Bill93, post: 404626, member: 87 wrote: I'm jealous. I tend to crudely keep track by where the sun is, and assume the PLSS section line roads are aligned. But give me an overcast day, a curvy road, and unfamiliar territory and my internal compass loses all magnetism.
I even have trouble relating directions in one area I'm familiar with to those in another area I'm familiar with. I could swear if I didn't know better that North where I live aligns with West where I grew up. When I go back to the hometown I have to be sure I think about direction to familiar places or I'll say the wrong one. Anybody have a cure?
I do have a good internal compass. I don't know it is a knack I was born with or developed over years of surveying. But I truly understand what you're saying.
I use to travel a lot with work. If I got into a town after dark or my first day there was overcast I would have a hell of a time. If the sun was up I was OK.
Bill93, post: 404626, member: 87 wrote: I'm jealous. I tend to crudely keep track by where the sun is, and assume the PLSS section line roads are aligned. But give me an overcast day, a curvy road, and unfamiliar territory and my internal compass loses all magnetism.
I even have trouble relating directions in one area I'm familiar with to those in another area I'm familiar with. I could swear if I didn't know better that North where I live aligns with West where I grew up. When I go back to the hometown I have to be sure I think about direction to familiar places or I'll say the wrong one. Anybody have a cure?
I spent much if my life on the other side of the divide. All of the rivers here run backward. It took me 10 plus years to get used to it..
thebionicman, post: 404656, member: 8136 wrote: I spent much if my life on the other side of the divide. All of the rivers here run backward. It took me 10 plus years to get used to it..
I live on a ridge road that every thing north of goes to the Sulphur River and every thing south of goes to big Cypress
Many years ago I was set up where I could see both the S 1/4 and SE corners of our section. I set up my gun and shot my Rodman on the South 1/4 corner then told him to go 1/2 mile east. A few minutes later I noticed him walking west about 600' west of the monument we just shot. When I told him to turn around and go East he said "I thought you meant MY east" Maybe I should have said "YOUR RIGHT".
[USER=81]@A Harris[/USER]
Every weekday as Mrs. Cow drives to work she tops the ridge separating the Arkansas River valley from the Missouri River valley. No matter what path she takes, she will do that at some point along the way.
On the subject of looking at the bubble (and hopefully leveling it). Particularly when leveling, I say to the chainman/rodman/graduate/pro/fellow-that-has -been-doing-this-since-time-began (I wish I had a dollar for each that we've had): "1. put the staff on the mark 2. turn the numbers to me 3. then relax but keep watching me and when you see me start peeping-tom through the scope you level the bubble 4. and you keep leveling/looking at it and nothing (I say nothing, nothing, nothing, else) until I tell you to stop (we have radios)".
90% are ok with 1 and 2.
50% can't handle 3.
1% can do 4.
It's quite funny at 4., looking through the scope and watching their eyeballs and quite often their heads swivel almost 360 looking at/for what ? ... maybe the second resurrection.
Having said that, as mentioned on another thread, as a graduate engineer almost 30 years ago holding the staff on the first day, after lunch the surveyor sailed over to me and said "if I have to tell you to turn the numbers to me again I'm going to punch you". And so much later I realised the importance showing the rodman through the instrument what it is like to take responsibility for a survey and to have rod not plumb. Because now, if I am on the staff, I can do 4, and I no longer think I'm just holding a shiny stick.
Some folks just think that "holding the stick" is surveying!
Yep, me, we (as an engineering consultancy) don't get into the legal/title/cadastral/plat part of surveying, which is, regardless of country a minefield and somewhat different ball game, but we do rely on surveying as the beginning (and often the end) of the engineering storybook, and hence rely its accuracy and integrity from everyone involved in it.
Great posts, Richard.
Sometimes you want to scream, "HOLD THE DAMN THING STILL AND KEEP YOUR F'ING EYE ON THE BUBBLE OR I'M GOING TO SHOVE THAT THING WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE." Butt, we don't do it.
Holy Cow, post: 404675, member: 50 wrote: Great posts, Richard.
Sometimes you want to scream, "HOLD THE DAMN THING STILL AND KEEP YOUR F'ING EYE ON THE BUBBLE OR I'M GOING TO SHOVE THAT THING WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE." Butt, we don't do it.
Well maybe you don't...
Had a PC years ago named Jim Dycus. He was a short and wiry little Mick with one helluva temper. Yelling was SOP. We were restoring cl from a 50' offset (fairly close quarters) and Jim got mad at the I-man. He not only yelled, but threw a 1/2 rebar in the general direction of the instrument. It sailed past and imbedded itself in one of the rear door windows on the Ford van.
JIm got all apologetic and explained he was really mad at himself and not us. Being the young smart ass I noted he hadn't thrown the rebar at himself, but at us....
He locked eyes with me and there was a pregnant silence. In a quiet voice he replied, "remind me this afternoon to whip your ass".
I'm pretty sure I forgot to remind him. 😉
Away/Towards the Machine.
Left/Right as if you're looking at the Machine from the Rod.
If not right angles, often the case, I'll use landscape/landmarks where I can. I.e. 30m along the tree line or 15m towards the truck or 2m straight out from the fence.
My favorite mentor did years of apprenticeship with an inverted-image Wild T-1, said one of the advantages was that the I-man and the Rodman had the same perspective of left and right.
half bubble, post: 404776, member: 175 wrote: My favorite mentor did years of apprenticeship with an inverted-image Wild T-1, said one of the advantages was that the I-man and the Rodman had the same perspective of left and right.
That's great!
My instrumentman is accustomed to thinking in terms of rod man left/right whereas I'm still quite used to gun left/right. With the robotic instrument and remote control, we keep it rod man left/right (but this DID take me some getting used to!!!).
The only superior evidence is that which you haven't yet found.
It's always been glass left and right as long as I've been in the field.
Bill93, post: 404626, member: 87 wrote: I'm jealous. I tend to crudely keep track by where the sun is, and assume the PLSS section line roads are aligned. But give me an overcast day, a curvy road, and unfamiliar territory and my internal compass loses all magnetism.
I even have trouble relating directions in one area I'm familiar with to those in another area I'm familiar with. I could swear if I didn't know better that North where I live aligns with West where I grew up. When I go back to the hometown I have to be sure I think about direction to familiar places or I'll say the wrong one. Anybody have a cure?
When I lived and worked in New Orleans in the 80's, directions consisted of toward the river or the lake, and upriver or downriver.
It was always the rodmans right or left just to keep it simple for him because they were usually new and green. I found it more frustrating trying to get them to understand the right and wrong side of a curve to chain from. They would usually figure it out about the time they understood what "Sh!t on line" meant 😉
I haven't had that problem since I started using a robotic total station, I control everything at the rod. If fact I can't remember that last time I directed a person's movement looking through an instrument. Even when I am using a two person crew, its is all in a robotic mode.
Do I remember a TS that had "directional" lights on the top visible to the rodman? A small LED that appeared red if you were 'off' line a little and green when you were "pretty darned close". Maybe a Nikon?