Spectra Precision FAST Survey Reference Manual

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FAST Survey

Reference Manual

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Trademarks

All product and brand names mentioned in this publication are trademarks of their respective holders.

Ashtech Products - Limited Warranty (North, Central and South America)

Ashtech warrants their GPS receivers and hardware accessories to be free of defects in material and workmanship and will conform to our published specifications for the product for a period of one year from the date of original purchase. THIS WARRANTY APPLIES ONLY TO THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER OF THIS PRODUCT.

In the event of a defect, Ashtech will, at its option, repair or replace the hardware product with no charge to the purchaser for parts or labor. The repaired or replaced product will be warranted for 90 days from the date of return shipment, or for the balance of the original warranty, whichever is longer. Ashtech warrants that software products or software included in hardware products will be free from defects in the media for a period of 30 days from the date of shipment and will substantially conform to the then-current user documentation provided with the software (including updates thereto). Ashtech's sole obligation shall be the correction or replacement of the media or the software so that it will substantially conform to the then- current user documentation. Ashtech does not warrant the software will meet purchaser's requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted, error-free or virus-free. Purchaser assumes the entire risk of using the software.

PURCHASER'S EXCLUSIVE REMEDY UNDER THIS WRITTEN WARRANTY OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT, AT ASHTECH'S OPTION, OF ANY DEFECTIVE PART OF THE RECEIVER OR ACCESSORIES WHICH ARE COVERED BY THIS WARRANTY. REPAIRS UNDER THIS WARRANTY SHALL ONLY BE MADE AT AN AUTHORIZED ASHTECH SERVICE CENTER. ANY REPAIRS BY A SERVICE CENTER NOT AUTHORIZED BY ASHTECH WILL VOID THIS WARRANTY.

To obtain warranty service the purchaser must obtain a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number prior to shipping by calling 1-800229-2400 (North America) or 1-408-572-1134 (International) and leaving a voice mail at option 3, or by submitting a repair request online at: http://ashtech.com (fill out the RMA request from under the Support tab). The purchaser must return the product postpaid with a copy of the original sales receipt to the address provided by Ashtech with the RMA number. Purchaser’s return address and the RMA number must be clearly printed on the outside of the package.

Ashtech reserves the right to refuse to provide service free-of-charge if the sales receipt is not provided or if the information contained in it is incomplete or illegible or if the serial number is altered or removed. Ashtech will not be responsible for any losses or damage to the product incurred while the product is in transit or is being shipped for repair. Insurance is recommended. Ashtech suggests using a trackable shipping method such as UPS or FedEx when returning a product for service.

EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN THIS LIMITED WARRANTY, ALL OTHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED AND IF APPLICABLE, IMPLIED WARRANTIES UNDER ARTICLE 35 OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS. Some national, state, or local laws do not allow limitations on implied warranty or how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

The following are excluded from the warranty coverage: (1) periodic maintenance and repair or replacement of parts due to normal wear and tear; (2) batteries and finishes; (3) installations or defects resulting from installation; (4) any damage caused by (i) shipping, misuse, abuse, negligence, tampering, or improper use; (ii) disasters such as fire, flood, wind, and lightning; (iii) unauthorized attachments or modification; (5) service performed or attempted by anyone other than an authorized Ashtechs Service Center; (6) any product, components or parts not manufactured by Ashtech; (7) that the receiver will be free from any claim for infringement of any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary right, including trade secrets; and (8) any damage due to accident, resulting from inaccurate satellite transmissions. Inaccurate transmissions can occur due to changes in the position, health or geometry of a satellite or modifications to the receiver that may be required due to any change in the GPS. (Note: Ashtech GPS receivers use GPS or GPS+GLONASS to obtain position, velocity and time information. GPS is operated by the U.S. Government and GLONASS is the Global Navigation Satellite System of the Russian Federation, which are solely responsible for the accuracy and maintenance of their systems. Certain conditions can cause inaccuracies which could require modifications to the receiver. Examples of such conditions include but are not limited to changes in the GPS or GLONASS transmission.) Opening, dismantling or repairing of this product by anyone other than an authorized Ashtech Service Center will void this warranty.

ASHTECH SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO PURCHASER OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DELAY OR LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF BREACH OF THIS WARRANTY OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER FAULT OFASHTECH OR NEGLIGENT USAGE OF THE PRODUCT. IN NO EVENT WILL ASHTECH BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH DAMAGES, EVEN IF ASHTECH HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

This written warranty is the complete, final and exclusive agreement between Ashtech and the purchaser with respect to the quality of performance of the goods and any and all warranties and representations. This warranty sets forth all of Ashtech's responsibilities regarding this product. This limited warranty is governed by the laws of the State of California, without reference to its conflict of law provisions or the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, and shall benefit Ashtech, its successors and assigns.

This warranty gives the purchaser specific rights. The purchaser may have other rights which vary from locality to locality (including Directive 1999/44/EC in the EC Member States) and certain limitations contained in this warranty, including the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages may not apply.

For further information concerning this limited warranty, please call or write:

Ashtech LLC, El Camino Real 451, Suite 210, CA 95050, Santa Clara, USA, Phone: +1 408 572 1103, Fax: +1 408 572 1199 or

Ashtech - ZAC La Fleuriaye - BP 433 - 44474 Carquefou Cedex France Phone: +33 (0)2 28 09 38 00, Fax: +33 (0)2 28 09 39 39.

Ashtech Products Limited Warranty (Europe, Middle East, Africa)

All Ashtech global positioning system (GPS) receivers are navigation aids, and are not intended to replace other methods of navigation. Purchaser is advised to perform careful position charting and use good judgment. READ THE USER GUIDE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE

ODUCT.

1. ASHTECH WARRANTY

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THIS WARRANTY APPLIES ONLY TO THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER OF THIS PRODUCT.

2. PURCHASER'S REMEDY

3. PURCHASER'S DUTIES

To obtain service, contact and return the product with a copy of the original sales receipt to the dealer from whom you purchased the product.

4. LIMITATION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES

EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN ITEM 1 ABOVE, ALL OTHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR MERCHANTABILITY, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED AND IF APPLICABLE, IMPLIED WARRANTIES UNDER ARTICLE 35 OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS.

Some national, state, or local laws do not allow limitations on implied warranty or how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

5. EXCLUSIONS

The following are excluded from the warranty coverage:

(1) periodic maintenance and repair or replacement of parts due to normal wear and tear;

(2) batteries;

(3) finishes;

(4) installations or defects resulting from installation;

(5) any damage caused by (i) shipping, misuse, abuse, negligence, tampering, or improper use; (ii) disasters such as fire, flood, wind, and lightning; (iii) unauthorized attachments or modification;

(6) service performed or attempted by anyone other than an authorized Ashtechs Service Center;

(7) any product, components or parts not manufactured by Ashtech,

(8) that the receiver will be free from any claim for infringement of any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary right, including trade secrets

(9) any damage due to accident, resulting from inaccurate satellite transmissions. Inaccurate transmissions can occur due to changes in the position, health or geometry of a satellite or modifications to the receiver that may be required due to any change in the GPS. (Note: Ashtech GPS receivers use GPS or GPS+GLONASS to obtain position, velocity and time information. GPS is operated by the U.S. Government and GLONASS is the Global Navigation Satellite System of the Russian Federation, which are solely responsible for the accuracy and maintenance of their systems. Certain conditions can cause inaccuracies which could require modifications to the receiver. Examples of such conditions include but are not limited to changes in the GPS or GLONASS transmission.).

Opening, dismantling or repairing of this product by anyone other than an authorized Ashtech Service Center will void this warranty.

6. EXCLUSION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES

ASHTECH SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO PURCHASER OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DELAY OR LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF BREACH OF THIS WARRANTY OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER FAULT OFASHTECH OR NEGLIGENT USAGE OF THE PRODUCT. IN NO EVENT WILL ASHTECH BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH DAMAGES, EVEN IF ASHTECH HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Some national, state, or local laws do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

7. COMPLETE AGREEMENT

THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC RIGHTS. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM LOCALITY TO LOCALITY (including Directive 1999/44/EC in the EC Member States) AND CERTAIN LIMITATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS WARRANTY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

8. CHOICE OF LAW.

This limited warranty is governed by the laws of France, without reference to its conflict of law provisions or the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, and shall benefit Ashtech, its successors and assigns.

THIS WARRANTY DOES NOT AFFECT THE CUSTOMER'S STATUTORY RIGHTS UNDER APPLICABLE LAWS IN FORCE IN THEIR LOCALITY, NOR THE CUSTOMER'S RIGHTS AGAINST THE DEALER ARISING FROM THEIR SALES/PURCHASE CONTRACT (such as the guarantees in France for latent defects in accordance with Article 1641 et seq of the French Civil Code).

For further information concerning this limited warranty, please call or write:

Ashtech SAS - ZAC La Fleuriaye - BP 433 - 44474 Carquefou Cedex France.

Phone: +33 (0)2 28 09 38 00, Fax: +33 (0)2 28 09 39 39

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Installation

Using the Manual

System Requirements

Microsoft ActiveSync

Installing FAST Survey

Authorizing FAST Survey

Hardware Notes

Color Screens

Memory

Battery Status

Save System

User Interface

Graphic Mode

View Options

Quick Calculator

Hot Keys & Hot List

Instrument Selection

Input Box Controls

Keyboard Operation

Abbreviations

FILE

Job

Job Settings (New Job)

Job Settings (System)

Job Settings (Format)

Job Settings (Options)

Job Settings (Stake)

List Points

Raw Data

Feature Code List

Data Transfer

Import/Export

Delete File

Add Job Notes

Exit

EQUIP

Total Station

GPS Setup

GPS Base

GPS Rover

GPS Utilities

Configure (General)

Configure (View Pt)

Configure (Sets)

100

Localization

101

Monitor/SkyPlot (GPS)

112

Check Level (Total Station)

114

Tolerances

114

Peripherals

116

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About FAST Survey

119

SURV

120

Orientation (Instrument Setup)

120

Orientation (Backsight)

122

Orientation (Remote Benchmark)

123

Orientation (Advanced Occupation)

124

Orientation (Robotics)

133

Store Points (TS)

135

Store Points (TS Offsets)

138

Store Points (GPS)

140

Store Points (GPS Offsets)

142

Stake Points

145

Stake Line/Arc

155

Stake Offset

169

Elevation Difference

172

Grid/Face

176

Resection

178

Set Collection

182

Leveling

188

Auto By Interval

195

Remote Elevation

197

Log Raw GPS

198

COGO

202

Keyboard Input

202

Inverse

203

Areas

204

Intersections

206

Point Projection

209

Station Store

211

Transformation

213

Calculator

216

Manual Traverse

220

Point Average

222

ROAD

224

Centerline Editor

224

Draw Centerline

229

Profile Editor

229

Draw Profile

231

Template Editor

231

Draw Template

235

Utilities

236

Stake Slope

253

Store Sections

268

Stake Road

277

MAP

283

Basics

283

FILE

285

VIEW

297

DRAW

300

COGO

314

TOOLS

323

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Tutorials

332

Tutorial 1: Calculating a Traverse (By Hand) with FAST Survey

332

Tutorial 2: Performing Math Functions in FAST Survey Input Boxes

333

Tutorial 3: Performing a Compass Rule Adjustment

333

Tutorial 4: Defining Field Codes, Line/Layer Properties & GIS Prompting

337

Tutorial 5: Standard Procedures for Conducting GPS Localizations

350

Instrument Setup by Manufacturer

357

Total Station (Geodimeter/Trimble)

357

Total Station (Leica TPS Series)

360

Total Station (Leica Robotic)

363

Total Station (Leica/Wild Older Models)

368

Total Station (Nikon)

369

Total Station (Pentax)

369

Total Station (Sokkia Set)

370

Total Station (Sokkia Robotic)

373

Total Station (Topcon 800/8000/APL1)

374

Total Station (Topcon GTS)

378

GPS (Ashtech)

378

GPS (NMEA)

381

GPS Utilities by Manufacturer

383

GPS Utilities (Magellan/Ashtech)

383

Troubleshooting

386

GPS Heights

386

Handheld Hardware

386

Miscellaneous Instrument Configuration

387

Supported File Formats

387

Raw Data

389

File Format

389

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Installation

This chapter describes the system requirements and installation instructions for FAST Survey.

Using the Manual

This manual is designed as a reference guide. It contains a complete description of all commands in the FAST Survey product.

The chapters are organized by program menus, and they are arranged in the order that the menus typically appear in FAST Survey. Some commands are only applicable to either GPS or total station use and may not appear in your menu.

Look for the icons for either GPS mode and/or total station mode, found at the start of certain chapters. These icons will be located at the top (header) of these pages, or at the start of a chapter.

For some commands both icons will be shown, indicating that the FAST Survey command can be used in both GPS and total station modes.

System Requirements

The information below describes the system requirements and installation instructions for FAST Survey.

Software

Windows CE® or Windows Mobile version 4.0 or later. Handheld PC.



Microsoft ActiveSync 3.7 and later.



RAM and Hard Disk Space Requirements

64 MB of RAM (recommended)



16 MB of hard disk space (minimum)



Hardware (Required)

StrongARM, XScale or compatible processor (hardware must be supported by the Microsoft operating system being



used)

Hardware (Optional)

Serial cable for uploading and downloading data.



Microsoft ActiveSync

If you use Windows XP or an earlier version of the Windows Operating System on your computer, Microsoft® ActiveSync® provides support for synchronizing data between a Windows-based desktop computer and Microsoft® Windows® CE or Windows® Mobile based portable devices.

ActiveSync is only compatible with Windows XP or earlier. If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, you will need to download and install Windows Mobile Device Center from Microsoft.

You should have a USB cable or 9-pin null modem cable that was included with your mobile device. Attach this cable from your desktop PC to the mobile device. Before you can install FAST Survey, your desktop PC must have Microsoft ActiveSync or Windows Mobile Device Center installed and running depending on what version of Windows is running on your computer. If you have ActiveSync on your desktop PC, you should see the ActiveSync icon in your system tray. If you do not see this icon in the tray, choose the Windows Start button, choose Programs and then choose Microsoft

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ActiveSync. If you do not have ActiveSync installed, insert the FAST Survey CD-ROM and choose “Install ActiveSync ”. You may also choose to download the latest version from Microsoft. After the ActiveSync installation starts, follow the prompts. If you need more assistance to install ActiveSync, visit Microsoft’s web site for the latest install details.

Auto Connection

If the default settings are correct, ActiveSync should automatically connect to the mobile device. When you see a dialog on the mobile device that asks you if you want to connect, press Yes.

Manual Connection

If nothing happens when you connect the cable, check to see if you have the ActiveSync icon in your system tray. If you see this icon, right click on it and choose “Connection Settings”. You should see the following dialog:

Be sure that you have selected the appropriate COM port or USB options. Assuming that you are using a COM port connection, you will choose the COM port (usually this will be COM1). Click Connect at the top right. You will now see the Get Connected dialog.

You now need to manually "link" to the remote device. Focus on the mobile device while still observing your PC screen. Observe the above dialog and, with your device properly connected to the PC, be prepared to click the Next button at the bottom. Now look at the mobile device screen for the "PC Link" icon.

First, click Next on the PC. Then immediately double-tap the PC Link icon. (You may have to do the double-tap more

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than once.) If successful, after you press Next, the following screen will appear and the connection will be made.

In ActiveSync, you will then see the New Partnership dialog. Click No to setting up a partnership, and click Next. When you see the icon in the system tray, and it is green with no "x" through it, you are connected. Once you are connected, you should see the following dialog. It should say "Connected":

Troubleshooting

If you cannot get connected, make sure that no other program is using the COM port. Programs to check for include any Fax/Modem software and other data transfer software. If you see anything you think may be using the COM port, shut it down and retry the connection with ActiveSync.

