When taking shots in the field, SurvCE and SurvPC have an option to "Prompt for Height and Description". When this option is checked (what I will call Option "A"), a separate screen pops up and allows you to enter the description, change the point number, modify the rod height, etc. When the option is not checked (what I will call Option "B"), the shot is recorded instantly based upon the settings previously entered.
I am wondering what folks are doing re. this setting. For myself, when performing 2 man surveying (1 at the gun and 1 at the rod), I prefer Option "A", for it allows me to enter the description while the rod man is walking to the next point. It also gives me one last chance to correct any errors regarding rod height, point number, etc. However, when using Option "A" with my instrument (a Sokkia SRX3 robot) the behavior of SurvCE/SurvPC is not optimized with my instrument, and therefore creates inefficient workflow. I would be happy to elaborate on the issues I am experiencing. I have made a request to Carlson to address this issue for me.
But, in the meantime, I am wondering if maybe I'm trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. If most of you are surveying using Option "B", maybe I can simply re-orient my thinking. What are you doing?
Thanks for any posts.
Al
Big Al, post: 383619, member: 837 wrote: When taking shots in the field, SurvCE and SurvPC have an option to "Prompt for Height and Description". When this option is checked (what I will call Option "A"), a separate screen pops up and allows you to enter the description, change the point number, modify the rod height, etc. When the option is not checked (what I will call Option "B"), the shot is recorded instantly based upon the settings previously entered.
I am wondering what folks are doing re. this setting. For myself, when performing 2 man surveying (1 at the gun and 1 at the rod), I prefer Option "A", for it allows me to enter the description while the rod man is walking to the next point. It also gives me one last chance to correct any errors regarding rod height, point number, etc. However, when using Option "A" with my instrument (a Sokkia SRX3 robot) the behavior of SurvCE/SurvPC is not optimized with my instrument, and therefore creates inefficient workflow. I would be happy to elaborate on the issues I am experiencing. I have made a request to Carlson to address this issue for me.
But, in the meantime, I am wondering if maybe I'm trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. If most of you are surveying using Option "B", maybe I can simply re-orient my thinking. What are you doing?
Thanks for any posts.
Al
option B
I use option A most of the time. It's a check, I enter data before shot then double check it when screen pops up. It goes really fast using the enter button. Not so much with touch screen.
Thanks for the responses. Sounds like both Option A and B are used. I'd sure like to hear from a few more of you to get a sense of how you're typically using the software in this respect.
I use option A most of the time, I guess I like to make sure the shot is stored or take the shot before some land owner starts to talk to me, then I change the code, and when doing line work it helps me to add the beg or end or PC to the code.
Option A, because I get a 2nd chance to review what I think I measured to, its description and its rod height
OK these last posts suggest that the reasons that I like to use Option A are justified - others like to use this as well for the same reasons.
This is part of a lengthy email I sent to Carlson describing the issue I'm having, and it may help to explain why I'm asking about Option A vs. Option B. I'm using a Sokkia SRX3 robot, in this case conventionally (2 man survey crew, one man on instrument, another on the rod). I've got a suspicion that the issues that I'm dealing with do not equally affect all SurvCE/SurvPC users, but rather are a function of the brand/model of total station that is used.
[INDENT]I prefer to survey with "Prompt for Height & Description" on for two reasons 1) It allows me to key in the description of the point while the rod man is moving to the next point, and 2) It gives me one more chance to correct any errors before the shot is recorded. However, when using this option, what happens in the time between taking the shot and recording it affects the condition that the gun resumes in. Also, the behavior of the instrument following entering at the Store Point screen is also affected by the new setting "After Reading - RTS".
I have done some testing to understand the behavior and interaction of these two settings.
In each of my tests, I have had the "Prompt for Height & Description" checked on, and have tested the response of the instrument following recording of each shot, by playing with the "After Reading - RTS". While in the Store Points screen, I have tested A) not moving the instrument, B) turning the instrument slightly, and C) turning the instrument substantially off the prism, and reported results below.
