Point of Beginning articles from July 2008

Point of Beginning archives from July 2008

A new tourist spot: LeRoy Kautz's commitment to preserve and promote the surveying profession has created a new tourist spot in North Dakota.(editor'spoints)
July 1, 2008... For several years now, Kautz, a registered land surveyor who has been in the profession for 44 years, and his colleague, Russ Kastelle, RLS, have been planning a museum and learning center in Jamestown, N.D., to showcase surveying's instruments...

Inland NDGPS continues.(newsline)(Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System)
July 1, 2008... In March, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the decision to continue the terrestrial component of the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS), which provides a reliable, accurate and real-time GPS...

Geospatial Organizations create formal Coalition.(newsline)
July 1, 2008... The creation of the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) was announced in June. The partnership will provide a forum to promote openness and effective collaboration among organizations concerned with national geospatial issues. "It's a...

Canadian Museum celebrates legacy of surveyor David Thompson.(newsline)
July 1, 2008... This month, the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, opened "David Thompson: 200 Years Later," an exhibition commemorating prominent surveyor, map-maker, trader and naturalist David Thompson. "David Thompson made a...

Calendar of events.(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... JULY 11-15 2008 NACo Annual Conference and Exposition Kansas City, Mo. 202/942-4288 kstruble@naco.org www.naco.org 15 First ICG Expert Meeting on GNSS Systems and Services ...

An eagle eye: the surveyor's part in bald eagle protection.(Column)
July 1, 2008... In 2005, I performed an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey of a very large tract of property along Lake Erie in southeast Michigan. Sounds straightforward, but there was a challenge that lay before me: The lakefront property contained an active bald...

Framing the land: how the National Integrated Land System helps to manage public land records.
July 1, 2008... Managing survey and land records information is a challenge faced by jurisdictions everywhere. Together, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) manage approximately 461 million acres of public lands. An...

On thinner ice: Korean researchers use SOKKIA GSR2700 ISX receivers to track environmental warming conditions in Antarctica.(technologyPROFILE)
July 1, 2008... Few people connect the study of melting ice with surveying or surveying equipment. But a group of South Pole scientists rely on surveying principles and sophisticated surveying equipment daily. In the harsh and unforgiving minus 20-degree...

2008-2009 GEO locator [the surveyor's directory].(Directory)(Cover story)
July 1, 2008... MANUFACTURERS [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alphabetical Listings 32 Product Listings 38 Trade Name Listings 42 DEALERS State/Province Listings 44 State Index 52 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 3D Laser Scanning...

Alphabetical listing.(MANUFACTURERS)(Directory)
July 1, 2008... Alphabetical Listing (A-CH) ADVANCED GRAPHICS TECHNOLOGY, INC. 2440 Sandy Pains Rd., Bldg. #7 Marietta, GA 30066 (800) 548-9223 sales@agtcad.com www.agtcad.com ALTUS POSITIONING SYSTEMS [ILLUSTRATION...

Product listings.(MANUFACTURERS)(Directory)
July 1, 2008... AERIAL CAMERAS * Leica Geosystems Inc. BATTERIES Hayes Instrument Co. Suzhou FOIF Co., Ltd. BOOKS/MANUALS/REFERENCE MATERIALS The CEDRA Corporation Professional Publications, Inc. COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT...

Trade name listings.(MANUFACTURERS)(Directory)
July 1, 2008... TRADE NAMES A-M A ALTM Optech Incorporated Altus Positioning Systems Altus Positioning Systems Alumilite Crain Enterprises, Inc. APS-3 Altus Positioning Systems AT-G Series Auto Levels Topcon...

State/Province listings.(DEALERS)(Directory)
July 1, 2008... ALABAMA--CALIFORNIA ALABAMA ALLEN PRECISION EQUIPMENT CO., INC. Please see our listing under Georgia. EARL DUDLEY, INC. RENTAL 5352 1st Ave., N. Birmingham, AL 35212 (205) 595-3796 Fax: (205) 599-5862 ...

