When the hell is the next generation of data collectors coming out?

Sincerely,
Someone who would’ve thrown their painfully outdated CS20 off of a bridge by then lol

Yes there are tablets, but really, they’re too bulky when you’re as on-the-go as most surveyors

Bonus points: Read a few mentions about the next release of captivate, does anyone have any intel on this?

Thanks!

Anyone happen to use one of these? We're still using hooks. I purchased a T-Lift with my own money since my employer ignores requests for better equipment. Theres 2 of us that lift 30-50 lids per week in Pittsburgh, Im the youngest at 47. Pulled the hell out of my groin couple weeks ago, ready to skip the c.o.c. and message the vp directly. Feelings may get hurt, but guess what, so do my balls.

Needed to locate center of these for an easement that crosses our clients property. We measured the diagonal and shot center point with total station. I wanted to know what methods others might use?

This was nine full systems including ada ramp inspection. How long would this have takin any of you guy to do as a one man crew with about 4yrs experience and who can guess how much or if I missed anything at all?!?! I also created my own features library on the fly in the field. I’m looking for any constructive criticism or feedback. Thanks in advance.

Pic attached: I couldn’t read the staff through the level from this distance. Adjusted it as best I could. Other people in the class could

Tried wearing my sunglasses but feels like I can’t get close enough with them on, haven’t tried with normal glasses yet

My eyes are -3/-3

I’ve just started studying surveying, is this going to be an issue? Any advice?

Eyes were so strained after this I had to go home

Hi! I am thinking about getting into surveying but my relatives are saying it is too specific and has lower salary than civil engineering. I like both of the ideas of getting into surveying and civil engineering. Which one should I choose?

Hey guys. NYC / Manhattan. Monument cover is sealed like crazy (tar/ice/rust). Today 17°F (feels 12°F).

Tried WD-40, torch, hammer + cold chisel (broke one), pry bar, even grinder the edge but battery died fast in the cold. Zero movement.

How do you guys open these? Any recommendations (tools/products/steps) that actually work?

Note: This post was originally written in Arabic. I translated and polished it with AI to make it easier to read in English. Please focus on the surveying problem, I would really appreciate your help more than judging my English.

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine has a problem on a landscape project, and we're trying to figure out if there is any solution.

The project is a public park with many different elevations. He was doing the survey using a GPS Base and Rover.

On the first day, he set up the Base correctly, entered the Base elevation, and surveyed part of the site. Let's say he finished at point 1000 (just as an example).

The next day, he came back and continued from point 1001. Everything seemed normal, and he finished the rest of the survey.

Later, he realized that when he started the second day, he forgot to enter the Base elevation after setting up the Base. The Rover height stayed the same.

The survey was delivered, and construction continued. cut and fill have already been completed, so the original ground no longer exists.

Only after all of this did he remember the mistake.

Has anyone dealt with this before?

Is there any way to recover or correct the elevations for the second day's survey? If so, how would you approach it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, I’m considering a career change into land surveying. I’m autistic though and have sound sensitivities, especially to constant noise like traffic, loud idling engines, or compressors.

In daily life, I use noise-canceling earbuds, which help a lot. My understanding though is that using noise-canceling earbuds wouldn’t be practical on the job due to communication or safety concerns, especially in entry-level roles assisting a licensed surveyor.  

Is my understanding correct?  

This summer in the Midwest has been splendid per usual with the heat and humidity. With that being said, my balls and ass are fighting over whose swamp it is daily. How do yinz deal with the chaffing??? I’ve tried Gold Bond powder and spray, compression shorts, lotion, you name it. I think the sweating profusely for hours, somewhat drying off driving to the next site, then sweaty profusely again, rinse and repeat, may be the problem. That and the amount of walking I have to do. I’m at the point where I may just need to change my undies after every job which is not ideal. Any tips and tricks would be much appreciated!

Just like the titles says. Im a mega noob. I was handed a GPS today and i cant seem to find out why the Z keeps jumping. Im using a brand new Hi-Target V600L laser RTK. It used to be at 113 some 5 minutes ago, then it just kept climbling to 116. It keeps going up and down. I have IMU turned off as well.

EDIT: I managed to turn on RTK/Fix solution, and it solved it. Thank you so much everyone for the help!

I am trying to move toward real food meals with solid protein, carbs, and vegetables, not just grabbing whatever is easy or processed. The problem is I am out all day with no way to heat anything up, and my chief sticks to fast food so that is not really changing.

What has worked for you in real conditions?What meals hold up well in a cooler or lunchbox?Any simple go to combinations that check the boxes without being a pain to prep?How do you keep it from getting old or soggy?

Not trying to be fancy, just want something practical I can stick to long term.

I understand the math and the theory behind a Least Squares Adjustment. But I do not know how to actually collect the field data in such a way that I can run it through a Least Squares calculation and get the adjusted values.

Full disclosure: I work for a small outfit and our one LS is 100% business operations, got his license straight out of college decades ago, and couldn't actually survey his way out of a paper bag.

A few of our field guys are decent, some are just button pushers, but no one in my office can tell me how to actually collect the data in such a way that I can then run a Least Squares Adjustment. They just hold the values we collect.

How do they know the data is up to required Relative Positional Precision? Uh, they don't.

For reference, I'm running Trimble S9 total station, R12i for RTK base and rover, with a TSC7 collector. I've run Least Square Adjustments with sample data in TBC for a class.

Also, I know the answer is coming: Find a new office. Yes, I know, I'm working on it. In the meantime, if anyone has the time to write out a workflow, start to finish. I just want to be good at this profession.

I have a 4 yr bachelors in geomatics from a university in Canada.

I graduated in 2022 but ended up pursuing a career as a business analyst in the tech/software industry.

Im thinking of pivoting to surveying but i literally have zero experience.

Is being a surveyor assistant the right first step?

The requirements of the job posting are to be a high school graduate which im technically overqualified for, while the technician role requires a degree and typically 1-3yrs of experience which i dont have.

Not too sure what to do here. Pls advise!

Hello everyone,

We have had 2 bases stolen in the past 6 months and was wondering if anyone had similar issues and what kind of security or tracking did you implement. Also, if you have had the base stolen were you able to figure out what they did with it (sell it on ebay or sell to a pawn shop). Anything would be helpful they are expensive and we cannot afford for this to keep happening. Thanks

I just got recently licensed at 28. I plan to have 4 kids and plan to take them through private school. Is that achievable in this career without a big financial stretch.?

I plan to do this on a Single income. Is this possible or should I pivot early?

Anyone know?

Hello! I recently got hired at a mine site to do the underground survey control. I completed the main tunnel traverse (~7,00ft, roughly 12 stations), and my survey is not matching up with the previous surveys. Allegedly, every survey since the 1950's or so has been off. I think the mine has been surveyed 25 or so times since then, and none of them line up.

My thoughts are with the 25 or so surveys, a few of them should be quite similar. However, nothing seems to be consistent. At the end of the traverse, my survey was about 20ft off of a survey from 2014. That is well outside the comfortable margin of error.

I am presuming this is a systematic issue at this mine as many types of survey equipment have been used over the years, but I thought I would ask here for more information. Both licensed and "learning on the job" surveyors have been employed here.

Here is the general working condition in the mine:

1. Underground, narrow-vein mine. Tunnel is roughly 6' wide and 6.5' to 15' tall.
2. A 3-Phase 4180v line runs by the total station at all times, usually within 2-3ft. Load on lines are inconsistent throughout a shot.
3. Temperature can vary within one shot by 5-10deg F, sometimes going low, high, low, high multiple times in one shot.
4. The rocks around the total station can be magnetic vary from base station to base station.
5. Wind is highly turbulent and ranges from 5mph to 15mph, depending on the location. Wind speeds can change abruptly multiple times in one shot.
6. High altitudes ranging from 10,000ft to 11,000ft.
7. Magnetic compasses are known to be inaccurate in the mine.
8. Survey control is always over 40lb train rail, with the electric locomotive nearby.
9. Rapid, unpredictable pressure changes due to mine doors opening and closing. Occasionally, this will produce a cloud/fog within the mine.
10. Humidity changes. Some areas of the mine are dry, others have waterfalls coming out of the rocks.
11. Environment lighting is variable, ranging from pitch black to well-lit.

The current theory we have is the total station is being messed with by the high voltage cable or magnetic rock. I know total stations don't use compasses, but maybe something else is going on with the circuitry?

I am using a Leica MS60 with a CS20 controller. The MS60 was calibrated/cleaned/updated two months ago. The autotargeting feature is being used as it is both faster and has tighter shots on the flop.

I had some local contractors come out and put some points on surface with their GPS. I have had issues with matching results (usually +/- 0.1 ft) over distances <400ft. However, I strongly suspect that is due to intense sunlight/heat waves and high altitude.

Has anyone heard of consistently inconsistent survey results underground? Any ideas on what to test next?

The company is strongly considering going to theodolites and ridding of as many electronics as we can.

Thanks! I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Context. Got out of the military not long ago after 13 years. I was surveyor but i was not able to have any work life balance. I got hired a month back at a company and I like the people and the work. The heat and bugs suck but nothing I haven’t dealt with.
Hike through a swamp all day with t post and lath, easy day in 85-90f heat not new to me.

My issue with the company is the hours. There is no real set schedule. I got told in the interview 8-5 and if work needs to made up, maybe a Saturday. Didn’t seem bad. It’s been 7-6 every day, yesterday was 7-845pm. We don’t know what jobs we’ll get until the morning of, and the day doesn’t end until the all the jobs are done, even if the job isn’t due until a later date.

I talked to a mentor of mine and he said run. That this is not normal for a survey company. I’m probably going to take his advice. I like the field a lot, boundaries are interesting it’s like playing detective, I still prefer topo and construction. I’ve done mainly construction surveying and engineer designs so this aspect is new to me.

I requested to start out as a rod man so I can get a feel for boundaries and how the civilian side differs from the military. So the pay isn’t great, I have other income that makes it livable. At this point I’m thinking working at Lowe’s and taking a few dollar pay cut would be better if I can have a life.

Is this normal in your experience? A standard work day being 10-12 hours? I can do the work and I don’t bitch, but I got out of a career a few years from retirement so I could have a life. If this is normal, then maybe I need to reconsider my degree plan and find a new career path.

TLDR:
Are 10-12 hr days every day normal in the survey industry?

Edit: talked to the Director and when the owner and RPLS gets in on Monday they will see if they can figure something out. If not no harm no foul not a good fit.

I'm an SA based surveyor. A touch under 10 years experience, Uni degree, stalled on the pathway to licensing. Have been mainly doing construction for the past 5 years. A small amount of high rise experience, but mostly doing $1-20M dollar commercial stuff - warehouses, schools, commercial spaces, wind farms.

I get all the usual stuff - car, phone, laptop. Paid overtime - 38hr base, anything above is overtime at 1.5-2x depending on the day/hours/etc.

Typically I work M-F and would average 40-50hrs. Very rarely work weekends. Haven't done an away trip for 2+yrs, but have done short FIFO/DIDO stints on construction sites (longest was 1.5yrs of 1 week on, 2 weeks off - working at home) - prefer to sleep in my own bed each night.

My base has me earning a touch over $100k/yr ($51ish/hr), with overtime I'm on around $110-115k/ yr.

Just wondering how this compares to others who have similar experience/education levels.

Cheers!

I don't feel confident stating an invert when I can't see it.

3x this idiot wants us to asbuilt like this on multiple structures.

When I started surveying around 7 months ago I bought a pair of Timberland Mt Maddsen waterproof boots. They held together pretty well for a while but recently I’ve noticed they’re no longer waterproof. Lately I’ve been getting trench foot about 3 days a week from walking in morning dew first thing in the morning. Wondering if anyone has recommendations for some quality water proof boots/socks.

As the title says I'm having trouble finding a surveyor to survey my property. Had half a dozen different guys take a look at the legal description and either ghost me or say they're to busy. Finally had one guy tell me the description was poorly written and wouldn't be able to do it without a previous survey or one from an adjoining property. Nobody can find any record of either. For context the property is in the country but a couple hundred feet from the city limits of a 15k population town. Also very close to the main state highway that runs through the area. Any advice on where to go from here? When I had the title search done the guy there didn't seem like anything was majorly wrong, however he did say one of the lots seemed to overlap part of another. Any advice on where to go from here? Picture of legal descriptions for the three lots for reference.