Got a great story for y'all. My wife's dad calls her Monday. Says he has a friend in WOODED NW GA MTNS who is wanting to know what GPS equipment he should buy to find his property corners himself using the coordinates off of the county website.
Of course hiring a surveyor to do it is out of the question, why pay one of those thieves when he can do it himself.
So, who wants to recommend equipment for me to pass along. As far as I am concerned price is not an object.
(Sits back laughing while waiting for the fun to begin)
> Got a great story for y'all. My wife's dad calls her Monday. Says he has a friend in WOODED NW GA MTNS who is wanting to know what GPS equipment he should buy to find his property corners himself using the coordinates off of the county website.
What is the problem with his effort to find his property corners with GPS. He has every right to find his corner.
It is no different than taking a compass and pacing or taping.
The problem would be with him setting his corners from the GIS data.
I would think that a simple handhold with WAAS ( would get him within 20 ft or less depending on sky view.
Why do I get the feeling that GIS data for that area is iffy at best?
> Why do I get the feeling that GIS data for that area is iffy at best?
Well, at least in the end, if he gets lost in the woods, he will have the GPS to get him home.
😉
What is wrong, lets see:
The area is heavily wooded.
The ridge line runs generally North South meaning you most likely will not have southern skies.
What little I have seen from the legals up there leave a lot to be desired.
Again based on personal experience, Lots of the houses, fences, etc run perp to road while the property lines do not.
The guy does not understand the concept of corrected GPS.
Do I really need to go on.
OH, and anything that I recommend, the guy will try to do it and if he has any problem, he will say so and so, a licensed surveyor told me to...
Anything from Simth&Wesson ought to get the job done.
for starters...
Gotta agree with Mr Hill.
I would look at it as a learning opportunity to teach the fellow how to use the GPS correctly and navigate to the approximate location of his property corners from the information he has available. The lesson would include the importance of a proper survey to do anything with the corners.. build a fence or other structure with setback requirements, clear brush, etc and the possible problems with the information he is using. A little PR properly applied can go a mighty long way.
A consumer grade code based receiver like a Garmin Map 60CSx should get him close enough to at least begin to look for the corners, even in heavy brush. Whether he finds them or not and what he wants to do with them if he does is another issue.
Tell him to try the sporting goods section at Wal-Mart for a recreational GPS unit. It's not rude (unless you don't like Wal-Mart) and identifies something he can probably use to do what he needs.
Now, if he gets to be a smart a$$, just tell him he's a smart guy and it comes with an instruction book.
You haven't given him any information that will put you in any way liable for anything.
Sounds like you know the guy and what you're talking about so teaching sounds like it's out. Have a little fun with this scenario and sit back and watch him spin his wheels. This sounds like something I would have a blast with. Also sounds like you don't think too much of this guy as well. 🙂
Finding his property corners is one thing. Setting them is quite another.
We all sense that this fellow intends to set his corners.
Finding his property corners is one thing. Setting them is quite another.
Actually, I think finding his corners and setting his corners amount to exactly the same thing - he's not qualified to do either.
He may find a monument that appears to be his corner, but how many times have we done the same, only to look further and find the REAL monument marking the corner?
I say, tell him he's not qualified to declare that iron rod, nail, pipe, fence corner, axle, stake, hub, etc. his property corner and that he better hire someone who's spent 10, 15, 40 years studying just how to make that determination for him.
Just my $0.02 cents worth.....
> Finding his property corners is one thing. Setting them is quite another.
>
> We all sense that this fellow intends to set his corners.
I read the post that the owner is trying to locate his corners and nt attempting to survey his property.
Fence companies do this every day of the week and even on Sundays.
It is up to the property owner to live with their decision.
Maybe, the owner will see that the GIS info supplied b the county is not to be relied upon. That would be a good 'teaching moment' for the public.
As far as accuracy, You don't know until you try.
The Garmin handhelds that I use for recon will give you a relative accuracy distance. It is hard to ignore since it is right on the screen.
Kris,
I do not know this one personally, but I do know wife's dad and that is the kind of guy he runs with. Wife's dad said he wants to have something that will take him right to his corner so that he can mark it up. From way she made it sound, the guy wants to clear up to it and fence the area in.
I told her to tell her dad the guy needs a survey and she said that is what she told him and the answer back was that he "doesn't need a survey, he just needs to know where his corners are" so that he could maintain his land.
I told her I was not interested but that I could recommend a setup that was $20K+. She said he was too cheap to hire a surveyor, what do you think he would be willing to spend that much.
Come to think of it, I think she knows the kind of people her dad hangs with too. 😉
He might also like to defend himself in court later. I can loan him my copy of Black's.
This is the link to GPS items in the news right now.
http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/07/savings-experiment-gps/?icid=maing|main5|dl8|sec2_lnk2|31229
Schonsdedt for starters
