Trimble Business Center

Quan Mueller posted 02-19-2021 08:04

Hi Fred,

So you synchronize the new site from the TSC3 to the PC sync folder, then open a project with no job site, and then run Job Site Manager > Add external site?

Do you have more than one controller in the sync folder with this job site, and they have different site cal or control points? (or they are absent)  If so, it won't automatically import the site-level data.  (Or at least it didn't back in the day.)
But that shouldn't prevent the site cal + control points from being added to the VCE project.

When you add the external site, does the Job Site Manager have Resolve buttons (red dot) since your controller has site cal and control points, but the VCE job site doesn't?

You should be able to import your coordinate system, site cal, and control points that way instead of having to find the folder and drag-n-drop.  This will also push out the site cal + control points to the other assigned controllers in the sync folder.

Fred Lusted posted 02-19-2021 08:59

Hi Quan
yes that is exactly how I bring the new site into TBC.  

See below, It says there is a calibration and does not give me the option to resolve.  It also says there are no control points.

Quan Mueller posted 02-19-2021 11:13

Ok, now you've got me really curious.
Could you email me a zip of the controller's site folder from the sync folder and your allsites.xml? quan.mueller@revenantsolutions.com
I'm hoping it's something data-related, since your workflow seems fine.

Quan Mueller posted 02-20-2021 21:01

Are your control points ones that you defined in the office (TBC) and then measured in the field?

In this case, an .office.csv (office control points) is created.  When the site is added to a TBC project, these points will come back in as control points for the job site.

Or are your control points added in the field?

In this case, a .field.csv (field control points) file is created.  These are not automatically added when you add the existing job site.  You can import this file like a normal csv points file.

.office.csv and .field.csv came in SCS 3.0+ (and SiteWorks).  Earlier SCS versions just had one control points file that the SCS would modify in the field and that caused the whole Resolve conflicts workflow.  (Thanks to @Gary Lantaff for mentioning the two files and jogging my memory!)​​​

Erik Petersen posted 02-22-2021 08:42

I remember seeing something about this in the past. It does bring in the calibration, but not the points associated with it when you add external site. I believe this is to eliminate the CAL from getting screwed up. You really shouldn't need the points associated with it unless you want to adjust the CAL in TBC, then in that case you would just drag and drop it.

Alan Sharp posted 02-23-2021 08:57

This was changed a few versions ago to try to limit the potential issues associated with the Sync Processes screwing up your field crews and machines. It applies to SCS900 and Siteworks Devices.

In the field when you start a Site Calibration it opens a .CAL file in the Site Folder. The CAL file holds all of the GPS and Local Coordinates that are captured during the Site Calibration Process. On completion of the Site Calibration when you accept the Residuals etc. a DC File is written. That contains the results only of the Site Calibration. This part (to here)  has not changed.

When you connect a Site to a TBC Project, it imports the DC file only - ie it will add the Site Calibration Results to the project which sets the coordinate system for a project. You do not need the CAL file data (Local and GPS Coordinate Pairs) to run the project at all. The only times that you are likely to need the CAL file are 

a) If you need to recompute the Site Calibration - in which case you need the coordinate pairs to do that
b) If you want to plot the Control Points locations on the drawings created by TBC - to do that you really only need the Local Coords and not the GPS Pairs - and you are better getting that from the Site Control file which only has the local coordinates.

The problem that was getting reported by some users was that Control was getting Moved and Calibrations getting Adjusted as they did various things in a project. The CAL file support was disabled as that was the primary cause of the problem being experienced.

You can still manually drag and drop the CAL file into a project if you need to recompute a site calibration, however I would recommend that you do that in a new separate project that is not linked to our SCS900 Site - that way you can create a new DC file and then simply replace the one in your SCS900 Site if needed.

If you have other reasons for wanting the Site Cal Data in a project let me know, but be aware that it was done to help secure the Site Cal data on a Project - which once set really should not change because by changing a Site Cal - it basically means that all the data captured up to that point that is tied to the old Site Cal is invalid - understanding that these types of adjustment ma happen early on  on a project while things are getting setup correctly.