Metzger & Willard, Inc. has presented a great little tool to the survey community called NGSCS. http://www.metzgerwillard.us
There is an article about it in the November 2008 American Surveyor magazine on page 32, that was brought to my attention by Teddy Ohana of O.K.O Engineering in Lake Forest, CA. I spoke with Teddy, the magazine came about 30 minutes later in the mail, and I went for a visit. Check it out if you haven’t already done so.
Use of the Leica System 1200 Traverse Application will be discussed during this webinar. The new features that greatly improve ease of use and productivity are highlighted. These include:
The ability to add (or disable) sets of angles
Improved multiple foresight handling
Improved closing point and angle handling
Real time editing of the traverse data
Built-in traverse adjustment capabilities
Many more …
Date: Friday, November 21, 2008 Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST
The webinar on RTK communication devices for System 1200 has been posted. This webinar was excellently presented by Joshua Knight and should be a must read/view by anyone using RTK. The link to the webinar is
http://www.leica-geosystems.com/us/en/lgs_65879.htm?cid=9962
I’ve posted a new article about using the modified coordinates that can be produced in LGO, and I’d just like to say a few words about coordinate systems and the Leica database.
The coordinate systems that Leica uses are for combining measurements from two different type of instruments using two different types of coordinate systems. GPS uses an earth-centered, earth-fixed X,Y,Z coordinate system with delta X, delta Y and delta Z vectors. TPS uses a flat plane grid of N,E,U coordinates with slope distance, vertical angle, and horizontal angle measurements. There is no need for a coordinate system when only using TPS because it works in a system we relate to, and if we need to transform to another 2D grid we can simply shift, rotate, and scale our points. On the other hand, GPS is not working in a system we relate to. We can’t see how things in the X,Y,Z world relate to our visual world. They are based on an entirely different frame of reference. We can’t simply shift, rotate, and scale them. The coordinate system is needed to tranform the GPS coordinates into our frame of reference.
The database makes this possible by allowing us to store different positions for points and different measurements for points, relating these all together by using a coordinate system. The storing of multiple positions makes it possible to automatically create an average position and show the residuals of each of the measurements. Only measured points are averaged. We no longer have to subtract one value from another to see how well they agree. The database also makes it possible to also have a reference position, an adjusted position, and a control position at the same time. All this information is in the database. We are not limited to keeping a list of coordinates limited to one position for a point.
Use the database to your advantage. Each point has a name, one name only, and it is always the same name. The only reason to change a point name is when a new point is created as reference or imported as control and there is an existing point with the same name and a control or reference position that the software was not expecting. Re-importing a point with the same name as an existing point with a control or reference position will create a point with a new name. by default these show up as PointName(2). This can be avoided by using daily jobs in the field with a separate control file. When the daily job is imported, only the measured points will be imported.
Think database not coordinate file. Think valid coordinate system not <None>. It’s the only way to mix and match.
I’ve made some updates this weekend. I’ve added a guide for establishing and re-establishing bluetooth connection to the ATX1230 from the RX1250. This has been placed in the Michigan regional page. I’ve also combined two of the guide pages on coordinate systems, and created a Miscellaneous guide page. On this miscellaneous page, I’ve placed a guide for copying new or edited job codelists. Hopefully this guide will help in handling edited job codelists and updating the main codelist in LGO.
Leica Technical Support Group Webinars have been scheduled through the end of January, 2009. Notices will be published in the appropriate issues of Info 2 Know.
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Firmware version 6.0 for System 1200 has been released. It is available for download by contract customers at www.leica-geosystems.us. Select Downloads from the Support Services pull-down menu.
The next support group webinar is Thursday July 17th at 11:00 EDT and again Friday July 18th at 15:00 EDT. The web seminar will cover the Volumes application on the 1200 sensors, and the Surfaces tab in Leica Geo Office. Two nice applications for landfills, mines, excavators or anyone needing a quick volume. Check with your sales representative for information on attending
I’ve noticed that there have been a number of folks having problems processing their RINEX files with OPUS. Usually the problem is OPUS, and their messages sometimes don’t point to the real problem. There are four common problems and I have added a tip in the GPS Tips section to talk about them.
I’ve added a Colorado page in the Regional menu. It has a document on the CO/WY RTK Reference Network and the two Leica newsletters on RTK reference networks… also a couple pictures of some nice Colorado landscapes.