Enabling COM Port Communication for ActiveSync on Allegro, Panasonic Toughbook 01 and other CE devices

In order for ActiveSync to communicate, it may be necessary to direct the CE device to utilize the COM port as a default. Some may come set default to USB. Go to Start (on Allegro, blue key and Start button), then Settings, and open the Control Panel. Next choose the Communications icon, then PC Connection. Choose COM1 at a high baud rate, such as 57,600 baud. This will download programs and files at a high rate of speed. On the Allegro, use PC Link to connect to PC with ActiveSync. On the Panasonic Toughbook, do Start, Run, and in the Open window, type in “autosync –go” (autosync then spacebar then “minus” go). Then go to Start, then Settings, and open the Control Panel. Choose the Communications icon, then PC Connection. Change Connection to Serial Port @ 115K. Make sure “Enable

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direct connections to the desktop computer” is checked.

Note:

When using FAST Survey’s Data Transfer option, you will need to disable Serial Port Connection (uncheck Allow Serial Cable). This is done in the Connection Settings in ActiveSync. This option must be enabled again in order to use ActiveSync.

Installing FAST Survey

Before you install FAST Survey, close all running applications on the mobile device.

Connect the mobile device to the desktop PC and ensure that the ActiveSync connection is made.

Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive on the desktop PC. If Autorun is enabled, the startup program begins. The

startup program lets you choose the version of FAST Survey to install. To start the installation process without using Autorun, choose Run from the Windows Start Menu. Enter the CD-ROM drive letter, and setup. For example, enter d:\setup (where d is your CD-ROM drive letter). On the desktop PC, a Welcome dialog will appear. Click Next.

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On the next dialog, you must read and accept the FAST Survey End-User License Agreement (EULA). If you agree

with the EULA, click "I accept ..." and then select Install. If you do not agree with the EULA, click "I do not accept ..." and the installation program will quit.

The next dialog asks you to confirm the installation directory. Press Yes.

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At this point, the necessary files will be copied to the mobile device. A dialog will appear to show installation

progress.

You are given a final chance to check your mobile device. Click OK when you are ready, then click Finish on the

desktop PC.

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On the Data Collector - Tap “Install” in the bottom left to install FAST Survey to the default location of “Device”.

After tapping Install you will see an hourglass with a progress bar showing the installation progress.

Once the Status Bar finishes on the data collector it will say “Software was successfully installed”. Tap OK in the

upper right to complete the installation of FAST Survey.

Authorizing FAST Survey

The first time you start FAST Survey, you are prompted to register your license of the software. If you do not register, FAST Survey will remain in demo mode, limiting each job file to a maximum of 30 points.

1) If you open FAST Survey and it says you are in “Demo Mode”, tap Yes to register now. If you are at the Main menu of FAST Survey already you can tap the Equip tab / About FAST Survey and tap Change Registration to access this screen.

2) Type in your FAST Survey Serial number into the Serial Number box at the top

3) Tap the “Get Code” button

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4) Now go to the FAST Survey website at www.survce.com/ashtech to complete your registration via the Internet

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have access to the Internet, you may fax your company name, phone number, email

address, your FAST Survey serial number, Hardware #1, Hardware #2 and the registration code to 606-564-9525. Your registration information will be faxed back to you within 48 hours.

5) Click on the “Registration Page” icon under Version 2.0/2.5

6) Fill out this form with your Name and Company information / type in your FAST Survey Serial number in the “Serial Number” box and make sure to include the Dashes

7) Fill in the Hardware #1 and Hardware #2 boxes with the Values displayed on your Data Collector Screen {If you have trouble finding them click the “where is it located link”}

8) Choose the Reason for Install of “Initial Installataion” if this is your First time registering FAST Survey

9) Fill in the Registration Code from the screen of your Data Collector and make sure to include the Dash

10) Click the Submit Registration Button

11) If this is your first time Registering FAST Survey you may need to fill in Some Contact Details then click “Submit Contact Information”

12) If this is your first time Registering this Data Collector with FAST Survey please Select the “Device Model” from the List and fill in the “Device Serial Number” and click the “Register Device to Complete Registration” button

13) Your Change Key will be displayed in a BOX in the Top Left of the FAST Survey Registration summary. Type this change key in on the “Change Key” box on your Data Collector then tap OK

14) You should receive a message saying “Successful FAST Survey Registration!”. Tap OK

15) Your FAST Survey Software is now Fully Registered. Your change key will also be emailed to the address that you submit. Keep a copy of this email for your permanent records.

Hardware Notes

If FAST Survey quits responding, you can reset the hardware by following the applicable procedures described in the hardware documentation.

Color Screens

FAST Survey enables viewing of color. Any red, green, blue or other colored entities in DXF files will retain their color when viewed within FAST Survey. Points will appear with black point numbers, green descriptions and blue elevations. Dialogs and prompting will utilize color throughout FAST Survey.

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Memory

Memory is NOT an issue with newer data collectors running Windows Mobile. Please ignore this section of you have a Windows Mobile device. For all Windows Mobile users, there is no need to do any memory allocation. This section applies only to older, Windows CE devices like the early Rangers and Allegros.

Memory on most Windows CE devices (excluding Windows Mobile), can be allocated directly by the user for best results when running or installing FAST Survey. We recommend setting “Storage Memory” to a minimum of 16,000 KB. The following discussion is an example for setting that memory . An equivalent process should be used for other CE devices, as available.

The FAST Survey controller will function better during topo and stakeout with the "Storage Memory" set to around 18,000 KB. Use the following process to check and/or change the settings:

Go to the start menu by simultaneously hitting the double click on side, so that

Keep in mind that to upgrade software, this setting may need to be changed back, so that the Program Memory has more available. To change, do as above but slide the pointer toward the right, which is the Program side, so that

18,000 KB

around

Once the upgrade or additional software is added, you can change it back so that the pointer is more toward the Storage Memory -- around 18,000 KB.

After changing these settings, or updating software, it's a good idea to do a "Save System".

System

. Touch the

Allocated

. This assures that there is enough Program memory, so that the new updates can be saved.

is around

Memory tab

18,000 KB

Blue Key

and slide the pointer toward the left, which is the Storage Memory

and

Start

. Choose

Settings,

Control Panel,

then

Allocated

then

Battery Status

Battery Status of Data Collector

status of the data collector itself. Full black should indicate full battery. As battery levels decrease the black recedes to full white (out of battery).

Most Windows Mobile devices show an accurate battery status. If you tap the battery icon, it will display the exact battery percent available, as in 73% (for example). On some CE devices, there is no way to detect battery status, so the battery icon does not change. On other devices such as the Jett CE, a partial indication of battery status is detected as follows:

: The black icon that appears at the top of every screen is designed to indicate battery

Good - 100%



Low - 50%



Critical – 10%



Save System

On older Windows CE devices, its highly recommended that you perform a Save System on the device after installing FAST Survey or making any system level changes (eg. memory settings).

Examples:

Allegro

Start Programs Utilities Save System

This is not necessary (or even possible) on most Windows Mobile data controllers. Windows Mobile itself protects against loss of registries and data when the power is low or disrupted.

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User Interface

This chapter describes the general user interface features of FAST Survey.

Graphic Mode

Icons

FAST Survey can be configured to show either the traditional letter icons or graphical icons for several functions. To set this option, go to the EQUIP tab, select Configure and toggle the "Use Graphic Icons" check box.



(ALT-A).



taken by laser and hydrographic devices that measure distance only, or distance and azimuth (ALT-O).



preferences in FAST Survey such as the number of readings to average, function of the Store icon, and whether to

This icon will Read a measurement (ALT-R).

Total Station Only. This icon will Traverse to the measured point by advancing your setup (ALT-T).

This icon will Store a point. This function is also performed via the Enter key. (ALT-S).

This icon will lead to a dialog where the user can

This icon leads to

This icon will take you to the

ffset reading screens with options for keyed-in offsets as well as offsets

onfigure dialog, also found on the EQUIP tab. Here you set many

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verage up to 999 epochs of GPS readings

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display the Hgt/Desc prompt on Save (ALT-C).



stake data.



the instrument in search mode when then leads to lock mode when the prism is found.



the robotic total station in Standby mode, meaning it will suspend tracking mode (e.g. allows you to place the pole down, drive a stake, then resume work).



(tracking) and when pressed will stop the EDM.



distances (not tracking) and when pressed will start the EDM.



will switch the instrument to reflectorless mode.

This icon will advance stake location incrementally to the

This icon returns to the previous stakeout settings dialog where you can

This icon allows the user to override the design

OK:

This icon will accept the dialog.

Back:

This icon will return you to the previous dialog.

Exit:

This icon will return you to the main menu and dismiss any changes (ALT-X).

Standby/Search:

Locked:

Tracking is On:

Tracking is Off:

Prism Mode:

Robotics only. This icon shows that the instrument is locked on the prism, and when pressed, places

Robotics only. This status icon shows the instrument is in standby and when pressed, puts

Robotics only. This icon shows that the instrument is continuously measuring distances

Robotics only. This icon shows that the instrument is NOT continuously measuring

This icon shows that the instrument is currently configured to read a prism and when pressed

evation (ALT-E).

ext point or station (ALT-N).

odify the current design



Reflectorless Mode:

will switch the instrument to prism mode.

Stop/Go:

(ALT-G).

Monitor/SkyPlot:

Lat/Long display (ALT-D).

Tripod:

and Remote Benchmark (ALT B).

Zoom Extents:

Zoom In:

Zoom Out:

Zoom Window:

Zoom Previous:

View Options:

symbol, the style of the plot and the freezing or thawing of attributes such as descriptions and elevations. To avoid “point clutter”, you can even set it to show only the last stored point along with setup and BS. See the View Options section of this manual.

This will take you to the Instrument Setup dialog. This dialog contains Backsight, Setup, Robotics

Zooms in 25%.

Zooms out 25%

This icon shows that the instrument is currently in reflectorless mode and when pressed

This icon, inside of Auto By Interval, begins and pauses the action of recording points

This icon will take you to the Monitor/SkyPlot screen for GPS status and Coordinate and

This zooms the entire drawing to fit the screen.

Zooms into a rectangular area that you pick on the map screen.

Zooms to the previous view. FAST Survey remembers up to 50 views.

Displays the View Options dialog box, where you can control aspects of points such as the



Pan

Settings

: This icon leads to settings associated with the current command or option.

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You can also pan the screen simply by touching it, then holding and dragging your finger or stylus along the screen surface. Pan is automatic and needs no prior command.

View/Edit Points by Touch

You can edit or delete any point by simply clicking on it graphically. In the Store Points command, clicking on a point also allows you to Re-Measure the point location, both in GPS and Total Station mode.

Text Mode

The Text screen uses a large character size for easy viewing, and limits options to Monitor/Skyplot, Offset and Store. Select the Text mode by clicking on the Helmet in the upper left of the screen, in most active survey commands, choosing Text. You can return to the Graph view by tapping the Helmet icon and choosing Graph. You can also temporarily view your points on the screen by tapping screen. Note that the program will remember which screen you were in last (Graph or Text) and return to that mode of data collection automatically.

Map

, then tap

Back

to return to the text-based data collection

View Options

The graphic view has all of the standard zoom icons as well as a View Setting Icon in the lower left. This icon allows you to change the way the graphical items will be displayed. The View Setting Icon will show more options such as the "Alt-F" (store last point only) option when clicked during commands such as Store Points and Stake Points (active survey commands).

Freeze All:



Each attribute can be toggled off separately as well.

Font Size



Use Decimal as Point Location:



point of the elevation. It applies if the "dot" symbol is used.

Set Attribute Colors:



Only Display Last Stored Point (ALT-F):



collected, the instrument and backsight points, and the last point collected. This is a popular setting to reduce the clutter of numerous points displayed all at once.

Auto Zoom



magnification, and in stakeout commands, the zoom includes your target and current location. If turned off, the program holds the current window.

Draw Trail



direction of movement is shown by an added trail or tail associated with the arrowhead (current position).

WCS Icon



The Data tab goes to a secondary screen which normally shows only the Intelligent Zoom option, but when selected from the Map screen (globe icon), also includes Traverse Defaults:

This toggle will freeze (hide from view) the point attributes (e.g. Point ID, Elevation and Description).

: Points can be small (default setting) or large and bold for easier readability.

This toggle will adjust the text location so that the point location is the decimal

This button will allow users to specify the colors of the point text (color units only).

This toggle will result in FAST Survey only displaying the linework

: Normally clicked on, this setting zooms to your location in survey commands at the current zoom

: For GPS and robotic total station work where the current position is updated continuously, the

: This shows the N/E icon on the graphic screen, for orientation.

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Intelligent Zoom



"Intelligent Zoom" allows you to pick the point from the screen in a condensed area of points, and the program will auto-zoom allowing you to pick again and obtain the precise point that you want. If Intelligent Zoom is off, you would instead see a list of points and must pick from the list or return to the Map screen and zoom in closer using the Zoom + or Zoom Window options.

Traverse Defaults



instrument height, rod height and zenith angles as set in this dialog, and will optionally store to the raw file for processing. This allows for very fast manual entry of raw field data.

: When selecting points "From Map" in commands such as Inverse or Stake Points, the

: The T for Traverse and S for Sideshot commands, within the Map screen, will prompt for

Quick Calculator

From virtually any dialog entry line in the program, the ? command will go to the Calculator routines and allow copying and pasting of any selected calculation result back into the dialog entry line.

For example, if you were grading a site that had 4 subgrades, and had modeled the top surface, you need to grade to the lowest subgrade surface with a vertical offset of (0.12+0.15+0.33+0.25). You could quickly obtain the value by entering ? in the Vertical Offset field within the

Elevation Difference

dialog, as shown in this next figure.

This leads immediately to the Standard tab, we can enter 0.12+0.15+0.33+0.25 and then "=" . Then select the the banner line at the very top of the screen. Then choose edit box. Change the sign to "-" for negative, as needed. Calculations can also be done directly from the edit box within the units setting. In this same edit box, you could also enter 19.5/12, which would do the division directly in the edit box.

Vertical Offset

Calculator

dialog. You could enter "19.5 in" for inches, which would auto-convert to feet or the current

dialog, with its four tabs, or options, many with sub-options. Using the

Copy

button, which places the value in

Paste

to paste the value back into the

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Vertical Offset

dialog

Page 21

Hot Keys & Hot List

The ALT key commands take the form ALT-C (Configure Reading) or ALT-N (Next Point). The ALT key and the subsequent "Hot Key" (“C” or “N”, as mentioned here) can be entered at nearly the same time or with any delay desired. If you press ALT and delay the entry of the hot key, you will see a text instruction: “Waiting for HotKey… Press Alt again to return”. A second ALT returns to the previous position in the program without executing any command. ALT< and ALT- > will brighten or darken screens on “At Work” brand CE data collectors.

List of Hot Key Commands Activated by ALT

Many of the hot keys work only within related data gathering commands, as opposed to working from the main menus. Hot Keys vary by command. For example, in the Store Points screen, the hot keys are as follows.

ALT-R



ALT-S



ALT-O



ALT-C



ALT-B



Here is a list of other common hot keys:

ALT-E



Elevation Difference and virtually all stakeout commands except Stakeout Points, ALT-E will allow the user to enter an alternate design elevation different from the computed current design elevation. The screen prompt appears below:

ALT-F



all but the setup point number, backsight point number and current foresight shot. This is helpful when points are densely located. Alt F again returns to the full point plot. Linework remains. In GPS Mode, Alt-F hides (freezes) all points, but shows a solid square symbol for the last GPS-measured point.

ALT-H:



: Read (Total Station Only)

: Store (or Shot/Store)

: Offset

:Configure Reading

: Backsight (Total Station Only)

: Target Elevation — From the stakeout screen in any Stakeout Line/Arc command, Offset Stakeout,

: Foresight Only Toggle. When in the Store Points graphic screen and taking new shots, ALT-F will freeze

Help. Takes you to the Help menu, where available.

