Hi, my boss went out and did a survey, plotted it and sent it out. Now, another surveyor has come to him telling him that it looks like he surveyed the property in Grid instead of Ground. My boss knew nothing about it so I looked in the data collector and found a place where you can check either grid or ground. So, apparently this other surveyor is probably correct and now we need to correct our drawing. The problem is I know NOTHING about this, so is there a some conversion I can do to put our field work in the right world without us having to go out and repeat the field work? Thanks in advance.
Where is the boss?
lol, in his office. This is pretty much his busy work that I am doing due to the lack of drafting jobs to work on.
All the pc surveying software that I know about has a feature to reduce the coordinate file to grid or vice/versa. Simple fix.
The first thing to do is to figure out what the differences are and see if it really makes any difference. Unless it is a large tract or the Combined Scale Factor is significant because of height or location in the zone I'm surprised the other surveyor could notice the difference.
Now to put on my curmudgeon hat - it strikes me that the real problem is that y'all don't have much of a clue as to what you are doing yet your boss is turning out work anyways.
> The problem is I know NOTHING about this, so is there a some conversion I can do to put our field work in the right world without us having to go out and repeat the field work? Thanks in advance.
Simple fix if you have the combination factor, that is. You will need a scale factor. Are you in CO? If you are in elevation in CO and your job site is large, you should be careful about choosing a reasonable CF.
What method did you use to get on the grid?
[sarcasm]Maybe your boss should show you how to do this[/sarcasm]
I appreciate the kind, respectful responses. I am in Colorado. I am a drafter and not a surveyor, as I thought I made clear above. I have never used a data collector and I have never surveyed anything in the field. I was simply given a drawing that my boss drew (and surveyed) a couple of years ago. He told me that there seems to be an issue, that the other surveyor told him he was probably surveying in Grid and not Ground when he surveyed it and that he should make the adjustments. My boss had no clue there was that option, and gave me this drawing to correct. I am simply asking if anyone has any idea as to wether or not there is some conversion I would do with the point file, or if this is even possible to fix without resurveying the property. It is a large tract of land and the differnces are about .5', between surveys. Yes, it seems trivial to me, but that is not the point. If anyone has any knowledge that could help me with this particular issue, it is greatly appreciated. Thank you
As you have explained it, this does not reflect well on your boss.
> I am a drafter and not a surveyor, as I thought I made clear above.
You did not make that clear above.
> I am simply asking if anyone has any idea as to wether or not there is some conversion I would do with the point file, or if this is even possible to fix without resurveying the property.
There is. You need the CF.
>It is a large tract of land and the differnces are about .5', between surveys. Yes, it seems trivial to me, but that is not the point.
It is the point. Perhaps explain your apathy to the farmer that doesn't get to plant an extra row of corn for 2 miles because his Professional Surveyor doesn't understand basic geodesy and effed up the line. I am sure you're a fine draftsperson, but one should only be working in their area of expertise, per the State Board. I am sure CO is no different.
I agree.
With all due respect, your boss is NOT a surveyor, at least not a competent one...
He needs to either become one or hire one.
"This is pretty much his busy work..."
This is NOT "busy work" by any means! He could lose his license because of it.
Thank you for your promt response, it was very helpful to me.
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This can't be real. :-S
Maybe we should stop feeding the trolls.
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I hope you are right, but fear that you aren't. We have competitors (not Peers) that operate at about this level. The predecessor at the firm I am with now did not know much more than this, and he was in charge! I would not believe some of the things I have discovered if I had not seen it with my own eyes...
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Thanks alot for all this great advice, it sure has helped me figure this out.
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You won't be able to figure it out, and sounds like the boss doesn't care to. Sounds like your instructions are to change the distance labels by about .5 in order to match the more recent survey of another. If that's the orders, just do it, you're just the drafter.
Could be error, mistake, grid v. ground, the other surveyors or your boss or something or someone else. Who the heck knows?
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I think that may be the most constructive response yet. I got the data collector he used, found the original file and I am going to attempt to bring it into a new drawing using different software (he uses Land Desktop and I have an unused seat of Carlson with AutoCad 14) and see if I can't get it right with a new project setup? I don't know, It seems I am on my own to figure it out and I am determined. I have been drafting for 14 years and have never had an issue like this. Maybe because I worked at a diff. firm in a diff. state... doesn't matter, I am here now and in this situation.
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Do you have any texts available to you? There is a portion of the Surveyor Reference Manual that delves into the subject, maybe enough to help you out. I would help more if I knew about it. I'm just a new guy!
Go on the NGS web site and download the grid publication for CO. It may take you a day or 2 to understand what you are dealing with. All the information you need is in that publication. It will be a good learning experience. I know the situation you are in. Early in my surveying life I had learned more about some things than the RLS I worked for.
Mike
