Mark Mayer & Other NW Surveyors

> Could Y'all please explain what equipment is used. And how you deal with the rain.

Trimble 5603 and TSC2 data collector. Trimble 5700,5800, and R8 GPS. No special effort or need to keep them dry while in use, but bring them inside to dry at night. Always towel it all off immediately upon getting back to the office and then let it dry outside of the instrument case. It's not the raindrops that get inside them, it's the humidity.

Trouble is usually with more mundane stuff. Your lath gets wet and can't be written on with a marker. Your marker gets wet and quits working. So you mark all the lath at the truck and set them all at one time, after the hubs are set. Wood tripod legs swell and jam, so you bring them inside to dry on weekends . The cardboard core of your roll of flagging disintegrates and leaves you with a wad of plastic. Rite in the rain paper is only water resistant, not water proof, so you have to dry it out on the defrosters a few times a day. Walkie talkies and calculators are far less waterproof than instruments.

But mostly, your personal equipment includes really good raingear.

"Rain gear" in 4WD?

> But mostly, your personal equipment includes really good raingear.

For some reason, I'm having a hard time getting my head around the need for "rain gear", which I assume is a gear on the transmission that is engaged when driving over wet pavement. It rains so seldom, though, that it's hard to imagine paying extra for a transmission with some special gear for those few days of the year when it might be handy. Now "sun gear" would be worth it.

"Rain gear" in 4WD?

sometimes we need 'snowgear'

"Rain gear" in 4WD?

> sometimes we need 'snowgear'

I thought that folks up there in the frozen North Country just packed up and headed somewhere else warmer for a few months when it was too cold to hold a rover pole plumb. I mean Daryl Moistner heads off to the Czech Republic at the drop of a cat and don't the good folks and other residents of Wasilla just head for the nearest studio of that there teevee?

> But mostly, your personal equipment includes really good raingear.

Who makes the best raingear in your opinion?

Hey Jules. I am not a NW surveyor but I know a little about your total station since I sold it to you. The environmental rating on a GPT-3000LW instrument is IPX6 for moisture which is considered "waterproof."

The actual spec reads something like, "forceful jets from any direction against the enclosure shall have no harmful effect."

I don't know if you are waterproof but your instrument is. Of course, even a "waterproof" instrument should have the case opened when being brought into the indoors after being in the damp or rainy outdoors. Probably not a bad idea to open the case when it is brought in from very cold outdoor temperatures.

"Rain gear" in 4WD?

I thought that folks up there in the frozen North Country just packed up and headed somewhere else warmer for a few months when it was too cold to hold a rover pole plumb.

Some have good sense, and then some don't!

There is a Columbia Sportswear factory outlet near me (Their corporate HQ is here in Beaverton) that sells good stuff relatively cheap.

In a word, stuff made of any of the many variations of goretex makes good raingear. Keeping the feet dry is most important and the pants are more important than the jacket. Some guys just wear a fleece jacket and dispense with a rain jacket in all but the heaviest downpour. The kind of rain we get here is usually all day drizzle rather than soaking rain. You can stand out in it all day and maybe not get very wet, but walking through wet brush and your pants and boots will be soaked in seconds.

Stuff made of rubber that won't breath makes lousy raingear, unless you are actually getting splashed by waves over the gunwales. You just get wet from the inside out.

Thanks Jerry. I've never had a problem. I tend to hang longer than most crews do around here. I sure do like the GPT-3000LW. I'll be talking to you soon. The fact is I'll be seeing the Hayes crew in Vicksburg next month.

Thanks,

Jules J.

> I don't know if you are waterproof but your instrument is.

If an instrument has been opened for service the gaskets must be replaced to maintain the waterproof-ness. The gaskets are crushable and will not completely seal the second time. Service techs around here know that, maybe in other parts of the country they aren't so careful about it.

"Rain gear" in 4WD?

When the temps get over 60° in Portland we break out the shorts, even if it is raining. When the temps get over 78°, we call that "hot".

Mark

While working this past year on the beach I discovered (its been around for a while though)Frog Togs. Its actually drier than Goretex and is lighter and breathes better. It probably would not last in heavy brush but we didn't have to worry about that. Keeping my hands dry and my glasses clear was the worst part.

Andy

Good advice Mark. I tried some Columbia un-insulated Gore-tex snow pants a couple of years back. Great for water bad for brush.

I guess if you replace every couple of years the Columbia outlet is tough to beat.

Jules-

You must understand Young Kent McMoundfinder.

He is a brilliant fellow, but is short in experiencing four seasons, having only "Parch" as the year long season.

Ergo, my friend feels he is merely wasting time trying to find even bottled water in the Republic Parchville, thus he drinks his 'medicine' straight !

There is an allegation he thinks when I sweat at this time of year in my kilt, that it is a mere quaint urological function when interacting with the kilt's beaver castor oil impregnated emu fur lining.

Wishing your dry instruments, thoughts and a similarly dry bed,

Your Obedient Servant

TNAI

I've lived here for over 20 years and I don't think I've ever seen survey equipment that wasn't suitable to work with in the rain. The stuff I used in Nebraska was marginal at best.

The key is drying it out at the end of the day. Bring in all the glass, rods, tripods, everything that got wet and at least wipe it down. A light coat of oil on all of your bare metal equipment doesn't hurt either.

Dugger

In the rain all the time. Presently jammed in Dutch Harbor trying to fly out to Atka, 80 mph winds have closed the airport. I would love to be in Prague at the moment Kent, I need to find a cat to toss.

Had trouble with the Topcon DL-500 series level a couple days ago because of rain, giving us bad numbers. the Topcon 800A robot gets a few drops on it and starts freaking out. But Topcon GPS is super tough and can handle anything...well...almost anything...you don't want to immerse it... If doing gun work I would use an umbrella over the gun if no breeze or the rain bag that comes in the case for between shots. Q tips to get the condensation and moisture out of the eye piece and micro fiber cloth for the scope.

I always carry a drybag for cameras and gadgets, xtra gloves, balaclava, etc.
Ziplock bags for paperwork. Most paperwork we print on Rite in the Rain stock and use Rite in the Rain field note books.

Rain gear...has to be rubber out here...durable and impermeable, Helly Hanson. Goretex will fail if working in an all day Ketchikan or Aleutian type rainfall. You don't see crab fisherman wearing goretex. Some say you can sweat too much in rubber but not out here when the temp hovers around middle 30's.

...and for footwear there is only one thing. Xtratufs. I use insulated, steel toe xtratufs this time of year.

> Rain gear...has to be rubber out here...durable and impermeable, Helly Hanson. Goretex will fail if working in an all day Ketchikan or Aleutian type rainfall. You don't see crab fisherman wearing goretex. Some say you can sweat too much in rubber but not out here when the temp hovers around middle 30's.
>
> ...and for footwear there is only one thing. Xtratufs. I use insulated, steel toe xtratufs this time of year.

It doesn't get to cold here, so goretex isn't bad, but it does eventually fail.

I wear cheap gear I either get at Walmart or Costco, or just a quilted flannel if it's light rain and a good pair of waterproof boots. The brush out here is brutal and will shred your gear. The better stuff lasts a little longer, but it's just a matter of time.

Radar

LOL! I have learned to take kent as only kent!

Yeah Doug...you got those friggen blackberry bushes....you need a Ironman suit for that stuff.