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ALT-I

Key

GPS

Conventional TS

Robotic TS

Take Average Reading

Read and Store (All)

Total Station Setup

Setup and Robotics

Configure Reading

Configure Reading, Sets, Settings and Search

Monitor GPS

Manual Read

Leica: Toggle EDM; Others: Manual Read

Freeze Points

Freeze Points G

Start/Stop

Start/Stop Interval Recording



  

   

In most measurement screens you can also select the FAST Survey Helmet icon at the top left to access the hot list of shortcuts to other routines. Depending on what commands you are in, or if a Bluetooth devices is involved (Reconnect option), the Helmet options appear as shown:

: Inverse. Does a quick inverse, and upon exit, returns you to the command you were in. Inverse is also

accessible from the Helmet in the upper left of the screen, in many commands including Store Points.

ALT-J

: Joystick. Applies only to robotic total station. Takes you to the Settings option. ALT-J typically only functions if you are configured for a robotic total station. ALT-J will work from within data gathering commands, most stakeout commands (eg. Stake Points) and from the main menus.

ALT-L

: List, as in Feature Code List. When entered in any Description field, this will recall the Feature Code List, which displays the characteristics (layer/linework) of the feature code. This serves not only as a way to select the code and apply it to the description, but it also serves as a handy reminder of the code’s properties. Helmet-Codes also goes to the Feature Code List.

ALT-M

ALT-N

ALT-T

presented for verification. Applies when in the Store Points routine.

ALT-V

ALT-W

ALT-X

SDR8100 is an exception. This device uses the ‘=’ symbol.)

: Map Screen. ALT-M will switch to the map screen.

: Next. Moves you to the Next point or station in the Stakeout commands.

: Traverse. Takes a reading and advances the setup to the measured point. The instrument setup dialog is

: Shortcut to View the Raw Data, Point Data, Feature Codes and Cutsheets.

: Write a Note anytime with this command. Notes store to the Raw File.

: Shortcut to Exit most commands. Similar to Esc (escape key).

: The ‘?’ character can be used in any field that requires a numerical entry to access the Calculator. (The Sokkia

While in any Topo (Store Points) or Stakeout routine, a number of features are accessible by pressing ALT, followed by the corresponding Hot Key. Below is a list of Hot Keys arranged by routine and equipment type.

Action in Topo Mode Summary

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Interval Recording

Help

Inverse

Sokkia Motorized: Joystick

Joystick

Calculator

Feature Code List

Feature Code List M

View Map

Offset Point Collection

List Points

Toggle Prompt for Hgt/Desc

Toggle Prompt for Hgt/Desc On and Off

Read

Read and Store

Store

Traverse

View Raw File

Write Job Notes

Exit to Main Menu

Toggle Graphics/T ext Mode

Toggle Graphics/Text Mode (Helmet-Graph to return)

Zoom to Point

Action in Stakeout Mode Summary

Key

GPS

Conventional TS

Robotic TS

Total Station Setup

Configure Reading

Monitor GPS

Leica: Toggle EDM

Set Target Elevation

Set Target Elevation F

Freeze Points

Help

Inverse

Sokkia Motorized: Joystick

Joystick K

Calculator

Feature Code List

View Map

Next Point/Station to Stake

Next Point/Station to Stake O

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List Points

Read

Read and Store

Store

View Raw File

Write Job Notes

Exit to Main Menu

Toggle Graphics/Text Mode

Toggle Graphics/Text Mode (Helmet-Graph to return)

Zoom to Point

Instrument Selection

The user can switch between current instruments using the Instrument Selection flyout on the top bar of FAST Survey.

Input Box Controls

When point IDs are used to determine a value, the program will search for the point IDs in the current job. If not found it will then search in the control job, if active.

Formatted Distance/Height Entries

Entries for distances or heights that include certain special or commonly understood measurement extensions are automatically interpreted as a unit of measurement and converted to the working units as chosen in job setup. For example, a target height entry of 2m is converted to 6.5617 feet if units are configured for feet. The extension can appear after the number, separated by a space (2 m), or can be directly appended to the number (2m). For feet and inch conversion, the second decimal point informs the software that the user is entering fractions (See Below). Recognized text and their corresponding units are shown below:

     

f or ft:

US Feet

i or ift:

International Feet

in:

Inches

cm:

Centimeters

Meters

#.##.#:

Feet and Inches (e.g. 1.5.3.8 = 1'5 3/8" either entry format is supported)

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These extensions are automatically recognized for target heights and instrument heights, and within certain distance entry dialogs. Entries are not case sensitive.

Formatted Bearing/Azimuth Entries

Most directional commands within FAST Survey allow for the entry of both azimuths and bearings. Azimuth entries are in the form 350.2531 (DDD.MMSS), representing 350 degrees, 25 minutes and 31 seconds. But that same direction could be entered as N9.3429W or alternately as NW9.3429. FAST Survey will accept both formats. Additional directional entry options, which might apply to commands such as Intersection under Cogo, are outlined below:

If options in Job Settings are set to Bearing and Degrees (360 circle), the user can enter the quadrant number before the angle value.

Example

120.1234

The result is N20°12’34’’E.

Quadrants 1 NE 2 SE 3 SW 4 NW

In the case where Job Settings have been set for Bearing, and the user would like to enter an Azimuth, the letter A can be placed before the azimuth value and the program will convert it to a Bearing.

Example A20.1234

The result is N20°12’34’’E.

In the case where Job Settings is set to Azimuth and the user would like to enter a bearing, the quadrant letters can be used before the bearing value.

Example NW45.0000

The result is 315°00’00”.

Formatted Angle Entries Interior Angle:

The user can compute an angle defined by three points by entering the point IDs as <Point ID>,<Point ID>,Point ID>. The program will return the interior angle created by the three points using the AT-FROM-TO logic. Such entries might apply to the Angle Right input box in Store Points when configured to Manual Total Station.

Example 1,2,3

Using the coordinates below, the result is 90°00’00”. Point 2 would be the vertex point.

Pt. North East 1 5500 5000 2 5000 5000 3 5000 5500

Mathematical Expressions

Mathematical expressions can be used in nearly all angle and distance edit boxes. For example, within the Intersection routine, an azimuth can be entered in the form 255.35-90, which means 255 degrees, 35 minutes minus 90 degrees. Additionally, point-defined distances and directions can be entered with a comma as separator, as in 4,5. If point 4 to point 5 has an azimuth of 255 degrees, 35 minutes, then the same expression above could be entered as 4,5-90. For math, the program handles “/”, “*”, “-“ and “+”. To go half the distance from 103 to 10, enter 103,10/2.

Point Ranges

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When ranges of points are involved, such as in stakeout lists, a dash is used. You can enter ranges in reverse (e.g.. 75-50), which would create a list of points from 75 down to 50 in reverse order. For example, in Stake Points, you could enter 75-50 for the point to stake, click "Add to List", then starting at point 75, stake 74, then 73, etc. by clicking N for Next.

Survey Data Display Controls ANGLE

The angle control will display the angle as defined by the current settings in Job Settings.

Options are available for Azimuth (North or South) or Bearing combined with the option of Degrees or Grads.

Format

The display format of degrees uses the degree, minute, and second symbols. For the case of a bearing we display the quadrant using the characters N, S, W, E.

Example Bearing N7°09'59"E Example Azimuth 7°09'59"

All angular values entered by the user should be in the DD.MMSS format.

Example

7.0959 The result is 7°09'59".

Formulas

Formulas can be entered for working with angles. The format must have the operator after the angle value. Example

90.0000 * 0.5 The result would be 45°00’00”

DISTANCE

The distance control will display the value using the current Job Settings unit. You can enter a formula using the mathematical operators as described above.

Inverse

You can compute a distance from a point-to-point inverse by entering <Point ID>,<Point ID>. Example 1,2 Using the coordinates listed below, the result is 500’. Pt. North East 1 5500 5000 2 5000 5000

STATION

The station control will display the value using the current Job Settings format. The same options described above for distance input boxes apply.

SLOPE

The slope control will display the value using the current Job Settings format.

Keyboard Operation

FAST Survey allows the user to operate the interface entirely from keyboard navigation, as well as touch screen navigation. The rules for keyboard navigation are outlined below:

Controls

Button (Radio Buttons, Check Boxes and Standard Buttons)



Enter:

Right/Left Arrows:

Select the button.

Move to the next tab stop.

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Right



Left



Up/Down Arrows:

Down



Tab:

In Menus like Job Settings, Tab Right and Tab Left move through the tab headings (New Job, System, Format, Options, Stake) along the top of the dialog, while the right and left arrows move up and down through the options within each tab.

Drop List



o o

Edit Box



o o

Tab



o o

Move to the next tab stop.

Enter: Right/Left Arrows:

Up/Down Arrows: Tab:

Enter:

take a reading. For all other edit boxes, ENTER moves through the tab stops.

Right/Left Arrows: Up/Down Arrows:

Tab:

Enter: Right/Left Arrows:

Up/Down Arrows:

Tab:

Selects the highlighted option within each drop list.

Right



Left



Move to the next tab stop.

Move to the next tab stop. For any measurement screen, if focus is in the description edit box,

Down



Move to the next tab stop.

Right



Left



Down



Move to the next tab stop.

[Tab]

[Shift+Tab]

Move to the next tab stop.

[Tab]

[Shift+Tab]

Move to the next tab stop.

[Tab]

[Shift+Tab]

Move through the list items.

Move through the text like standard windows.

Move to the next tab stop.

[Tab]

[Shift+Tab]

Move through the tabs.

Next Tab

Previous Tab

Move to the next tab stop.

[Tab]

[Shift+Tab]

Abbreviations

Adr: Address



AR: Angle Right



Avg: Average



Az: Azimuth



Bk: Back



Calc: Calculate



Char: Character



Chk: Check



cm: Centimeter



Coord(s): Coordinate(s)



Ctrl: Control



Desc: Description



Dev: Deviation



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Diff: Difference



Dist: Distance



El: Elevation



Fst: Fast



ft: Foot



Fwd: Forward



HD: Horizontal Distance



HI: Height of Instrument.



Horiz: Horizontal



Ht: Height or Height of Antenna with GPS.



HT: Height of Target.



ID: Identifier



ift: International Foot



in: Inch



Inst: Instrument



Int: Interval



L: Left



m: Meter



No: Number



OS: Offset



Prev: Previous



Pt: Point ID



Pts: Points



R: Right



Rdg: Reading



SD: Slope Distance



Sta: Station



Std: Standard



Vert: Vertical



ZE: Zenith



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FILE

This chapter provides information on using the commands from the File menu.

Job

This command allows you to select an existing coordinate file for your job or to create a new coordinate file. The standard file selection dialog box appears for choosing a coordinate file, as shown in the next figure. Buttons for moving up the directory structure, creating a new folder, listing file names and listing file details appear in the upper right corner of the dialog box.

All data points you collect are stored in the coordinate (.crd) file you select or create. The .crd file extension will automatically be appended to the file name.

Select Existing Job

To select an existing job, browse to and select an existing file, then select OK (the green check icon).

Create a New Job

To create a new job, simply enter a new name and select OK. You can control where your job is saved by browsing to the desired folder where the job is to be created before entering the new name and selecting OK. You can also create a new folder for this new file name. Following job creation, you will be asked to enter in Job Attribute information. This feature lets you set up prompting for each new job with job-related attributes like Client, Jurisdiction, Weather Conditions and the like. The information is stored in the raw file. This is discussed in detail in the Job Setting section.

Copy and Paste Job

The Copy icon at the top of the dialog let's you copy an existing file and then paste it with the Paste icon into a different

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directory, as selected.

Note:

If you key in a coordinate file that already exists, it will load the file instead of overwriting it with a new file. The

benefit of this feature is that you cannot accidentally overwrite an existing coordinate file from within FAST Survey.

Job Settings (New Job)

This tab allows you to configure how all new jobs will be created.

Prompt for First Pt



when starting a new job. If enabled, you specify the default starting point coordinates in the left column. This applies for total station use only.

Prompt for Units



start a new job.

Use Last Job Localization:



project scale. If this feature is disabled, each new job will start out with no localization and a project scale of 1.0. The default value is off.

Attach Last Control Data:



the control file will automatically be deactivated during new job creation.

Cutsheets:



your job was named Macon1.crd, then the 3 cutsheet files created would be Macon1-Pt.txt (for non-alignment, point-only stakeout), Macon1-CL.txt (for stakeout involving alignments) and Macon1-Sl.txt (for slope staking). Recall Previous will allow the user to use the same cutsheets on all new jobs. With Manual, the control file will automatically be deactivated during new job creation and you will need to create cutsheet files within the Stake tab of Job Settings. Cutsheets normally store in ASCII (*.txt) format but can store in EXCEL (*.csv) format if selected within Job Settings, Options.

Use Template DXF:



will be used and displayed in the field. The feature works well with use of Feature Codes for linework. If you designate code 201, for example, as a pavement edge in the layer BitPav, you could make a blank DXF drawing with BitPav layer created, set to color blue. Then using that "template dxf" file, everytime you code a 201, you will see the blue linework as an extra confirmation of correct coding. This color-coding could be repeated for other often used layers.

Define Job Attributes:



Jurisdiction, Weather Conditions, Party Chief and other notes. These will prompt when each new job is started, and the attributes and entries will appear in the raw file (.rw5) file. Select Add to enter new attributes.

Auto-Save by job will automatically create cutsheet files (in the last format used) for each new job. If

: This option specifies whether or not FAST Survey will prompt you to specify a starting point

: This option specifies whether or not FAST Survey will prompt you to set the units when you

If this feature is enabled, each new job will use the previous job’s localization file and

This allows the user to use the same control file on all new jobs. With this option off,

This allows users to create an empty DXF file that contains all of the layers and colors that

This lets you set up prompting, for each new job, for job-related attributes like Client,

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Job Settings (System)

This tab allows you to define the units for the current job.

Distance



or International Feet is selected, you have the option to display distances as decimal feet (Dec Ft) or Feet and Inches (Inches). This is a display property only and will not change the format of the data recorded to the raw file.

Angle



(also refered to as grads- 400 circle and fully decimal). An angle of 397.9809 gons is equivalent to 358 degrees, 10 minutes and 58 seconds. (Note: you can verify this in Cogo, Calculator, Conversion tab). The Angle Unit configuration impacts commands such as Inverse, Traverse, Sideshot, Input-Edit Centerline and other commands where a direction is displayed or entered.

Zero Azimuth Setting



Edit Projection List



This is done by selecting projectcions from Predefined choices, per the menu option below. Predefined choices include NAD 27 and NAD 83 for the United States and UTM for projections around the globe, as well as individual country projections. You can also Add User Defined projection systems, where you enter the New System name, choose the Projection type for an extensive list, then enter all the information requested such as False Northing, False Easting, and the items within "New Datum".

: Select the units that you want to use. Choices include US Feet, International Feet, and Metric. If US Feet

: This offers the option of degrees (360 circle, 60 minutes to a degree and 60 seconds to a minute) or gons

: Allows you to specify the direction for zero azimuth, North or South.

: You can create a short list of commonly used projections that appear in the pulldown list.

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Note:

The Projection selection applies primarily to GPS work and your localization file. It enables automatic calculation of grid to ground and ground to grid factors, for example (See Localization). However, the Projection can also apply to total station work. When you do any processing of your data within the Raw Data option (File Menu), there is an option "Reduce to Grid Coordinates". If this option is turned on, then the position on the projection is calculated for each point in the traverse and for each sideshot, and leads to a specific grid factor. The grid factor, combined with the elevation factor, leads to computation of the combined factor, which is applied to each traverse and sideshot. The program then calculates the fieldwork at sea level on the projection (ground to grid). This can improve your closures especially when traversing from one known grid system monument to another. Selecting and applying the correct projection is also useful when trying to match total station measurements (often located on the ground) to GPS-based survey work (typically located on the grid, at sea level).

Job Settings (Format)

This tab allows you to select the viewing format of the data displayed and entered in the current job.

Coordinate Display Order:



East then North.

Angle Entry and Display



prompting and displays in Sideshot Traverse (the backsight as azimuth or bearing), Intersections, and Inverse.

Vertical Observation Display



Vertical Angle (90 degrees up, 0 degrees level) or Elevation Difference (up is positive in absolute units, down is negative). Normally combine Elevation Difference with Horizontal Distance. If combined with Slope Distance, the non-zero Elevation Difference will be used to compute the equivalent zenith angle and will reduce the Slope Distance to a lesser Horizontal Distance. (Applies to entries in Manual Total Station mode).