State index.(DEALERS)(Directory)(Statistical table)
July 1, 2008... DEALERS STATE INDEX Accupoint, Inc. AK Advanced Geodetic Surveys, Inc. TX Allen Instruments & Supplies AZ & CA Allen Precision Equipment, Inc. ...

Professional services.(Directory)
July 1, 2008... 3D LASER SCANNING SERVICES--BOUNDARY AND TOPO (SERVICES OR SURVEYS) 3D LASER SCANNING SERVICES AERIAL DATA SERVICE, INC. Please see our listing under Photogrammetric Services. ASHTEAD TECHNOLOGY 19407 Park Row, Ste. 160...

Tool tips for reducing errors with multiple angle measurement.(giaamailbag)
July 1, 2008... Q: The descriptions in some textbooks of high-precision work procedures utilizing theodolites include the terms "face left" and "face right" and "face 1" and "face 2." Do these terms refer to the two "sides" of the instrument? Is it important...

A national parcel cadastre: ask David Cowen what his passion is and you won't have to wait a half-second for his answer: parcels.(capitolgains)
July 1, 2008... Dr. Cowen, distinguished professor emeritus of geography at the University of South Carolina, worked on the 1980 National Research Council (NRC) report titled "Need for a Multipurpose Cadastre," which recommended that every county government or...

The equilibrium principle: nature abhors a vacuum. What goes up must come down. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. These are principles of equilibrium we learned in high school physics and in daily practice.(onthelevel)
July 1, 2008... We observe that the principle of equilibrium operates in the social world as well as the physical world. The equilibrium principle applies in war, in politics and in finance. Stronger countries have historically overrun weaker countries. Our...

Collecting breaklines: breaklines are an important component of most terrain models. They serve as 3D lines that control the surface behavior in terms of smoothness and continuity.(fromthegroundup)
July 1, 2008... Typical breaklines include ridges; tops and toes of slopes; double-line drains for larger streams and rivers; single-line drains for small streams; edges of roadways; closed polygons for ponds and lakes; open polygons for shorelines; headwalls...

The further subdivision of the sections: how many surveyors does it take to subdivide a section? Unfortunately, this isn't the beginning of some joke with a witty punch line. If it were, the answer would be something like: "As many as it takes until one of them gets it right.".(traversingthelaw)
July 1, 2008... Yes, this is another article about the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), but for my friends on the East Coast, stick with me because the property law issues are the same. The reason the issues are the same is that the federal government didn't...

Topcon Positioning Systems.(turningpoints)
July 1, 2008... TOPCON POSITIONING SYSTEMS (TPS), Livermore, Calif., announced the appointment of Ray O'Connor, president and CEO, as an executive officer of Topcon Corporation, which is headquartered in Tokyo. O'Connor is also chairman of Topcon Europe...

Topcon.(turningpoints)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Also, TOPCON reorganized its sales and marketing personnel and duties. Murray Lodge, former director of construction sales, is vice president of construction sales. Mark Contino, former director of international sales and marketing, is vice...

Topcon.(turningpoints)(appointment of John Beaver)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Additionally, TOPCON promoted John Beaver to vice president of quality assurance and service. Prior to his promotion, Beaver served as director of operations/quality. He developed and launched the Topcon Regional Repair Center program in the...

Allen Precision Equipment Inc.(turningpoints)
July 1, 2008... ALLEN PRECISION EQUIPMENT INC., Duluth, Ga., hired Jennifer Pritzlaff as controller. Pritzlaff has more than 10 years of experience in accounting. She has graduate and postgraduate degrees in business and has recently moved to Atlanta from the...

Carlson Software.(turningpoints)
July 1, 2008... CARLSON SOFTWARE, Maysville, Ky., named Harry O. Ward, PE, as a vice president. Ward directs the operations of Carlson College and the Civil Engineering Division. He brings more than 20 years of experience in applying CADD within the civil...

