MicroSurvey MicroSurvey has been working with (and building tools for) surveyors for over twenty years.

We know what you need to complete your tasks, calculations and drawings. There is no other Least Squares tool available that is as comprehensive as STAR*NET. With a graphical display of your entire survey network, you will find it easy to tighten things up. With computed error ellipses, angular closure errors, easy-to-understand adjustment statistics, a preanalysis routine and a blunder detect function you will be able to identify and stamp out every single weakness in your survey network. Then, the final results can be sent off to MicroSurvey CAD, AutoCAD or popular COGO programs. A large number of converters are available to process measurements and GPS information from TDS, Carlson, MicroSurvey, and more. Some manufacturers even provide STAR*NET converters for their own data, because STAR*NET is the most widely used Least Squares Adjustment program. AutoCAD Civil 3D First and for-most, they need to be competitive. Using older software can make any business harder to work with. They need to have drawings of the same software as the Engineering firms they work with do. Sharing drawings back and forth is always better than not being able to use each others data or drawings. There is so much more control of survey points in C3D. From their display, to being able to perform adjustments inside of the CAD software. Surface creation and editing is by far much faster in C3D than in LDD (LDT depends on the version). You can easily move around the contour labels and create surface elevations anywhere on a C3D surface. C3D surfaces can be used for staking, allowing the surveyor to stake any point on a project site, with elevation, and without first creating a point for this stake-out location. It is much easier in C3D to preform quantity calculations, for the borrow pits, landfills, ponds, etc Sub-dividing parcels in C3D is so much better, faster and easier, that if you have to do even a few of these a year, it could make the transition worth it for this feature alone. The automated annotation can keep you from having to calculate the text size in each and every drawing. I know; I once had that memorized as well, but no longer have a need for knowing that sort of information, let alone having a font size table taped to my desk. Having the ability to create and market 3D asbuilt information or BIM models is a pretty cool thing for your firm to boost about! Autodesk is not going to support the very last release of LDD (2009 version) for very much longer. Which is another issue, trying to get LDD installed on a Windows 7 64bit computer. And last; hopefully this never happens, but if you find yourself without a job you better have some Civil 3D knowledge, or you may find yourself at a bit of a disadvantage in the job market. A Theodolite A Theodolite is a instrument for measuring both horizontal and vertical angles, as used in triangulation networks, and geo-location work. It is a tool used in the land surveying and engineering industry, but theodolites have been adapted for other specialized purposes as well. Other specialized purposes make Theodolites ideal for shop and factory floor layout of tools and fixtures. They also work well for layout for the construction of concrete slabs, swimming pools, golf courses, landscaping, and road design. The horizontal accuracy of Theodolites depends on "seconds". A 2-second theodolite is more accurate than a 5 or 9-second theodolite. If you think about the horizontal circle that a theodolite rotates around, the circle is divided into 360 degrees. Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, and each minute divided into 60 seconds. Think "Degrees / Minutes / Seconds". The horizontal angle is the measure of inaccuracy (hence accuracy) that a theodolite can horizontally measure or locate within. If a theodolites accuracy rating is 2 seconds (written 2") then its only going to lose 2 seconds of horizontal measurement in a given distance. Generally speaking, a 9 second theodolite is for construction sites where you're working relatively up close, say within 200 feet from the instrument. A 2 second you would work 2,000 feet away and still work with some level of accruacy. Most building contractors, whether residential or commercial, can use a 9 second theodolite without experiencing problems due to accuracy. At this distance, more errors are in the form of

human errors, such as not leveling the instrument properly or taking a quick reading which lends itself to human error. A theodolite (/idlat/) is a precision instrument for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes. Theodolites are used mainly for surveying applications, and have been adapted for specialized purposes in fields like metrology and rocket launch technology. A modern theodolite consists of a movable telescope mounted within two perpendicular axesthe horizontal or trunnion axis, and the vertical axis. When the telescope is pointed at a target object, the angle of each of these axes can be measured with great precision, typically to seconds of arc. Theodolites, such as the Brunton Pocket Transit commonly employed for field measurements by geologists and archaeologists, have been in continuous use since 1894. Theodolites may be either transit or non-transit. Transit theodolites (or just 'Transits') are those in which the telescope can rotate in a complete circle in the vertical plane Non-transit theodolites are those in which the telescope can rotate only in a semicircle in the vertical plane. Some types of transit theodolites do not allow the measurement of vertical angles. The builder's level is sometimes mistaken for a transit theodolite, but it measures neither horizontal nor vertical angles. It uses a spirit level to set a telescope level to define a line of sight along a level plane. Operation in surveying Triangulation, as invented by Gemma Frisius around 1533, consists of making such direction plots of the surrounding landscape from two separate standpoints. The two graphing papers are superimposed, providing a scale model of the landscape, or rather the targets in it. The true scale can be obtained by measuring one distance both in the real terrain and in the graphical representation. Modern triangulation as, e.g., practised by Snellius, is the same procedure executed by numerical means. Photogrammetric block adjustment of stereo pairs of aerial photographs is a modern, three-dimensional variant. In the late 1780s Jesse Ramsden, a Yorkshireman from Halifax, England who had developed the dividing engine for dividing angular scales accurately to within a second of arc, was commissioned to build a new instrument for the British Ordnance Survey. The Ramsden theodolite was used over the next few years to map the whole of southern Britain by triangulation. In network measurement, the use of forced centering speeds up operations while maintaining the highest precision. The theodolite or the target can be rapidly removed from, or socketed into, the forced centering plate with sub-mm precision. Nowadays GPS antennas used for geodetic positioning use a similar mounting system. The height of the reference point of the theodoliteor the targetabove the ground benchmark must be measured precisely. The American transit gained popularity during the 19th century with American railroad engineers pushing west. The transit replaced the railroad compass, sextant and octant and was distinguished by having a telescope shorter than the base arms, allowing the telescope to be vertically rotated past straight down. The transit had the ability to 'flip' over on its vertical circle and easily show the exact 180 degree sight to the user. This facilitated the viewing of long straight lines, such as when surveying the American West. Previously the user rotated the telescope on its horizontal circle to 180 and had to carefully check the angle when turning 180 degree turns. History of surveying Surveying techniques have existed throughout much of recorded history. In ancient Egypt, when the Nile River overflowed its banks and washed out farm boundaries, boundaries were re-

established by a rope stretcher, or surveyor, through the application of simple geometry. The nearly perfect squareness and north-south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, built c. 2700 BC, affirm the Egyptians' command of surveying. Definition Land survey is simply the art and science of mapping and measuring land Surveying is defined as the science of determining the dimensions and contour of the earths surface by the measurements of distance, directions and elevations. It is impossible to determine when surveying was first used, but in its simplest form it is as old as recorded civilization. As long as there as been property ownership, there has been a means of measuring property. Surveying has three different components, measuring dis-tance, angles, and elevation. Types of surveys and applicability

ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey: a surveying standard jointly proposed by the American Land Title Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping that incorporates elements of the boundary survey, mortgage survey, and topographic survey. Archaeological survey: used to accurately assess the relationship of archaeological sites in a landscape or to accurately record finds on an archaeological site. As-built survey: a survey carried out during or immediately after a construction project for record, completion evaluation and payment purposes. An as-built survey also known as a 'works as executed survey' documents the location of the recently constructed elements that are subject to completion evaluation. As built surveys are typically presented in red or redline and overlayed over existing design plans for direct comparison with design information. Bathymetric survey: a survey carried out to map the topography and features of the bed of an ocean, lake, river or other body of water. Boundary survey: a survey that establishes boundaries of a parcel using its legal description, which typically involves the setting or restoration of monuments or markers at the corners or along the lines of the parcel, often in the form of iron rods, pipes, or concrete monuments in the ground, or nails set in concrete or asphalt. Deformation survey: a survey to determine if a structure or object is changing shape or moving. The three-dimensional positions of specific points on an object are determined, a period of time is allowed to pass, these positions are then re-measured and calculated, and a comparison between the two sets of positions is made. Engineering surveys: those surveys associated with the engineering design (topographic, layout and as-built) often requiring geodetic computations beyond normal civil engineering practice. Foundation survey: a survey done to collect the positional data on a foundation that has been poured and is cured. This is done to ensure that the foundation was constructed in the location, and at the elevation, authorized in the plot plan, site plan, or subdivision plan. Geological survey: generic term for a survey conducted for the purpose of recording the geologically significant features of the area under investigation. . Hydrographic survey: a survey conducted with the purpose of mapping the coastline and seabed for navigation, engineering, or resource management purposes. Measured survey : a building survey to produce plans of the building. such a survey may be conducted before renovation works, for commercial purpose, or at end of the construction process "as built survey" Mortgage survey or physical survey: a simple survey that delineates land boundaries and building locations. In many places a mortgage survey is required by lending institutions as a precondition for a mortgage loan. Soil survey, or soil mapping, is the process of determining the soil types or other properties of the soil cover over a landscape, and mapping them for others to understand and use.