This option allows you to display coordinates with the order of North then East or

: Options are Bearing or Azimuth. This applies to numerous commands, such as

: Allows you to set the default prompting to Zenith (0 degrees up, 90 degrees level),

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Distance Observation Display



station readings.

Slope Entry and Display



Percent, Degrees or Ratio; however, some commands such as 3D Inverse will automatically report both slope and ratio and are unaffected.

Station Display



the U.S., for example, roads designed in feet are “stationed” by every 100 feet, so that a road at linear position

14280.5 is given a station of 142+80.50. Metric roads in the U.S. are often stationed by kilometers, where the same road position has a station of 14+280.500. You can configure the placement of the “+” as desired, independent of your configuration for metric vs feet units. You can also configure for a purely decimal display of stationing/chainage, as in 14280.500. This display form shows up in such commands as Input-Edit Centerline, within the Start Station dialog box. Please note that you should still input the stationing in purely numeric form, without the “+” convention. Only the display is impacted by this option.

: This option impacts the display of centerline stationing, sometimes referred to as “chainage”. In

: Options are Slope or Horizontal. This applies to the values displayed from total

: Whenever slopes are reported or prompted, you have the option to specify the default in

Job Settings (Options)

This tab allows you to set configuration options for the current job.

Time Stamp Each Point



Raw files in FAST Survey have a .RW5 extension and are nearly identical to the TDS .RW5 format. See the image below for simple FAST Survey .RW5 file.

Store GPS Accuracy in Raw File



the horizontal and vertical quality as reported by the GPS will be stored to the raw file with each point (RMS or CEP/SEP typically).

: When enabled, a date and time stamp will be noted in the raw file beside each point.

: This option is available when configured to any GPS equipment. If enabled,

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Use Code Table for Descriptions



draw symbols and linework within specific layers. Special code icons also appear when "Hgt/Desc Prompt on Save" is on (within Equip-Configure). If "Use Code Table" is clicked off, use of feature codes is disabled and no linework or symbol drawing will occur. When clicked off, only the current descriptions used in the current job will appear. Most users will turn on the "Use Code Table" option and access the power of the feature codes. Only users who do not want linework and symbols and only wish to see the specific descriptions in their current, active job will benefit from turning off "Use Code Table". When clicked off, only the current descriptions used in the active job appear for re-use by picking.

: This feature activates feature code usage. If on, feature codes can be used to

Recall Job Road Files



in the non-roading version of FAST Survey. When enabled, this option will recall the last roading files (centerlines, profiles, templates, superelevation files, etc.) used in road stakeout. Routines in the Road menu such as Stake Road and Slope Staking will automatically recall the last-used roading files

Recall Job Localization



for several days. It allows you to set up the base in the same location, change only the base antenna height in Configure Base (if applicable), then continue to work. You must have at least 1 point in the file (which initiates the RW5, “raw”, file) for the GPS localization to be auto-recalled. With this option disabled, you would have to go to Localization within the Equip menu and Load the stored localization (.dat) file. Even with the option turned on, you can always move to a new job and create or load another localization file. The localization file (*.dat file) is recalled as long as there is at least one coordinate point in the job.

Auto Load Map and Auto Save Map



These maps can be created by using the command IDXF which imports a DXF drawing file. AutoCad DXF formats 12 through 2000 are fully compatible and will import. Microstation DXF files and DXF files from other CAD programs will also work. Linework (referred to as polylines) can be produced within the MAP view by using the PL (polyline) command, or other commands such as Offset (O2 and O3). In addition, use of Feature Codes, where linework is associated with field codes such as EP for edge-of-pavement, will lead to the drawing of polylines in the Map view. These maps can then be auto-saved whenever you exit a coordinate file, and auto-loaded whenever you load a particular coordinate file. The maps are saved in DXF format. It is typical to enable both Auto Load Map and Auto Save Map if you want to auto-recall your latest map. If Auto Load Map is on and Auto Save Map is turned off, you will recall the map that was saved previously—when Auto Save Map was on. If you want to start your map from a clean slate (from the point plot only—which always appears in map view), you can turn off Auto Load Map and re-enter the program. Then add polylines, use IDXF to import maps (polylines), then click on Auto Save Map and Auto Load Map and you will store and recall only the new linework.

: This command only applies to Stakeout Centerline, Offset Stakeout, and Point Projection

: Enabling this option is advisable if you are working on the same job with GPS equipment

: Maps can be viewed in the MAP and Graphic views within FAST Survey.

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Note:

The above graphic display is non-default. In the Map screen, the normal display includes pull down menus. These can be disabled by selecting Preferences under the File menu. The screen shown below will appear with display options. The pull down menu format is recommended, since it contains the same graphic space, and also responds identically to keyed-in commands (such as PL for polyline).

Recall Image Database



database background screen, such as an aerial photo, on each new job or existing job. Whatever image is actively displayed when the option is selected will be displayed when other jobs are loaded. If no image is active when the option is selected, then it has no effect. This would be useful for repeated new jobs where a particular aerial photo graphic is needed for reference. The actual graphic used is set within the Map screen, Tools menu, option Place World Image, Use Image Database.

Allow Import .dxf/.dwg Options



.dxf and .dwg files. If you wish to avoid importing and exporting of points and want to focus only on linework, then this option can be turned off.

: Similar to the DXF file used for new jobs, this option would recall and place an image

: This creates additional options within the Map Screen, Import and Export of

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Default Cutsheets to EXCEL (*.csv) Files



Use Control File



file.

Select File



control file, even when the control file option is disabled (in which case it is grayed out). Control files remain associated with active coordinate files.

: The control file is used for selecting and using points that don’t exist in your current working

: You need to select a file for the control file. The chosen file appears, and will remain as the default

: Stores Cutsheets in *.csv (EXCEL) format.

General Rule:

the control file. If the point is not found in either file, a warning that the point does not exist will be displayed. You can force a point to come from the control file or the current file, regardless of settings, by using the List icon to the right of the point ID input box. While in the point list selection window, select the Control file radio button prior to selecting the desired point.

Stakeout Option:

Job Settings and set the program to give priority to the control file points when duplicate points exist. If this option is turned on, and the selected point is found in both files, you will actually be staking out the point from the control file.

Coordinate File Rule:

file. This allows users to avoid large gaps in coordinate files and eliminates the potential for conflicting points.

Raw Data File Rule:

processing purposes. There will not be an SP record written for control file points, only an OC record. Note that if the raw file is reprocessed, the point will be written to the current coordinate file.

FAST Survey will always look for the defined point in the current working file first, and then

Control files work similarly in stakeout. However, you can go to the STAKEOUT tab in

At no time will a point be automatically copied from the control file into the current

Any time a point is occupied, the occupation record (OC) is written to the raw file for

Job Settings (Stake)

This tab allows you to set configuration options for the stakeout routines.

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Precision:



Store Data Note File



Use this to control the decimal precision reported during stakeout routines.

: This option specifies whether or not to store the stakeout data in the note file (.NOT) for the current job. At the end of staking out a point, there is an option to store the staked coordinates in the current job. Note (.NOT) files are associated with points, so you must store the point to also store the cutsheet note. This additional data includes the target coordinates for reference. Keep in mind that the cut and fill data is also stored in the raw file. You can also store an ASCII cutsheet file using the button at the bottom of the dialog, so storing into the note file is somewhat redundant. FAST Survey does not show the cutsheet note within List Points (notes turned on), since this feature only shows notes that begin with “Note:”. See command Cutsheet Report, option Note File.

Control File Points have Priority for Stakeout



: This option, which applies to both total stations and GPS, will give priority to the control file point during stakeout, when the point requested exists in both the current file and the control file.

Note:

Use this option with care. You may not realize that this option is set, and will discover that directions to your expected stakeout point of 10 are really based on a point 10 from another file altogether – the control file.

Use Automatic Descriptions:



based on the settings defined by the

Increment ID UP/Increment ID Down



This allows you to have descriptions automatically entered for staked locations

Auto Descriptions

dialog.

: Within the Stake Points command, you may need to stake points in decreasing order (see below). In this case, you can preset to Increment ID Down, so prompting would be 87, then 86, then 85, etc.

Stake Offset Desc

This allows you to define what the ID is called for each offset location in the Stake Offset routine.

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Auto Descriptions

This button allows you to configure the point description when you store points in stakeout. The very act of storing a staked point is optional. You can stake a point or a station and offset, but must click

Store Point

within the stakeout

screens to actually store a point. If you do choose to store the point, the description is configurable. See image below.

A user in Australia or Great Britain might want to change the STA for “Station” to CH for “Chainage”. An example of a typical stake description, based on your configuration settings, is shown at the bottom left of the screen. The first line (STK1317 CB#22 CUT 2.100) represents a typical Stake Point description, where CB#22 is the description you would enter, and the rest is governed by your Stake Description settings. Similarly, if centerline-based stakeout is being conducted, then the lower line would apply. The description (CL in this case) is the only aspect entered by the user in the field during stakeout. All the rest is reported based on your Stake Description settings. If you turn off an item, note how it will not appear in the reported “sample” description. The “+” in the station can also be configured to appear or not appear, but this is set globally within the Units Tab of Job Settings. The behavior of the On/Off, Up/Down and Update buttons is identical to that discussed above in the Cutsheet discussion.

Other routines, particularly Cross Section Survey and Slope Staking (part of the Roading features), have their own settings for descriptions. When any automatic description for stakeout is turned on, the program will no longer default to the last-entered description; it will use the “automatic” description instead. If you type a new description, you will turn off the “automatic” stakeout description. If you delete the default (new) description, the program will return to using the automatic stakeout description. To delete, you can simply place the cursor in the description field and hit the delete key — there is no need to first highlight the description.

Alignment Settings

This dialog allows the user to define how all alignments and roads are staked.

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Alignments Tab (Applies to N for Next Station and all auto-incrementing of stations)

Increment from Starting Station:



stationing format), this option would conduct stakeout by interval measured from station 1020. So a 50 interval stakeout, instead of being 1050, 1100, 1150 would be 1020, 1070, 1120, etc.

Extend Alignments:



them beyond their defined limits.

Stake Start and End Stations:



when they do not fall on the even station.

Stake CL Alignment Points:



fall on the even station.

Stake Profile Points:



even station.

Stake High and Low Points:



not fall on the even station.

Template Series Station



ranges of stations and transitioning between templates, then all stations entered in the *.tsf file for starting and ending a particular template will appear in the incrementing list of stations.

Combine Station Equations:



Apply Station Equations:



of the alignment.

Offset Gap Type: Fillet:



Stakeout Line/Arc routine at a straight corners as: radius fillet or radius zero fillet.

Allow Reference Centerline



Centerline") icon appears in Stake Line/Arc and other alignment-based roading routines. This allows stakeout to a target alignment referencing a "master centerline" for forward-back instructions, and for reporting.

Remove Sta Eq when Loading SCT File



sections. Applies to Input-Edit Section File and Section File Conversion, within Road Menu, Utilities. For example, if you had 4 stations, 0+00, 0+50, 1+00 and 1+50, but had a station equation where 0+75 forward = 0+50 back, the equation is removed, and the 4 stations become 0+00, 0+50, 1+25 and 1+75.

Remove Sta Eq when Loading PRO File



profiles.

Limit Station Range:



of a given centerline.

Use Station and Offset List:



Offset routine to use a pre-defined list of station, offset, and elevation information as defined by the user. This is sometimes referred to as “Cutsheet” list. An ASCII file with a .CUT file extension is required. The file format is shown below:

This projects a tangent line off of the first and last segments of the alignment for extending

This instructs the software to stop at these critical locations even when they do not fall on the

: If a Template Series File (*.tsf) file is used, which is a series of templates applied to

This allows the user to ignore the station equations so that the station reflects the length

This allows the user to define the offset gap type used when defining offsets within

When selected, the program will not automatically advance beyond the natural start and end

For centerlines that start on an “odd” station such as 1020 (10+20 in U.S.

This instructs the software to start and increment to these critical locations even

This instructs the software to stop at these critical locations even when they do not

This instructs the software to increment to these critical locations even when they do

This allows the user to overlap the station equations.

: With this option clicked On, a "Reference Centerline" (sometimes called "Master

: Special feature to remove reference to station equations on loaded cross

: Special feature to remove reference to station equations on loaded

Use this option to load a predefined list of stations and offsets. This allows the Stake

Station, Offset, Elevation, Description, as in 20100, -11.5, 102.34,

20109.23, -11.5, 102.35, PC

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Road Tab

Next icon advances to:



This defines how the "Next" icon will behave. It can advance to the next station or the

next offset location.

Stake Section File Locations:



This instructs the software to stop at these critical locations even when they do not

fall on the even station.

Sections Include Catch Points:



This instructs the software whether or not the design sections were extracted to the shoulder or the design catch location. If the design catch location is included in the section, the software will automatically determine the pivot point at the next interior section point for slope staking purposes. The design slope ratio will be determined by the last two points in the section.

Always Zoom All:



Hold Offset/Hold Grade ID



This zooms the preview window automatically to fit the extents of the current section.

: If Hold Offset is selected, the zoom holds the actual numerical offset of 12, for example, for a 12' roadway width but if Grade ID is selected, the zoom holds the calculated position of the Grade ID and factors in widening of the lane. This applies to cross section viewing within Stake Road.

Zoom In/Out:



Vertical Scale:



Display Slope as Ratio



This determines the zoom increment of the preview window.

This allows the user to exaggerate the scale vertically.

: Instructs the program to display ratio instead of slopes--useful for cut and fill slope

display.

Degree of Curvature:



This allows the user to define the value of the base value used to define the degree of

curvature: 100 ft it is the default value used for US Feet or US International Feet.

Use Railroad Type Curves:



This allows the user to define the use of railroad definition for the curves present

within the alignment used inside the Stakeout Line/Arc routine.

Cutsheets

There can be as many as three cutsheet files active at one time, one for point staking cutsheets, one for centerline staking cutsheets and one for slope stake cutsheets. All three cutsheet files can be given distinct names, and any of the three can be turned on or off for purposes of storing. It is even possible to have a fourth, named, cutsheet file if cutsheets are turned on within Cross Section Survey in the Roading menu. And finally, if cutsheets are reported from the raw file, a distinct new name can be assigned prior to recalling the raw file and creating the cutsheet file. All cutsheet files are ASCII and can be viewed in a text editor or an Excel Spreadsheet.

The Cutsheets button leads to the following options:

Point Stakes:



Toggling this option on enables writing to the selected cutsheet file. The buttons allow the user to select the file, customize the Point Cutsheet report format as well as edit and view the current point cutsheet file. This applies to the command Stake Points.

Alignment Stakes:



Toggling this option on enables writing to the selected cutsheet file. The buttons allow the user to select the file, customize the Alignment Cutsheet report format, and edit and view the current alignment cutsheet file. This applies to commands within Stake Line/Arc, and to Offset Stakeout, Point Projection and Stake Road (in Roading) and includes station and offset options in the stored file, as well as cut/fill. A special “centerline-style” cutsheet file, containing station and offset information, can be named and saved within the Roading command, Cross Section Survey. This file is viewable in the editor within Set Cl Cutsheet Format, but has no cut/fill values, just “as-built” data. Centerline-based cutsheets have more configurable options in the report, such as Stake Station, Staked Offset, Design Station and Design Offset. The Design Point ID is one of the

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configurable items to report, and since commands such as Offset Stakeout, Point Projection and Stake Road do not stake out Point IDs, the program uses either the command name (CL for Stake Centerline, PP for Point Projection), offset reference, or template ID as the “design point name”. “RCurb”, for example, would be the name given to the design point in Offset Stakeout for top of curb, right side. This might lead to a variety of ID names for the design point.