Test with Standby - For all three conditions A), B) and C), regardless of whether the instrument was locked to the prism upon taking the shot, the instrument will go into standby mode upon recording the shot.
Test with Lock - A) resumes in Lock mode, B) initiates a search, finds the prism, and resumes in Lock mode, and C) initiates a search, doesn't find the prism, and goes into standby
Test with Track - A) resumes in Tracking mode, B) initiates a search, finds the prism, and resumes in Tracking mode, and C) initiates a search, doesn't find the prism, and goes into standby
Test with Previous State - uses state immediately preceding shot, and depending on that state resumes in one of the ways described above.
By comparison, if I turn "Prompt for Height & Description" off, I lose the advantages described above, but the behavior of the instrument is different, mainly because there is no time between when the shot is taken and when it is recorded. It is immediate. For example, when Prompt for Height & Description is off, and "After Reading - RTS" is set to "Previous State", I take a shot, it is recorded, and I tell the rod man "good" and he crawls out of the bush and the instrument many times loses lock with the prism (simulated in this case by manually turning the instrument on my desk to a point off the prism). In this case, the instrument, goes into "Waiting..." mode, and the moment I turn the instrument back to the general direction of the prism, it acquires lock and is immediately ready to take another shot. By comparison, when "Prompt for Height & Description" is turned on, I take the shot, and then call "good" to the rod man, he crawls out of the bush, and the instrument sometimes loses lock. At some point following, I complete entry of the description, and click the green check mark or press enter. The aim of the instrument precisely at this moment affects the outcome. If the prism is off line, the instrument will begin a search and then go into standby mode. To get out of standby mode, I would have to initiate a search for the prism, by clicking on the lock or tracking buttons at the top of the main survey screen. All of this takes time. I would rather it go into "waiting..." mode if that is possible.
One workaround that I have experimented with, and which provides some relief, is to remember to aim the telescope of the instrument to the prism prior to entering the point at the Store Points screen. However, I don't always remember to do this, and it is somewhat difficult workaround to implement.
Another workaround that I have used, and continue to use because it is perhaps the best solution I have found thusfar, is to survey from the offset screen, as in this screen, the behavior of the instrument is exactly as I wish it to be. I simply don't enter any offset values in the three available fields. Of course by doing so I get a warning that there are no offset values, and it requires about 4 clicks to enter a shot, which is cumbersome, but still allows me to enter the description of the point after taking the shot. And, in the meantime, if the instrument and prism lose lock, it remains in the waiting mode until such time as I point the instrument back to the prism. Is there any way to make the instrument behave on the main screen as it does from the offset screen?[/INDENT]
I mainly use Option "A"
but I have done the offset screen thing just like big al
the only thing I can't figure out is how to enter a note from the offset screen.
alt "W" doesn't seem to work.
( Leica TS12 / Carlson Surveyor 2 - survce 4.** )
I also use Option B, because most of the time my shots have a different description than the previous shot, and sometimes a different rod height. If the description and rod height are the same I just hit Enter without looking.
I like to change the rod height before taking the shot, though, so I rarely have to modify that on the prompt screen.
Jim Frame, post: 383968, member: 10 wrote: I also use Option B, because most of the time my shots have a different description than the previous shot, and sometimes a different rod height. If the description and rod height are the same I just hit Enter without looking.
I like to change the rod height before taking the shot, though, so I rarely have to modify that on the prompt screen.
Jim, you mean option A, i.e. you are prompted for height and description?
Big Al, post: 384138, member: 837 wrote: Jim, you mean option A, i.e. you are prompted for height and description?
Yes. I've actually have never noticed whether or not the height prompt is there, I just want the description prompt.
I thought there was also a third option where confirming the HT/Desc triggered a shot? I keep the prompt turned on unless I am hammering out a long sequence of shots with no changes. When working robotic I change the rod far less frequently, run a 6.5 rod and move up before shots get tricky.
I can't remember which soft does it but there is one that has the option to clarify if it is a one time rod change or a running change, which is nice, until it isn't.
Option A is good if you use a feature code list. It's also good for GIS data collection.
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