Localization

Have you made at least a 1 point localization already? And still no North/East coordinates, just Lat/Long ?

. My FC-200 displays lat/long instead of north/east. Why?

I don't know TopSurv, but in SurvCE you can toggle between lat/lon and north/east using the view button - perhaps something similar is going on here?

If you are adjusting to a site....

1)Create a new job
2)Set you Datum to WGS84
3)Set Your Geoid if you want to.
4)Set your coordinates to ground
5)Import your points.

Start your Base on a new, automonus point, Disconnect, Connect to Rover

In the localization menu....

6)Choose what point you be measuring
You will be creating a new point that will reference that point
Measure and Save....

Repeat at you other points.
Review your data and accept accordingly

If you want to force a scale of 1:1 (My Favorite for matching ground jobs)

Do 1 through 6
on the second point you choose check the box Keep Scale 1:1
Measure the point, un-check Vertical, this forces the use of your geoid
Your residuals will be how far off the points are.
If you have 0.03' then there is 0.03' of error between your points at ground.
Unless the geoid is whacked in your area the elev should check.

Been using this method for years.
To think of what it gun terms,
It sits your gun the on 1st point and sights the second.

Now if your site is on State Plane.....
Set everything up per your current zone.
Set the base on NOTHING, Just a tripod.
Create a new autonomous point, start the base.
Connect to your rover....
Go into Topo
Set your point number to the point you want to localize to.
When it says Point Exist, Let it create a new point and be sure to
check Correct Base.
It saves the point.
Exit topo and it will do some recalutions
Stake the point you just corrected to and something else.

This also works after you have localized to a job that's not
on state plane.

TMI??

I can ramble sometimes 🙂

Hello Chris,

Thanks for the reply! We are working without the benefit of a user's manual. Are localization file points stored as lat/long by default? I believe we made a three point localization.

Regards,

Mark

Hello Colin,

Thanks for the reply! Hopefully I can do the same in my software.

Regards,

Mark

Hello Swim4Life,

Thanks for the response! Sometimes TMI is a good thing!

Regards,

Mark

To add to swim4life's answers, from a Trimble guy, the calibration (localization) process is very simple on an unknown location. If you have known coordinates, fine use them.

Set the project parameters to WGS84, fire up the base at your chosen location, hit the infamous "here" key, then go shoot your chosen control. Key in coordinates you want, or import known points you've already uploaded (and shot with your GPS), go to "site calibration". Then you select your "grid" points to apply to your "gps" points. Hit "apply". You do have the option of picking "horizontal only" or "vertical only" or both.

You are now on an assumed datum of your choosing, and all points will be NEZ. Remember that your world is now flat.

Be careful if you don't fully understand the ramifications of localizing a project. Horiz - always need 2 points (for rotation). Vert - one, check into others but not for your localization. Unless you level through a box surrounding your site. Bad bad bad problems, so I just go with one most of the time.

Check your geoid file. If you are outside of its range or it is corrupted, it will not show local coordinates.

So I'm trying to survey a site with Topcon GR-5 receivers, using Pocket 3-D on the Tesla controller. Whoever used the equipment before I was hired had set up control points at each of four corners around the property. The base NEZ coordinates are N 5000, E 5000, and Z 1000. The point shows up to the far Southwest of the property, but the control point list shows the base as being located inside the square.This is what it looks like with the WGS84 coordinates entered into Google Earth vs 3D office.

Whoever created these used horizontal and vertical on all four CP's, but not the base point. I used them last week to start surveying, just placing the base on CP 1, setting it to be located there, and just making polylines around the buildings in the SW corner so far. Everything looks good relative to the control points in 3D office, but I can't get WGS84 coordinates for anything else I've made but the control points. When I try to go into the Coordinate Calculator, every type of projection I use with the localized points gives me coordinates that are seriously off, like Colorado or the Pacific Ocean. It doesn't give me the same WGS84 coordinates that are listed and correct for the NEZ coordinates of the control points, so I know it's wrong but I don't know how to fix it.

Did the person localize the area wrong? Was there a projection issue? And will I need to start over using your advice? The only reason I used those existing points was because I've never really done a survey before, and didn't know how to start the base without known coordinates. My boss was pressuring me to get started after a couple weeks of teaching myself about the hardware, software, and surveying techniques on my own.