What laser should I get?

[ARPlante]

I was wondering what brands of lasers and laser systems are good and if I should look at a slope laser to allow me to do fine grading? I know there is a Topcon dealer in my state.

 

[ARPlante]

I should clarify that I will use my laser for fine grading and establishing grades for excavations off of other benchmarks.

 

[dayexco]

we prefer laser alignment products...now called leica i think. great dependable, bulletproof machines....by all means, get the one with the programmable slope if you think you'll use it

 

[shaper]

SpectraPrecision and Topcon are the two best in my opinion. I recently bought a Topcon RL-H2sa Dual Plane laser from Bunce Positioning in Stow,MA. I do laser grading so I needed the dual plane. There are much less expensive lasers on the market that will do a good job also

 

[John Banks]

We use a couple of the David White lasers. Very happy with them.

 

[badranman]

We use David White also. About half the price of the Topcon. No complaints here.

 

[smalltime]

We have a Laser Allignment brand too. Love it. Never any problems or complaints. Not a week goes by that I do not wish we had bought one to shoot grade however. Whatever brand you buy, make sure it will automatically shut off when knocked out of level.

 

[ARPlante]

Thanks for the replies. What kind of price tag should I expect to see attached to a dual slope laser?
Examples of different brands welcome

 

[CascadeScaper]

My vote is for Topcon and Trimble. Topcon is going to be a little cheaper and will be fine for a dual slope laser, but I think Trimble leads the pack in GPS and on-machine laser grading systems, if you were headed in that direction.

 

[Squizzy246B]

David White for me..I'm reliably informed that the DW has exactly the same laser unit inside it as the Leica does. (from a laser repairer)

 

[shaper]

The Topcon Dual plane will be around $4995. Check out www.laserlevel.net

 

[ARPlante]

Thanks. I noticed that the the Topcon offers the RT-5S series as well with one model offering a 50 degree slope capability while the RL- H2Sa only offers slope capability of 10 degrees. I want to start a laser based grading and excavating company and I was wondering do I need the 50 degree capability or will the 10 degree capability of the RL-H2Sa provided me with more than I need?

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[bobcatuser]

I have a Leica Rugby 100LR and would recommend this laser to anyone doing excavation work. This laser has a 2,500 ft working range and the housing is extremely durable.

 

[shaper]

Andrew

I've never been in a situation where I needed more than 10%. The slope lasers are great for pipe work, just set the desired slope and the receiver one time and you are good to go. That is assuming you are going in a straight line.

The reason I went with Topcon is that my laser box blade has all Topcon controls.

 

[ARPlante]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[imjustdave]

updated Q

Im looking to purchase a Laser becan, I need dual slope, and for outside use. Any recomendations ? Any bad lasers to avoid? Any manufactures to avoid or other that excell? I have been recomended AGL lasers by a rep who sells machine controls that I will most likely buy but I would like a not so bias opinion Honestly he says he doens't care what brand, but he like AGL. Im more concerned on perfromance then brand names

Thanks
David

 

[Squizzy246B]

One of our subs just got a new Spectra and its OK...a little pernickty after using the Leica. I don't think you can go wrong with Trimble stuff although it costs a little more. I was watching machines work today on a new railway line and everything had trimble GPS hooked up with Topcon stuff.

Having good weather resistance is very important in MHO. Our David White receiver fogs up if you get it the slightest but damp.

 

[Electra_Glide]

Speaking of lasers, a friend of mine told me to "make him an offer" for his Spectra Laserplane 500, receiver, tripod, and grade stick.

Anybody got any idea what would be a fair price? Was saving my pennies for one with slope capability, but I have been borrowing this one whenever I need it, and it's been getting me by.

Joe

 

[jmac]

What I have been looking for is a laser reciever that I mount to the stick on my excavator and blade on my dozer. My contractor supply house loaned me a Trimble CR600 today and this is my take so far. I mounted a piecs of flat steel to my dozer blade and the unit works great for that application. I tried the same thing on my stick of the excavator and spent alot of time making sure the stick was in the exact same configuration ever time to get a correct read. The bucket flat and stick 90 degrees to the ground. This took alot of time. Looking for better way. The trimble unit cost $700. The dealer had another unit for sale for $1300. Unit was red color, larger, L.E.D larger and the biggest diffrence was that it was able to tell you if the stick was at the same position ever time with L.E.D lights. I don't remember the name but question is the extra $600 worth it. I could not get him to loan me that one but it looks to be the answer. Has any one used this or owns one? If so does it work? How does it know that the stick is the same config every time? Any help would be great. My goal is to eliminate stick guy. The savings for this will be alot more than $600.

 

[digger242j]

My goal is to eliminate stick guy.

Well then just lure him into range, and squash him with the bucket!

Oh.... you meant you just don't want to have to pay a guy to hold the stick in the first place. Never mind...


:bouncegri