Tips For the Solo Surveyor

Run tall stakes. 8 d finish nails. Carry a small Gerber saw. Cut off saplings, wrap the top in flagging. Install 8d on top, with accordion of flagging. And, a pinch of reflector tape. No sapling? Cut a sapling, and drive it in. Repeat above. Need a more permanent point? Set the nail at the edge of the sappling, and transfer the pt to the ground, while holding the sapling out of the way. Occasionally just turn reference angles to stuff.
Tall stakes are FS IP and BS in one.

N

I carried a lot of equipment. I loved thinking outside of the box. I routinely would set a pair of control points, set up a tripod, tribrach, a 30mm offset prism with a threaded stud on top, and put a static GPS receiver on top. I would then set a third control point, and set the robot up and backsight one point, and wrap angles to the second gps point. This would put my job on the "grid" after the points are processed, and I could start collecting topo or boundary information while the static data was being collected at the same time.

Once I started doing this, it saved me at least 2 to 3 hours per job because I could use the same point for multiple purposes at the same time. Being solo, allows you to be really creative.

Pistol grip locator and holster will free up a hand. I use a 3 section shorty prism pole, its a lot easier to tote around with everything else you need. Strap dog collars to the instrument backpack and you can slip the rod in the collar for easy transport.

This is good for any crew, not only solo operators. Suppose you need to locate a point that is, say, 5' from your line of sight, but requires a little more accuracy than you can get from a regular offset shot. Stick two nails in the ground on your line of sight, forming approximately a 90-degree angle with the point you need to locate. Shoot the two nails and measure from each one to the subject point. Then do a distance-distance intersection from the nails to calculate the point you need. I've saved a lot of setups this way.

a. if your controls are off by 0.05m hor & 0.15m vertical, it is OK especially if you will be making a contour map with 1.0 m intervals.
b. run static GPS controls (~30 minutes) on most of your traverse as the ellipsoidal height values will serve as a counter check on your vertical values from the total station values.
c. if you have extra GPS units then use them in the control survey. i usually do not even need tribachs/tripods for these extra units. i just place them on the ground and get the HI from its usual point on the receiver to the ground.
d. always add 10 additional days to your initial work duration estimate to your client. this will always be used up by bad weather, difficult terrain, equipment failure, etc., if you don't use these days then it turns to profit.
e. always calibrate your equipment before a big project. have them check the vertical/horizontal accuracy of the instrument.
f. have your crew wear safety gears all the time.

Set the nail at the edge of the sappling, and transfer the pt to the ground, while holding the sapling out of the way.

if you have extra GPS units then use them in the control survey. i usually do not even need tribachs/tripods for these extra units. i just place them on the ground

Some of you guys look at centering errors a lot different from the way I do.

hlbennettpls, post: 342865, member: 10049 wrote: I just wanted to start a thread where the solo surveyors could exchange some field practice ideas that help them get the job done. I was thinking of this yesterday as, instead of cutting through a huge 10" low hanging branch to see my point I needed to locate, I used my mini pole & prism to shoot it instead. I don't care what you do, whether you have a robot, GPS, or old school total station (lol), post up some tips that increase your productivity when you work by yourself.

I can say this, having a reflectorless inst. has made a world of difference when it comes to working by yourself. I worked for 4 years solo without one, switched and haven't looked back.

Anyhow, just thought it would be interesting to see some tips and tricks of what guys are doing to help make life easier as a solo surveyor.

Aloha,
Get a helper... :-D:-D

This is great thread to start hlbennettpls! I personally look forward for tips the pros here can share!

