Ron Scherler mentioned today that the BLM is in the process of switching over to Traverse PC from CMM and CAPD for their geodetic work. He said that the Oregon State Office is leading the way. I have seen the Traverse PC ads about their PLSS functions but I haven't used it. I'm sure there are several people on this forum who have used it for PLSS work. How does it compare to CAPD and does it get you all the way through to an acceptable BLM style plat?
Tom
Sorry about the hijack but I thought both Ron and John Farnsworth had retired from the Oregon office?
I don't know about John but Ron is teaching CFEDS now.
Tom
Everything depends upon your perception or point of view.
To my knowledge the new TPC product is being used /(tested) by OR/WA office and perhaps by a few people in a few other offices. I am not aware (but then I would not necessarily be aware) that it has been adopted or approved or accepted by all Cadastral Offices. I would say that BLM wide it is 'in review' to a very light extent.
I have not had a chance to look at it first hand but from the rollout videos and the docs on line there are "AT LEAST" a few areas where it is defective.
CMM development basically stopped in 1993-1997, so it would not be surprising that after 15-18 years someone might finally attempt to provide a product in that technical niche. One can wonder why it has taken so long.
I do have funny feeling that TPC was probably subsidized in their 'sudden' interest by at least promises of massive BLM sales or perhaps direct funding.
The guys in OR have been at the forefront of anti CMM/GMM/CEFB/CAPD software since the beginning of time so it is no surprise that this great new product comes out of that neck of the woods after only 20 years..... great.
I hope this specialized market provides them with some scrutiny as well as profits as to quality and correctness as well as ease of use.
It is also interesting to me that Scherler in the CFEDS training does not acknowledge the existence of any software that does Cadastral restorations propertly or handles the PLSS datum. But he has known full well that CMM existed and has been used by most BLM offices since 1989-91. How can that be??
Well only a few of us really care, so put in those orders.
CAPD? well show me a plat produced by TPC that really meets Cadastral specs on not some lame Oregon watered down version of 200 years of tradition and a clearly understood product. I haven't seen it in their demo videos.
- jlw
Traverse PC puts out a good product and is known to listen and provide support by solving any problems that a user may encounter that is not self inflicted. If they are entering into new areas, they will do fine and will make any necessary changes or tweaking needed that is revealed by the end user.
jud
I wonder if the BLM is getting TPC's eternal "half off, this week only!" deal?
I'm going to try to get some more information about this apparent move. I wonder why the BLM doesn't just renew it's support for CAPD. Everybody knows how to use it and it works good. Every BLM office has AutoCad so it would be much cheaper in the short run to keep using it. I'll post what I hear.
Tom
I have always provided information about CMM to the CFedS trainees and we often have surveyors on our conference calls that are using it. The Oregon State Office has been using CMM and CAPD for a long time and have been very happy with it. Recently they have been testing the Traverse PC product to see if it meets their needs and from what I hear it does, so I passed the information on the those on the call.
Can you PLSS guys enlighten a Colonial Metes and Bounds guy? What is special about the software that the BLM uses now that can't be done with other software packages? Are there certain routines that are specific to PLSS work?
Thanks
Dale Yawn
Savannah, Ga.
Dale -
A good starting point is Geodetic Aspects of Land Boundaries and the PLSS Datum, which just happens to be co-authored by one of the posters to this thread.
I may be completely wrong but...
I think it has to do with PLSS surveys are not done on a plane like most other Surveying work.
They are done on the spherical face of the earth. The bearing of any given line is relative to true north at that line so there isn't a single basis of bearings in a conventional sense.
I used the newest Traverse PC to draft a record of survey for the Forest Service. I was very happy that they finally included an easy method of converting from grid (plane) to geodetic. I dumped my state plane coordinates from StarNet into TraversePC and was able to select how I wanted by bearings and distances shown on the drawing. I chose average mean geodetic bearing with ground distances at the chosen project elevation. There are other choices available. They still have a few things I think they need to add, but I believe they will in the future.
Having also drafted plats for the BLM Oregon Office, I think TraversePC will work fine.
Evelyn
Is the source code to CMM / GMM / CEFB available or is it proprietary?
Sounds like it's almost as good as CAPD. I just wonder why the BLM is moving away from CAPD instead of renewing support for it. I think I'd rather have an updated version of FREE CAPD than have to learn a new $2000 software.
Tom
Wow, is this your first post on a public forum the great RS ron?
Well I can't testify as to your advocacy via personal phone calls, but nevertheless there is no mention of CMM/GMM or CAPD in any of the CFEDS videos I have seen.
Seems like a significant omission to me not to mention the tools commonly in use by BLM for at least 10-15 years. Well common in most of the BLM anyway... and you seem to admit even by OR/WA!
Mouland certainly skirts the issue by blantantly saying 'NO SOFTWARE EXISTS' to deal with this mythical thing you seemed to have had so much trouble explaining in the training. It sets Cadastral back 20 maybe 30 years if you asked me... But then isn't that the BLM Oregon way? You might as well have had Tim Kent involved to talk about using the red book and a curta, would have at least been more interesting.
- jlw
Glenn,
Thanks. That makes sense.
Dale
Not sure why. You can email me at kalb@chesebro-kalb.com, if you want more on TraversePC. I've been using it since its early years.
Alaska State Office is converting to TPC. BLM is in the process of putting TPC on our national software baseline. C3D is far overkill for what we need.
What is the national software baseline?
Tom
BLM cannot have software installed by IT unless it has been tested for security and system compatibility and approved for use. Basically unless it is approved for use and on the baseline it is not available for use.