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Developing a Laser Surveying Station for Archeological and Paleontological Sites
The MTDC laser surveying station solved some problems while creating others. In its favor, the surveying station stored the point coordinates directly in the computer's database. The database allowed the user to document site features and associate a digital photograph with a particular location. Total stations can be set up to transfer data to a hand-held data collector.
A less desirable feature of the surveying station was the electronic box with interface circuitry that linked the laptop computer to the laser and angle encoders. It was cumbersome—but necessary—for the prototype. In addition, the station only operated as long as the battery in the laptop. Both the laptop and the interface box could be damaged by dust or rain. At this time, the MTDC surveying station is a one-of-a-kind prototype. Maintenance or upgrades would have to be negotiated with MTDC.
Commercial total stations offer a number of features that facilitate a site survey. They also provide better accuracy than the MTDC laser surveying station, a major issue for sites spanning large areas. The procedures for calibrating and maintaining the commercial instruments also are well established. Commercial stations are routinely upgraded so they can remain compatible with current technology. In addition, support contracts for commercial total stations assure that they can be maintained and calibrated.
The major drawbacks to the total stations are:
Although no one could learn all the functions of a total station in a few hours, some 4-hour courses have given archeology students sufficient skills to perform elementary surveys with a total station.
The following list shows the features of total stations priced under $10,000 (table 1). The list was compiled from responses received from vendors and manufacturers contacted by MTDC. Any omission of comparable units is unintentional.
Table 1—Comparison of nine commercial total surveying stations costing less than $10,000. All stations are reflectorless models that transform coordinates for the polar coordinate system to the NEZ (north, east, and elevation) rectangular coordinate system. All stations can be configured with a prism to increase accuracy, particularly when surveying over distances longer than 80 meters. All have internal memory for data collection and include an RS-232 serial port for downloading data to a computer.
Ted Etter joined MTDC in 2002 to work on electronics projects. He has spent more than 25 years working in the areas of electronic instrumentation and display technology. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Oregon in 1992 and a master's degree in teacher's education from Eastern Oregon State University in 1993. Before coming to MTDC, he taught courses in programming, digital circuits, data communications, radio frequency communications, robotics, microprocessors, and operating systems at the University of Montana College of Technology.
James “Scott” Groenier, Professional Engineer, began working for MTDC as a project leader in 2003. Scott earned a bachelor's degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a master's degree in civil engineering from Montana State University. He worked for the Wisconsin and Illinois State Departments of Transportation before joining the USDA Forest Service in 1992. He worked as the east zone structural engineer for the Eastern Region and as a civil engineer for the Ashley and Tongass National Forests before coming to MTDC.
Phone: 406–329–3980
Fax: 406–329–3719
E-mail: tetter@fs.fed.us
| USDA Forest Service, Technology and Development Last Modified: 10/15/2016 23:43:22 |
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