Slope Stakes:



Toggling this option on enables writing to the selected cutsheet file. The buttons allow the user to select the file, customize the Slope Stake Cutsheet report format as well as edit and view the current slope stake cutsheet file. This applies only to the commands Stake Slope and Stake Road available within Roading. Slope Stake Cutsheets have an extra option to “Include progressive offsets report”, and also have different options such as “Pivot Offset” , “Slope Ratio” and “Elevation: PP/CP” (Elevation of Pivot Point and/or Offset Point). Note that columns can serve a dual purpose in the slope stake report. If progressive offsets are enabled, the header lines (such as Design Station) are ignored for the additional information, and you obtain the incremental, delta distance and elevation from each point on the section or template from the offset stake to the catch and then all the way into centerline. These last three options allow you to customize the respective output report. To change an item label, highlight the item, change the Header Label field, then tap Update Item. You can select an item in the list and turn it ON or OFF (no reporting). You can also control the order of the report items by using the Move Down and Move Up buttons. Changes must be made prior to starting a new cutsheet file.

Grade Stakes



: With this option on, even the Grade Stake method used for stakeout, within Stake Road, will

output a specific format.

Select File



: Tap this button to select the output file. The file name is shown below this button.

Format

Select the format button to configure each cutsheet to your liking. Column order and column headers are completely user-defined and any column can be turned off if not useful.

Header Label



: You can substitute header text of your own choice for the defaults. Here, the text Pt ID was substituted for Design Pt#. Tap Update Item after changing a Header Label. These changes should be done prior to starting a new cutsheet file—they cannot be applied retroactively to a file that already contains information. However, the header line in that file (e.g. Market.txt) can always be edited using Notepad or any text editor to accomplish the change.

Down-Up



: Items in the list can be moved up and down to change their order. For example, if you prefer Fill

before Cut in the report, just move Cut down below Fill.

Cutsheet from Raw



: FAST Survey automatically stores cutsheet data and header information to the raw file for the job. You can capture and report the cutsheet information directly from the raw file. Before doing this, it is recommended that you start a new cutsheet file, configure the header lines, and order of information as desired, then run “Cutsheet from Raw”.

Edit File

Select this option to edit and review the cutsheet file. Shown below is an alignment cutsheet file as viewed in the Edit File option. Notice that the vertical bars of the spreadsheet can be moved left and right to condense the display. Just pick them in the title line and move them. The Cutsheet editor also includes the ability to insert and delete lines. If you insert a line and enter a Design Elevation and a Stake Elevation, the program will compute the cut or fill. Using the

Special

button, you can increase or decrease the Pt ID, Design Elevation or Stake Elevation by any desired amount, and

the cut or fill will be computed. Do not use the

Special

button to directly modify the cut or fill. If a second vertical

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offset is entered during stakeout, then two cut and fill results will appear for each point (useful, for example, for top and bottom of curb).

List Points

This command will list all of the points in the current coordinate (.crd) file. You can also edit any point in the list. If a Control File is active within Job Settings, Options, then you can also list and edit the Control File. The "From List" icon also allows you to recall points from both the current Job and the Control File job, if active.

The above figure shows the Description. Columns can be shifted to condense the display, as desired. The new positions, however, are not stored.



Details:

The number of points and highest point number in the file will now appear in the

List Points

dialog. The point list includes Point ID, Northing, Easting, Elevation, and

Details

option.

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

Settings:

dialog for List Points.

Select the

Settings

button to customize the

List Points

display. The next figure shows the

Settings

Show Point Notes:

notes entered in response to “Prompt for Point Notes” or “Edit Notes” within List Points itself will display. Notes for GPS accuracy, time stamps and cutsheets, for example, appear in the raw file but not within List Points.)

Add to Next Pt ID:

other number.

Move Up/Down:

buttons.

Display Name: Update Item

and Y as renamed.

Precision (Elevation Digits - North & East Digits):

Options

the

Edit:



To edit a point in the list, double tap on it or highlight the point and tap the Edit button. You may edit any

aspect of the point. To edit, move the cursor into the field of the aspect to modify and enter the new value. Choose

to enter the edited point into the coordinate file, or choose Attributes button refers to GIS data attributes associated with a point. These GIS attributes will export in the form of shape files (Tools pull down in the Map screen). Few surveyors currently need the GIS attributing features of FAST Survey, but these features help link FAST Survey to the ESRI world, just as the DXF output of linework links to the CAD world.

dialog.

Notes can be placed in any order on the list, or can be disabled, as shown above. (Only

This makes it possible to number sequentially using 1 or add 2 to every point to skip every

To rearrange the order of the fields, highlight a field and use the

To rename a field, highlight it, enter a new name in the

. This feature allows customization so that, for instance, Northing and Easting could become X

The decimal precision for each field can also be set in

Cancel

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Display Name

to negate your modifications. The Input/Edit

Move Down

field and then tap

and

Move Up

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Note:

If only the description value is edited, the raw data file will be updated without writing a store point record. If any other value that would change the point position is edited, the raw data file will record a store point record with the new position of the point.

Add:



To add a point, press the

northing and easting. A store point record will be written to the raw data file.

Find:

To find a point ID, tap the the same time. When searching by description, any part of the description can be used to find the point and the search "gs*" has the same effect as "gs" to find points beginning with gs. Both would find the description “gs Sta 1+00 L25”.

Delete:

before the point is actually deleted.

Control File:

control file points. This feature enables the Points. The number of points and highest point number in the control file will now appear in the

To delete a point, highlight a point ID and tap the

When a control file is specified, List Points offers the option to select the control file and to list the

Add

button. The

Find

button. You can search for a point by Point ID or description, but not both at

Add Point

From List

dialog appears and you must enter the point ID,

Delete

button. You will be asked to confirm this choice

option found throughout FAST Survey to access Control

Details

option.

Raw Data

FAST Survey creates a raw file (.RW5) that contains various lines of survey data similar to a surveyors' field book. The data contained in the RW5 file will vary depending upon whether a total station, robotic total station, or GPS is used during the survey. The name of the RW5 file will default to the specified job name (jobname.RW5). This command enables viewing and editing of the raw survey data, as well as traverse closure and adjustment computations for the survey, for both total station and GPS raw data. If total station shots are involved, a graphical representation of the traverse can also be viewed using this command.

Total Station and GPS Use

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Total station adjustments are conducted differently from GPS adjustments ( GPS first for control, and then calculate your total station traverse, first select

Adjust

Process Raw File Operations: Total Station, GPS, Reporting, Editing

FAST Survey has made available four different types of raw file processing. You can process or draw your total station traverse, report out the Direct-Reverse measurements, Process GPS, and Review and Edit the RW5 file.

Note that for all processing where new coordinates are calculated, beginning with FAST Survey, upon exit the program will prompt you whether or not to store the newly calculated points into the coordinate file. This provides the flexibility to experiment with different processing settings and options without impacting the actual stored coordinates, until you deliberately choose to do so.

Compass

, or

, as desired.

Process GPS

). If you wish to adjust your

. Then use

Process No

Total Station Adjustments

If you wish to adjust or draw a total station traverse, you would choose any of the following:

Balance, Transit, Compass, Crandall

system, outlined below.

Total Station Tab



projection used, viewable in the projection tab. The Scale setting will multiply all distance measurements by the entered scale factor. Apply Curvature and Refraction will compute curvature and refraction distinctly on all raw measurements and adjust accordingly.

: Reduce to Grid Coordinates will perform a “ground to grid” calculation based on your GPS

Draw Traverse Lines

. All of these commands have the same four-tab menu

Process No Adjust, Angle

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GPS Projection Tab



Grid Coordinates

Job Settings.

: This tab, critical for GPS calculation, only applies for total station work when

is set on within the Total Station Tab. To change the active projection, go to the GPS tab under

Reduce to

Redundancies Tab



redundancies. There are three options for 10 a total of four times, you could choose to use the first reading, the last reading or average them all. If you select Average, then the measurement. If you shot point 10 four times, twice from two different setups, and then chose

Average Options Distance Measurement

calculated for point 10 (using the averaged measurements) would themselves be averaged.

Backsight Reciprocal

The on 14, followed by a backsight from 15 to 14, makes a pair of “reciprocal” readings. The backsight reciprocal reading can be ignored (for its impact on recalculating the occupied point), or the Elevation component of the reciprocal measurements can be averaged, or both the Elevation and Distance can be averaged, to recalculate the setup (occupied point) coordinates. The program will calculate reciprocals for backsight direct (BD) records. First set Backsight Reciprocals to Average Elevation. Then if you foresight from 2 to 3, for example, then occupy 3 and backsight 2, the stored BD record will lead to an averaged delta Z calculation for point 3 within Process No Adjust or any of the other adjustment options. If the Tolerances entered above are exceeded, then warning screens appear during the processing.

Note:

If there are significant redundancies in a traverse (reciprocal readings, D&R sets, multiple measurements to the same point from different setups, multiple tie shots into control) then it is recommended that the raw file be processed in a Network Least Squares program back at the office.

: This screen covers the handling of multiple measurements to the same point, known as

Method

Average Type

drop-down, then the 4 northings and eastings computed would be averaged. If you chose instead

, then the two measurements would first be averaged, and then the two distinct coordinates

option becomes available. Here you can choose from coordinate or distance

option provides special treatment for reciprocals. A foresight to point 15 from a setup

: Use First, Use Last or Average. For example, if you shot point

coordinate

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under the

Page 47

Other Tab (for D&R Measurements)



measurements. For the vertical angles, you can balance the direct and reverse measurements or use When you have Foresight measurements and Backsight measurements (e.g. slope distance/zenith angles) between the same points (e.g. reciprocals) in Direct and Reverse surveys, you can Balance Foresight-Backsight measurements (apply reciprocals) or use the Foresight data only. For purposes of warning screens, you can also set the Angle Tolerance and Distance Tolerance for Direct and Reverse measurement processing.

Process No Adjust

This command processes the RW5 file and computes coordinate values for the surveyed data. No angle balance or traverse adjustment is applied. The Adjust.

Process Raw Data Options

: This tab contains settings for how to use direct and reverse (D&R)

Direct-Only

dialog shown below appears after selecting Process No

You can report the traverse only or compute all measurements by clicking on

Closure

closing to, or trying to match. The traverse is trying to close on. It can be entered as a point ID or a coordinate.

Note:

it is recommended that

Pressing OK leads to the calculation and the report screen for Process No Adjust.

, then you need to specify a

To preserve coordinate values of the initial setup and backsight, particularly with D&R measurements involved,

Redundancies

Reference Closing Point ID

be set to

Average by Distance Measurement

p45

, which is the point that the last traverse point is

is not a point in the traverse—it is the point the

Report Sideshots

, if averaging is used.

. If you click on

Report

Page 48

Angle Balance

This method of processing applies an angle balance to the traverse lines when calculating the coordinates. The angle balance takes the angular error divided by the number of traverse lines and adjusts the angle of each traverse line by the calculated amount. The angular error is the difference between the angle balance shot and a reference angle. The program will prompt you to enter the traverse shot to use as the angle balance shot. The measured direction between the occupied point and the foresight point in the specified angle balance shot is then compared to a reference angle. The reference angle is specified as a bearing, azimuth or by a traverse line defined by entering a

From Point

and a

To Point

The angle balance process is initiated by selecting the angle balance option from the process raw file menu.

The Angle Balance Measurement dialog appears in the figure. Suppose a given traverse started at 24, traversed up to 25, then around a loop and back to 24 (point 45). If point 45 was the end point or closing shot, the traverse leg from 45 to 46 could be the angle balance shot. It is very common, for example, in closed-loop traversing to take a closing angle shot from the closing point (45) by measuring the angle along the first traverse leg (24 to 25). That is what occurred in the case of this sample traverse.

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Next, the reference angle with points by entering in the desired point numbers in the

Reference Closing Angle

dialog appears. Enter the bearing or azimuth of the reference angle, or define the

From Point

and

To Point

fields. If using bearing or azimuth, enter the bearing in DD.MMSS format and then select the correct quadrant from the format field located at the bottom of the dialog. Once the reference angle has been defined, then the angular error display will update with the calculated angular error. The measured closing bearing and measured closing azimuth is displayed at the top of the dialog box. If the reference angle has been defined by point numbers, then the reference closing angle field will update and display the defined angle. There is no need to select a format from the format field if point numbers are used.

Pressing the OK button, or the enter key, will execute the angle balance process, and the process results will be displayed. The results display shows the closure results before angle balance and after angle balance.

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The angular adjustment applied to each traverse leg is also displayed, along with unadjusted angles and adjusted angles for each traverse leg. The adjusted coordinates are written to the coordinate file replacing the unadjusted coordinate values.

Transit, Compass, Crandall Adjustments

These methods apply the selected rule to the traverse lines when calculating the coordinates. After adjusting the traverse points, the sideshots can also be recalculated. The closure error is calculated as the difference between the specified ending point and a reference point. The ending point is specified in the initial dialog.

You can change the ending point to correspond to the point in the traverse that closes back to the existing reference point. In the current example, point 26 is the final shot, and is closing to an existing point, 10.

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The reference point is specified by point ID or by entering the northing, easting and elevation of the reference point.

The process results show varying information depending on selected options from the dialog box.

Reference Closing Point ID



does not exist in the coordinate file, the known coordinates can be entered into the North, East and Elevation fields on the dialog box.

Apply Angle Balance



routine is processed. With this option enabled, the Angle Balance Shot must be chosen from the Angle Balance Measurement Dialog box. The adjustment method is applied without angle balance computations.

Vertical Error Adjustment



displayed in the results screen. An adjustment value is determined and applied to the traverse points proportional to their measured distance.

Report Point Adjustment



the results display under the adjusted point comparison section.

Report Unadjusted Points



: The desired closing point number must be entered into this field. If the closing point

: This option performs an angle balance on the traverse lines before the selected adjustment

: The vertical error between the starting and ending points will be calculated and

: The adjusted point coordinates and the original point coordinates will be displayed in

: Displays «

Process Raw Data Options

Feature Code List

This command allows you to define default, ready-to-use descriptions. These descriptions lead to linework drawn within FAST Survey as well as point symbols. It is important to point out that the drawing of linework and point symbols must be "activated" within Job Settings, Options, by clicking on "Use Code Table for Descriptions". If this is clicked off, linework and symbols will not be drawn. FAST Survey ships with "Use Code Table" on. In addition, within Configure, the option "Show Line Details" will automatically redraw the linework whenever any revision occurs or whenever the Map screen is selected. So if you had a line drawn from points 101 to 105, but then you edited or resurveyed point 102, "Show Line Details" will lead to the automatci redrawing of the line whenever the graphics are shown. If this is clicked off, then you would need to go to the Map screen and select Tools, Field-to-Finish, to update linework.

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Both lines and points can have attributes describing aspects such as material type, quality, age and date installed. You can create multiple feature code lists and each list can contain an unlimited number of codes. Each feature code consists of a short code, a longer description, a polyline toggle, and a polyline type setting. Point-type features can have symbols. All features can have associated prompting for GIS attributes. Feature codes can be organized into categories, which is useful to sort through large code tables using shorter lists picked by category. The initial dialog is shown below.

Add a Feature Code Category

Set Button:



Clicking "Set" takes you to the Category Manager. Enter New Categories beside "New Name" and click New. This adds to the Category List within View Category. Then when selecting "All" categories, you can select one or more codes and assign them to the category selected at the bottom of the dialog, by clicking "Move To".

You can add a new category and then within Add or Edit Code, assign each code to a category.

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Add a Feature Code

Add:



Select a Feature Code File



Edit an Existing Code



Saving the Feature Code List



Remove an Existing Code



The in the dialog.

To add a code to the list, select this button. The

Load:

to create a new Feature Code List. Feature Code List files have a *.FCL file extension.

Edit: Edit Code

Save As:

feature code list.

Remove:

will ask you to confirm deletion of the code.

Add Code

Load

The

If you wish to edit an existing code, double tap on the code or highlight it and tap

button allows you to select a file to open or edit. Choose an existing file or enter a new file name

dialog.

Select the

To remove a code from the list, highlight an existing code and press the

dialog is shown below. Below the figure is a description list of the various options and buttons available

Save As

button to save the file. Choose an existing file or enter a new file name to create a new

Add Code

dialog will appear.

