April/May Articles Posted

Editorial: The Wow Factor
I recently attended a reception hosted by Loyola Spatial Systems at the annual Virginia Association of Surveyors' conference. Loyola is a great example of a well-run entrepreneurial company that has capitalized on the RTN boom [see "RTK-Net Entrepreneurs" in our June 2007 issue]. At the reception, Loyola unveiled a new web app they developed that will allow asset owners to ....Read the Article

Reconnaissance: The Stories They Tell Over the years of traveling to most of these United States and talking to or otherwise corresponding with hundreds of surveyors in virtually every state, I have come across a wide variety of interesting and humorous documents. Some of them I share off and on in my presentations, others not, but many of them deserve to see the light of day. As Dave Barry famously writes....Read the Article

The Wow Factor: Loyola's RTK-Net Management Portal As part of its newly-released Management Portal and GPS Work Day Planning Center, Loyola now provides Real Time Connection Logs to their customers. A map function is included that uses Google Maps to plot the location of GPS rovers that have been connected to RTK-Net®. This exclusive feature is ...Read the Article

Bad Pass Archaeology The Bad Pass Trail runs for miles along the western side of rugged Bighorn Canyon in southern Montana and northern Wyoming. Today it consists of numerous rock piles or cairns, which once helped guide travelers along the treacherous canyon country. People also left behind rocks that once held down the bottoms of...Read the Article

Rapid Surveyor: Mapping the built environment and beyond Today, we live in a world where the trend is to have the latest or the best currently available gadget, be that a humble MP3 player, a digital camera or a cell phone. While this trend is most likely quite obvious to users of consumer level electronics, it should be noted that it is also a trend that is reflected in many ....Read the Article

RTN­101: Network Geometry­Design Meets Reality (Part 12) "We will never be an advanced civilization as long as rain showers can delay the launching of a space rocket."--George Carlin The best design principles and best intentions may initially drive RTN design, but certain realities rule in the end. Ultimately the test of functionality reigns supreme. Most RTNs have...Read the Article

Equipment Review: Leica System 1200 (Part 2 of 2) The Smart Antenna is a lightweight device that includes a GPS/GLONASS (GG models) or GPS-only antenna and receiver. For connectivity, it includes a wireless Bluetooth port, a LEMO port, and a clip port for attaching to the TPS1200+ Smart Station handle. It is powered by the ...Read the Article

Software Review: Prefiniti from Center Line Services Bob Stevenson, a well-known and respected New Mexico surveyor*, once told me that a surveyor could make good money doing lot and block surveys for title companies. I thought he was probably right, but at the time survey inspection reports, or whatever they are called in your area, were equivalent to ...Read the Article

Vantage Point: Just Say "No"
Early December 2007 newspapers carried an article entitled, "Scotsman Says `No' to Trump". It seems "The Donald" had approached Michael Forbes to buy his 23-acre farm and was told that the land was not for sale at any price. Apparently the offer of $750,000, "well above market value", was not enough to...Read the Article