Point of Beginning articles from September 2002

Point of Beginning archives from September 2002

Working together. (Editor's Note).(to make surveying safe)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
September 1, 2002... Wow! Mention the topic of transportation work in this profession and the stories flood in! When I started prospecting for stories on transportation for this year's annual transportation issue, I had calls from several sources. (See the articles...

On taking the LS exam. (Letters to the Editor).
September 1, 2002... July 2002 After reading Manuel D. Fuderanan's letter in the July issue, I am compelled to write this letter. I fall into the same profile as Mr. Fuderanan. I came from another country with foreign qualifications and a lot of experience in...

ESRI International User Conference 2002. (The Latest News).
September 1, 2002... The Gathering of the Tribes "Geography Sustaining Our World" was the theme as the ESRI International User Conference convened for its 22nd meeting July 8-12th. The newly expanded San Diego Convention Center once again hosted what could...

Measurement is now king. (The Latest News).
September 1, 2002... In terms of measurement systems, as recently as two years ago the "Big Floor" in the Exhibit Pavilion was graced by the "Big Four"--Leica Geosystems, SOKKIA, Topcon and Trimble. This year I counted more than a dozen booths offering a variety of...

All too quiet on the western front. (The Latest News).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Some readers may remember Jerry McGray's piece about the 2001 Conference: "Plain Surveyor Discovers New Civilization" (POB, September, 2001). Some of you may even recall Mr. McGray's comments regarding spirited discussions between land...

Survey analyst, the "missing link". (The Latest News).
September 1, 2002... The "release date" for the long awaited Survey Analyst extension to ArcGIS was announced as fall 2002. It will be released with version 8.3 (version 8.2 is current). To review, Survey Analyst is an ESRI/Leica Geosystems (Atlanta, Ga.) business...

No roads untraveled: how GPS has eased the tasks of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
September 1, 2002... Wisconsin's Department of Transportation (WisDOT) oversees 56,153 square miles of land including 982,400 lake area acres (1,535 square miles). With eight districts performing more than 100 projects per year, our survey needs are high. And with...

Surveying the Shaman: Texas firm learns the many phases of a cave survey.
September 1, 2002... Until recently, few people knew that Texas harbored one of the largest and most diverse bodies of rock art in the New World. In fact, the Lower Pecos region of southwest Texas contains one of the most well-photographed pictograph sites known as...

Constructing a good Safety plan: Safety weighs heavily on transportation projects.
September 1, 2002... When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) originally set up its regulations in the early 1970s it decided that three separate areas of compliance would be needed: General Industry, Construction and Shipbuilding. Workers on...

Mapping the territory: using GPS for utility field asset management and the creation of a comprehensive GIS.(for Northeastern Rural Electric Membership Corporation)
September 1, 2002... Map 60,000 points in two years? No way. That was my initial reaction as coordinator of development for the new Geographic Information System (GIS) for Northeastern Rural Electric Membership Corporation (Northeastern REMC), a project that...

Fluid challenges; a lesson on water boundaries: Part III.
September 1, 2002... For navigable, non-tidal waters the preponderance of case law is clear that methods employed in determining the location of the Ordinary High Water Line (OHWL) must consist of a physical examination of the water's action on the bed and banks...

POB 2002 GPS equipment survey.
September 1, 2002... POB 2002 GPS Equipment Survey Geodetic Receivers MANUFACTURER/DISTRIBUTOR Allen Osborne Associates Inc. RECEIVER MODEL Rascal 8 Manufacturer's phone number 805/495-8420...

Part 4: Staying focused. (The Business of Surveying).
September 1, 2002... We all have observed competitive sporting events. While we support our favorite driver, player or team, we are focused on the event in front of us. What we are watching is probably the greatest example of being focused while multitasking. The...

Intersecting line layout. (Back to Basics).(for construction sites)
September 1, 2002... In construction, setting points can be accomplished by layout with a chain--or two chains--using the 3/4/5 method, by radial layout with a total station, layout with GPS, by intersecting the line of sight of theodolites or total stations, as...

Q&A. (GIAA Mailbag).
September 1, 2002... Q: I have many pieces of "high-tech" equipment including a servo-driven total station, a digital level, GPS receivers and many software programs. Why does it take so long to get technical support from the manufacturers of these products? Often,...

Yet another opinion on professionalism. (Professional Topography).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The surveyor's turf, literally, is the land. Definitions of land surveying may vary from state to state, but they are unanimous that surveyors are the sole locators of land lines and property boundaries. An awesome responsibility, but are we up...

Topcon Positioning Systems. (New & Notable).(System Five 3D Control Panel)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2002... Topcon Positioning Systems developed the new System Five 3D Control Panel, a graphical interface that works with Top con's 3D-GPS + satellite-directed machine control system to give the operator unprecedented control and monitoring options....

DeLorme announced the nationwide coverage of its Sat 10 satellite imagery. (New & Notable).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... DeLorme announced the nationwide coverage of its Sat 10 satellite imagery. Through a unique license with SPOT Image, DeLorme is offering a seamless mosaic of 10-meter colorized satellite imagery at a price of $99 per state or region. Designed...

