May 2018 USofAZ Field Notes

FIELD NOTES

US of AZ Monthly eNewsletter

May 2018 Issue Highlights

USofAZ News

Boy Scout Merit Badge

2018 Geomatics Golf Outing

Guest Articles by Brian Fisher & Daniel Katz

Save the Date: CST Exam

Classified / Job Opportunity Board

Lost Monuments

Visit our Website

2018 Membership Renewals

Click Here to renew your Membership, become a NEW member or a Sponsor TODAY!

Membership & Sponsorship Opportunities

Active (voting) Membership: $120/yr

Student (non-voting) Membership: $100y/yr

Supporting (non-voting) Membership: $100/yr

*Corporate Sponsorships: $600/yr

*Includes 3 Active Memberships and more promotional opportunities than ever.

REDUCED MEMBERSHIP PRICING!

$90 FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2018

We’ve got some great things planned for the rest of the year that you will want to be a part of including:

Trig-Star exams at local high schools
Boy Scout Survey Merit Badge courses
2018 Geomatics Golf Outing
Get Kids Into Surveying outreach
Philanthropic projects
Member/sponsor appreciation events

USofAZ NEWS

Next General Membership Meeting:

June 15, 2018 at the Westwood PS office

2pm -3:30pm

Please email Kent Groh if you will be attending

[email protected]

Boy Scout Merit Badge Outing

June 30, 2018 in Payson, Arizona

Contact Mike Banta if you would like to assist

[email protected]

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

September 23, 2018 Geomatics Golf Outing

The Legend at Arrowhead

$75 per player

Includes: range balls, 18-Holes, lunch, drink ticket,

prizes & FUN!

Hole Sponsorships: $200

Hole Sponsorships with Foursome: $400

If you are interested in sponsoring a hole, contest or would like to add to Swag-bags, please contact [email protected]

GUEST ARTICLE:

GPS on Bench Mark

by Brian Fisher

In this article we will look at what the GPS on Bench Mark Project is, what it will produce, why you should and when you can participate, and where you can go to find a mark to observe. NGS will produce a model with whatever data they have at the end of August this year. Right now is the opportunity for you to improve the data in and around your community by getting involved. GPS on BM is a necessary project to both improve the future models we use to obtain elevation information and to build a continued link to previous datum realizations of the past. If your community is realized to an older datum (like NGVD29 or NAVD88) or you are wondering how you will be able to migrate to the next datum in 2022, GPS on BM is an important project for you.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Surveyors and Other Professional Drone Operators Should be Focused on

Accuracy and Reliability

Daniel Katz

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about what it can and does mean to utilize a “professional” drone for commercial projects as opposed to a “consumer-grade” product. Different people define these terms in different ways, but for most, the crux of the argument comes down to a debate about “DJI vs. high-end”.

In practice, though, it’s often more about “phantom vs. custom.” The DJI M600 and M200 series face a lot of the same challenges as boutique manufactured drones from other manufacturers. Many of the models in DJI’s “professional” or “enterprise” lines do not, in fact, produce better accuracy when used for surveying, and since they are more expensive and more complex to operate, they do not make as good an investment for most survey companies.

This is the kind of ROI-focused decision-making we’ve helped hundreds of surveyor work through in order to use drones to grow their business without hiring , which is for the most part possible on account of providing land surveyors with everything they need to use drones to finish surveys 90% faster . Aerotas does not have any formal affiliation with any particular drone company, which gives us the freedom to test and evaluate everything in order to provide our customers with the best tools. In our testing, we have found that there are minimum technical standards that are required to produce the accuracy land surveyors need: a 20-megapixel camera with a global shutter (as opposed to a linear rolling shutter) on a 3-axis gimbal on a multi-rotor. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro and Advanced models meet these specifications. With the right sensor, so do the more expensive models, but those more expensive models do not produce better accuracy results on surveys.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS JOB HERE

Survey Technician (Office)

Apply now

Date: Apr 16, 2018

Location: Phoenix, AZ, US

Company: SRP

SRP is the third-largest public power and water utility in the U.S. SRP provides electricity to approximately one million customers in the greater metropolitan Phoenix area. SRP was established in 1903 and has a strong history of stewardship and customer service within Arizona. SRP consistently ranks as an industry leader in customer service according to J.D. Power. We are currently recruiting for a Surveyor Technician.

Job Brief

Under minimal supervision, coordinates and completes technical survey office work assignments for the Land‐Survey Division. Works on a variety of survey related assignments involving analysis of field collected topography and land boundary surveys. Reviews, evaluates and analyzes survey boundary related documents such as deeds, plats, surveys and easements. Drafts base maps of existing land rights to assist in the drafting of final deliverables (Results of surveys and exhibit drawings) through the utilization of COGO and CAD software programs. Prepares information for the use of field survey crews in performing construction layout work. Understands the basic principles of state plane coordinate systems, grid to ground conversions and vertical datums. Understands the public land survey system, including sectional break downs, GLO lotting, closing corners and witness corners.