Scheduled the FS

Regarding the calculator..

Switching at the last minute is a bad idea. You build a 'finger memory' of sorts and it really shows when you are under pressure. Stick with one where autopilot takes you to the right answer.

I am 21 years removed from sitting for the surveying exam in Tennessee.?ÿ So some things may well have changed, but what I do not see in your collection of study materials is anything about the PLSS system.?ÿ Because all but the colonial states (as NC is) are on some version of the PLSS, there is a great deal on the national exam about that type of surveying.?ÿ If you do not spend significant time between now and the exam familiarizing yourself with the principles governing that system and the terminology and so forth, you will be lost as last year's Easter egg on the national exam.?ÿ That type of surveying is much more about the art of the system than it is the math.

@jerrys

yes actually PLSS is an area I'm fairly weak in as I don't have any real exposure to it just looking at deeds & maps from here in NC. Are there any materials or resources that start off with the basics of PLSS and better describe (with pics) all the terminology such as section, quarter section & quarter-quarter sections? I mean I've read where others on here talk about such things as they deal with it on a daily basis & I know the basic premise that a section is 640 acres (1 sq. mile) and a quarter-quarter is 40 acres but that's really about all that I understand with PLSS related surveys. not much else sadly but I need to get familiar with it before the test...

@ncsudirtman

I took the FS in 2011, and it may have changed a bit since then, but I doubt the PLSS section is much different.

The Surveying Solved Problems and Surveyor Reference Manual had enough PLSS information in it for me to pass without any problems. At that point I had only surveyed in Texas, where the "sections" only kinda-sorta-almost follow the PLSS, and which I had no experience with at the time.

@thebionicman

RPN is the only way to go, IMO. But the exam room is no place to be figuring that out. 

Posted by: @ncsudirtman

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Any other recommendations? Things I should avoid? Test taking tips? It's been a several years since I've studied hard like this to take the PE exam and also my contractor licenses (but those were not nearly as intense). Any advice would be greatly appreciated; thanks in advance as this forum always delivers!

One thing that annoyed me a little bit, and I ran into it on both exams, was that there were 1 or 2 photogrammetry questions and I probably whiffed on them both times because 1.) I opted to take a remote sensing class instead of photogrammetry while in school, and 2.) I (incorrectly) assumed lidar would stick a fork in stereoscopes and I wouldn't need to know much of anything about focal lengths or the cameras themselves.?ÿ So, if I were you I'd maybe spend a little time reading about the basics of photogrammetry so you don't lose unecessary points on the exam.

As far as the RPN, it's not too terrible to figure out because like you I had used a TI-80 forever in school but come test time it wasn't allowed.?ÿ Anyway, you basically just replace the equal sign with whatever operation you're looking to do.?ÿ "1, +, 1, =" is now "1, Enter, 1, +".?ÿ I still have the TI-80 (sucks batteries like a vampire) but I use the HP at work all the time.?ÿ I didn't become a giant fanboy like most RPN users seem to but it gets the job done as well as anything else.

Posted by: @ncsudirtman

Surveying Solved Problems for the FS & PS Exams is another great book for practice problems (believe it's the baby brother to Van Sickle's 1001 Problems)

SSP is a later edition of 1001 with an updated title

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@jerrys I tested in 2017 in New Jersey. The FS and PS had 5 PLSS questions at most. I probably got lucky on the random pull from the pool of possible questions, but I think the state you apply to take the FS and PS in has something to do with it.

Go through those practice exam books over and over and you will do fine. ?ÿ They are very similar to the actual test. ?ÿDonƒ??t worry about the hp-35 and rpn. ?ÿI took the FS with a ti scientific calculator and didnƒ??t have anything programmed. ?ÿI now only use a hp 48 but that was after the exam.

@jmh4825

I tested with the HP35s. I used the HP35s at work after the exam but the dreaded low battery boot loop wiped my programs. I went back to my trusty 48 after that.

@ncsudirtman

Check the NCEES calculator policy to make sure whatever you bring is allowed.

