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Gps And Work


bradapault

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One application I've discussed with our survey deparment is to put project boundaries in a handheld GPS so I could walk in the field and show people impacted about where the project would be.

 

We do use them to help find benchmarks, designate areas for contractors to use in sources, deliniate wetlands, locate bridges, and RR crossings. plus a few other variouse things.

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I use it for our GIS mapping system,

CERT(COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM).

 

Talked the Local Sheriff onto buying them for all the criusers and the first day in service they caught a guy running from them in a heavily wooded area and pinpointed the last known coordinate to the Helicopter and had him in just a few minutes.

 

There are lots of unmapped trails and backroads here.

The GPS Trackmaker is a valuable tool as well.

 

Thts just skimming the iceburg.

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Service work in rural area's of South Dakota and Minnesota.

I mark a waypoint for every house I have been to in the rural area's.

 

I also use the Garmin maps on my Legend to help find the place if I had never been there before.

 

Between my gps software and the 911 address for the rural area's it's much easier to find places.

 

I use it daily at work.

 

I think back 18 years ago when I started doing service work.

It was such a pain to get directions from people.

 

It would go something like "You go 15 south, then turn buy that big pine tree on the corner. Then turn right and go east (should be west) and drive until you see that old tracker in the field. We are just 2 miles up the road from there."

 

It's funny how so many people don't have a clue as to were they live. :rolleyes:

 

If only I had a gps back then.....

Edited by Milbank
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Actually they use them for planting corn mazes, laying drainage tile in agricultural fields, road construction, surveying.

Planting corn mazes, that sounds interesting.

What type of gps are you using for that?

 

I think a gps would be great for making crop circles too. :rolleyes:

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I use it to mark areas of interest for site surveys, to mark locations for follow up while doing said site surveys, to mark the edge of delineated areas (such as wetlands and hazardous zones), to mark locations in sampling plans, to record locations of items, flags, stacks and other things that I want the survivors/engineers to plot on the site plot/map (the survivor that I usually work with uses a yellow etrex and my waypoints to make sure he gets everything I need). I also use it to help me stay within the zone/limits of the project, to have marked knows (don’t get paid to tell a client what they already know) and to identify planned actions. I also try to program into it and other important information that may be if value while doing a site survey, things like watershed boundaries, location of know nearby sampling sites, gauging stations. Needless to say I am using waypoint symbols for far different means than Garmin indicated and I use routes to create lines that I can view while in the field. I also carry a second unit with me to only record the track, I generally do program it as well but only as a backup, I mark a few/several/many waypoints on that unit as will and record that in my log book as well. Oh and I use it on the way back to the office to make sure I don't get lost as I tend to "autopilot" and miss turns way to often unless the GPS V on the dash beeps at me. :rolleyes:

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I am in the military and use my etrex Vista for just about anything I can think of. Positioning foxholes on the perimeter during exercises, rally points in the woods to fall back on, fuel points, retrans sites, ambush sites, mess tent, headquarters. I plot my position and take waypoints during convoys in case we get lost, at least you know where you have been...I have found it invaluable.

 

Jessica Lynch's convoy commander had one they were following when they were ambushed during the first days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was unsure of how to use it and was following roads that were the easiest to get from point A to point B, but unfortunately the GPSr didnt tell him (or the briefing that he recieved before he left) that that area there were in was controlled by the bad guys.

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I am in the military and use my etrex Vista for just about anything I can think of. Positioning foxholes on the perimeter during exercises, rally points in the woods to fall back on, fuel points, retrans sites, ambush sites, mess tent, headquarters. I plot my position and take waypoints during convoys in case we get lost, at least you know where you have been...I have found it invaluable.

 

Jessica Lynch's convoy commander had one they were following when they were ambushed during the first days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was unsure of how to use it and was following roads that were the easiest to get from point A to point B, but unfortunately the GPSr didnt tell him (or the briefing that he recieved before he left) that that area there were in was controlled by the bad guys.

OPSEC.... JUST DON'T GET CAPTURED... I'm sure they'd love to have a GPS with exact cords... of your Command Post... Mess Tent.. etc..

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Many years ago now, I worked in an Air Force test squadron where we were validating GPS weapons guidance systems. It was interesting and fun. A couple years ago now, as a Civilian I was upgrading the navigation systems of USAF fighter aircraft to include GPS. Didn't really get to play with the systems much as the bulk of the time was spent doing the modifications, but hey, at least I made enough money toys to play with when I wasn't working.

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I use a Garmin 196 mounted on top of my instrument panel for flying and a Garmin 60CS for Geocaching. NightPilot's GPS is a bit more advanced than my handheld 196, but it still shows airspace, frequecies, groundspeed, and approach information for pilots. Some pilots use additional hardware/software for agricultural spaying (making precision runs using the GPS to help ensure proper coverage). The Garmin 196 has a marine and ground (automotive) mode, but I doubt it is any more accurate than the Garmin60CS. Besides, I like to see the topology maps on screen when Geocaching.

 

I used to be in the military and still have lots of friends who still serve. Garmin can provide "special" maps to almost any part of the world for their off-the-shelf consumer products... they are heavily used in the desert as a backup to traditional navigation techniques (and the waypoints and tracks are usually deleted before going into places you may lose that data). For individual use, some of the SF units have provided a very basic eTrex to the guys on the ground... nice.

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I'm a technology teacher at a middle school and we are involved in a Federal Grant we wrote in which we work with the Forest Service and other local agencies in creating GIS maps for various environmental projects using a Trimble GeoExplorer. We also have the students using Magellan Meridian Color GPSrs to map points where data is collected.

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I get to the right spot, at the right time, zipping along over a couple hundred miles per hour using GPS. My profile photo would be self-evident as to why....

 

I've also used GPSr to determine square footage and get measurements of various terrain, ranging between how many vehicles can I get parked in a spot to how many tents can I get in a clearing.

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