AllTerra Technical Newsletter – Q2 2023
Technical News from AllTerra 
2nd Quarter 2023
 
 
Watch “Performing a Resection in Trimble Access” HERE from the ATC Quick Tip series, a part of AllTerra’s ATC Support Program. These video tips, delivered monthly by the AllTerra Technical Center, provide valuable insights on using Trimble Access. If you’re interested in learning more about the AllTerra Technical Center Program, please visit the information page at https://allterracentral.com/atc-program
Trimble Access Update – 2023.01 
  • Trimble Access version 2023.01 was released in May of 2023 and fixed several issues from previous versions. One of the major issues resolved in this release was if a project coordinate system had a keyed-in ground scale factor, the project origin coordinates were unable to be computed and stored for the project. To see a complete list of updates go to Trimble Access 2023.01 Release Notes.
     
    Trimble Access Update – 2023.00 
    Trimble Access version 2023.00 was released in April 2023 that had several new key features to improve functionality. Trimble Maps was the highlight of the release allowing users to toggle on Satellite, Street, or terrain background imagery. Other notable features are as follows:
    • New file explorer for layer manager. Users can now easily access folders from Trimble Connect, other projects, and USB devices. Commonly used folders can now be pinned to the menu for easy accessibility.
    • Feature symbol and line control codes from your FXL file will now draw the same inside Access as drawn in TBC or CAD suite software. Attributes and Symbols
    • Geotagging images on Android platform collectors is now available.
    • Improved map tools for pan controls, polygonal selection, transparency, and advanced filtering by layer or code.
    To learn more about this version release go to Trimble Access 2023.00 Release Notes.
 
 
Support Spotlight: Mark Oatley – Technical Support
Mark is a lifelong resident of Texas and has lived in San Antonio for almost 50 years. Before coming to work at AllTerra Central, Mark worked as veterinary technician for 17 years in a high standard of care, multi-doctor veterinary hospital. When the opportunity to work as a service technician for AllTerra came, Mark switched careers to follow his dream of working in the technology field and worked in the service department for over 6 years. Eventually a need for another tech support associate presented itself in the San Antonio office and he gladly accepted the position and is glad to be back helping people directly.
Latest firmware for Trimble S-Series Instruments and GNSS receivers
Keep your gear up to date with the latest firmware. Following are the latest firmware versions.
Trimble SX12 – S2.8.4
Trimble SX10 – S2.6.6
Trimble X7 – R2.5.100
Trimble X9 – 1.0.1.0337
Trimble X12 – 10.0.1.11608
Trimble S5, S7, S9 – H2.12.10
Trimble S6, S8, VX – R12.5.54
Trimble R12 – 6.20
Trimble R12i – 6.20
Trimble R10 – 5.60
Trimble R10-2 – 6.20
Trimble R780 – 6.20
Trimble R750 – 6.20
Trimble R8s – 5.60
R8 Model 3 & 4 – 5.60
Trimble R6 Model 3 & 4 – 5.60
Trimble NetR9s/NetR9– 5.60 & 6.20
Spectra SP60 – 5.23
Spectra SP80 – 3.48
Spectra SP85 – 5.22
 
GNSS Release Notes                      Optical Release Notes                   Survey Firmware – March 2023
Trimble Business Center (TBC)
Trimble Business Center v5.90 was released in May 2023. This was a major release and had a number of improvements including, but not limited to:
1. Survey and Cogo
  • Grant Boundary/compass COGO adjustment – The Create COGO command now allows you to perform a Compass rule adjustment to recreate lost boundary corners. 
  • Create Points by Station Offset – create points along a baseline by specifying a station and offset
 
2. CAD – Automatically divide an area – Divide area command allows you to divide the area of a parcel based on the following:
  • Number of equal sized parcels
  • One or more parcel where you specify the size
  • One or more parcels at a specified distance from a baseline
 
3. Drafting – Include feature attributes in point labels
 
4. GIS
  • Filter features from a GIS data source – The Read features from GIS command now allows for choosing two points to define a selection box around an area which you want to import features
  • Web Feature Service (WFS) – The new Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Service Manager command allows for connection to a WFS server. Once connected, you are able to query and retrieve features to display in your project
  • Exchange attachments with a GIS data source – When exchanging data with a GIS that includes attributes with attached files, eg. JPG, the attached files are included in the exchange
  • Exchange data with Trimble Penmap for Android – TBC is now able to import and export Penmap project data in a PDT compressed file that includes all template files
 
