Archive for May, 2007

Back in October, I posted a cry for help - one for all the geeks out there to see if an idea could be conceived that would allow me to have broadband internet access at my rather rural home.   Nick and I had talked a lot about WIMAX, and I think it may have been possible, but was scared due to ground cover.   Charter wanted over $30,000 to run cable to my house (just over 2 miles) - I think they should be arrested for that…

So, the answer was satellite internet.   I just got my Wildblue dish installed this week and am up and running.   I actually get download speeds greater than I do at my office with a shared T1, but upload speeds aren’t anything to write home about.   What’s more, I’m on the office VPN working just like I was sitting at my desk, without spending 3+ hours per day sitting in my car.    Amazing.

So yeah, for the few people who read and answered my geek cry for help, thanks for the encouragement and hints.   And thanks to Mark for welcoming me to 1999

For the surveyors out there who want to go a bit deeper into the Survey Database, today we’ll talk about traverse analysis and adjustments. Why do we need to adjust our traverses? Because they’re not perfect! Human error (that guy running the rod isn’t holding it perfectly plumb, or has the shakes, or just doesn’t put the tip of the pole in the same spot every time, or “heat monkeys” wreaking havoc with the guy in the scope) or mechanical error (the optical plummet isn’t exactly right, the instrument got dropped one too many times, the rod got ran over by the crew truck, etc) will introduce error into any traverse loop, and over great distances, that error can add up to the point that your data is outside acceptable parameters. So how do you adjust a traverse in Civil 3D? You’ll find out after the jump…

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The Cadapult Civil 3D 2008 CAD Clinics are coming!  If you live in PA, NJ, MD, or DE, mark your calendars.

I’ll be doing the Civil 3D presentations. (That’s me, Dana Probert)

Agenda

8:30-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-9:45 What’s new with AutoCAD 2008 (Annotative Objects and more)

9:45-10:30 Civil 3D Overview: A refresher for those who have seen Civil 3D before, a chance for new folks to get caught up. Business reasons for Civil 3D plus a quick lesson.  Surfaces, parcels, road design, corridor modeling in a nutshell with some new twists.

10:30-10:45 Break (and stump the chump with me as the chump)

10:45-12:00 New features for Civil 3D 2008: Points, Lines/Curves; Google Earth; Surface tools; Corridors: boundaries, hatching, rendering; Pipe tables; PLAN PRODUCTION and automated sheet creation

Should be fun!  Hope to see you there!  Please preregister at the link at the bottom of this post.

June 4: Wayne PA

June 6: Lancaster PA

June 19: Dover Downs

July 10: Wilmington, DE

August 1: Atlantic City, NJ

August 2: Timonium, MD

These free workshops include breakfast.  For more information, complete agenda and to sign up visit:

http://www.cadapult.net/company/events.htm

So a few other bloggers have already announced the release of this paper, but I wanted to put in my two cents.

I downloaded both the pdf and the complied HTML help file versions, and spent about 3 hours with it last night and this morning.

The paper is very easy to follow.  The premise is simple- the author explains how to get the best results out of your feature lines and grading objects by giving you a peek inside how grading is programmed and why it behaves the way it does.  As I try to explain in posts such as  Parcel Rules  the author works out what task feature lines and grading objects do well, what task they struggle with and how to approach a project to deal with that. (Keeping in mind that the author of this paper actually knows how the tools are programmed and therefore can better explain why things behave the way they do.  I just use a dartboard and a blindfold)

The paper is broken into Feature Line Grading and Projection Grading sections.

Ideas covered include: When to use feature lines, when to use grading objects, best ways to make edits to each, best types of projections, managing site geometry, why certain things don’t work, and much more. The HTML version has neat DWFs embedded in it.

If you haven’t downloaded the Grading Best Practices white paper DO IT NOW. Read it today and see if the lightbulb appears over your head like it did over mine.

The Dan and Dave Show blog has the download here:

Civil 3D Grading Best Practices Whitepaper

Today marks the release of Carlson SurvCE 2.0 - so my initial review is a bit out of date now. It’s a bit more visually appealing (they made things less monochromatic than it used to be) and things are easier to get to in general. I’ve played with it for about 5 minutes earlier today with an existing CRD file created from a PNEZD file with codes, and it seems to have a more intuitive layout than the older versions.

If you’d like information on upgrading your SurvCE to the newest version, email me. If you’d like to download a fully functioining demo, a link can be found at the bottom of the website linked above. If you have any trouble, email me - I’ll be glad to help.

So what’s new? Click more to find out….

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A couple of little birdies from NH way have been singing in Texas lately. Just to shut down some of the rumor mongering, and to start my own, here’s the song I’m hearing. Now, this isn’t an official release by any means, but I’ve heard it from a number of different birds, so I think it’s good stuff. SP1 should roll in late June. Some fixes are pretty obvious (corridor offsets come to mind,) others will be more subtle I’m sure. Just keep your eyes open!

Phil Zimmerman has a regular series at Cadalyst online (it may also be in the print magazine, I am not 100% sure) that is worth bookmarking and reading, especially for new users.

This month his topic is

CAD Clinic: Civil 3D — The Text Component Editor — Contents

Phil goes into a bit of label composition nitty-gritty- a subject which is often neglected in Civil 3D classes and tutorials.

Other topics in this series can be found at:

Articles by Phil Zimmerman

Check them out and print them for your in-house reference binder!

I’m headed out the door to Seattle in about an hour. If you’re interested in a quick drink, drop me a line, James.wedding@ this domain. I’m trying to play tourist and head up to Pike’s Place one night, maybe we can meet there.

“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.”

 The Tempest, William Shakespeare

Michael Barkasi of Bentley Systems has written a nice little article that you should print and put on the boss’ desk if you’re not moving forward with C3D. We’ve had some, um, interesting conversations with Michael over the years, but it’s worth checking out his take on the industry and where the site design of the software is going specifically.

Hey, so this is what this place looks like…it’s like coming home after a tour in the Peace Corps

Some of you have been wondering when Carlson Connect will be available for Civil 3D 2008 - it’s a good question, since it’s a very powerful add-on for surveyors using Civil 3D. I checked yesterday, and the preliminary projected dates put the release due in late July to early August. Not fantastic news, but….

Coming a bit sooner will be the release of Carlson Civil 2008. Since Carlson gets paid for Civil 2008 and Carlson Connect is something they do to be a great company, you can imagine what they’d be focused on (come on, do you do pro bono work before paying work in YOUR company???)

Once I receive Carlson Civil Suite 2008, I’ll let you folks know what’s new and how it compares to Civil 3D (hopefully I can climb back on that ship in June when things slow a bit.) Want a teaser? Ever wanted a “Design Site” button? I’ve seen it, and holy moly, it’s sweet….