UCLID Software released IcoMap for ArcGIS v1.5. (New & Notable).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... UCLID Software released IcoMap for ArcGIS v1.5, a parcel mapping conversion and maintenance package that creates line and polygon features in geodatabases, shapefiles and coverages. IcoMap effectively integrates survey measurements with GIS...

GeoConcept launched GeoConcept Pocket. (New & Notable).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2002... GeoConcept launched GeoConcept Pocket, a mobile GIS solution that gives access to GeoConcept from a PDA. With GeoConcept Pocket, it is now possible to navigate a map from a PDA. Information is displayed quickly, additional data can be added and...

LizardTech Inc. released the latest version of its MrSID Encode Software Development Kit (ESDK). (New & Notable).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... LizardTech Inc. released the latest version of its MrSID Encode Software Development Kit (ESDK). The MrSID 3.1.5 E-SDK is a C++ toolkit that enables key software ISVs and GIS developers to integrate MrSID technology and natively produce MrSID...

CAiCE Software Corporation released Visual PE. (New & Notable).(suite of civil engineerig software tools)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2002... CAiCE Software Corporation released Visual PE. Visual PE delivers a comprehensive suite of civil engineering software tools that are designed to handle all survey, design and construction related projects. Visual PE offers new products, user...

SOKKIA Corporation released G2 for the At Work Computers Ranger rugged field computer. (New & Notable).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2002... SOKKIA Corporation released G2 for the At Work Computers Ranger rugged field computer. While the Ranger will be offered through the SOKKIA Dealer network, SOKKIA will continue to develop versions of G2 for other third-party hardware platforms....

SOKKIA Corporation. (New & Notable).(offers new laser levels)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... SOKKIA Corporation added three new laser levels, the Triax MP40 Multi-Purpose Laser, the C410 and the Triax EL40 HV Laser Level. The MP40, with automatic horizontal and vertical self-leveling capabilities and 10 percent leveling range, offers...

NovaLIS Technologies released Parcel Editor 8 for ArcMap. (New & Notable).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... NovaLIS Technologies released Parcel Editor 8 for ArcMap. Within ArcMap, Parcel Editor 8 gives users comprehensive tools to perform mapping functions such as parcel splits and merges, and COGO subdivision entry. Parcel Editor 8 also features...

Arc Second Inc. (New & Notable).(offers indoor global positioning system)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Arc Second Inc. unveiled Constellation[sup.3Di]. Developed utilizing Arc Second's proprietary 3D-Intelligence technology, this is the first proven indoor GPS system with the accuracy, reliability and utility to support large scale metrology....

Safe Software Inc. (New & Notable).(offers versioning support for FME Suite software)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Safe Software Inc. expanded support for ESRI' ArcSDE by adding versioning support to FME Suite software. Versioning allows users to check out copies of data, manipulate data using FME (Feature Manipulation Engine) and then check data back into...

DigitalGlobe. (New & Notable).(offers imagery products)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... DigitalGlobe announced the availability of QuickBird Orthorectified Imagery, QuickBird Color (Pan-Sharpened) Imagery and QuickBird Two-Foot Imagery. The Orthorectified Imagery has the highest resolution and adherence to established mapping...

Digital levels by Leica Geosystems. (Product Profile).(introduces DNA03 and DNA10 models)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Late last year, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) made history when they purchased 18 NA2002 digital levels from Leica Geosystems of Norcross, Ga. One of them bore the serial number 10,000. This announcement demonstrates...

Topcon Positioning Systems Inc. (Turning Points).(announces Ray O'Connor promotion; Topcon Corp. announces George Yoshino promotion)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Topcon Positioning Systems Inc. (TPS), Pleasanton, Calif., promoted Ray O'Connor to president. O'Connor succeeds George Yoshino, who has been promoted to the position of managing director of Topcon Corporation. Steve Hirano, executive vice...

Nikon Instruments Inc. (Turning Points).(appoints Hiro Kusaka president and CEO)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Nikon Instruments Inc., Melville, N.Y., appointed Hiro Kusaka as president and CEO. Kusaka succeeds Takeshi Hirai, who was named president of Nikon Geotecs Co. Ltd. in Japan. Kusaka is responsible for sales, customer service and new product...

Thales Navigation. (Turning Points).(appoints Neil Vancans general manager of professional products strategic business unit)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Thales Navigation, Santa Clara, Calif., appointed Neil Vancans as general manager of its newly formed professional products strategic business unit. Vancans' responsibilities include defining the business strategy and leading the sales,...

Tripod Data Systems. (Turning Points).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Tripod Data Systems (TDS), Corvallis, Ore., appointed Tom D. Stevens as the regional sales manager for the central and west coast regions. Stevens comes to TDS from Arc Second, Dulles, Va., where he was the director of sales. TDS also appointed...

Surveying solutions.
September 1, 2002... Each month we present a math 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 below the problem, in a shaded box. We hope you enjoy these...

RPLS.com connection: here are a few messages from a thread called "Weird things that happened while surveying.".(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Posted By Cleo McCall on 7/27/2002 at 12:21 PM I would be interested in hearing of strange things that happened to you or your crew. Here are some that I recall: I had just set up the transit in a large field and glanced through...