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There is nor reason to learn an RPN calculator. They are a holdover from when computing power was a limited resource. If you need to buy a calculator on the NCEES list get a Casio, they use algebraic notation, so you enter your calculations just like you would write down the equation on paper, no learning curve at all. Just make sure you understand how to enter degrees, minutes and seconds.

The PLSS stuff is very basic, just make sure you understand the basic plan, how to breakdown normal sections, and the basic proportion methods.

@aliquot

RPN is quickly disappearing from the computer world, but is still very useful when it comes to hand-held devices with limited storage. It is also much more efficient when the user is computing using a mix of storage, short program routines and manual computing on the device.

In short, RPN is a good tool for any surveyor to have.

I never used an RPN calculator until the late 90s when I took a college Land Surveying course, the instructor suggested we all go buy the hp32sII calculator the bookstore had on sale. About half the class hated it and the other half oh wow I get it, much faster. For me it was love at first sight. Now I use an hp11cx emulator on my iPhone.

It eliminates () and is just generally faster. It has a stack of 4 registers so you can bring down numbers from above. The hp11c only showed the first register on the display so you would remember the other 3 but the iPhone version displays the entire stack.

For example, ((1+2^2) * 3) ... 1 enter 2 x^2 plus 3 times?ÿ

@thebionicman

Short program routines always seemed useless to me. I was always able to beat the HP wizards with my Casio. 

Unless you are trying to do a manual least square adjustment any survey problem (the kind on tests or encountered in the field) should be able to be solved  with any scientific calculator, a good grasp on high school math and the required terminology. No need to introduce an unfamiliar computing system just for the FS.

One thing I never liked about the HP, even after I learned it well to make sure I wasn't missing something  is how easy it is to fat finger something and not notice. With the Casios, no longer how long the calculation is, its there displayed as a check, just tue way you would write it on paper. 

@dave-karoly I bought a 15C in about 1985 the boss had an 11C that we took to the field- list the 15C in 1989- somewhere in the grade between Troy and Libby on Highway 2. Bought a 42S after that. Still have the 3rd one of those - 
can’t badmouth RPN- pretty much drive on the results of it anywhere you go....

@aliquot

At the end of the day, the method that works for you is best for you. It would still be advisable for those coming in to give it a shot. Most find it serves them well.  

Good for you and good luck.?ÿ I'm also on a study path to take the FS right now.?ÿ I'm using the exam samples I bought with the test fee, a stack of homework and material from a 2 yr night course I was taking before it got cut short by a move to Hawaii, an older version of Wolf-Brinkers Elementary Surveying (9th edition I think), Browns Boundary Control and Legal Principles and a copy of Surveying Problems Solved.?ÿ Hoping that'll cover it for this part-?ÿ for the PLS, Hawaii has a state requirement to learn Hawaiian language land measurement, boundary and conveyance terminology from the early 1900's which I have little idea so far how to get a handle on.

I do have a pdf detailing the programming steps to calc survey problems for the HP33S if you're interested.?ÿ I doubt I'll load it for the test as I've always liked to struggle through those questions to feel like I have a decent understanding of them.?ÿ Kind of a dumb reason now that I write it out, but I doubt I'll change before scheduling the exam.

@dave-karoly I think the 11c's only disappear by loss or theft.  I had mine for over 20 years - college long into my career and I think I only changed the batteries once.  An old engineer I knew loved his, too, dropped it in a precast yard once and found it later after it'd been run over by probably a loader slinging concrete vaults.  It had crushed a short side and somehow embedded a penny half way into the splayed edge.  Still worked great and he continued to use it for years after (might still have it).

Posted by: @rankin_file

@dave-karoly I bought a 15C in about 1985

I bought a 15C in the fall of 1981 to go back to finish my master's degree.?ÿ Then I won one in a raffle about '82 or '83 so I had one at work and one at home.?ÿ I still have both and they work fine, going on 4 decades old.?ÿ It's hard to look around and find another electronic product that is still being used at that age.?ÿ Maybe a Western Electric land-line phone if you are among the few that still use one.