Point of Beginning articles from July 2004

Point of Beginning archives from July 2004

Learning is growing.(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... This issue is our annual focus on education. Although this topic has been regularly covered in January, our publishing schedule has changed just a bit. Albeit deferred from the regular month, I'd like to stress an old adage: it is never too...

Professional topography: May 2004.(Letters to the Editor)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... [I] just finished [reading the] article "Tool Chest" in POB. It couldn't have been more timely. We are just finishing a topo of a gravel pit with a 35-foot cut. I was given the job with the idea we could do the whole thing with GPS/RTK. But...

Offsets: March 2004.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... I applaud the comments offered by Mr. Dennis J. Mouland, PLS, in his recent article, "The Surveyor's New Clothes." I also am encouraged by the comments offered by others in our profession. It is about time that we started voicing concerns with...

Erratum.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
July 1, 2004... The June Surveying GIS article, "Mobile GIS," contained an error. In the third paragraph, second line, the term "set up" should be "set out." We apologize for the error.

NOAA releases Geodesy Discovery Kit online.(The Latest News)(United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
July 1, 2004... How many high schoolers know what geodesy is? For that matter, how many adults can define this term? The answers to these questions are "few." But, a new online educational tool from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...

High school style.(The Latest News)(Geodesy Discovery Kit)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Those working on the Geodesy Discovery Kit knew they had to provide more accessible information about the complex science if they wanted it to appeal to high schoolers. Moravchik said, "The NGS [already had] an online PDF about geodesy for the...

Science education's Swiss army knife.(The Latest News)(Online education)
July 1, 2004... There are three basic components to each of NOAA's kits: the tutorial, the roadmap and the lesson plans. "We tried to create products that can be used independently... [We knew] we shouldn't create something huge that dictates how a teacher...

NGS-approved and ready for the classroom.(The Latest News)(National Geographic Society)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... There's no need to worry about the accuracy of the material the students are reading. Through an intensive review process, the NGS has put its stamp of approval on the Geodesy Discovery Kit. Challstrom calls the kit "the product of a great...

Description of geodesy lesson plans.(The Latest News)
July 1, 2004... A set of lesson plans on geodesy have been developed for students in grades 9-12, but are easily adaptable for students at the middle school or undergraduate level. Each lesson integrates information presented in the geodesy tutorial with data...

My semester in elementary surveying: a university of Alabama-Huntsville student shares his learning experience.(Bob Baudendistel)(Cover Story)
July 1, 2004... I've been a volunteer for the North Alabama Rail Museum in Chase, Ala., for 14 years. Much of my time has been devoted to researching land, title and deed records for historical and legal purposes. I interact with many civil engineers and...

Alphabetical listings.(Manufacturers)(Directory)
July 1, 2004... ADVANCED BATTERY SYSTEMS, INC. 310 Tusca Dr. Stoughton, MA 02072 (781) 297-3894 Fax: (781) 297-3895 www.advanced-battery.com Batteries and chargers for professional and personal equipment. ADVANCED GRAPHICS...

Authorized leica geosystems dealers.(Directory)
July 1, 2004... ALABAMA Earl Dudley Associates Birmingham, AL Phone: 800-633-6457 ALASKA The Surveyors Exchange Anchorage, AK Phone: 907-561-6501 ARIZONA Surveyor's Service Company Phoenix, AZ Phone:...

Trimble authorized survey products dealers.(Directory)
July 1, 2004... ALABAMA Precision Products Birmingham 877-882-8100 ALASKA Accupoint Anchorage 907-522-1600 ARIZONA Allen Instrument Scottsdale 408-994-1306 ARKANSAS Navigation Electronics Inc. ...

Product listings.(Manufacturers)(Directory)
July 1, 2004... AERIAL CAMERAS Applanix Leica Geosystems Inc. Z/I Imaging Corporation and Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions BATTERIES Advanced Battery Systems, Inc. Trimble Geomatics & Engineering ...

Trade names.(Manufacturers)(Directory)
July 1, 2004... 3-D Topo Quads--DeLorme 3Dipsos--MENSI, Inc. 888MARKERS[TM]--Berntsen International, Inc. A Aerial Data Packets--DeLorme Agroma[R]--PCI Geomatics ALL-ADAPT--Seabro ALL-PLUMB--Seabro ALL-PLUMB EXTRA--Seabro...

State/province listings.(Dealers)(Directory)
July 1, 2004... ALABAMA ALLEN PRECISION EQUIPMENT CO., INC. See our listing under Georgia. GULF INSTRUMENT SERVICE, INC. See our listing under Louisiana. LENGEMANN OF FLORIDA See our listing under Florida. NAVIGATION...

State index.(Dealers)(Directory)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... ABC Surveying Instruments CA Accupoint, Inc. AK Advance Precision Products GA Advance Precision Products TN Advanced Geodetic Surveys, Inc. ...

Professional services.(Directory)
July 1, 2004... AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ABRAMS AERIAL SURVEY, INC. See our listing under Photogrammetric Services. AERIAL DATA SERVICE, INC. See our listing under Photogrammetric Services. AERIAL SERVICES, INC. See our listing under...

Conference 2005.(Survey services)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) and Western Federation of Professional Surveyors (WFPS) March 18-23*** Las Vegas, Nev. American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) April 10-13...

Tool tips.(Giaa Mailbag)(Satellite surveying)
July 1, 2004... Q: We recently ran a GPS traverse between two monuments of different orders about 21 miles apart. We set traverse monuments about two to three miles apart. When we got to the second monument, we missed the published state plane coordinates by...