The one item that impedes the solo surveyor is 5 pounds of data collector. What does your tablet weigh? Free up the working end of survey, we need only a rod with reflector and a dumb I/O device with a reasonable distanced linker back to the stationary instrument with software and data chip or your chubby collector. To my knowledge my instrument has never dropped, banged or dunked a collector.

bridge

Actual practice: maintaining lock with the instrument, lost lock is dead time, must be held to a minimum. Some joysticks work better than others, be the best with what you have. When possible keep rod height above crews heads; use the zenith angle readout in lieu of sparklers or guidance lights, know what it looks like when you are 10å¡-20å¡ above/below the horizon; tie a led flashlight to the instrument, use 360å¡ prism, we put bright reflective tape on face of the instrument and plan your work so the sun does come in line with rod and instrument, reflective vests confuse robotic instruments, understand the tracking persistence of you instrument when you pass behind an object, stop moving when trucks, motorhomes pass in between rod and instrument, carry rod high above head when moving between points, keep glass clean on rainy days. When some chump stands between you and the instrument ask, "are you through having children", then explain the dangers of being lasered with a multifrequency beam.

bridge

bridger48, post: 342943, member: 6251 wrote: use the zenith angle readout in lieu of sparklers or guidance lights

Can you clarify? I'm not understanding how I can use the zenith angle readout to replace the guide lights.

Jim Frame, post: 342944, member: 10 wrote: Can you clarify? I'm not understanding how I can use the zenith angle readout to replace the guide lights.

I'll use this meathod frequently as my latest S6 comes free of those tracking lights. (Grrrrr) For example you may have the instrument horizontally turned to your direction but your vertical angle is reading 60å¡25'10". That's a good indication that it's pointing directly towards Hon Kong and you need to raise the vertical axis to read around 90å¡ +/- to get into a position to scan for you and hopefully lock on.

I use blocks to locate centerline of road. I think I first saw that tip here. Cut 2"x2"x2" blocks and set them on centerline. Locate reflectorless. I get about 5 at a time. Of course, this works best on quiet country roads. I don't survey on main highways...

I presume you meant 0.005m Horizontal and 0.015m vertical?

At this point, I think an atv, and a Javad GPS system, is the bomb for a solo surveyor. And a metal detector. And a shovel, and a hammer, and some paint, and some rolls of flagging. And some cans of beanie Weinies, and some Canned smoked fish, and some rebar and a chainsaw, and a t post stepper, and..... and and
Some GLO notes, and some Deeds. Actually alot of deeds. And some place to assemble it all. And good credit... and a .....

CUP OF COFFEE!

🙂

N

I would still have a helper. I don't think I want to be "Australian Man."

Australian man is a stereo-typical Australian man who always seems to be a slave. He was tricked into becoming a slave on Spa 5. Zoidberg recommended the planet. Hermes gets the Spa 5 to run efficiently by having him do all the work.

bridger48, post: 342942, member: 6251 wrote: The one item that impedes the solo surveyor is 5 pounds of data collector. What does your tablet weigh? Free up the working end of survey, we need only a rod with reflector and a dumb I/O device with a reasonable distanced linker back to the stationary instrument with software and data chip or your chubby collector. To my knowledge my instrument has never dropped, banged or dunked a collector.

bridge

What exactly are you set up with there?? you control the collector from a different device??

My company ran TCA 1800's with RCS1100's. Native leica onboard software. The instrument is the field computer (collector), say about the same as a old 386 chipset. Still plenty fast for collection, stakeout and field comps. Rod/Glass and RCS1100 weighted less than a TSC3. The rod/glass/RCS100 combination is not top heavy like the TSC3 rig with active glass.

A RCS1100 is a radio linking dumb display/keyboard/radio with 1/2 mileå±, (direct sight) range.

The TCA Leica 1800 spec'd as a 1" instrument and nearly indestructible. After using these instruments for 15 years, they have toppled, been subjected vehicle rollover and finally one was ran over by a forklift. Still the instrument recalibrated and returned distance/angle despite missing large pieces of its shell. I retired the forked instrument, it look so abused.

Of the range of survey tasks 80% can be performed a solo surveyor. Thinking this way 3 field personnel can divided into 1-3 crews. Most of the time we fielded a solo and pair.

I used GPS gear in a supporting roll to robotics, we just do have not a lot of open sky West of the Cascades.

bridge

In addition to "some field practice ideas that help them get the job done." pay close attention to your accounting, especially accounts receivable! B-)

Love my carbon fiber range pole and tripod. Having that third leg to drop when I need to write in the field book or poke around and not having a gust of wind send my setup crashing to the ground is a blessing. Not to mention the carbon fiber is so much lighter humping around in the hills and doesn't suck the heat right out of my mits when the temps are in the single digits. :gammon: