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The Wow Factor: Loyola's RTK-Net Management Portal
Written by Cheves Media
Friday, 25 April 2008
A 592Kb PDF of this article as it appeared in the magazine—complete with images—is available by clicking HERE
As part of its newly-released Management Portal and GPS Work Day Planning Center, Loyola now provides Real Time Connection Logs to their customers. A map function is included that uses Google Maps to plot the location of GPS rovers that have been connected to RTK-Net®. This exclusive feature is a tremendous benefit to equipment owners and managers regarding the implementation and utilization of their investment in GPS.
After securely logging in, the user is presented with a utilization chart that shows usage of all the company's rovers. This information can be sorted by time frame using a calendar tool and selecting which rovers are to be displayed. Real Time Connection Logs start and continue until the rover disconnects from RTK-Net. The connection log is created on Loyola's servers running Leica GPS Spider software. Currently, the records are updated every ten minutes. Development is underway to allow RTK-Net clients the ability to see their rovers operating live in real-time on Google Maps. The Log provides basic information about the connection including who, when, where and what type of correction was being generated, as well as the connection history.
Clicking on the Map function opens a Google Maps window. Each pushpin on the map correlates to a change in the "Rover User State" as indicated in the Real Time Connection Log. For example, the rover changed from tracking 8 satellites to 9 satellites or the rover changed from a float position (DGPS) to a precise (PPS) or "fixed" position. It should be noted, however, that the map push pins do not indicate where a rover recorded a position. By zooming in, individual points from the Real Time Connection Log can be seen, and the user can click on a point to view the time stamp and the Latitude and Longitude of the point.
Another useful part of the portal is the Work Day Planning Center. The Planning Center provides quick links to local weather, space weather, NGS Tools, current almanac, GPS and GLONASS constellation status and weekly satellite availability plots. The satellite availability charts are updated weekly to provide accurate information. Because much of the RTK-Net coverage area is full GNSS (GPS & GLONASS) both satellite availability charts are provided for survey planning purposes.
A 592Kb PDF of this article as it appeared in the magazine—complete with images—is available by clicking HERE
Editorial: Following the Footsteps, Old and New
Our cover this month pays tribute to a group of Wyoming surveyors who organized an expedition to Surveyor's Notch in the Wind River Mountain Range, following the footsteps of the Hayden expedition's surveyor/topographer/cartographer A.D. Wilson and crew. On those days when you're feeling stressed and .... Read the Article
Wow Factor: Image Integration: A High-Productivity Approach to Managing Digital Photography
Surveyors today employ a variety of ways for documenting their field surveys. Measurements and descriptions are recorded in electronic data collectors. Audio recorders can be used to record comments and parol evidence from property owners and other stakeholders. Field books contain .... Read the Article
Surveyor's Notch
It's March 2008. I'm in the office downloading data, and Jay says "Hey, I found something in a book I was reading about a feature in the Wind Rivers called Surveyor's Notch. Have you heard of that?" "Yeah," I reply, "it's right there by Wind River Peak. I can see it from the top of the hill as I drive to ... Read the Article
Celestial Observations: A Brief History of Elgin, Knowles & Senne and their Ephemerides
Until the early 1980s practically all surveyors used the Altitude Method to determine the astronomic direction of a line, based on a celestial observation of the sun. That method required the surveyor to measure the vertical angle to the sun, but did not ... Read the Article
Marketing Techniques for Laser Scanning Service Providers
I frequently hear surveyors and office managers saying, "This scanning stuff, in ten years everyone will have it—that's the future." That is confirmation that 3D Laser Scanning has been accepted among the general land surveying community. Those of you scanning for a half decade or more can .... Read the Article
Mobile Scanning is Good Business
Killer bees, 108-degree heat and minus 45-degree cold: these are conditions under which Clay Wygant has worked, and they're all too familiar to many surveyors. But what excites the senior surveyor and his team today is mobile scanning technology. Since implementing an Optech LYNX .... Read the Article
Hardware & Software Review: Carlson Surveyor and SurvCE
If you're in the market for an extremely durable, fast, comfortable and well-equipped data collector, check out the Carlson Surveyor. Based on drafting specifications by the folks at Carlson Software and using the very reputable people at Juniper Systems to make it a reality, this unique data collector merits ... Read the Article
GIS Data Integration with the GCDB
In April 2000 by the Western Governors Association adopted the Bureau of Land Management's Geographic Coordinate Database (GCDB) as the preferred representation of the Public Lands Survey System (PLSS) for GIS applications. This is significant in the western states where ... Read the Article
Vantage Point: Watch Your Language
If we as surveyors sometimes find the language of deeds murky, imagine the misunderstandings among laypeople—many attorneys included. Recent clients had to defend themselves against new neighbors claiming a right to cross my clients' property, based upon recycled language in my ... Read the Article
FeedBack Compass Pointers. In reference to "Training Recruiters: A New TwiST" by Tim Kent, LS, [Feb. 2009], here is a tip for compass pointing students. Take the pens out of your hand. A typical ball point pen will draw the needle considerably. Also, a cell phone within a few feet will also interfere. Thanks for a great ... Read the Article
Survey Or No Survey: The Unlicensed Land Surveyor
When is locating someone's property corners or boundary lines not considered the practice of land surveying? Unfortunately, this question has become a gray area in the surveying profession, and some licensing boards are seemingly unable to control the actions of unlicensed individuals doing ... Read the Article
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