Handheld GPS that gives stations?

Maybe try gps-tracks for iphone?

I'd look on eBay for a Trimble Yuma or Trimble Geo. The Yuma would run Access and is more user friendly. The Geo would run terrasync, which is a PITA in my opinion. You could load a dxf map in either one of them, but the Yuma with Access would be more "survey" friendly.

The GPS Tracks might work if I can enter 6 miles of 100 foot stations as waypoints without filling the screen. It would be worth trying. If there was an app that would let me load a background drawing, that would work better.

The Yuma with Access would be perfect if I can get someone to give me the money.

James

You could get a carlson surveyor2 with the gps module and SurvCE for somewhere around 5-6k.

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Look at the DeLorme Earthmate consumer grade units. Some accept and display ArcGis maps and gpx files. Should beat +/- 50 feet for a few hundred dollars.

Can connect a cheap $100 to $200 Bluetooth consumer grade GPS with NMEA to most survey controllers using Topcon Magnet. On the cheap you could install demo version of Magnet field on tablet PC or purchase a monthly subscription to Magnet for $35 a month.

MobileMapper 20 with SurvCE = 1 METER

LT30 with SurvCE = 2 meters

MM120 with SurvCE = 1.5 feet

Do not waste your time with ArcPad, or Mobile Mapper Field.

What hardware resources do these people have with them at any given time anyway, for example laptop, tablet, iphone etc. A low cost bluetooth recreation grade GPS can be added to most laptops/tablets that they already carry? Throw a lost cost CAD engine on a laptop and they have the background drawing.
Nice idea by the way.

Not sure about what technology they carry with them other than a smart phone of some sort. Last night I downloaded the Autocad 360 app (free version) for my Android and loaded a drawing in it. I gonna play with it tomorrow when I get on the job and see if I can tie the drawing to my location. The documentation says it will but some of the reviews are not that promising. It would work a lot better on a tablet with GPS.

What really interest me is the mobilemapper with SurvCE. If I could key in an alignment and coordinate system while on the job and it give me station and offset within 10 feet, that would be so cool.

Thanks,
James

I've done this before, by creating points at 100m intervals along the alignment in Civil3d. The point names were equivalent to the station value / 100 I export the alignment and points as a kmz file which can be used by anyone who has Google Earth or Maps available. For those who only have a consumer handheld GPS I convert the file to a gpx format using the GPSVisualizer website.

Very convenient when the crews are driving or helicoptering into a remote site. They can follow the proposed line as they fly over it, and see the station points as well.

I can see where that would work. Since I'm using LDD3 without a projection, just N,E,Elev, I would have to make some changes to get Lat Lon and a kmz.

If the Autocad 360 doesn't work then I may try the kmz next.

Thanks,
James

JaRo, post: 324970, member: 292 wrote: I can see where that would work. Since I'm using LDD3 without a projection, just N,E,Elev, I would have to make some changes to get Lat Lon and a kmz.

If the Autocad 360 doesn't work then I may try the kmz next.

Thanks,
James

Any joy with AutoCAD 360 achieving this?

Geo-XT will do what you want for about 4k

The autocad 360 will let you setup the units in inches or meters but not feet. I think I have the calibration figured out (assigning a north/east to a lat/long) but without the units being set correctly I'm still not accomplishing what I want. I could rescale the drawing to meters and possibly make it work but any measurements would be wrong. I really like the mobile mapper 20 or the LT30 but I'm not giving up on the cheaper alternatives yet.

James

A georeferenced PDF on a smart phone/tablet would be my solution.

Using the tools I have...I would open Arcmap and insert the project plans as either an image or .dwg and georeference them using an aerial image backdrop. I would then export the map as a georeferenced PDF. Once uploaded to a smart phone/tablet, your inspectors could see their position on the plans. AvenzaPDF is a free app that does the job well.

The other alternative is to just plot your alignment and station labels on a Arcmap project and upload that as a georeferenced PDF.
AvenzaPDF has measuring tools, so if you could measure station/offset if an estimate was not good enough.

EDIT: This is also a great tool for re-con. Quickly georeference a recorded survey, upload to Avenza PDF and walk to the corners shown on the map. How about keeping your traverse near a property line...

AvenzaPDF also supports geoTIFF images if creating a georeferenced PDF is not possible with your software package.

imaudigger, post: 326722, member: 7286 wrote: AvenzaPDF also supports geoTIFF images if creating a georeferenced PDF is not possible with your software package.

Thanks guys. I'm trying to achieve the same as JaRo. I have used Locus on Android phone for a similar purpose. This gives me a few more good options.
Trying to keep it for smartphones /tablets.

Squowse, I agree with using the smart phones / tablets.

Unless you need high accuracy, the smart phones are the way to go. They get updated every couple years and are constantly improved.
Buying dedicated recreational grade GPS hardware is old school these days. Same with traditional cameras for job use.

One thing to consider when looking for an app...does it require internet connection to view the maps? AvenzaPDF works either way.

I haven't figured out yet how to create the georeferenced pdf. My software won't do it. I'll check with my nephew this weekend and see what he has available.

James