Structural survey: a detailed inspection to report upon the physical condition and structural stability of a building or other structure and to highlight any work needed to maintain it in good repair. Tape survey: this type of survey is the most basic and inexpensive type of land survey. Popular in the middle part of the 20th century, tape surveys while being accurate for distance lack substantially in their accuracy of measuring angle and bearing. Standards that are practiced by professional land surveyors. Topographic survey: a survey that measures the elevation of points on a particular piece of land, and presents them as contour lines on a plot.

Importance of land survey Most of you have probably never thought about land surveying until you needed it at some point. Many of us hear about land surveying all the time but never really give it much thought. Since an investment in land and/or a home will likely be the largest investment you will ever make in your lifetime, knowing where your property lines are becomes very important indeed. The art of land surveying was developed centuries ago. In fact, its one of the oldest professions in the world. The fact that it was used by man at such an early time and is still being used now shows how important surveying is to our survival. Surveying land has many uses. Boundary surveying, for instance, allows you to know where your property corners or property lines are. This is especially helpful when disputes with a neighbour or with other people arise in terms of where your property ends. If your family wants to divide a tract of land and transfer ownership to other family members, a boundary survey is the first step to do so. If youre having a building constructed, it is very important that you have the land surveyed to make sure that you are not encroaching onto other peoples property. A mistaken building location is very expensive to fix so you might as well invest in a boundary survey to prevent this. A topographic survey, or topo survey for short, is another important type of land surveying. A topo survey is done to locate natural and man-made features on a particular parcel of land. A topographic survey is different in that the elevation of the land is surveyed which means it can show man-made underground features, retaining walls, utility lines and etc. Before you start any kind of construction activity, its important to have a topo survey done in the area so theyll have an accurate record of the lands existing conditions. Yes, that spot with the new mall in the neighbourhood had to have a topo survey done first. Now, a flood survey or flood determination this is very important too. It isnt evident just looking at a property whether you are at risk of flooding or not. And, in some cases, even looking at the flood maps doesnt give you an accurate answer. The flood survey determines the elevation of the home and compares that to the base flood elevation. This is the only way to be sure youre not in a flood hazard zone. If youve just been told that you live in a flood-prone area, having that confirmed by a professional land surveyor would let you know how to best proceed. When getting flood insurance, insurance companies would require an elevation certificate from you. A land surveyor would be able to assist you with this.

