat dealer the issue with GPS grade systems was technological obsolescence. Big changes, read "improvements" came out about every three years making the installed systems orphans in short order. If the systems worked, the owners kept them and had them installed on the new machines. Most of the time the mounting hardware was on the machine but the sensors and black boxes were either out in a pile or stored in an office closet somewhere. I've seen them come up on Ritchie Bros. auctions and you can find sold prices if you use the brand names for your search terms. I always told the potential customers that we were not interested in used systems and didn't even consider them in the value of the machine unless they were installed and working.
 

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,242
Location
Australia
As with any product, it may come down to how well it is supported.
Although I’ve had some issues with the Topcon gear, I can’t complain about the dealer.
They will travel from the big smoke out to here without charging an arm and a leg.
 

zhkent

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2007
Messages
294
Location
Kansas
Occupation
Earthmoving
I use a Trimble WM-Drain on terraces.
It requires a base station.
The one I use
It surveys elevation, but only in a single line.
Then you can change the cut/fill of that line in the design tab.
The gps will hold that grade following the line you surveyed and will hold grade on each side of the line a couple hundred feet wide or more out.
It will also upload some plans for 3d, but they had to convert the file for me. Then I used the surveyors benchmark and it all lined up pretty good. Have only done that once though.
 

Cmark

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
3,178
Location
Australia
There is a German company called Moba. They have a dealer local to me selling their systems. I have no personal experience with them so can't say if they're any good or not, but they seem to be available worldwide.

https://mobile-automation.eu/
 
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