The setting out stuff a local company is doing around the £400 mark per half day.
They carry a laptop at about a grand a total station which can be had for under £8000 with all the accessories and a gps kit which can be had for under 4grand. Would need a couple of grand a year for rtk and cad subscriptions and I would think some pretty expensive insurance.
I'm sure
£400 for a half day? Need to put my prices up then.
I doubt the equipment is only 1k, a Robotic Total Station I doubt now you'd get much change out of 20k new now. The RTK subscription use to be about 2K for unlimited last time I had need to consider. Software would be another 1.5k.
GPS is great, depending on what your doing and where your doing it. The latest claims to be good with canopy and being on a slight angle to get the shot, however older equipment relies on different satellite constellations or cannot access specific ones to obtain a solution. Wanted to set out for bulk excavation, maybe even some drainage or volumes, all day long. RTK for HD Bolts, Kerbs. Footings not the right tool for the job. can be +/- 25-50mm horizontally and up to +/- 30mm in elevation
As I tell everyone its an expensive hobby of mine, Surveying and Setting Out