Why does American surveying cling to traditional bearing

What do you have in mind that we should use in its place? Keep in mind, past deeds were written with bearings and or angles.

Here in the good ole USA what you are suggesting would be considered azimuths I believe. I have used them to do surveys, and there advantages to doint it, but I can't recall ever reading a deed that used them.

P.S. Every time I see your avatar I get a chuckle.

Same reason we haven't switched to metric.

If it works, don't fix it.

We will adopt that immediately when you begin driving on the correct side of the road.

Richard

It would help if you used the proper terms when slamming a country and people so obviously inferior to you and your country.

Bearing = http://m.reference.com/d/search.html?q=Bearing

Azimuth = http://m.reference.com/d/search.html?q=Azimuth

Fwiw, all of our courses are in bearings. Ive never retraced a deed in azimuths. Its not like it cant be done, in fact I prefer azimuths, but we return bearings from coordinates not azimuths for presentation.

I'm sure since we all know you've run your business for 33 years and have a college degree that this was just an oversight on your peacock part. Try to do better next time you sanctimonious peacock.

Because that's just the way it's always been done. Write that down in your field book (with pencil, but don't erase!)

RADU

We do it the way we do it, for the same reason you do it the way you do it...

Cause that's how we/you DO IT!

🙂
Loyal

I would suggest that Australia might do well to consider changing to bearings. It is a more easily recognized format for direction as it gives an immediate sense of north, south, east, west, etc.

I used to use azimuths all the time while construction staking, this was before data collectors were the norm.

Set the backsight with the proper azimuth instead of zero, inverse to any coordinate and set that azimuth into your gun, bingo. Much easier than figuring angle right from a zero backsight, also less chance for an error.

Richard

Mr Morgan I would have thought that your professional training taught you not to jump to outlandish copnclusions.

I simply asked a Q , given that with coordinates we take a join that produces a bearing between 0 and 360.

By the way we used to show angles on plans until around the ,90s and went to bearings to save that reduction of bearings.

RADU

Richard

You keep saying bearings and they're azimuths Richard.

Paraphrased. "Bearing is an angle reckoned from north or south with a reference to east or west."

Azimuths are the entire circle.

Now you're all shy about it since we said stuff your effing Aussie ways. If you cant stand the heat, get the hell out of the kitchen.

> What do you have in mind that we should use in its place? Keep in mind, past deeds were written with bearings and or angles.

Azimuths, I'm sure.

Where I started surveying, in Canada, use of azimuths is routine. Really, I don't see much a difference between azimuths and bearings convenience wise. The reason for not changing is the 400 year load of legacy data.

Radu...you asked a question and

no one seems to have a real answer, just comments. I wish I could give you one. I'll try to give it a stab. I think it has to do with history. Which ever part of history brought to the country seems to have been kept in place. Maybe over the course of time nothing has shown us a reason to adopt another. I'm probably wrong but it was just a stab!....:)

Richard

As Mr.Morgan said and from what I learned I believe a bearing is given a compass bearing or direction and usually runs off a zenith angle of 0-180 degrees whereas a azimuth or angle has no direction or compass bearing and runs anywhere from 0-360 degrees. Also they use this because traditionally surveyors often used line trees, bearing trees or other types of witnesses to allow them to find a specific line or corner and would tack on a compass bearing to the bearing or witnesses to help locate it more easily. Although I could be wrong I think that's about right. Feel free to correct me as we are all learning here but please leave out any harsh comments because I rather not deal with them.

Radu...you asked a question and

I'd prefer azimuths and have thought of switching but I'm afraid it would blow the minds of the realtors and lawyers I work with.

RADU

As somebody said above, it's the same reason we haven't changed to metric. If we decided to report everything in azimuth and metric distance, every time we had to deal with a document or map prepared before that decision, we'd have to convert to the new system, adding an additional step with potential error. In other words, it's too much trouble with no reward that I can think of.

What is it that you think is wrong with quadrant bearings anyway? I guess if we had 400 years of property records in azimuth, that would be fine, but we don't.

Back-bearings are easier to figure with our system... i.e.;

The back bearing of S37W is N37E. With the azimuth system, you have to know how to add.

Yeah I realized my oversight about what he was referring later. Oops. My eyes are just about shot from staring at monitor for past 2 days.

But yeah, my point was the legacy of descriptions with bearings used in them is why bearings are the norm and probably will be for a very long time.

Seriously though...

I Don't know (or much care).

The vast majority of this country was originally cut up and described by quadrant bearings (magnetic or true), and distances in chains.

Despite that fact, MOST “modern” surveys are returned in quadrant bearings (usually some kind of grid) and distances in feet (USSF or IF). The only exception that comes to mind, is the BLM (true quadrant bearings and distances in chains).

There really isn't as much consistency as one might assume. Of course there are also places (like Texas) that might use other linear units.

I have a pile of late 19th. & early 20th Century Survey plats generated by County Surveyors in Utah, that are in Chains.

I don't know when “we” (surveyors) started using feet on the PLSS, but I suspect that Engineers had something to do with it.

Mineral Surveys have been in feet ALMOST from the start (some very early ones were in chains), but most EARLY deeds that I see (even well into the 20th Century) are in Chains.

Consistency...logic...tradition...what's that?

It depends,
Loyal