Trimble Juno and ArcPAD - Constant complications!

[TrevorReid]

Over the last year or two we've transitioned our field work to Trimble Juno GPS units running ArcPAD.    Our field staff are finding
constant and varied issues with the Units.   A simple Google search returns nothing about Trimble Juno complications.  How can this be?  I wanted to start a discussion about on-going issues with Trimble Junos to confirm we are not alone.     Here is a listed of the common problems we've encountered.

??? ArcPad freezing for no apparent reason (assume it is due the limited processing memory)
??? Far shorter battery life than advertised/dying batteries
??? Unexpected shut downs and errors
??? Difficulty obtaining quality GPS fixes even in ideal location/conditions
??? Shockingly low internal storage capacity (solved with an SD but confusing why it???s so low)
??? Shockingly poor Camera quality
??? Far less durable than advertised

We've recently just had a unit itself 'stop working' and it is on its way in for repair (less than two years old)

I'm aware these low-end Trimble Units but they are by no means cheap.

Eager to hear your thoughts on this topic.    If anyone has found work-arounds for the above noted problems it would be great if you could share.

[DanikBourdeau2]

Which model Junos are you using?

We recently purchased a few Juno T-41s to replace some of our aging Nomads.  Overall we are happy with them, they have good processing power, good memory and lots of storage.  So far we haven't had any issues with the GPS.  We don't use the camera much but it seems fine.

One thing, the capacitive screen is very annoying when working with ArcPad.  You can't use any type of object as a stylus you have to use your finger or a special blunt stylus which makes it very difficult to be precise.  Some of our bigger lads just refuse to use the new Junos because of this problem, their stubby fingers just aren't compatible.

The battery on the new Junos is not as long lasting as the Nomads but it does manage to last a workday.  One thing that I did notice was that when the ArcPad Today plug-in was installed the battery drained very quickly.  I've since uninstalled the plug-in from all Junos and the battery is lasting the workday.

[ColinMurray]

Currently I use the Juno 3B. I'm fairly happy with it.
-Since it's ruggedized I feel a little more confident with it than the Juno SB (D?) I used in the past. And also the 3B doesn't require the bulky Otter Box. Having said that the IPX specs are not as great as I'd like.
-Battery life will last a full day of 10-12 hours when new. I carry a spare battery anyway. I enable web and blue tooth only when I need it since they reduce battery power significantly even if not being actively used. Some Junos come with a cell phone option which would probably drain the battery drastically.
-Haven't had Trimble related shut downs or errors yet.
-GPS quality has been good for my purposes even in ravine areas with fairly dense tree cover.
-Internal storage is 1gb but I use a 4gb flash drive.
-Camera is fine but it took some practice to get a reasonable photo.
Colin

[TysonJohnston]

Over the last year or two we've transitioned our field work to Trimble Juno GPS units running ArcPAD.    Our field staff are finding
constant and varied issues with the Units.   A simple Google search returns nothing about Trimble Juno complications.  How can this be?  I wanted to start a discussion about on-going issues with Trimble Junos to confirm we are not alone.     Here is a listed of the common problems we've encountered.

�?� ArcPad freezing for no apparent reason (assume it is due the limited processing memory)
�?� Far shorter battery life than advertised/dying batteries
�?� Unexpected shut downs and errors
�?� Difficulty obtaining quality GPS fixes even in ideal location/conditions
�?� Shockingly low internal storage capacity (solved with an SD but confusing why it�??s so low)
�?� Shockingly poor Camera quality
�?� Far less durable than advertised

We've recently just had a unit itself 'stop working' and it is on its way in for repair (less than two years old)

I'm aware these low-end Trimble Units but they are by no means cheap.

Eager to hear your thoughts on this topic.    If anyone has found work-arounds for the above noted problems it would be great if you could share.

