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Hand signals

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(@stacy-carroll)
Posts: 922
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Somewhere I have seen a chart of the hand signals surveyors used before two way radios became the fad. I learned them when I was young but didn't use them long enough or frequent enough to retain the knowledge. Does anyone have a copy of that chart that they'd be willing to share?

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 5:47 pm
(@rankin_file)
Posts: 4016
 

Google semaphore... i might have a dia gram at the office tomorrow.
Or i'll draw it for you later tonight after i put the short one to bed. We're outside playing for a bit right now.now.

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 6:25 pm
(@stacy-carroll)
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Either would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 6:33 pm
(@nate-the-surveyor)
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Learn the one handed signals.

If I can find them, I will post them later.

2 handed are bad, because the i-man is by the inst, telling you cuts and fills, and you often only see one hand.

N

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 6:40 pm
(@nate-the-surveyor)
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Cancel is across your belly, with your forearm horizontal.

One, is hit your leg once.

Two, is hit it twice.

Three is arm Straight out, in the 3:00 position

Four is Upper arm is horizontal, and forearm is verticle

Five is full arm straight up.

Six is upper arm horizontal, and forearm on head, making a six.

Seven is upper arm horizontal, and forearm is straight down.

Eight is grab crotch.

Nine is finger tips under arm, and full arm making a circle.

Cut is hand across throat.

Fill is a dramatic UP, then cancel, and the rest of the numbers.

Decimal is the cancel.

This works for construction.

N

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 6:47 pm
(@rankin_file)
Posts: 4016
 

as I remember it from the screaming days.

disclaimer- it's been a few years so - remember the line from the Hunt for Red October- My morse is so rusty I could be sending him dimensions on Playmate of the month...

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 7:01 pm
(@eddycreek)
Posts: 1033
Customer
 

Set many a mile of slope stakes and blue tops reading those same signals. Party chief had to have nodules removed from his vocal chords after years of yelling, but even without that we used to set slope stakes as far as you could read the tenths on the rod, with equipment running all around. 0 was both arms forming a circle. Cut was the cut your throat sign, fill was both hands forward palms up and raising them up.

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 7:26 pm
(@stacy-carroll)
Posts: 922
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Thanks everyone! Good memories.... and maybe a few not so good ones. Makes you appreciate what you have now.

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 7:33 pm
 vern
(@vern)
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Have a look at page 28 in this pdf link.

http://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=25276.wba

 
Posted : August 27, 2014 8:30 pm
(@silversabre)
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See this link here, this is what in the UK we tend to use:

Instructing the Chainman

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 2:47 am
(@andy-bruner)
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And then there's the story about the female instrument operator who left the hammer in the truck. It's old and is probably known by at least a few on here (grin).

Andy

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 4:11 am
(@charmon)
Posts: 147
 

That's the same way I learned but 0 or "balls" (+oo) was the croch grab. Probably just a local thing or my chiefs had jock itch.

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 4:14 am
(@kevin-samuel)
Posts: 1043
 

That one is classic.

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 4:21 am
(@stephen-ward)
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I started to post that one as the first response but since he was asking a serious question I spared him the thread hijack that would've occurred.:-D

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 4:24 am
(@lmbrls)
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You can always start a new thread. Sounds interesting.

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 4:47 am
(@back-chain)
Posts: 468
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Good job on the illustration... exactly the way I learned.

We also used an 'X' above the head (cross arms over head) to indicate decimal.

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 5:11 am
(@stephen-ward)
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There are a thousand variations of this one on the web customized to any job that has ever used hand signals. This one is courtesy of Spledeus from a few years back.

You all must know the one about the surveyor and the new female assistant. Out in the field, the surveyor is setting a stake but he forgot the hammer. He waves to the assistant and makes a motion like he is swinging a hammer. She replies with the motions: points to her eye, grabs her left side of her chest, then grabs her crotch. Frustrated, they both do their dances until the surveyor walks to the woman and says, clearly you cannot understand my signals. She says, sure, you need the hammer but "eye left tit in the box".

https://surveyorconnect.com/index.php?mode=thread&id=124169

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 5:44 am
(@boundary-lines)
Posts: 1055
 

> as I remember it from the screaming days.
>
>

Exactly the way I did it for years, we had no radios, with a sharp harmonious crew we could wear out a construction site without speaking.

Worked great on roadway layout...

It was cool to get radios, the first set I got was Motorola with a little mic you could clip on shirt pocket..... we was on the edge of technology lol

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 5:51 am
(@james-vianna)
Posts: 635
Customer
 

Talk about a blast from the past. Here is what we used for years.

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 6:04 am
(@wayne-g)
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> And then there's the story about the female instrument operator who left the hammer in the truck. It's old and is probably known by at least a few on here (grin).

Ya beat me to it Andy. But I thought it was the rod lady who signaled "eye left tit in the box", all with her hands. Very clever on her part to say the least, and still funny. Pass it on to all mentorees.

 
Posted : August 28, 2014 9:19 am
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