Edit

Remove

. It will appear in the

button. FAST Survey

Code

: Enter the name of the Feature Code. For example, you might use EP for edge of pavement.

Data Transfer

This command prepares FAST Survey for transferring data to and from a desktop PC or to a USB stick (thumb drive). For Data Transfer to a PC, a program on the PC must be running to receive and send files. FAST Survey, using the Data Transfer option, must “handshake” with the program on the PC in order for the transfer to be successful. A serial cable must connect the PC to the handheld device running SurvCE. COM ports must be identified correctly, as well as baud rates. For data collectors with a standard USB port, it is only necessary to insert the USB thumb drive into the port. The USB transfer option is part of the "Copy to Storage" feature.

Carlson/C&G Transfer



Civil, Carlson Survey, Carlson Survey Desktop, Carlson Connect in older Autodesk products, X-Port, CG Survey and SurvNET). It also works with the standalone SurvCom program that is included with the purchase of FAST Survey. The handshake is designed for simplicity and robustness. Carlson Software products use the same native file formats as FAST Survey, so no file conversion occurs — only transfer.

TDS Transfer



have a TDS Link routine.

SDR Transfer



example, if you have LDD, Intergraph, SurvCADD/Carlson Civil, SelectCAD or other software that contains an

: This command is used to transfer data from FAST Survey to TDS Foresight or other programs that

: This command is designed to work with existing programs that communicate with the SDR. For

: This option is designed to work with Carlson Software and C&G office products (Carlson

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SDR33 transfer routine, then this option is designed to mimic that protocol. When an RW5 file is selected, it is automatically converted to a Sokkia RAW file and downloaded to the PC. When a CRD file is selected, it is automatically converted to a Sokkia RAW file with “08” records for points. This allows you to use and process the data in FAST Survey similarly to the data in the SDR33. You can also upload into the FAST Survey field computer Sokkia RAW files that contain point records. All the points will be stored in a CRD file on FAST Survey.

Kermit Transfer



This is a readily available data transfer program.

Infrared Transfer



receive screen that works with the Window Socket IrDA server/client objects only between two CE mobile devices. This is a readily available data transfer program. It works, for example, from Ranger to Ranger. Please make sure you align your devices so that the infrared transceivers are within one meter of each other, and the transceivers are pointing at each other. For an easy connection it is preferable to start first the server (the device that will receive the data file) and after that the client (the device from which the data file will be sent).

Set Storage



Storage

Where USB output is available, the USB (thumb drive) port is designated as "Hard Disk". You can also store to the CF Card, which is the "Storage" option, and you can store to the SD Card.

". The "Set Storage" option allows you to set where the "Copy to Storage" commands will place the files.

: This command leads to a send and receive screen that works with the Kermit program on the PC.

: Only available on data collectors with infrared capability. This command leads to a send and

: This option should be selected prior to choosing "

Copy Current Job to Storage

" or "

Copy Job to

Copy Current Job to Storage



file (CRD file), to the selected storage option. This would include th RW5 file, the DXF file (drawing portion), the VTT file (containing GIS data), basically every file sharing the same name as the CRD file.

Copy Job to Storage



file. When the current job or selected job files are copied, the program displays: "Process Done".

Sending data to a computer using the Carlson Transfer Option

Connect your serial cable to your PC. Select

This leads to a File Transfer screen on FAST Survey, which prompts “Awaiting Connection”. All further action takes place on the PC side. There is no time delay in this handshake. FAST Survey will wait for the PC program to catch up. When you connect the cable from FAST Survey to the PC, Microsoft ActiveSync may interfere and display “Connect to PC?” If you get this question, select No and on your PC, disable the Microsoft ActiveSync serial linkage if it is on. Execute SurvCom, or for Carlson Survey or SurvCADD/Carlson Civil users (July, 2001 build or later), choose

Survey, Data Collectors, Carlson SurvCE/CSI Mobile

the most likely errors are lack of cable connection or interference by Microsoft ActiveSync. If connection is automatically established, FAST Survey will display, “Connected to PC”.

: This copies the selected Job or CRD file to storage, which can be different from the current

: This copies the entire current Job, all files associated with the current coordinate

Data Transfer

option. If you get “Failed to open COM 1 error code -3”,

from the

File

menu. Choose

Carlson/C&G Transfer

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If only the left side of the screen on the PC displays data, then you do not have a connection yet. Press the Connect

button located at the bottom left of the file transfer dialog. The transfer program will respond with "Retrieving File List". Once the file list has been retrieved, the left side of the dialog box will show files located in the specified path on the PC, and the right side of the dialog will show the files located in the designated path on the remote. You can change directories by scrolling to the top of the file list and choosing Up One Level (just like in Windows). In the above dialog, a filter is applied so that only files in the form of *.crd are displayed. Filters such as this can be set up using the To transfer one or more files, simply select or highlight the desired files and select the

one file can be transferred from the remote to the PC or from the PC to the remote during the transfer process. Standard Windows selection options apply. For example, selecting one file and then, while pressing the shift key on the PC, selecting another file deeper on the list, will select all the files in between the first and last selected. You can also select the first file to transfer and press and hold down the shift key and use the down arrow to specify the range of files to transfer. Pressing and holding the control key on the keyboard allows for the selection of multiple files in any selection order, by picking the files with the left mouse button. After the files have been selected, press the

display the "Transfer Complete" message and will then proceed to update the file lists on the PC and the Remote.

Note:

The process of importing points to the data collector mimics the process of exporting points to the office computer, but in reverse. If a point is found to already exist on the data collector, options appear to Overwrite All (Yes All) or Cancel All (No All).

SurvCom Commands

These commands are found and can be seen in the SurvCom dialog box shown above.

Connect



connection is made, the status line on the file transfer utility dialog box will show "Connected to the remote machine".

Transfer



Set Path



the PC and the Remote device. For example, if you were downloading, or copying files from the Remote device to the PC, to specify a source path on the remote device, select the Remote Machine toggle and then type in the desired path in the path field. To specify a destination path on the PC, select the Local PC toggle and type in the desired path the path field. When a change to either path is made, the transfer utility will retrieve a new file list from the specified paths.

Make Dir



machine to create the directory on and then enter the directory name.

Delete

 

: This option allows you to delete the tagged files.

Rename

Options

: After selecting Data Transfer from the File menu, press this button to connect to the PC. Once

: Pressing this button transfers selected files from either the Remote to the PC, or the PC to the Remote.

: This option allows for the specification of the desired source and destination drives and folders for both

: This option allows for creation of directories on both the PC and the Remote device. Specify the

: Select a file and rename it.

button.

Transfer

button. When the transfer is complete, the program will

button. More than

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Options



will appear.

: This command allows you to set various options for data transfer. The dialog shown in the figure below

Com Port File Mask Directory Sort Display Special Files Confirm Overwrite Baud Rate Protect Remote Files Archive RW5 Files

Geoid



: This command will carve out a portion of the Geoid 99, EGM96, Canadian CGG2000, Canadian HT2.0, Canadian HT1.01, Australian GDA94 and Great Britain OSG-MO2 grid files and send it to FAST Survey. Since these geoid grids are very large, the program carves out a precise portion of it and avoids overloading the memory on the remote device running FAST Survey. You will be prompted for the directory, on the PC, of the source Geoid grid file, and the approximate latitude and longitude of the job, and the size of the area desired in miles, kilometers or degrees of latitude and longitude.

: You must select which com port on the PC to use.

: You must select a file filtering syntax.

: You must select how to sort the list of files.

: Toggle whether or not you should see special files.

: Check this to confirm before overwriting files.

: You must choose the baud rate for transferring data.

: Check this to protect files on the mobile device.

: Toggle YES or NO.

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F2F Conversion



work) to the more simplified Feature Code List that runs in FAST Survey. The Feature Code List in FAST Survey handles Linework (on or off), Line Type (2D or 3D), Layer (= Code) and Full Text (Description).

Send Points



Exit

 

: This command will exit the File Transfer Utility

Bluetooth Transfer

it from the list, and transfer data from/to another device that has Bluetooth available.

: This converts the more thorough and detailed Carlson Survey field code file (for field-to-finish

: The command allows for the sending of a range of points.

: If the mobile device has a Bluetooth emulated serial COM port, the user will be able to select

Import/Export

This command allows you to import an ASCII file to job data or export job data to an ASCII file. When you choose this command, you will see a secondary dialog in which you will be prompted to choose to Import or Export.

Import ASCII File

This command converts point data from an ASCII text file into the FAST Survey format. The source ASCII file can contain any combination of point number, northing, easting, elevation, and description. You may select any of the predefined formats or create your own custom format. Since some of these source file formats (like Carlson CRD and TDS CR5) are not ASCII but are actually binary, Import ASCII file can be used to import points from certain non-ASCII type files. This next figure shows the Import ASCII dialog box.

Source File Format



: You must choose the format of the source file. The choices include

User Defined Traverse PC TDS

: For importing TDS .CR5 files. Note that CR5 files can contain point numbers in excess of 32760. If

: For importing most .TXT and .ASC files. The coordinate order in the Choice field is used.

: For importing Traverse PC .TRV files.

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point IDs exceed that value, it is best to set

Settings Geodimeter Trimble POS CRD File

of points to import. Note that this method can be used to move a subset of points from one CRD file over to another file, as shown below. You can import "All" points or just points 101 to 110, as needed.

prior to importing.

: For importing Geodimeter .OBS files.

: For importing Trimble .POS files.

: Allows you to import a FAST Survey CRD file into the current, active CRD file, and set the range

Alphanumeric

as the point ID type under

New Job

Job

SDR File MMH File *.360, MOSS, SDMS, CAICE

format for both points and raw survey data that was developed by AASHTO.

Select File



Details



Enter/Select Format



contents into the Choice field, which will be used to import the file.

Choice Field



A,Survey,1254552.123,498135.12,1109.23,iron pin,54) then you want a format that skips the first two columns (A and Survey) and does Easting (X), Northing (Y), Elevation (Z), Description (D) and Point ID (P), so your format will be: S,S,X,Y,Z,D,P. If there is no point ID in the ASCII file, you simply omit the P in the entered format, and the program will prompt for a starting point number or ID and will number each subsequent point sequentially.

Preview



coordinate order format.

Header Lines



Set



: First highlight the last of the lines in the "Preview" that you want to skip, and then clicking this button sets that specific number of header lines to skip. If all the display lines are valid coordinates, you would not use the "Set" option and would enter "0" header lines to skip.

Add to Pt ID’s

100, then point 1 would become 101, point 2 would become 102, etc.

Pt Protect

is toggled ON and you attempt to import point ID’s that already exist, you will then be prompted to overwrite each existing point or to cancel the operation.

: For importing point data within Sokkia SDR files.

: Other formats that can be imported. SDMS, for example, is a

: Type in or browse for the name of the file to import.

: Only after a file has been selected,

: If your Source File Format is set to User Defined, choosing one of these settings copies the

: If you are importing an ASCII file with a special form (e.g.

: Shows you a preview of the first line of the ASCII file. This is helpful in determining the correct

: Specifies the number of header lines to skip in the ASCII file.

: Specifies a value to be added to each point ID during the import process. If you added a value of

: Specifies whether or not to check each point ID to see if it already exists in the current CRD file. If this

Details

can be clicked to show the range of points detected in the file.

Settings



Export ASCII File

This command converts FAST Survey point data to an ASCII text file. The next figure shows the Export ASCII dialog box. Choose a coordinate order, type of delimiter, range of points and precision. After choosing the settings in this dialog box, press OK. A standard file dialog will appear. In this dialog, choose a name for your ASCII file and then press OK. After the file is written, a dialog will appear telling you that the conversion if finished.

Allows additional fields to be added to the description of the point.

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Coordinate Order



choose from. The last field is always the description. The fields can be space, comma or tab delimited, and you can also separate the fields by a user-defined delimiter. Two of the options include quotes around the description field so that your descriptions can include spaces and/or commas.

Type of Delimiter



choose either a space, comma, tab or user-defined delimiter.

Coords vs Other



the "other" information such as notes and GIS attribute data. If, for example, you had notes that were types of trees associated with the "TR" description, then the tree type could be appended to the code TR with a space, as in TR OAK, and export as a single field. You can control whether or not you choose to export notes, point info and point attributes.

Range



: You must specify the range of points to output. Ranges can be separated with commas, as in

1-40,101-199,A1-A44.

Export Notes

.NOT file. These files are used with SurvCADD.

Export Point Info

have been included automatically in the Note file.

Export Attributes

List. If a point that is shot is a manhole (e.g. MH) and attributes such as concrete, 5 rungs, 2 inlets are entered for this point, these attributes will be exported to an ASCII file for use by external programs when this option is enabled.

Precision

affect point IDs or descriptions. After choosing the settings in this dialog box, press OK. A standard file dialog will appear. In this dialog; choose a name for your ASCII file and then press OK. After the file is written, a dialog will appear to let you know that the process is finished.

Export GPS Points Only/Add Before Desc

standard x,y,z.

ETRS89(X,Y,Z)

: You must specify the output precision for northings, eastings, and elevations. This setting does not

: You must specify the output format for the ASCII file. There are seven different formats to

: You must specify the character used for delimiting the fields in the output ASCII file. You may

: As shown in the graphic above, you can use one delimiter for the coordinates and another for

: When this option is enabled, any point notes associated with the current job will be exported to a

: This exports any "known" information about the point, such as HRMS and VRMS values that

: GIS attributes can be assigned to points that are stored based on settings in the Feature Code

: Activates the option to export ETRS89 (X,Y,Z) but will also export

: Exports x,y,z and Lat/Long values in a table of information, along with the point description.

This next figure shows the result of exporting a job to an ASCII file.

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Delete File

This command allows you to remove any existing file from any directory to free up memory. This figure below shows the standard file selection dialog, where you can choose the file name to delete.

Note

: It is always a good idea to back-up your data by transferring it to a PC before deleting files. FAST Survey does

not require you to back-up your data before deleting.

Select the file you wish to delete from the standard file selection dialog box and pick OK. FAST Survey will ask if you want to delete all files associated with the job (eg. the .dxf file, the .rw5 file, etc.).

Yes

Press downloaded before.

, if you wish to continue. FAST Survey will then warn you if the file or files to be deleted have never been

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Yes

Press deletion of the file or files, or No to cancel the selection.

, if you wish to continue. You will be asked to confirm your file selection once more. Press

Yes

to accept the

Add Job Notes

This command allows you to enter job notes as ASCII text. These notes are saved with the job in the raw data file.

Exit

This command will exit the FAST Survey program. The software presents the confirmation dialog.

If you choose

Yes

, FAST Survey will exit and your data files are saved. If you choose No, FAST Survey does not exit.

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EQUIP

This chapter provides information on using the commands from the Equip menu.

Total Station

The Total Station routine allows the user to configure their total station communication and operation settings. The tabs shown are configured based on the selected instrument (see specific instrument for details). It is recommended to go left to right through the tabs, from Current to Comms to Settings to Search, to ensure that all settings are correct, especially when first configuring a new instrument. Click the green check mark (not the red X) to accept all changes and continue. Some models of equipment do not have Settings or Search.

Current Tab

Select first the manufacturer and then the model. The routine also provides an instrument recall feature that allows the user to store and recall all instrument-related settings as a user named configuration. Configure all of the settings as desired, and select the save button to name and store the custom configuration. Settings that will be retained are as follows:

 Instrument Settings

 Communication Settings

 Configure Settings

 Stakeout Reference Settings

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

Load:

This button will load all settings defined by the selected icon.



Save:

This button will save the current settings and allows the user to enter the name of new icons that will be

created to represent the instrument settings.



Rename:

Delete:

This button will allow the user to rename the selected icon.

This button will remove the selected icon.

