Ranger out of the box

The out-of-the-box experience with the Ranger is almost the same as with the Recon (featured in a previous video). However, you only need to charge the lithium-ion battery for 4 hours before connecting it to the Ranger.

Check out these accessories

Accessories can make your Recon and Ranger handheld even more versatile. The latest models are available with built-in Bluetooth and 802.11g wireless, but you can also add those capabilities—and many others—using the two CompactFlash slots.

Recon out of the box

Here’s what you get when you take your Recon out of the box. An important tip to remember is you need to fully charge the NiMH battery before connecting it to the Recon—about 12 hours. After that, you’re ready to go!

Now it’s your turn

Now that you’ve seen how we test our rugged handhelds, it’s your turn. Tell us about the rough outdoor conditions where you use the Recon or Ranger. Share your stories, pictures and videos, and we’ll post them here. Remember, everybody who contributes gets a Trimble hat, and we’ll give out bigger prizes for the best stories.

Accelerated life testing

How do you pack years of real-world use when you don’t have years to complete a test program? That’s where accelerated life testing comes in. You’ll see how one of our accelerated testing machines performs hundreds of thousands of taps on the Ranger’s touchscreen and keypad—the equivalent of a complete product lifecycle—in just six to 18 hours.

Prototype testing lab

You could call our prototype testing lab the Torture Chamber. It’s where we bake, freeze and soak our rugged handhelds before they go to a third-party lab for certification. You’ll see handhelds going through extreme temperature testing in our 65º C chamber and -35º C deep freeze. And you’ll see a MIL-STD immersion test, where we sink a running Recon in 1 meter of water.