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This newsletter for October 26, 2011 will be archived at
http://www.amerisurv.com/newsletter/26OCT2011.htm
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A name change of sorts has occured, and that's the acronym by which we know ourselves. In the 15 years I have been invovled in publishing, we've always used the term LS to refer to Licensed Surveyors. We did this because NCEES did it, and to avoid dealing with the plethora of acronyms in the magazine—my five licenses use four different acronyms—it was easier. Now, NCEES has been convinced to put us on the same level as engineers by calling us PS, for Professional Surveyor. I say it's about time!
LightSquared continues to be in the news. If you want to keep up, I have created an area on our website called LightSquared Watch. The issue has become extremely politicized, but as I said in the last newsletter, big bucks are riding on the outcome. I have more to say about the subject in the Spotlight below.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you've got a project or story you'd like to share. Thanks for your support.
Until next time,
Marc Cheves, PS
Editor
The American Surveyor
[Send your comments, announcements, tips, gripes, or kudos to Marc]
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Editorial: Putting the Lean On Manufacturing—A Visit to Topcon
The manufacturing area of Topcon's US headquarters in Livermore, California was a veritable beehive of activity during my recent visit. Colin Kavanagh, Senior VP for Operations, called attention to the "lean" manufacturing processes that have "eliminated expenditures for resources for ....
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Surveying with Google Earth
Over the past few years, I have become convinced that Google Earth represents an extraordinary opportunity to visualize and communicate survey data, though I too was skeptical of its value as a professional land surveying tool in the beginning. At ....
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Conference Review: Hexagon User Conference 2011
What is Hexagon and what is the business of Hexagon? A company that decades ago was "importing tuna fish," according to CEO Ola Rollén, is now a key international player in geospatial products and services, metrology, design and process ....
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Driving the Islands
When the Public Works department for Washington state's San Juan County was challenged with identifying and mapping roadside assets in an effort to improve traffic safety, it responded by sending out crews with hand-held GPS units. They quickly realized both the scope such a project ...
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How Precise is OPUS? Part 3: The Rest of the Story
This is the third of three articles discussing the precision obtainable with the Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) offered by NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS). The first two articles appeared in preceding issues of this magazine ...
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Footsteps: Changes to the 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions
In a previous article, published online in June 2011, I discussed why the 2009 update to the Manual of Surveying Instructions was needed and how the BLM implemented it. The article is available in the Amerisurv Exclusive Online section of The American Surveyor website. What follows ...
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Vantage Point: Noticing a Dirty Past
Accutherm, Inc. manufactured thermometers containing mercury in Franklinville, New Jersey until 1994. It notified the state's Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) of its ceased operations, NJDEP issued cleanup orders to Accutherm, and when Accutherm didn't comply ....
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Surveying `Da Situation: An Unexpected Gift
I believe we have all heard stories or had personal experiences of feeling as though someone close that we have lost reached out to touch us in some way. I had just that kind of experience recently. Back in the mid 1960s, my Dad was a deputy in the local sheriff's department. He had that job ....
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Besides becoming extremely politicized, the LightSquared issue continues to consume much of our time. Where it stands now is that the FCC will begin testing of precise gear. Of course, the LightSquared postion is that JAVAD GNSS has shown that it can accomdate use of the lower 10MHz of LightSquared's spectrum, but the scuttlebutt in the industry is that LightSquared will come back and want to use the upper 10MHz. This is discussed in a CGSIC recap HERE. Adding pressure to the tests is LightSquared's need—by the end of the year—to receive the green light or its deal with Sprint will fall through.
In a press conference on October 13, and which I wrote about HERE, Martin Harriman from LightSquared said that the end users absolutely should not have to pay for any upgrades to their gear. But even the JAVAD GNSS solution requires users to pay. Doesn't seem to me like we end users should have to pay anything whatsoever.
In case you're wondering, the image above is an artist's conception of a Galileo satellite, the first two of which were launched last week. Notwithstanding US government assurances to the contrary, the Europeans have continued to beat the justification drum by saying that since GPS is a military system, it can be turned off at any time. My own personal opinion was that Galileo would never happen, but I'm happy to eat my words. By adding GLONASS and China's Compass, having more than a hundred satellites in the sky—with a variety of new signals—will be a good thing for the precise crowd. But one has to wonder what the Euros think about our current brouhaha over LightSquared. And we Americans have to wonder as well. You can read more about Galileo and the launch in a Space News Today article HERE.
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This section is an update about surveying and other geospatial conferences, training, seminars, webinars, and relevant events. Feel free to make a suggestion for future consideration. For a complete listing of events, please visit our online calendar HERE.
Send your event info to editor[at]amerisurv.com
The following articles from the Vol.8, No.6 issue are also available on the Amerisurv website.
Did-U-Know Glenn Letham at our sister site GISuser.com has compiled a state-by-state list of free imagery HERE
 Historic Map Collection -- Map of the Indian and Oklahoma territories CREATED/PUBLISHED [S.l.], 1892. NOTES Scale ca. 1:760,000. This map is 23"x17".
Printed on high-quality photo paper, this poster is capable of being a center-piece for the room or space of your choosing. These unique reproductions are both fascinating and sure to please.
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