Comms Tab

There are 3 Comms options: Cable, Bluetooth, Radio. The Comms tab allows you to specify communication parameters for the data collector. For most total stations, communication is by cable. For many newer total stations, there is a Bluetooth option. Bluetooth itself has 2 methods found within the "Device" option: Windows Mobile (preferred) and Generic. The user can detect if there is any Bluetooth emulated serial COM port available on the Windows Mobile data collector by looking for the Bluetooth icon or application. Typically, COM 1 and COM 2 are reserved for serial cable connection, so Windows Mobile will use higher COM ports to emulate the connection by Bluetooth. It is recommended to choose COM4 or higher for the Bluetooth COM port. This is done outside of FAST Survey, using features of the Windows Mobile device. If the Generic Bluetooth method is selected, then the user can choose the COM port for Bluetooth as prompted within FAST Survey. FAST Survey can use Bluetooth to communicate only with instruments that have Bluetooth capability. Some total stations have Bluetooth passwords (PIN #) such as "0000". The user can find the Bluetooth device and can change the name and the password for the Bluetooth present on the instrument by using the “Bluetooth Settings” button (the tool icon). In many commands such as Store Points and Stake Points (in Surv Menu), there is a Bluetooth "Reconnect" option found under the Helmet icon (upper left), for quick reconnection if Bluetooth linkage is lost. For robotic total stations, there may be a Radio option that resembles the Cable option, except that an extensive list of radio types is available.

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

Port Number

: You must select the COM port to use. This is the COM port of the data collector.



Bluetooth Wireless

Bluetooth is automatically detected on the Windows Mobile data collector, if available. The com port settings to use Bluetooth vary from unit to unit. For example, Com 3 is typical for the Compaq Ipaq and Com 5 is typical for the Topcon FC1000, though it may use any of Com 4, 5 or 6. On the Allegro, the Bluetooth port is typically Com 4, 5, 8 or

9. The Bluetooth serial com port settings can be found in the “My Bluetooth Device” menu selection.

Settings/Search Tabs

Instrument (Bluetooth):

Bluetooth incorporated on them. The Instrument name is displayed when a Bluetooth connection is made.

Baud Rate

Parity

Data Bits

Stop Bits

Defaults:

: Baud rate for data transfer by serial cable or radio.

: Parity setting is None, Odd or Even.

: You must select the character length setting.

: You must select the stop bits setting.

Clicking Defaults will utilize the standard default settings for the configured instrument.

FAST Survey can use Bluetooth to communicate only with instruments that have

EDM Mode:



Options may vary by equipment. On the Leica 1200 total stations, for example, available methods

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are Standard (1.5 to 2 seconds), Fast, and Reflectorless. Referring to the graphic below, when storing points or staking points, your current mode of operation is displayed on the top line (eg. prism mode, locked on and tracking the target, measuring distances). Clicking the "little man" or distance tracking icon takes the program to the “No Distance” or “Tracking Only Mode” (no distance measurements, locked on and tracking target). Avoiding taking distance measurements will save battery usage. On large topo jobs or as-built surveys, many field surveyors prefer to turn off distance tracking, but leave the instrument locked on the target for quick measurements. On Leica instruments, this will show a beam or line in the direction of the prism, which will move as you walk between measurements. While locked on and tracking distances (as shown below), the store icon (data collector icon) will always take a “Tracking” shot (last shot in memory), and pressing enter will take a Tracking shot if Enter is configured to Store only (to mimic the store icon). Pressing the read icon (measure icon) will always cause a new, fresh reading to be taken, as will Enter when configured to Read and Store (normal). The figure below shows the Tracking/Distance mode, which follows the movement of the prism by taking rapid distance measurements, much like RTK GPS.

Note that in the above figure we are in “Fast” read mode for a configured reading, and in “Tracking/Distance” mode for display and quick readings by S. Changing to “No Dist”mode leads to display of direction only, as shown in this figure:

Foresight/Backsight Prism Offset



: This drop down menu provides a list of standard prism offsets. Whenever a prism constant is changed, a note is written to the raw (RW5) file. When you select one of the prisms from the list (Circle, Mini, etc), the value that is shown in parenthesis is the actual value sent to the instrument. i.e. 0.0 for Circular, 17.5 for Mini. If you select "30mm" or "40mm", we send - 4.4 and 5.6 respectively (30-34.4 and 40-

34.4). The user may also type in any value they choose. In this case, we will send that value exactly, unmodified, to the instrument.

(360) (23.1): Prism offset of 23.1 (Leica model).



Circle (0.0): Standard Leica round prism.



Mini (17.5): Leica mini prism.



ReflTape (34.4): Equates to zero offset (wall, surface).



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

30mm: Other manufactures (Sokkia, Seco). 40mm: Other manufacturers.



Guidelights:



from the prism viewpoint, and are valuable when running robotically from the prism, looking at the instrument. The field surveyor can see when he is lined up with the instrument by the appearance of the guidelights.

Laser Pointer



is often used when doing reflectorless work and makes a red mark on the wall, floor or object being surveyed. This is useful for confirming the position prior to the shot. The beam should not be directed into someone’s vision or eye.

Compensator:



Power Search Enabled



activates the “PowerSearch” button in the “banner line” at the top of the survey and stakeout screens. When Power Search is pressed, the total station will typically find the prism in 10 seconds regardless of the direction it is initially pointed. If it has found one prism and you hit “Power Search” again, it will leave that prism and find the next one. If you have only two prisms on the job (foresight and backsight), it will conveniently rotate from the foresight to the backsight and back again each time it is pressed.

Use ATR:



or fast reading. When running the robotic in remote mode with ATR turned on, and when performing a “Set Angle and Read” in the backsight screen (a standard measured backsight), the ATR connection will be taken into consideration, so that the angle set is relative to the center of the prism, not necessarily the crosshairs of the instrument. The “Set Angle” and “Check Angle” functions will still be relative to the crosshairs. With ATR set on a robotic total station such as a Leica 1200, the prism can be found even if the instrument is not pointed exactly at the prism. The ATR feature is strong enough to shift the instrument onto the exact center of the prism even if sighting slightly outside the prism circle itself.

Horizontal Range/Vertical Range



and the "binoculars" icon appears, tapping the binoculars or "search" icon will conduct a standard search for the prism through the range of horizontal and vertical angles set, based on the current centering of the instrument. This feature applies to all robotic total stations.

Power Search or Work Area Settings:



standard ATR Search and the PowerSearch. The Work area angle ranges apply to both searches. The Show button will show the two positions of the search window, first by moving immediately to Position 1. You will be prompted to press OK to see Position 2. Having defined a “window” of searching, Center will move that window to a new center position. You will be prompted to “Sight on Centered Position and Press OK”. The Define button prompts you to shoot the lower left and upper right positions, which are then displayed above under “Work Area”. If the Work Area is set to start at 0.0000 horizontal, for example, searching would send the instrument to the backsight point.

Search When Lost Lock:



currently locked on target.

Turn to Point in Stakeout Horizontal/Turn in Vertical:



motorized total stations, and the effect is to turn to where the stakeout point or position is calculated to be. If Turn to Vertical is off and only Turn to Horizontal is on, the instrument will retain the current vertical position of the theodolite.

Tracking and Reflectorless:



the PowerSearch. The Work area angle ranges apply to both searches. The Show button will show the two positions of the search window, first by moving immediately to Position 1. You will be prompted to press OK to see Position 2. The Center option will initially take the standard search horizontal and vertical range and center that range around the current position of the instrument, for purposes of searching. However, if you Define a new range (point to a new lower left and upper left position), then Center will use that defined range of motion for any postion that is sighted. If the Work Area is set to start at 0.0000 horizontal, for example, searching would send the instrument to the backsight point.

When available, guidelights can be turned on or off and their intensity set by the user. They are seen

: Ideal for indoor or dark evening surveying, this feature causes the instrument to emit a red beam. It

Settings are On or Off.

: The Power Search option may be available with motorized total stations. This option

When this feature is enabled, ATR (Auto Target Recognition) will be used when configured to standard

: This is the range that will be used in a Standard Search. When lock is lost,

This will define a limiting area for searching. This can speed up both the

This feature will auto-search whenever a measurement is taken, if the instrument is not

These options are useful only in stakeout with

The upper left of the screen controls the ATR Search, and the upper right controls

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Manufacturer Setup Instructions

For manufacturer specific information, please consult with the Instrument Setup by Manufacturer section.

GPS Setup

Both Base and Rover GPS are configured with Receiver and RTK in the same manner. Base GPS requires additional setup and is covered in the GPS Base section. GPS Rovers section covers the configuration of GPS networks and internet corrections. This section covers the common portion of the process, selecting the GPS equipment doing basic configuration. In the dialog below, it is recommended to work left to right across the menu structure. Here are two examples (Altus and Ashtech, near the top of the alphabet). The recommended procedure is to work left to right across the tab items, from Current to RTK and then within tab options, verify the items from top to bottom. Note that configurations, including settings in Comms, Receiver and RTK tabs, can be given names, saved and recalled using the Load option.

Current Tab

Select first the manufacturer and then the model for the GPS equipment to be used. Do this distinctly in the GPS Base and GPS Rover command if different brands and models of GPS equipment are used.

Comms Tab

Typical connection is by cable, but in more recent GPS models, Bluetooth connection is available, for example, with Ashtech ZMax, ProMark 500 and ProFlex 500. The Blueooth Com port comes from the data collector and can be any number from 3 to over 40. In a few cases such as the Ashtech Z-Max, the Bluetooth Com port should be set to the baud rate in Comms Setup to match the baud rate set for Port C on the Z-Max receiver which is typically used for Bluetooth communication.

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Find Receiver

Clicking the tools icon next to the right of Device proceeds to the Bluetooth Manager screen. This screen gives you the option to choose which GPS receiver you would like to connect to via Bluetooth. If you click Cancel, no Bluetooth connection will be established. Select a receiver and click the Bluetooth icon at the top of the screen, to connect.

First time into this routine, no receivers will be listed. Select Find Receiver and you can add the connected receiver to the list. (You may also find ALL Bluetooth devices in the vicinity, which may include cell phones and computers. Find Receiver will “ghost” if. Find Receiver will only work on ARM processor devices, which includes the Allegro and Symbol 8100.

On the Allegro CX and on data collectors with the Socket Bluetooth driver, a search window appears as shown below:

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Delete Receiver

Highlight a Bluetooth Receiver and click Delete Receiver button to remove the device. You will be prompted before removing the device.

Set Receiver PIN

You can enter the receiver PIN by clicking “Set Receiver PIN”, and you can change the receiver name by clicking “Set Receiver Name”.

The default PIN is usually 12345.

Bluetooth Manager

The Bluetooth Manager will appear in many places: entry into the program, clicking OK from Comm Setup, Configure Base, and Configure Rover (it works the same from all of them). After making a successful connection, the software will let the user know. If the connection fails, there will be a warning.

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Trouble-shooting Note:

of the receiver. If the user can’t see the device from the Bluetooth Devices program, it is not going to work in FAST Survey. The Bluetooth Manager works somewhat better with a passkey but it is not strictly necessary. Sometimes the Bluetooth registry settings don’t work correctly with an empty passkey. A pass key is the name the Bluetooth driver uses for a password. It makes the Bluetooth connection more reliable.

Receiver Tab

This tab is used to Configure the receivers Antenna, set the elevation mask and for some gps position rates.

Be sure the GPS receiver is turned on before trying to connect, and that you are within 30 feet

Receiver Model:



the port setting for data and the port baud.

Antenna Type:



button and search the list by manufacturer. In this dialog, the user can also verify the antenna offset values or create custom antenna types.

Antenna Height



distance from the base of the pole or from the “hub and tack” up to a mark or defined slant measurement point on the edge of the antenna (See NGS for more details). The vertical height is measured plumb, straight down from the base (where it screws into the antenna) of the antenna to the ground.

Use Internal Antenna:



antenna.

Elevation Mask:



left out of calculations.

Position Update Rate:



display one reading per second, while 5 Hz is 5 times per second.

RTK Tab

FAST Survey will auto-detect the receiver model and display it in this list. It will also auto-detect

The entire list of supported antennas is available for selection. To select an antenna press the "List"

: Entered as a either "vertical" or "slant" height in the current job units. The slant height is the

Many GPS units now have internal antennas. Select this option if not using an external

This specifies the cutoff vertical angle above the horizon. Any satellites below this angle will be

This option allows the user to set the position update rate for the GPS readings. 1 Hz will

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The RTK tab is used to configure the GPS RTK communications.

Device:



modem. If an External Radio is selected, the user will need to specify the Port, Baud, Parity and Stop Bits that the radio manufacturer requires. For internal radios, FAST Survey will detect the proper settings.

Network:



Message Type:



of the RTK message that is either sent from the base and received by the rover.

Base ID:



should be set to only listen for "ID 1" so that other base stations that might be in the area do not interfere.

Send Rover Position to Network:



Manufacturer Setup Instructions

For manufacturer specific information, please consult with the Instrument Setup by Manufacturer section.

This list contains the supported devices that deliver or receive RTK messages, such as a radio or IP

This list allows you to configure and connect to various networks (e.g. NTRIP).

You must select the RTK message type that you wish to broadcast and receive. This is the format

This is typically used to isolate paired devices. The user specifies that the base is "ID 1", then the rover

This will output a NMEA GGA message for networks that require it.

GPS Base

For GPS equipment, it is necessary to set up the base antenna and record the correct antenna height, the antenna type (for certain equipment), and the methods used for localizing (obtaining the desired coordinates).

Much of GPS Base is common to most instruments. For example, the Base Ant. Height would be entered in feet or meters, depending on the setting specified in Units within Job Settings. Vertical or Slant height refers to the method used to measure the height of the base antenna. Vertical refers to the distance from the ground point to the antenna disk, measured plumb. Slant refers to the distance from the edge of the antenna disk down to the ground point directly beneath the center of the antenna. Elevation Mask refers to the degrees above the horizon above which satellites will be used for GPS “correction” calculations, and below which satellites will be ignored. Keep in mind that it is not always better to lower the elevation mask below 10 or 15 degrees. Satellites closer to the horizon than 10 degrees will often degrade the calculation of coordinates.

The “alternative” to GPS Base is GPS Rover. GPS receivers can usually function as either type, but must be “configured” for the role they will serve. You will be warned when you switch receiver configuration from Base to Rover and vice versa, to confirm that is what is intended.

With all RTK GPS Equipment selections (except GPS Simulation), GPS Base will first bring up settings and then proceed to the 6-option GPS Base screen which “locates” the base position. After completing the GPS communications setup and clicking on the Ok button the Base Configure dialog will be presented. These button options "locates" the base position. The 6-button GPS Base options (3 buttons per “tab”), common to all, are discussed first, followed by equipment-specific settings.

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GPS Base for All RTK GPS Brands

For all brands of GPS, the GPS Base button is the command that configures the base receiver for broadcasting GPS corrections to the rover. You must click the GPS Base button in while you are connected to the base receiver. The base needs a set of coordinates to use as its stationary position. Given that you are configured for a particular coordinate system, there are 2 main “types” of localizations: (1) Enter an Accurate Base Position and work from that point outward on the scale and “true north” of that system (no rover localization), (2) Enter an Accurate or Semi-Accurate (Read from GPS) Base Position and then localize to known rover points that transform to the local coordinate system (required if the local system is not true GPS north). There is also a “mixed” base-rover approach. To use the base in the localization, you should configure the base with the "Use Local Coordinates" option under "From Known Position". Here, you configure the base by entering the local point (5000, 5000,100) and start a new localization file (or use an existing one if it applies). Then, at your rover, you can add more points to the localization as necessary. In this case, a single rover point within Localization will produce a scale factor and best fit to the local coordinates.

There are six methods to set the stationary base position, organized into 2 categories: From New Position includes Read from GPS, Enter Lat/Long and Enter Grid System Coordinates. The From Known Position tab includes Previously Surveyed Point, Use Local Coordinates and Read From File. When you are starting a new job (no information in the raw RW5 file yet), always use the options in From New Position.