Loyola Enterprises Inc.(turningpoints)
July 1, 2008... LOYOLA ENTERPRISES INC., Virginia Beach, Va., expanded its Monitoring Systems Division and named James Stowell as division director. The division, which provides consultation on the development and integration of Structural Health Monitoring...

National Museum Of Surveying.(turningpoints)
July 1, 2008... The NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SURVEYING, Springfield, Ill., elected Denny DeMeyer and Joe Coppedge to its board of trustees. DeMeyer, a licensed surveyor in Washington, serves on the board of the U.S. David Thompson Bicentennials Partnership, is a...

John Edward Chance.(turningpoints)(In memoriam)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... John Edward Chance, of Lafayette, La., died May 1, 2008, at the age of 84. Chance founded John E. Chance & Associates Inc. in 1957 and, later, Survey Boats Inc. Chance was an active member of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, the...

Trimble.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... TRIMBLE introduced the Trimble NetR3 GNSS reference sensor. Designed to seamlessly integrate into any Trimble VRS network or other infrastructure application, the Trimble NetR3, using Trimble's R-Track technology, streams data to a variety of...

Spectra Precision.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... SPECTRA PRECISION added the Spectra Precision Nomad data collector running its new Field Surveyor 2.0 field software for its FOCUS 10 Total Stations and EPOCH 25 GPS Systems. Nomad features include: an 806-MHz processor; 128-MB memory;...

Leica Geosystems.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... LEICA GEOSYSTEMS introduced the Leica Roteo 35 rotating laser instrument. The instrument includes an integrated motorized mount with intuitive remote operation capabilities to easily set working heights or move positions. The all-in-one Leica...

Topcon Positioning Systems.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... TOPCON POSITIONING SYSTEMS introduced the LS-B100 series of machine control sensors. The high-quality, affordable LS-B100 series, including the LS-B100, LS-B110 and 110W (wireless), offers a modern new design and increased functionality....

ESRI.(new&notable)
July 1, 2008... ESRI reached an agreement with OCE to become a national reseller of Oce TCS300 large-format color printers and Oce TCS500 color multifunction copy/scan/print systems. (www.esri.com)(www.oce.com)

SECO.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... SECO agreed to manufacture and market four of RUXWORKS' transporters for GPS rods. The PT-150 RTV Roll Cage Transporter comes in two versions. The #5114-40-01 is designed to fit the roll cage of a Kubota RTV 900, Yamaha Rhino, Kawasaki Mule and...

CST/Berger.(new&notable)
July 1, 2008... CST/BERGER introduced the AL-500H horizontal single-beam rotary laser for exterior use and the AL-500HV dual-beam rotary laser for interior/exterior use. Both rotary lasers are fully electronic, self-leveling and provide accuracy of up to 1/8...

Microsurvey Software Inc.(new&notable)
July 1, 2008... MICROSURVEY SOFTWARE INC. introduced FieldGenius Premium RX1250 for the Leica RX1250 Windows CE-based survey controller. FieldGenius Premium RX1250 is built using proprietary Leica interface information and designed to take full advantage of...

Kubit GMBH.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... KUBIT GMBH introduced PhoToPlan 4.2 software for true-to-scale rectification of digital or digitalized photos and plans within AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD-based programs. When reference values are measured at the object, a multipurpose...

Kubit.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Also, KUBIT released PointCloud 4.0 and PointCloud Pro 4.0. PointCloud 4.0 and PointCloud Pro 4.0 speed up the processing and evaluation of point clouds from laser scanners in AutoCAD. Multiple point clouds can be edited at the same time....

Engineered Efficiency Inc.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... ENGINEERED EFFICIENCY INC. released EE ProPack Base, a set of productivity tools and feature enhancements for AutoCAD Civil 3D. EE ProPack Base integrates with the look and feel of the native AutoCAD interface. Settings Tools import drawing and...

Radiodetection.(new&notable)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RADIODETECTION introduced the RD7000 and RD8000 range of pipe and cable locators. The RD8000 and RD7000 are ergonomically designed, lightweight, energy-efficient and well-balanced tools with an intuitive and responsive interface for ease of...