If a company wants to invest in another state, or if there is a national lender on a commercial project, they will likely need an ALTA Land Title Survey done before anything is constructed. An ALTA Land Title Survey is a lot like a regular boundary survey except that nationally accepted ALTA Standards are used to guide the surveying effort. Land surveying standards vary widely from state to state and an ALTA Land Title Survey is used to cut down on this variation. Also, an ALTA Land Title Survey typically is more involved than the state standards variety. Because of this, an ALTA survey can be more anywhere from 50% to 200% more expensive than using the state standards only. Softwares (1)What Is GPS? The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a navigation and precise-positioning tool. Developed by the Department of Defense in 1973, GPS was originally designed to assist soldiers and military vehicles, planes, and ships in accurately determining their locations world-wide. Today, the uses of GPS have extended to include both the commercial and scientific worlds. Commercially, GPS is used as a navigation and positioning tool in airplanes, boats, cars, and for almost all outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, fishing, and kayaking. In the scientific community, GPS plays an important role in the earth sciences. Meteorologists use it for weather forecasting and global climate studies; and geologists can use it as a highly accurate method of surveying and in earthquake studies to measure tectonic motions during and in between earthquakes. ^ National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Future of the Global Positioning System; National Academy of Public Administration (1995). The global positioning system: a shared national asset: recommendations for technical improvements and enhancements. National Academies Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-309-05283-1., Chapter 1, p. 16 ^ a b "Factsheets : GPS Advanced Control Segment (OCX)". Losangeles.af.mil. October 25, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011. TOTAL STATION A total station is an electronic/optical instrument used in modern surveying. The total station is an electronic theodolite (transit) integrated with an electronic distance meter (EDM) to read slope distances from the instrument to a particular point.[1] Robotic total stations allow the operator to control the instrument from a distance via remote control. This eliminates the need for an assistant staff member as the operator holds the reflector and controls the total station from the observed point. Applications Total stations are mainly used by land surveyors and Civil Engineers, either to record features as in Topographic Surveying or to set out features (such as roads, houses or boundaries). They are also used by archaeologists to record excavations and by police, crime scene investigators, private accident reconstructionists and insurance companies to take measurements of scenes. ^ Kavanagh, B. F. and Glenn Bird, S. J. (1996). Surveying principles and applications (4 ed.). Prentice Hall. pp. 257264. ISBN 0-13-438300-1. GIS/Land Surveying Department

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer resource that makes map creation and information retrieval efficient and easy. Land Surveying and GIS are acutely intertwined. Ground locations of infrastructure and land parcels are surveyed using GPS/Satellite Positioning or conventional surveying methods which are mapped directly into the GIS. The GIS/Land Surveying Department performs topographic surveys and boundary surveys as well as provide technical information for large scale drainage studies. From assisting the legal department with complex land transactions, to setting elevations for cross drains, the GIS/Land Surveying Department has become an important component for projects in nearly every department of the City of Berea. Some examples of available Berea GIS data include: roads, buildings, tax parcels, water lines, street lights and aerial photographs. This Department provides mapping and GIS services for all city departments, engineers, and the public. Berry, J.K. (1993) Beyond Mapping: Concepts, Algorithms and Issues in GIS. Fort Collins, CO: GIS World Books. Bolstad, P. (2005) GIS Fundamentals: A first text on Geographic Information Systems, Second Edition. White Bear Lake, MN: Eider Press, 543 pp. (..) As a surveyor, you depend on a variety of software and technology in your daily workflows. GIS technology integrates with other systems while providing new functionality and a central database. A GIS database gives you a better way to easily manage, reuse, share, and analyze your survey data, saving you time, money, and resources. Because GIS software solutions are interoperable with the many data formats used in the field and office, you can deliver your data in the format required by your clients while maintaining the datas core integrity. What is OfficeSync? OfficeSync is a convenient and reliable wireless data transfer technology used by people in the mobile workforce, such as land surveyors, contractors and project managers. OfficeSync instantly transfers any data files between the jobsite and any computer in the office, or anywhere else in the world. In the office or on site, using OfficeSync is as easy as: 1. Choose your file(s) 2. Select the destination 3. Click Send The OfficeSync software automatically creates a wireless connection to the Internet and transfers the selected files to the Gateway The Gateway is a central server and Interagent that manages all uploads and downloads, routing job data between authorized field personnel and their offices. The Gateway is located in a secure data center in Florida. OfficeSync has three integrated software components that work together to send and receive files via the Gateway: Field Connect Job Monitor Office Manager. Field Connect is an easy to use application that installs on most PDAs and data collectors used by field personnel. It automates the transfer of files to and from the OfficeSync Gateway. Field Connect is designed to work both online and offline, so you can login and prepare files for transfer whenever it is convenient. If cellular service is interrupted, Field Connect will re-establish the connection and resume file transfer automatically. The autoupload feature enables hands-free data transfer, which is useful while driving. Office Manager is the central component of OfficeSync and can be installed on any PC connected to the Internet. It contains all the administrative tools needed to manage data transfers to and from the jobsite.

