Picked a $4,200 drone over a $1,800 laser level for layout work, now I'm second guessing

I do layout for a small commercial crew outside of Austin, and last month I had to choose between a robotic total station and a mapping drone for our foundation stakes. Budget only stretched to one, so I went with the drone because it seemed cooler and faster. Turns out, on a muddy 2-acre site, the drone took 40 minutes to process a topo while the old-school string method got us building in 15. The laser level would have paid for itself in repeat jobs, but now I'm stuck with a paperweight until the dry season. Has anyone else made a similar call with survey gear and regretted it, or did you make it work somehow?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara_jenkins667d ago

Oh boy, that drone is going to be a expensive paperweight for a while. Yeah, you bet I’ve seen this play out before, and it stings every time. The thing is, fast and shiny never beats the tool that does the job in the weather you actually work in. You could try selling it now while it’s still got that new smell, but you’ll take a hit. Or just use it for the dry season jobs and pretend you planned it that way.

mark_green7d ago

Did you check the drone's flight time against the battery life before you bought it? Because 40 minutes on a 2-acre site sounds like you spent most of that swapping batteries and waiting for the thing to calibrate, not actually flying. I've seen guys push through that by doing a quick grid at a higher altitude and letting the software stitch it overnight, but that doesn't help you stake a foundation in the morning. The real question is, can you flip the drone for a decent price while it's still got that new gear smell, or are you married to it now?