Spectra Precision HL700 Digital Readout Receiver for Basic & Advanced Performance, Huge 5 in (12.7 cm) Reception Height, Front & Rear LCD Displays, Waterproof and Weatherproof

Makes life a lot easier

In terms of laser receiver performance, this laser receiver from Spectra Precision (which is a re-branded Seco Apache Storm, Trimble owns both Spectra Precision and Seco) and outclasses not only the LS-80L that my RL-H5A came with, but the recommended Topcon upgrade (the LS-100D) as well. All three sell for about the same price give or take, but the HL-700 is the better performer of the bunch in my opinion. The HL700 is designed to be compatible with all red beam rotary laser levels, more or less. On the topic of compatibility, I'd say that compatibility is good, except for two noticeable areas: you lose the ability to monitor the rotary laser battery status and the height alert of the RL-H5A remotely on the laser receiver (you keep these functions with the Topcon LS-100D). Only you can decide if these are showstopper issues for you. They were not for me, as I tend to keep an eye on the battery status (4 D cells last over 100 hours!) and in my application no one really messes with my rotary laser. For me, I decided to trade off those two alerts for the added features and robust design of the HL-700. Note that I am referring to REMOTE alerts that display on the laser receiver, my Topcon laser itself will NOTICEABLY display that these conditions have happened locally on the rotary laser by flashing all of its panel lights and slowing down its rotation. Low battery occurs once the battery voltage drops below 4 volts, so pretty soon afterwards the rotary laser will just stop working. The only other nits I have to say about the current version of the HL-700 is that you will need a flat head screwdriver to pry open the battery compartment, the latch is way too tight to use your fingers. This is probably intentional, to ensure a strong watertight seal on the battery compartment door rubber gasket. And the included rod bracket should have a molded indicator pointer showing exactly where to read grade. On the HL-700 bracket, you need to realize that the top edge of the rod bracket handle is at the same plane as the indicator on the HL-700. Its OK once you realize this and are used to it, and just read off the top edge of the rectangular handle. One other thing to be aware of is that if you wear polarized glasses outdoors, you might have trouble reading the LCD displays on the HL-700. When I wear my polarized sunglasses, the LCD screen on the front and on the back has all sorts of rainbows on it, making it hard to read. I just peek over the top of the glasses to see the screen, but this might be a problem for you if you wear prescription sunglasses. Keep in mind that this happens with other LCD screens for me too, not just the HL700. Otherwise, for the money the Spectra Precision HL-700 tops anything offered by Topcon. One point to note is that the HL-700 is a much bigger and better built laser receiver than the LS-80L, thus it is noticeably heavier, which is to be expected. When moving it from section to section on your grade rod, it is much easier to fumble it and drop it. Thankfully, it is designed to take a 10 foot drop to concrete and survive, something I cannot say about the Topcon laser receivers. I do not think you will disappointed with the HL-700, it does everything the marketing literature says it does, and does it well even when paired with a non-Spectra Precision red laser (except the remote alerting described earlier). With Amazon's excellent return policy, you have nothing to fear buying it here!

Great tool, takes all the effort out of laser leveling. Precision display makes adjustments easy. Worth every cent.

These are the dogs Danglies for anyone in the construction trade. Have not used mine but got one for the other half of the firm he reckons it shows a whole brick variation in depth (very handy indeed )

Exceptional value and quick delivery