Ron Lang, post: 389228, member: 6445 wrote: http://www.softwarebydzign.com/index.php?pg=prod5
Thanks Ron
Zoidberg, post: 389293, member: 8841 wrote: I went through something similar. No survey education but over a decade of time put in before I took the test. Get the book of FS Exam questions and start going through them. That's the easiest way to figure out what areas you need the most work in. I sat alone, 2-3 hours per day, 6 days per week, for three months straight, just running through the practice questions and using general survey text books to figure out how to do the things I was getting wrong. After all that, I passed on my first run through of both Fundamentals and Principals. It was a lot of work but well worth it in the end. It also does well to teach you about the test itself, how they word questions, how they set up the answers...
Thank you!
Raybies, post: 389298, member: 9029 wrote: The program calculators surprises me. For all exams in Cali (mid-2000s era), they made us reset the calculator if there were any programs. Intetesting.
At any rate, trigonometry and geometry will help you the most, really. Study that, take a class, private tutor, etc. Nearly everything on the exam, math wise, can be broken down using sohcahtoa, laws of sines/cosines, etc. This is how I approached the FS and PS exams and they were a breeze.
Anytime one of my guys wants to take the CST or LSIT, we start with the basics, and build from there. Good luck!
Yes, I recall people going in with a 48 with full blown COGO cards. I also heard they would erase them. This is all Hearsay. I've never taken it yet. Thanks
Really great information here. I've bookmarked every suggestion and link. Thank you all!
C
I was in the same situation as you back in 2013. I started my studying a year before I took the test. First step was to obtain the NCEES FS study guide, then I got a copy of the BLM manual, and a couple books on constucting legal descriptions, and finaly a SAT math study guide. Every night I would either try to get through a few questions and or chapters of reading.
I didn't load up my HP33 with cogo routines, because quite frankly, trying to learn the programs was more time consuming. If you have been surveying that long, you should have a good grasp on the mathmatics. Trust in your knowledge and just keep up studing. You will be okay.
Test day, approach it with a system in mind. I went through the test solving all the easier questions first, this left me with plenty of time to figure out the harder questions. I ended up passing the FS in my first sitting doing this.
I took a similar route.
Hadn't been to class in years. Finally was time to take the surveying exams.
Like you, I love surveying, but the math is all done in the little box now and not in my head or paper.
Don't fret. I didn't even need a tutor. I taught myself. And luckily, there isn't that much math on the exam!
Compute some coordinates type things. One double proportion. Maybe a few more.
The FS was almost all definition based. I took the computer exam. Know your definitions. As little down as what is the distance from the back of the cone to the film within the photogrammetric camera.
The guys that make the exam have realized that the math is no longer as huge a component and my exams surely reflected that. They wanted to see you know what to do with the math, not necessarily how to do it.
I got a book I think called 'surveying math' and I just went through that from page 1. Learned the basics. Well, maybe I skipped the basic algebra part.
Anyway, the books are at my office, I'll check them Tuesday.
But get that package of books from ppi. The 1000 questions book will be your key to both exams. Without those you will not pass. And just keep going through the sections. And redo them. And redo them. And the ppi practice exam and the ncees practice exam.
Maybe they've changed the format since switching to computer based, but my FS exam was very heavy in math. Programming my calculator for the FS is the best thing I ever did. Do it early before you start studying. Not only will the programming itself help you become more familiar with your calculator, but using the programs while repeatedly solving problems will become second nature.
Do not rest on your laurals with this test. It is one that tests your preparation more than your experience. There are a lot of obscure topics that you wouldn't have been exposed to unless you went to school. IE: Physics, economics, computer programming?
What I used the most was "the land surveyors reference manual" and "1001 survey problems solved". Both are published by PPI and are expensive. That said, you can get past issues a lot cheaper, they just might skimp a bit on GPS. I used these books as the backbone of my study and consulted other texts as needed. Do not overlook your library, I was surprised to find some good texts there.
Good luck!
If you need the programs you're not ready.
half bubble, post: 389757, member: 175 wrote: If you need the programs you're not ready.
OK to soften this a bit, here is my perspective: I never felt smart enough to tackle programming the HP on my own, and learning someone else's program would be like learning another gadget. I might be an outlier in that Renton Technical College used HP calculators in all the classes, and every class was some kind of calculator race. I started a couple years before the HP48 was banned, the next students got hp49/50 models, then the 33s and the 35. There was a brief moment where the HP9s were allowed, a funny algebraic HP. I sold my 48 to someone on the board here when it was clear that it wasn't going to be allowed on the exams. I took a 33s and a 35s to my exams, no programs on either one. I finished the LSIT with about 30 seconds to spare, both 4 hour sessions. And I usually work everything twice to make sure I haven't mis-keyed something. The way the RPN works, working from the inside of the equations to the outside, helps with writing out the steps on the scratch paper. Legibly like field notes. Those are habits I got from the AAS program being taught by licensed surveyors, and somewhat reinforced by some later mentors. Filling in the fields on a program can be fast yet doesn't help us see the inner workings.
All that said, to climb that learning curve for the LSIT on one's own ... If one could quickly turn all the legs of an 8 or 10 sided traverse or legal descriptions into local grid coordinates, and if that traverse included a couple of horizontal curves and one were able to traverse through the radius points or other parts of the curve as one might see in a legal description, close it, adjust it, calculate new coordinates ... along with a couple of vertical curve calculations, that would cover most of the calcs in a practical way.
California department of trans has a few videos
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/row/landsurveys/LSITWorkbook/WorkbookTOC.html
The videos are also on youtube if your media player does not work.
[MEDIA=youtube]S8exEaGMi9c[/MEDIA]
I had 2 questions based on a certain symbol and what it does in a spreadsheet.
Learn the math but if you concentrate all on math you will be disappointed. Know the basics and how to calculate.
I just joined RPLS Today an discovered this forum and thread. I have a surveying education background and have begun developing an Open Access library of basic surveying educational material which I use for my classes. You may find the site useful. Being a this is my first post I can't include a link but my library is at jerrmahun dot com.
Jerry Mahun, post: 391860, member: 12128 wrote: I just joined RPLS Today an discovered this forum and thread. I have a surveying education background and have begun developing an Open Access library of basic surveying educational material which I use for my classes. You may find the site useful. Being a this is my first post I can't include a link but my library is at jerrmahun dot com.[/
I glanced at it looks like good info. Jerry you forgot the y for your site.
http://www.jerrymahun.com/Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jerry Mahun, post: 391860, member: 12128 wrote: I just joined RPLS Today.
Howdy Jerry
Welcome to the site..........:clink:
