Last week, I showed users how they could have automated linework from their data collector with no coding whatsoever. Believe me when I say that I presented only the very tip of the iceberg to you in that short hour - follow the link to find out some other things that you can do with your data collector.

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Thanks to all who attended today’s EECast on automated linework. I promised some more information, and I wanted a place to record some of the things that I learned. A very special thanks to Michael Bachinski, James Hektner, and Jason (whose last name escapes me at the moment) of MicroSurvey for all their help this morning and during the EECast. These guys are definitely in the survey business, because we started the conversations this morning before 7 AM

Follow the link to find my notes from today’s EECast.

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Yesterday I was browsing around the Autodesk Civil 3D discussion group for a few minutes. I go there from time to time to research quick questions or to see if anyone needs help. I was talking to a user who was having trouble with Trimble Link and Civil 3D - well, part of the problem was with Trimble Link and Civil 3D…he couldn’t import a .JOB file using Trimble Link because he didn’t have the data collector available. I ran into this same problem when I first installed Trimble Link a few years ago, because I don’t have any physical data collectors that I can hook to my computer. I have emulators for TDS Survey Pro, Microsurvey FieldGenius 2008, Leica GPS/TPS 1200, Trimble TCS and SCS900, Topcon TopSurv PC and Carlson SurvCE, and have successfully transferred data from them into Civil 3D, but it took a bit of work. So if you find that you don’t have access to the data collector BUT you have the .JOB files stored on either a local machine or a network, then this is the article for you.  Follow the link to find out more.

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To better serve our clients, the team at Engineered Efficiency is always investigating new solutions to make your life easier. Sometimes this means that we will find a piece of software that we recommend to users. Other times, we come across something so great that we don’t just recommend it to our users, we supply it to them.

What if I were to tell the surveyors out there that there was data collection software that got rid of the whole “how do I code” discussion once and for all? What if field coding beyond descriptions were a thing of the past? What if you could export a FBK file directly out of your data collector? Would you want to know more? If you’re intrigued, click the link to find out what all the fuss is about. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s been a hot spot of discussion today regarding the use of hand drawn contours to fix an unsightly surface. Since the original post in the NG is being ignored, I think it’s worthwhile to open the discussion here. Read on and join in the debate.

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So you’ve decided that you’re going to tackle the two most often misunderstood things inside Civil 3D - Vault and the Survey Database. You’ve created a Vault project and you flip over to the survey tab of toolspace and notice that there’s now a Survey Database with the same name. Cool! This software really is smart, it knew I was going to create a Survey Database! You get ready to get down and get busy, and create a network - BZZZT! You get an error saying that the Survey Database isn’t writable, and that you may not have permissions to access it. Now you go into full-on panic mode, eventually slipping off into the muttering frenzy of how badly this software sucks and how it won’t do what you want it to do.  Settle down, there’s a really good explanation.  Follow the link to lower your blood pressure just a little bit.

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Overall, I’m a fan of 2009. A really big fan. It’s ugly, but I think James already discussed that at length. But there are two features of the new release that I hold very near and dear to my heart - want to find out more? Follow the link…

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Have you ever had a point show up in your survey database and it wasn’t where you thought it should be?  Perhaps upon further examination you find that the point was located twice in the field and the survey database is reporting the first location from the raw data file.  Today, we’re going to look at two things - the “why” and the “how” - why does this happen, and “how” do I fix it?

Follow the link to read more…

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I spent most of last week in the training room of George Butler Associates, Inc. in Lenexa, Kansas.   I was there helping the survey department learn all about Civil 3D, and developing workflows to utilize the Survey Database in Civil 3D to make their jobs perhaps a bit easier.   I had a great time with Terry, Andrew, and most of all, John Postlewait.   As most companies tend to do, the survey department was hidden down in the basement, so I felt right at home, especially when John served us all his absolutely freakin’ incredible homemade chili.   A very heartfelt thanks to John and crew for showing me some real hospitality.

Now, one of the things that we discussed that I’ve heard before is about stakeout points - those points that are calculated in the office to be uploaded to the data collector and staked out into the field.   How do they fit in with the survey database?   There’s no inherent functionality to get those points into the survey database - or is there?  Follow the link to see how I came to figure out a way to do just that…

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No, I’m not talking about any type of programming - that’s way above my head.   I know I’ve been absent for the last few weeks, but I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block.   But today, I’ve had a chance to work on something that I want to document, more for me than anyone else, but I’m in the giving mood so I’ll document here.

After Mark posted our Trimble Dimensions paper, I received a few emails about it, and I’m really happy to see people actually trying to make use of the Survey Database.   Well, in writing that, I think I left something a bit vague, and I’ve since come up with a better way to do things.   Let’s talk about coding features for automated linework - and see how you code.    Follow the link to see what I’m babbling about.

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