Questions tagged [surveying]

14 questions
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Measuring longer distances with high accuracy

I am involved right now in the fabrication of steel structures on the order of 5-50 feet long. Presently, we measure these structures with garden variety commercial tape measures. Most of the time, we work to a tolerance of about +/-1/16" and don't…
Ethan48
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What is a Spiral Curve, and How is it Different from a Normal Curve?

I've heard the term spiral curve used to describe a section of highway that is more aesthetically pleasing to the driver's eye. However, I believe I've driven on enough road to say that I can't definitively tell the difference between any given…
8
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5 answers

What instrument does a surveyor use to accurately find North?

The obvious answer is a compass. I have an old (1952) transit that has a compass which seems to be accurate to 15'. However, that doesn't seem too incredibly accurate at all. Furthermore, most modern digital theodolites I see don't appear to have a…
canadianer
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How was surveying for maps done before lasers?

I understand that you can have a device with angular measurements for rotation and elevation, and use trigonometry to calculate the distances... but only if you have some distances to start with. How did they accurately measure the first…
jhabbott
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How many decimal places of GPS should be stored to be accurate within a few feet?

I'm building a software application that uses GPS for a purpose related to roads. I'd like to know how many decimal places of GPS data should be stored to provide measurements that are accurate to within a few feet?
1
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Why is North considered the reference direction in Surveying?

While Surveying, the North is always considered the reference direction, for the purposes of mapping. I have specifically the following issues: The magnetic compass, has a least count of 30 minutes, and it deeply affected by local disturbances.…
Indian
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What is the most accurate geometry to represent earth

Currently software and maps represent earth in many different ways, the latest is Point Clouds as this is the most common surveying tools currently available. For the needs of visualisation, construction etc. this seems to suffice for now. Not sure…
Rott
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Establishing DGPS Communications With SurvCE and Novatel Recievers

I am trying to do a differential surveying project with some outdated equipment, specifically: An old AllegroCX personal handheld computer (Win 4.1) with SurvCE loaded on it to collect data and establish communication Two Novatel ProPak V3…
AggroCrag
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Relation between forebearing and truebearing

Is there any relation between forebearing and true bearing? How does one find true bearing from fore bearing and declination?
thiss
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Autocad- Aligning 4 corners to 4 different lines

To explain the situation, I am creating a site plan (using Autocad 2022), I have a building that is angled within a complex property. The 4 corners of the building are dimensioned to a property line(PL). What I did, was offset a line from each of…
Markitect
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Probable error (Area)

Calculate the area of the triangular tract of land and its most
Wiiip
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Is there a standard for where treelines are drawn?

On surveys and site plans, I've often found treelines. These look like the below image, and serve to delineate in a very approximate way the areas full of trees and those that aren't: Is there a standard for where the line should be drawn, in terms…
Dan Getz
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Comparing the precision work of plane surveying and geodetic surveying

In geodetic surveying, we consider the spherical geometry of the surface though the surface is not perfectly spherical. In-plane surveying, we consider a small surface area which is considered as a plane or flat surface whose results upon surveying…
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How maps of globe, country or region were created few decades/centuries ago when modern technology like today did not exists?

What techniques were used to create the maps of a world, country or region when satellite or similar technology did not exists few decades or centuries ago?
parag
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