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Entering Lat-Long points into some kind of Linux software
Hi, I’m a PE, not a PLS. I’m doing residential work which mostly doesn’t require survey for a septic system. I do have to accurately ( +/- a couple feet) locate tanks, pumps and field corners. I can GPS the points with non-survey quality equipment myself faster than tape measuring from a building corner. My question is how to input the points into a cad software that runs on Linux. I’m a cheap so and so. I know Civil 3d and other programs do this and I have used them. I love Draftsight which is FREE, but it doesn’t speak coordinates. Google Earth does, but I’ve had counties complain about using it. Any thoughts? Some counties in Colorado are requiring full topo, so I’ll be calling surveyors when they all get there. For now….cheap!
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8 Replies
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I do have to accurately ( +/- a couple feet) locate tanks, pumps and field corners. I can GPS the points with non-survey quality equipment myself faster than tape measuring from a building corner.
I wouldn’t rely on a “resource grade” or “mapping” GPS unit (much less a sportsman unit) if I had to sign off on positions being within 2 ft. If you need to report lat-lon coordinates, do you understand datums (difference between WGS84 and NAD83)? If you only need relative positions, I’d stick to a tape or total station.
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I can invest $300 in a Trimble antenna that plugs into my Android and subscribe to a 1 foot resolution – just not sure I have enough use to make it pay. I have also seen articles saying that the Galaxy S10 will have a new GPS chip accurate to 1 foot. I know this is sacrilege! I will gladly call surveyors when they require me to have site topo.
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Indeed, would it pay?
1 ft on which datum? You havent indicated that you are familiar with such things. Mislabeling the coordinates with the wrong datum would be around a 3 ft error for many places in the US.
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There are a number of agencies that require Lat, Long data for permits and filings, but those lat, longs only have to be to hand held accuracy. An example would be a domestic water well. They just need to get close enough to find it to do inspections. septic tanks would be similar I would imagine. It isn’t an OPUS thing.
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As for the original question, how to enter coordinates into a piece of Linux software you have, I donƒ??t know how anyone other than the software developer can answer. I would have hoped the answer would be in the manual or help file.
When I write software, I do so for my own use. If someone requests a copy, I generally add a menu of options as to datums, epochs, entry formats (DMS or decimal), etc. I only work in meters to avoid issues of what type of feet units.
Perhaps there is a parameter file where the options I mentioned are entered.
HTH,
DMM
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I take it you are using the Free version of Draftsight and do not want to spend $150 to get the Pro version. I assume the Free version is a sketching tool that allows you to put notations on a scaled drawing and that the Pro version does in fact accept coordinates. Well, time is money in the real world, so how much of your time do you want to spend asking others to help you get something for free? Pretty much everyone here is professional in that we understand that concept and are willing to spend money in order to save time. BTW, there is free software out there that accepts coordinates, but I have no time to keep track of it for others.
Paul in PA, PE, PLS
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The problem with lat-long is what datum? Is it wgs84? Geodetic? Geocentric?
Pushing a button and getting a number does not make it right.
As a comparison, it would be like giving you elevations and forgetting to mention what datum they are based on.
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here, intellicad for linux: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BricsCAD
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