Office Manager is used to create new jobs, crews, devices and manage users. It includes a reporting feature that allows the administrator to view all activity in the system, by customer, crew, priority or location. OfficeSync- How it Works Page 2/3 2005 MicroSurvey Software Inc. Mi croSurvey is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by MicroSurvey Software Inc Office Manager is the central component of OfficeSync and can be installed on any PC connected to the Internet. It contains all the administrative tools needed to manage data transfers to and from the jobsite. Office Manager is used to create new jobs, crews, devices and manage users. It includes a reporting feature that allows the administrator to view all activity in the system, by customer, crew, priority or location. Job Monitor is a software component for non-administrators who only need to send and receive files from their desktop. It provides real-time monitoring of the OfficeSync Gateway so when files are sent from the field, Job Monitor issues a pop-up notification. Users have the option to accept delivery of the new data,or wait until later. On acceptance, Job Monitor will download the files and remove them from the Gateway. Compass A bearing compass is a magnetic compass mounted in such a way that it allows the taking of bearings of objects by aligning them with the lubber line of the bearing compass.[61] A surveyor's compass is a specialized compass made to accurately measure heading of landmarks and measure horizontal angles to help with map making. These were already in common use by the early 18th century and are described in the 1728 Cyclopaedia. The bearing compass was steadily reduced in size and weight to increase portability, resulting in a model that could be carried and operated in one hand. In 1885, a patent was granted for a hand compass fitted with a viewing prism and lens that enabled the user to accurately sight the heading of geographical landmarks, thus creating the prismatic compass.[62] Another sighting method was by means of a reflective mirror. First patented in 1902, the Bzard compass consisted of a field compass with a mirror mounted above it.[63][64] This arrangement enabled the user to align the compass with an objective while simultaneously viewing its bearing in the mirror.[63][65] In 1928, Gunnar Tillander, a Swedish unemployed instrument maker and avid participant in the sport of orienteering, invented a new style of bearing compass. Dissatisfied with existing field compasses, which required a separate protractor in order to take bearings from a map, Tillander decided to incorporate both instruments into a single instrument. It combined a compass with a protractor built into the base. His design featured a metal compass capsule containing a magnetic needle with orienting marks mounted into a transparent protractor baseplate with a lubber line (later called a direction of travel indicator). By rotating the capsule to align the needle with the orienting marks, the course bearing could be read at the lubber line. Moreover, by aligning the baseplate with a course drawn on a map - ignoring the needle - the compass could also function as a protractor. Tillander took his design to fellow orienteers Bjrn, Alvid, and Alvar Kjellstrm, who were selling basic compasses, and the four men modified Tillander's design.[66] In December 1932, the Silva Company was formed with Tillander and the three Kjellstrm brothers, and the company began manufacturing and selling its Silva orienteering compass to Swedish orienteers, outdoorsmen, and army officers.[66][67][68][69] ^ Frazer, Persifor, A Convenient Device to be Applied to the Hand Compass, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 22, No. 118 (Mar., 1885), p. 216 1.Barnes, Scott, Churchill, James, and Jacobson, Cliff, The Ultimate Guide to Wilderness Navigation, Globe Pequot Press (2002), ISBN 1-58574-490-5, ISBN 978-1-58574-490-9, p. 27

2.Litsky, Frank, Bjorn Kjellstrom, 84, Orienteer and Inventor of Modern Compass, Obituaries, The New York Times, 1 September 1995 Kjellstrm, Bjrn, 19th Hole: The Readers Take Over: Orienteering, Sports Illustrated, 3 March 1969 An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument for measuring angles of slope (or tilt), elevation or depression of an object with respect to gravity. It is also known as a tilt meter, tilt indicator, slope alert, slope gauge, gradient meter, gradiometer, level gauge, level meter, declinometer, and pitch & roll indicator. Clinometers measure both inclines (positive slopes, as seen by an observer looking upwards) and declines (negative slopes, as seen by an observer looking downward) using three different units of measure: degrees, percent, and topo. Astrolabes are inclinometers that were used for navigation and locating astronomical objects.