I lost my prism pole again!

I did this once on a remote p/l river crossing. Except I did not realize that it was left until the following week when we showed back up to finish the work. That back sight was still plum and good. Four days left on the point and still good. Those back sight set ups are the best employee/associate a company could ask for.

In those cases when I can't come up with where I last used it, it's probably in a closet or shed where I never took it from in the first place.

It's just too embarrassing to admit on this forum what I once reported to the police as stolen before I remembered where I left it.

I'd rather pay a nice reward than replace my stuff.
I have all my expensive portable equipment very clearly labeled:

REWARD IF RETURNED
Name
Phone
email address

I have recovered a radio and a prism in the past.
The labels they sell for golf clubs work great...
Golf club labels

Now, that's funny

> It's just too embarrassing to admit on this forum what I once reported to the police as stolen before I remembered where I left it.

Don't feel bad, a few months ago, I saw a trimble robotic prism/bipod faithfully guarding it's control point late one night at a bridge replacement project. (no, they weren't working)

Don't know where you live/work, but oddly enough I saw the same exact thing just a few months ago!

I can't complain though. I once wrapped up a project around lunchtime, drove back to the office, and was just about to head home around 5pm when I remembered a tripod with a tribrach/target sitting just behind the curb on a very busy road. Fortunately, it was only a few miles away and still there when I got there.

I left a bipod pole combo on hwy 270 south R/W about 15 yrs ago. Bob Zickwolf found it, picked it up, it had my name on it, he called me, and left it at a local gas station for me.
I think I have left a prism pole and bipod several times. Most of the time, it is way off in the boonies.

If we'd up our prices, we could afford to think, and would not leave expensive equipment behind! 🙂

Nate

I too have found them faithfully standing plumb on return to job.

I had a tripod stolen? on an early survey. I drove up a side road and set a point in a trolley right of way so that I could get required occupation and corners. Then I drove around to my frontage and cleared traversed in with three tripods. Late in the day I get to set the final leg point and am standing there to find my destination tripod missing. I had wanted to tie in leaving the last couple setups behind me to pickup as we walked back out the way we came. Sent my pack mule/rod person/wife down the trolley line to insure I had line of sight, set up, then had to back track for a tripod. The extra walking made for an extremely long day. When we got back to that sideroad point a few days later a pickup truck drives by, stops turns around and few minutes later comes back from the original direction with my setup. He was a contractor who lived on that road and when he saw my setup there all alone all day long he assumed the surveyor that lived a mile up that road had forgotten it.

Once the adjoining homeowner put my forgotten bipod on his porch rather than leave it by the roadside. Once I drove three hours with tolls at the end of day to retrieve a sight. It would have been cheaper to buy it new but I was scheduled for a job next morning well away from a supply house. Sort of teaching myself a lesson, muttering "you'll never forget this again".

I have occasionally left a setup overnight in the woods on a point I will return to the next day, when I was surveying alone. Also stashed setups behind a downed log.

Paul in PA

Paul,
If times get tough, I will come up there, and search behind logs, for my new equipment! 🙂

N

I rolled up on a Control Point in Southern Nevada a couple of years ago (which I hadn't been on in about 3-4 years), and found one of my antenna cables right where I had left it years before...

I hadn't even missed it!

Maybe I have more cables than I really need...NO, that's why I have spares for everything.

Loyal

Yep, left a BS out on a control point and didn't recover the tripod, tribrach and prism until about 2 years later. Yellow Dutch Hill, just barely a pastel yellow when I picked it up (not plumb OR over the point, but hey, 2 years is 2 years!!)

-JD-

Last year, I went to the Sheriff's Office to report a lost pistol. I had the serial number and all, but the Deputy asked me where I normally kept it. I said in the trunk of my car.

We went out in the parking lot, the Deputy asked me to open my trunk, and he searched my trunk.

He then laughed and handed me my pistol.

Duh.

I've done this sort of thing many times -- once I left a pricey total station in its case behind on a site. Years ago I got a roll of clear plastic stickers printed up with company name & phone number etc. on them and there's one on just about every piece of equipment we have. They paid for themselves years ago. Most people are decent folks and will call you when they come across your stuff. The total station finder called within a few hours of my leaving the site -- I lucked out, it was just ten minutes from my place. It's also smart to put a sticker on your field books, if you use them. Usually people call before I've even realized the item was missing.

We found one of Frank Speary's range pole (and I don't mean a prism pole) he set for a backsight in the woods some years before still where he left it. I was about 14 and Frank was probably in his late 70's or early 80's. We took it back to their office for them.

I remember back some 30 years ago when we were up in the mountains doing a survey. I don't remember all of the circumstances, but it was january and we were in a few feet of snow. I remember hiking up to the top of a mountain in snowshoes and setting up an extremely old tripod and range pole for a backsight. It was a long hike and we brought the old setup for that very reason which we called a sacrificial range pole. I don't think it was deemed worthwhile to even climb the mountain again to pick up the setup.

Lost a shovel the other day.

I left a bipod, pole, and prism on a large major subdivision site over the weekend. I came into work Monday and found it was not in the truck and immediately drove to the control point, but it was gone.

I also left prism pole leaning up against a building where I took my last shot of the day (3 states away) and managed to call and get it shipped back to me.

This sh*t happens as much as I hate to admit it.

Oh, yeah, you are definitely not the Lone Ranger on leaving stuff behind. What is amazing to me is how often it is right where I left it when I go back the next day, even in the tougher areas.

I have learned some tricks. When I put out my favorite backsight (a brick with vertical lines) every one gets a traffic cone. When I leave if I have the right number of traffic cones, I've picked up the bricks. And, always, after I pack everything up I drive about 40 feet, make a U-turn, and look at where I just was. Surprising how many hammers, batteries, etc., I notice that way.

Putting items on the bumper while loading up the equipment is a no-no for me.