From New Position Options

Read from GPS



position and uses it as its “true” position. The autonomous position can be off of the actual position by 150 feet. The base will calculate corrections based on this autonomous position. If you set up the base with this method, the rover points must be used for localization since the corrections they are using are based on the approximate position of the base antenna. Read GPS, combined with rover-based localization, is one of the most common methods used to start a GPS survey. When Read from GPS is used, the program will present the current position, as shown:

- This method takes a specified number of GPS readings from the base receiver’s autonomous

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Latitude: N 42d21 ’28.35882” Longitude: W 71d08’12.87540” Elevation: 116.376

Continue with Base Setup? Yes No

If you like the result, press Yes and continue on. You will then be prompted for the Reference Station Number. This is an “ID” that will store to the raw file and permit post-processing of the raw GPS data. A typical entry is 0001. The final prompt will say,

Base Configuration Successful. Save Settings to File? Yes No

Answering Yes will bring up an entry screen for the reference file name. Reference files are stored with a “.ref” extension. It is important to save a reference file if you plan to return to the job at another date. Without re-localizing to control points, you can set up over the same base position, recall the reference file, and enter the new antenna height for the base position, and start working.

The Read from GPS option is sometimes referred to as “Find Me”. This option is accurate to about 10 to 50 meters, typically, and it enables the corrections to broadcast with enough accuracy to permit localization and sub-centimeter real-time work. Be sure that your GPS zone in Job Settings is set correctly before using this option. Also, give the base enough time to find itself. When first set up, the base receiver has to “collect” satellites and “resolve ambiguities”. If you Read from GPS too early, you may find a position, but one that is not fully resolved and ends up slowing down the speed at which the rover fixes.

Enter Lat/Lon



if you are setting up over a monument whose latitude and longitude is known. It can also be used over a control point whose position is known from GPS post-processing. This will put you on the NAD83, NAD27, UTM or other coordinate system specified in Job Settings, GPS Tab. You can still do a rover-based alignment to transform to a local system. Rover-based localizations are always improved by more accurate base positioning. If the GPS detects that your entered Lat/Long is not near the current GPS readings, the program will warn the user.

This method should be used if you are reasonably sure of the accuracy of the latitude and longitude—it should be at least as accurate as the “Read from GPS” option, or otherwise you will have difficulty getting a “fix” on the rover.

- Requires you to enter the latitude and longitude for the position of the base antenna. This is useful

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If it is a very accurate latitude and longitude, you will get the best results. Pressing OK leads to the option of store the base position as a reference file, similar to Read from GPS.

Enter Grid System Coordinates



base is occupying. This applies to any projection that you have configured, including U.S. state plane, worldwide UTM or any individual country or user-defined grid system. This is useful if you are setting up over a monument whose coordinates you know. An accurate base position, either by entry of Lat/Long or Grid System Coordinates, will enable immediate data collection without rover-based localization, but also will improve rover-based localization.

The Coordinate method is similar to the Lat/Lon method, since Lat/Longs convert to Grid Coordinates based on the current coordinate system set in Job Settings, GPS option. The Grid Coordinates will convert back to the Lat/Long coordinates needed by FAST Survey to configure the base.

: Requires you to enter the grid system northing and easting for the point that the

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From Known Position Options

Previously Surveyed Point:



known, surveyed point. This will transform and localize to the local coordinate system, and optionally can be followed by rover-based localization. The known point must be found in the RW5 file in a form that includes its Lat/Long (a previous GPS measurement). This Lat/Long, just as with New Position options, is used to establish the base position. This method requires that you are working within an existing job that has a raw file including Lat/Long positions for the points being used. This next figure is an example of the prompting.

This requires you to enter the coordinates, on the configured coordinate system, of a

Like the other options, this continues on by showing the corresponding Lat/Long for the coordinate and allowing the user to save the result in a reference file.

Use Local Coordinates:



“dat” file. This localization file is used to convert any Lat/Long reading into a local coordinate. By the same token, you can take a local coordinate, run it back through the dat file and obtain a Lat/Long for the base receiver setup. That is the procedure used in this option.

If you have “localized” using option 5 (Localization) within the Equip menu, you obtain a

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When OK is pressed, you will be asked to load the associated “.dat” file, in a dialog similar to below:

Read From File



you save the base position at the end of setup. If you return to a site, set up the base in exactly the same position, use Read From File to use the same base position and you don’t have to re-align the rover: the old alignment is still valid.

This option recalls a reference file in a dialog similar to that above. Then you will receive the standard prompting.

This is followed by the Reference Station ID prompt (showing the default ID). The “new” base antenna height,

- Reads a previously saved base position file. All of the other methods of setting up the base let

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which will change with each new set up, is entered back at the first set of dialogs. A message is displayed after successful configuration from a file. Only if you set the base antenna on the same horizontal and vertical position each day would the base antenna height remain fixed. If the base antenna height and x,y position is the same from day to day, then you do not need to do GPS Base each day. You would simply power up the base, power up the rover and start working in that case. Keep in mind that in certain power surge conditions, receivers can lose their settings, and a re-configuration may be necessary, even if the base receiver antenna has not been moved.

Note:

In FAST Survey, a “quick connect” is performed when you exit and re-enter the FAST Survey program.

Note:

One method of obtaining Latitude/Longitude and state plane coordinates in the U.S. is to occupy a point, any point, for two hours or more, logging the static data, then submit the Rinex file to the NGS “OPUS” program accessible on the web. You must log the data with dual frequency equipment. The OPUS program is fully automated, and will return the x,y,z, lat, long, ellipsoidal height and orthometric height. This data can then be entered in during base localization. Though most post-processing programs use proprietary post-processing file formats, they will output the ASCII “Rinex” format needed by OPUS.

GPS Rover

For many brands of GPS, receiver perform differently depending on whether they are set as base or rover. Even though the receivers are identical, they perform differently depending on whether they are configured as a base or a rover. Multiple rover receivers can communicate with a single base receiver. The GPS Rover command is used to set the rover receiver to the correct parameters and to instruct the receiver that it is, in fact, a rover.

Connecting a GPS Rover to a Modem or Base Network

There are several methods for connecting to an available network. The RTK tab in the GPS Rover dialog configures the modems and network settings.

The dialog is designed to be filled out from the top to bottom, and from left to right. First select the device you will use to connect to the remote modem or network.

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If a particular receiver model supports an internal modem or radio, meaning it is integrated into the receiver; those devices are shown first in the list. When an internal device is shown in the list, it means that model could have the device inside, but does not guarantee it. The user will have to know if the receiver was purchased with an integrated radio or modem.

External radios and modems are shown next and then one of the last options is “Data Collector Internet”, which is a special case explained below where the data collector provides access to the internet instead of a modem inside the receiver or connected to the receiver..

Once a device that is capable of connecting to the internet is selected, the Network combo box is enabled. Select the type of network connection you will use.

Here is a brief summary of the different network types available:

TCP Direct:

For connecting to a single modem at a base or to a VRS network or another network that doesn’t

require a special login.

The configure button for TCP Direct brings up this window:

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To add a new base or network address, select <New> in the Name field and replace the “<New>” text with what you want to call the connection and fill out the Address and Port fields. Most modems support either an IP address (Ex:

192.202.228.252) or a URL address (Ex: www.basenetwork.com

UDP Direct:

This works exactly like the TCP Direct option but uses UDP protocol instead of TCP. Most networks use

TCP.

NTRIP:

This option is for base networks that support NTRIP protocol. Pressing the Configure button shows the

NTRIP Broadcasters (Also called Casters) that have been previously connected to.

The default is for rtcm-ntrip.org which if connected to will download information about many Broadcasters (casters) all over the world. They will be shown the next time NTRIP Configure is selected. Select an existing caster or select <New> in the Name combo box and replace with a different name and fill out the other information. If the Default User and Password fields are filled out, they will be used as the default user name and password for all the bases at that caster.

When the green checkbox is selected, FAST Survey will have the modem connect to the address of the Broadcaster and establish a connection. The Broadcaster then supplies a table of bases (also known as mountpoints) available at that Broadcaster. FAST Survey puts the table of bases into the next window that comes up.

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If you don’t like the name of the base supplied by the Broadcaster, you can change it to something else you prefer and FAST Survey will remember your preference but still ask the Broadcaster for the correct base.

Select the base you want to use and press the green check box. You are brought back to the RTK tab with the base you selected as the current Base ID. You can change the Base ID in the RTK tab without going back to the NTRIP Configure button.

Note that with NTRIP, FAST Survey already knows if the base wants the rover position sent and what type of corrections are being sent. Those settings are shown in the RTK tab and are grayed out to guarantee that they stay on the correct setting.

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SpiderNet:

Networks that require that a GPUID message be sent to the network should use the SpiderNet option. The

SpiderNet Configure window comes up when the Configure button to the right of the SpiderNet option is pressed.

Add a new network by selecting <New> in the Name combo box and typing in the name of the network and filling out the other fields. If the User Name and Password fields are left empty, the GPUID message is not sent to the network.

Just like when using a radio, the RTK Port combo box is to identify which port on the receiver should be configured to accept RTK corrections. The Baud, Parity, and Stop Bits combo boxes specify the settings for the RTK port. Message Type identifies what type of RTK correction message the receiver should be expecting.

Base ID when using a network is a combo box to select the name of the network or base the modem should connect to. Use the Network Configure button to change the bases available in this list.

“Send Rover Position to Network” if turned on will cause the receiver to periodically send GGA messages out of the RTK port to the base or network.

Connecting a Data Collector to the Internet

There are several ways of connecting a data collector to the internet – Cell phone cards inserted into the data collector, connections to a cell phone with a data plan, etc. These instructions assume that an internet connection has already been established to the data collector. One way to tell that the data collector is connected to the internet is to browse the internet using Internet Explorer. For information about how to connect a data collector to the internet using an Enfora cell card in an Explorer 600+, search Carlson Knowledge Base for “Enfora”.

Once the connection to the internet has been established, start FAST Survey and select Configure Rover in the Equip tab.

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Press the Configure button to the right of the Data Collector Internet option.

Select the COM port on the data collector that is connected to the RTK port of the GPS rover receiver. It cannot be the same port that is used to control the receiver and is selected in the GPS Rover Comms tab. It may be a serial port or a BT port with a connection that has already been established.

After selecting the port and pressing the green check to accept the input, select the network type in the RTK tab. Other settings are just like using the other modem selections as explained in the section “Connecting a GPS Rover to a Modem or Base Network”.

GPS Utilities

Every GPS manufacturer and model has a different set of GPS Utilities. The primary purpose of the Receiver Utilities is reset and/or troubleshoot the GPS receiver.

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Common GPS Utilities

Reset Receiver



like a power cycle. Soft reset does not delete the memory.

Factory Reset or Hard Reset:



factory settings.

Power Off Receiver:



Save Settings to Receiver:



Beep Off:



Radio Channel:



Configure RTK Device:



or rover configuration.

Check RTK:



Send Command to Receiver:



to the receiver. This should be done only in consultation with your Thales dealer.

Reset RTK Engine:



difficulty obtaining lock and want to start the process of fixing over again. Receiver settings are retained (so you can think of it as a “soft reset”).

Bluetooth Settings:



not actually change anything in the receiver itself. In order to make changes to the receiver’s internal Bluetooth settings, it is necessary to go into Receiver Utilities and click on Bluetooth Settings.

GPS Utility for GPS Simulation

If running GPS simulation, the starting point can be reset using the special GPS utility. Enter the new Lat/Lon for the position.

: This command performs a soft reset of the GPS receiver. Soft resets will reinitialize the receiver

This command will erase the memory of the receiver and restore the setting to a

This will power down the receiver.

Stores receiver settings to internal memory.

Turns off the receiver alarms.

Change the channel radio channel of the GPS.

Use this page to change your RTK data port settings. This can also be done during base

This tells the user why they aren’t in RTK fixed.

You can send what are known as “pash” commands, internal Thales/Ashtech codes,

This resets the carrier phase ambiguities. This is a useful command if you are having

The Bluetooth settings in FAST Survey’s Bluetooth Manager (discussed in Comm Setup) do

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GPS Utilites by Manufacturer Setup

Manufacturer specific information is available in the GPS Utilities by Manufacturer section.

Configure (General)

This tab allows you to select settings and preferences that apply to observations taken in the field. These options remain set from job to job. If an option is not applicable, it is grayed out. Configure is accessible from within any routine where the C or

Configure

Icon is present. These options can also be accessed by pressing ALT-C on the keyboard.

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Store Fixed Only



you attempt to store data when the receiver is not fixed, a message will appear stating, "Position is not fixed! Continue storing?" The program will prompt to store the point anyway. This allows for overwriting the

Fixed Only

Prompt for Total Station Setup:



and orientation values each time the user enters a survey routine.

Prompt for Height and Description:



the target height and description. Though this adds an extra prompt screen to each shot, it can reduce errors, as you no longer have to anticipate the shot and get the correct information entered ahead of time. This prompt screen is shown in the figure below. When it appears, you will have the option to enter a point description and change the point number and the target height. Note that all the field codes identified in the Feature Code List under File are available for touch or arrow key selection, provided this option is activated in Descriptions). Also, if you enter the first character of a code (for example, "I" for IP), the first field code starting with that character will be highlighted, allowing you to arrow key to the one you want, or accept the highlighted option. This entry is not case-sensitive. Disable the while taking points, or if you are certain that your height and description will not change from shot to shot. If the option is disabled, you must be sure that the correct target height and description have already been entered.

: When enabled, only data gathered in the fixed (locked) status will be stored to the point file. If

option without having to go back to the

This option determines whether or not the software will display the current setup

When this option is enabled, you will be prompted after each shot to enter

Configure

Prompt For Height and Description

menu.

Job Settings

(Use Code Table for

option to save time

Store

Note: In the Height/Description Prompt screen, you will see pre-defined Feature Code points indicated with a large dot. 2D polylines will show as a simple line, 3D polylines will show as a line with a "Z" indicator, and descriptions entered that are not found in the feature code list will appear with the "fieldbook" symbol above.

Prompt for Point Notes



consists of a point ID (number or alphanumeric), northing, easting, elevation, and description (up to 32 characters). Point Notes are a way to add an unlimited number of lines of text to a point. With this toggle enabled, you will be prompted for notes after collecting a point. The notes are stored in a file with the same name as the coordinate file, but with a .NOT extension. For example, a job called TOPO.CRD would have a note file called TOPO.NOT.

3D Mode:



0.0

Use Virtual Keyboard:



Use Graphic Icon:



and the new graphic icons.

Use Audible Alerts:



Use Alphanumeric Format:



such as 2A or T1105. When this option is disabled, FAST Survey will only allow numeric point number entry. : this setting only affects new jobs, not existing ones. Using purely numeric files can increase operation speed in very large files, however, this option limits points to just over 32,000. An alphanumeric format will be necessary for files larger than 32,000 points. A comment will be added in the Rw5 file “—CRD: Alphanumeric” or “— CRD:Numeric”, based on the format used.

Show Continuous Total Station Angles:



This option is especially useful when using On-board versions of FAST Survey.

This option allows you to toggle between 2D or 3D data. In 2D mode, all elevations will be stored as

: Point Notes are additional descriptions that can be stored with a point. A regular point

This option provides a software keyboard for data collectors without keyboards.

This option toggles between the traditional letter icons (in former versions of FAST Survey)

Turn on or off data collector sound alarms.

When this option is enabled, FAST Survey will allow alphanumeric point numbers

Note

This allows you to display angles continuously within FAST Survey.

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Spectra Precision FAST Survey Reference Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Table of Contents

Installation

Using the Manual

System Requirements

Microsoft ActiveSync

Installing FAST Survey

Authorizing FAST Survey

Hardware Notes

Color Screens

Memory

Battery Status

Save System

User Interface

Graphic Mode

View Options

Quick Calculator

Hot Keys & Hot List

Instrument Selection

Input Box Controls

Keyboard Operation

Abbreviations

FILE

Job Settings (New Job)

Job Settings (System)

Job Settings (Format)

Job Settings (Options)

Job Settings (Stake)

List Points

Raw Data

Feature Code List

Data Transfer

Import/Export

Delete File

Add Job Notes

Exit

EQUIP

Total Station

GPS Setup

GPS Base

GPS Rover

GPS Utilities

Configure (General)