A syllabus for apprenticeship.(Professional Topography)
July 1, 2004... Those in the surveying profession regularly argue about education. Most agree that education is probably a good thing, but then one surveyor remembers another surveyor who had a four-year or a two-year degree in surveying who just didn't "get...

All that money and nowhere to spend it.(Offsets)(Cadastral Consulting)(state professional surveying associations)
July 1, 2004... The past decade has seen a major boom in membership for many of the state professional surveying associations. The economy has been better, and engineering/surveying firms have done well, too. Business managers seem to be encouraging surveyors...

Formal education versus experience.(The Academic Angle)(Column)
July 1, 2004... I taught surveying at a two-year college for about 10 years. It was part of a drafting and surveying program for a vocational technical school. The enrollment had been steady at about 15 students for many years. The drafting and surveying...

Surveying solutions.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Each month we present a surveying problem from the second edition of 1001 Solved Surveying Fundamentals Problems by Jan Van Sickle, PLS. As in the following example, the answer will appear beside the problem, in a shaded box. We hope you enjoy...

Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado (PLSC).(Turning Points)(Obituary)
July 1, 2004... Bill McComber, PLS, of Lakewood, Colo., passed away on May 10, 2004. His wife, Bonna Kay, and his children Robert, Brandon and BreAnne survive him. Past president of the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado (PLSC), McComber had a long and...

WK Dickson & Co. Inc.(Turning Points)(Jeff Armstrong, PLS named director)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... WK Dickson & Co. Inc., Raleigh, N.C., announced that Jeff Armstrong, PLS, has been named director of surveying. Armstrong is registered as a land surveyor in North Carolina. South Carolina and Florida, and is an ASPRS-certified...

Sanborn.(Turning Points)( David Lewis appoinmted director of sales.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Sanborn, Colorado Springs, Colo., appointed David Lewis as director of sales for Colorado Springs. In this newly created position, Lewis' primary role is to assist in the continuing development and pursuit strategies for securing state level...

SiteComp Inc.(Turning Points)(Appointments)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SiteComp Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., appointed Kenneth S. Shain as vice president of distribution and licensing and Terry Delaney as vice president of marketing. Shain is responsible for establishing a national dealer network to expand the...

Janet Jackson, has earned the certification of Geographic Information System Professional (GISP).(Turning Points)
July 1, 2004... Janet Jackson, Geographic Information System (GIS) manager with the engineering and surveying firm of McKim & Creed, Cary, N.C., has earned the certification of Geographic Information System Professional (GISP) from the Geographic Information...

Leica Geosystems HDS Inc.(New & Notable)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 401 Leica Geosystems HDS Inc. (formerly Cyra Technologies Inc.) announced CloudWorx 3.0 software. CloudWorx 3.0 brings "large point cloud" capability directly inside compatible CAD applications. CloudWorx 3.0 eliminates the need to first...

Leica Geosystems HDS Inc.(New & Notable)(Cyclone 5.1 software introduced)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 402 Also, Leica Geosystems HDS Inc. announced Cyclone 5.1 software for its HDS4500 short-range laser scanner. Cyclone 5.1 directly controls an HDS4500 laser scanner and directly exposes point cloud data from this scanner to Cyclone and...

MicroSurvey.(New & Notable)( MicroSurvey Tracker data collector introduced )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 403 MicroSurvey announced the MicroSurvey Tracker data collector. The MicroSurvey Tracker features Windows CE.NET Professional 4.2 running on an Intel XScale processor. It supports a variety of removable peripheral devices, such as...

Leica Geosystems.(New & Notable)(automatic machine control system released)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 404 Leica Geosystems released Version 4.5 of the GradeStar 3D automatic machine control system. GradeStar's exclusive automatic side-shift functionality has been enhanced in Version 4.5. The operator can now pick any polyline from the plan...

Trimble.(New & Notable)(GeoRadio 2.4 GHz introduced)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 405 Trimble introduced the GeoRadio 2.4 GHz, which allows for license-free use in most areas worldwide by using the 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) devices band. Rather than using a fixed channel, the radio's spread...

Tripod Data Systems (TDS).(New & Notable)(lease programs announced)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 406 Tripod Data Systems (TDS) announced two new lease programs that give its U.S. customers additional financing options on the purchase of Nikon total stations. The TDS Nikon 24 Lease Program features a 24-month lease at 0 percent...

Carlson Software.(New & Notable)( Carlson SurvCE 1.5 software package introduced)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 407 Carlson Software released the Carlson SurvCE 1.5 software package. Among the new features are: an optimized virtual keyboard for ruggedized PDAs, enhanced field-to-finish capability that can reprocess topographic data linework or data...

Sokkia Corporation.(New & Notable)(SOKKIA G2 software discontinued)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 408 Sokkia Corporation retired SOKKIA G2 software: existing SOKKIA G2 users will be migrated to the latest version of the Carlson SurvCE product, which is available through the Sokkia dealer network throughout the United States and Canada....

Allen Osborne Associates Inc.(New & Notable)(Rascal firmware Version 3.0 services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 409 Allen Osborne Associates Inc. is offering a free copy of Rascal firmware Version 3.0 to Rascal GPS owners. Version 3.0 includes the following capabilities at no cost: time-based tagging, distance-based tagging, calculation of position...

SiteComp Inc.(New & Notable)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... 410 SiteComp Inc. released SiteComp Survey software. SiteComp Survey has strong COGO features and is completely compatible with all major industry formats, including DWG, DGN, DXF and ASCII files. SiteComp Survey also connects with...