We have about 15 Juno SB's in addition to 12 or so Nomad 800/900's.  Both type of units have pluses and minuses.
Each winter we collect all units and wipe them of data, installing the latest version of the Trimble Firmware, ArcPad, and ArcGIS Mobile.  We also physically clean the devices and replace missing stylii, screen protectors, junk batteries and/or other parts.

Both devices, when using ArcPad, seem slower than they should - especially with raster images as basemaps.  Very frustrating when our users are accustomed to quickly panning and zooming with little to no lag on personal smartphone with maps.

We have had more stability issues in general with the Nomads than we have the Junos, particularly with ArcGIS Mobile.  The Nomads were crashing after collecting a few features and panning around the map in ArcGIS Mobile.  ESRI stated that the particular project we were using was very large (lots of domains, fields, etc.) and that ArcGIS Mobile does not work well with high resolution devices (apparently 480x640 is high res) and provided us with an patch which turned off anti-aliasing in the application.  This patch works unless you really try to push it - then the program crashes.

In terms of getting a GPS signal - we have tried out Franson GPS gate, which has helped in a few ways.  First, it allows the same device to run (and have an active GPS connection) ArcGIS Mobile and ArcPad simultaneously.  Second, the units (both Nomads and Junos) appear to get a fix much more quickly - sometimes seconds vs. minutes.

Battery life is mediocre.  We recommend our users only charge the units when necessary and unplug (making sure the device is in its lowest power setting) when finished.  You can also adjust how rapidly the screen dims when not in use.  Make sure wifi/bluetooth is OFF except when needed - it makes a big difference!  We ended up turning off the option for automatic sleep mode because it would drop the GPS signal which required a restart of ArcPad/ArcGIS Mobile to get it working again.

[AidanMallamo]

...

�?� ArcPad freezing for no apparent reason (assume it is due the limited processing memory)
�?� Far shorter battery life than advertised/dying batteries
�?� Unexpected shut downs and errors
�?� Difficulty obtaining quality GPS fixes even in ideal location/conditions
�?� Shockingly low internal storage capacity (solved with an SD but confusing why it�??s so low)
�?� Shockingly poor Camera quality
�?� Far less durable than advertised
....

I'll comment on this...  we have 2 Juno 3D devices.

Battery life has been fine for us so far.

Both have absolutely horrible (unusable, really) cameras but I suppose that's not why you buy a fancy GPS...

The important part - they seem fairly accurate when working but one of them seems to have the issue that two of you describe as being unable to obtain a fix in seemingly fine conditions. Often, even GPS controller will not get a fix.  This device requires an inordinate amount of fiddling to get it working. Sometimes changing the port settings around seems to reset it and get it working. 

There also seems to be this issue where ArcPad apparently has a fix but it does not really update on screen and tracklog, for example, will freeze and stay in the same spot for tens of minutes at a time (yes, while moving).

[BrianHaren]

My organization has been using the Juno 3-series devices for a few years and recently bought two Juno 5-series (one running Windows Embedded Handheld and the other running Android 4.1) to test.

Bottom line is this - I simply can't recommend the Juno 5/T41 devices at this time.  The problem isn't the hardware.  In fact, the hardware is outstanding.  Trimble stumbled badly with both versions of the device when it comes to operating system choices.

First, Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 (WEHH) is a dead OS.  While I understand that the new Windows 8 Mobile OS was not (and really still isn't) ready for prime-time when this unit was developed, and ESRI has yet to port ArcPad over to Windows 8 Mobile (if they ever do), the fact remains that WEHH is an archaic, under performing OS in today's market and it's poor performance really shows on the Juno 5 hardware platform.  It's like putting a 4-cylinder Yugo engine in a Porsche.  Heck, we can't even get these devices to sync properly with Windows 8 desktops.  It's time both Trimble and ESRI leave WEHH behind and begin development against a more current mobile OS.