5. Point Clouds
  • Point Cloud classification – The point cloud Classify Point Cloud Regions tool has been redesigned based on deep learning technology. It now provides more accurate classifications along with more outdoor class types as well as a new refinement option
  • Extract Stockpiles from a point cloud – Quickly and easily extract stockpiles from a point cloud, save them to a project, and compute the base, slope, areas, and volumes.
  • Point cloud ribbon enhancement – The ribbon has been reorganized to better group and display commands providing for a better left to right workflow
  • Selectively assign feature codes during automatic point extraction – in the QA/QC process you are now able to specify a different feature code for each extracted feature
  • Enhanced Ambient Shading mode for point clouds – Enhanced Ambient Shading is similar to Ambient shading but allows for more aesthetic visualization. This allows for more detail to be seen in the cloud
  • Extract Geometry – you can now extract geometry, eg. Crosswalk markers, from multiple features at once. 
  • Trimble X9 scanner support
 
6. Photogrammetry
  • Import and process Frame-Based aerial image data from any UAS Camera
  1. Displays the Camera maker and model as well as sensor size in pixels
  2. Advanced setting that lets you specify whether GNSS sensor is high quality
  • Improved deliverables boundary creation
  • Digital Surface Model – enhancements include:
  1. Moving objects removed from model
  2. Buildings have sharper edges
  3. Over or underexposed images now have a radiometric correction applied
 
7. Mobile Mapping – Batch Processing
  • Allows for running a routine that automates typical pre-processing tasks on MX9 and MX50 datasets
  • The datasets may be
  1. One mission, one SBET, one coordinate system
  2. Multiple missions, multiple SBETs, one coordinate system
  3. Multiple missions, multiple SBETS, multiple coordinate systems
For a complete listing please see the support notes located at TBC 5.90 Release Notes

 
Trimble PenMap for Android – 11.9.0.2593
 
  • A new version of PenMap was released in June. It had several enhancements and bug fixes including but not limited to:
  • xFill-RTX is recognized as a corrected stream.
  • Update TGL coordinate system databases to version 106.
  • “GNSS report” export gets the postfix “_GNSSExport.csv”.
  • Fixes an issue with projects using an invalid coordinate system.

 
 
TMX Software
  •  Effective June 21st, 2023, the following Trimble MX products will be discontinued:
    • Trimble MX Content Manager
    • Trimble MX Asset Modeler Standard
    • Trimble MX Asset Modeler Pro
    • Trimble MX Client/Server
    All the features of the above listed products will be merged into a single desktop product, Trimble MX Assets Manager. For any questions or for more information please refer to the product bulletin at TMX ReleaseNotes 23.4, or reach out to our team at AllTerra for more information.
TerraFlex – 5.9.0
  • Terraflex version 5.90 was released in June of 2023. Among other enhancements:
     
    • High accuracy positioning is now triggered when the user is close to the target during navigation and stakeout to help you locate buried assets or other points of interest.
    • Support for coded choice fields, and the option to configure the GNSS logging rate for forms.
    • You can now configure image watermarks to automatically add location and timestamp information to images captured with TerraFlex. 
    For more information, please visit the Blog post at Find Your Mark With the Latest Updates to Trimble TerraFlex
UAVs – NDAA Compliance
Many projects now have updated regulations and compliance requirements regarding DJI and other Chinese manufactured UAVs. AllTerra Central offers a wide spectrum of UAVs, including NDAA Compliant solutions. For more information about NDAA compliance or the UAVs we offer, please contact one of our local offices.
 
Here’s a morning cup!
Did you Know?
In the Release of Trimble Access v2023.00, you now have access to Satellite, Street, and Terrain background maps through Trimble Maps. To use the background map services, you must have an internet connection, a current software maintenance agreement, or a valid Trimble Access subscription. The maps are located inside the layer manager under the map files tab, then click on the Trimble maps button to toggle between the different views. You can also adjust the transparency of the background image for better visibility. These maps are currently unavailable with scale only or no projection/no datum jobs.
 
Served Up from the AllTerra Technical Center (ATC)