There are things you can do to extend the life of your GPS equipment. In this blog, some of our former operators turned engineers will share some advice based on their experiences for what you can do to help your machines stay operational longer. It's not always possible to purchase new equipment, so keeping your existing equipment working will require some forethought and action!

Keep Your Firmware Up to Date

Whether your equipment is newer or older, it's critical to keep your firmware up to date to keep things working and avoid delays due to technology malfunctions. Unlike our cell phones and tablets that prompt us when software updates are necessary, there aren't any such prompts when it comes to your firmware and software updates for your machine control and survey equipment. Typically, you'll find out that you need firmware updates once you're having issues and call your retailer to schedule a technician to check out the equipment. It is advisable, in our experience, to pay the retailer's annual service fee to keep your warranty valid for times like these because it is likely to cost you a lot more in the long run without it. Due to how quickly technology evolves, there are times when equipment becomes obsolete faster than you'd like it to. Due to this, you may have to update equipment more frequently, especially if paired with a 3rd party technology like VRS. You may be able to go years without updates to the software firmware if you run a simple setup and don't add new GPS equipment to your fleet. If you need to update your software or firmware, you may be able to get out of a service call from your GPS provider if you are reasonably tech-savvy. You might ask your service provider for the updates that you can save to a thumb drive that can update the equipment.

Equipment Storage is Key

Wear and tear are major factors in equipment malfunctions. Transporting GPS-equipped heavy equipment without adequately securing your systems will take a toll on the equipment over time and cause it to lose some lifespan. When the time is taken to ensure everything is stored correctly for transit, the equipment can last up to twenty years or even longer in some cases. For example, you know those thick coil cables that run from the GPS antenna to your machine. Well, they will last longer if you follow this best practice - always pull the cables off and properly store them whenever you are moving between job sites and remove them before storing your equipment for the winter. High wind speeds and cold temperatures cause undue stress on the cables which could lead to them losing their connectivity, shorting out, or cracking. This can result in frustrating intermittent issues that can be difficult to trace down. Replacing these cables is not cheap. Each one can run around $750, so be sure to take good care of them. Another good example is the small antennas that are screwed onto the base stations, modems, or rovers. These can also become damaged, causing connectivity issues. They are less expensive to replace (somewhere in the ballpark of $100); however, you can save the replacement expense by removing them and storing them when they're not in use. A third example is the wearing down of the point located on the bottom of your rover. Over time these points get worn out. You should look at them often and replace them as needed to avoid getting an incorrect rod height leading to blown grades and bad site calibrations. These are inexpensive to fix.

Closed Systems Work Until they Don’t

As we mentioned before, it is possible to take preventative measures to make your older equipment last longer. A best-case scenario for this is to have everything working within a closed system, which means that everything is running on all of the identical versions, with no newer updates being made to any system or machine. This strategy is effective until either at least one component breaks or won't work at all without an update. When this happens, the closed system will no longer work, and you will have to consider updating the software or firmware on your equipment to make everything compatible again. You may end up having to replace at least some of the GPS equipment if updating the software or firmware isn't an option.

It's always best to speak with someone before you spend any money replacing your equipment. If you're unsure whether or not it's time to buy or update, be sure to contact your equipment retailer or contact ECI Technologies.