But Trimble stumbled even worse with it's Android implementation.  This is the OS we really had hopes for.  The ability to run ESRI's ArcGIS and Collector apps, Trimble's own TerraFlex, and take advantage of a whole host of other enabling apps like Google Earth, Google Docs, etc. really appealed to us.  The problem is that Trimble did not move to get their implementation of Android certified by Google, so no access to the Play Store; no ESRI apps, no Google Earth, no Google Docs.  Heck, the units can't even run Trimble's own TerraFlex app!  Our distributor told us that Trimble is 'rushing' to get the Juno 5 certified by Google so it can access the Play Store, but they've been 'rushing' for months now and still no word on when or if this certification will ever take place.

So we have turned back to the Juno 3 platform until Trimble gets this all sorted out.  Our experience is that the Juno 3 is a reliable, stable and rugged platform.  We've had very few issues with them running ArcPad.  Hardware performance may not be the best, particularly camera performance, but it's still a viable platform and it comes in at about half the cost of a Juno 5.

[HannahFerrier]

Just a quick observation (based on the previous comment) on the camera on the Juno 3D - the photo preview looks awful on the small screen, but once back in the office we found that the pictures taken with the Juno were some of the best (compared to a few other Windows Mobile / Windows Tablet devices).

I wasn't expecting much after seeing the previews in the field - but the photos taken on the Juno devices were most excellent.

Hannah 🙂

[JohnCampbell]

I have maintained a series of Juno handhelds with ArcPad and continue to have a love/hate relationship with them. Short battery life, even with typical conservation techniques, limits their use if you are away from power for more than a day or don't have spare batteries. ArcPad is regularly very slow and does freeze occasionally, which can be frustrating when collecting data in the field.

Last year I bought a new Juno 3B, mainly because of the promise of greater ruggedness. Of course I immediately dropped it onto a flat surface. The drop was about 1.5 feet - well less than the standard 4 feet of ruggedness promised by Trimble. The screen got a tiny crack in an edge area, making the screen completely inoperable. It was my fault dropping it, but I did expect greater resistance to damage. My biggest gripe however was Trimble's response. The new 3 series is no longer considered a repairable item by Trimble. A broken screen will not be replaced either in or out of warranty. No replacement parts are available for self repair either. Thus the 3B has to be treated as a disposable unit and a rather expensive disposable unit at that.

This lack of repair capability is one reason why I have stopped recommending the Juno series to anyone. These are designed to be field units and accidents will happen. To have no repair option seems inexcusable.

[GrantHopkins]

Which model Junos are you using?

We recently purchased a few Juno T-41s to replace some of our aging Nomads.  Overall we are happy with them, they have good processing power, good memory and lots of storage.  So far we haven't had any issues with the GPS.  We don't use the camera much but it seems fine.

One thing, the capacitive screen is very annoying when working with ArcPad.  You can't use any type of object as a stylus you have to use your finger or a special blunt stylus which makes it very difficult to be precise.  Some of our bigger lads just refuse to use the new Junos because of this problem, their stubby fingers just aren't compatible.

The battery on the new Junos is not as long lasting as the Nomads but it does manage to last a workday.  One thing that I did notice was that when the ArcPad Today plug-in was installed the battery drained very quickly.  I've since uninstalled the plug-in from all Junos and the battery is lasting the workday.

Hi Danik,

We recently purchased a Juno T-41 but it will not connect to the onboard GPS via ArcPAD. I'm curious as to what OS and firmware version are you using on your T-41's? Thank you!

Grant

[DanikBourdeau2]

Hey Grant,

We try to keep our T-41's up to date as much as possible.  We haven't had any issues connecting to the on-board GPS.  The settings we use in ArcPad are:

Protocol: NMEA
Port: Com2
Baud: 38400

Also, check the hardware settings in Start Menu -> Settings -> System -> GPS -> Hardware.  The settings should be the same as above.

If you still can't connect, I would definitely contact Trimble support.  I have dealt with them in the past when I needed to replace a unit, and they were good/easy to deal with.

Danik