I am interested in purchasing a promark2, but am new to GPS. How hard is it to traverse around 2 or 3 1 mile sections to get actual cordinates on the section corners for calculations. The site is close to a HARN station. The more I read the more confusing it gets. Any info would be great.
Provided that the points you are interested in do not exceed 20km (roughly 12 mi) the actual field process is as simple as setting up a tripod/tribrach, attaching a bracket, screwing on an antannae, plugging in a wire, pushing about 10 buttons and then sitting. The main concept is that two receivers occupy two points at the same time for a period of time long enough to get a solution. This time is roughly estimated by the unit itself, and thus all you must do is wait for the indicator to indicate the appropriate baseline length you are shooting. Trees are a factor, so not all points are "GPSable". But hopefully you can shoot in two points with GPS in the vicinity of the desired point that are intervisible. Then you can set up your gun on one, backsight the other, and shoot in your desired point. GPS really makes a lot more sense once you put your hands on it and run it a few times. I say this from experience. The best way to check out your understanding and your confidence in the system is to run a few sessions between points that are known (such as HARN points) and see the results for yourself. Processing takes a little more understanding. Not knowing where you are in your study, I will not go into it yet, unless you are curious. But the Ashtech Solutions V2.4(5) will output in SPC and a host of other formats, making data immediately available for cogo calculations. The PM2 is slick. It has some inconveniences, but it works very well and gives very accurate results when used properly.
Hope this helps
Shawn Billings
SIT Texas
For the guys who have never done GPS before, and for those who have but wonder if they have figured it out. I would like to suggest Practical GPS Surveying.pdf that you can download from the manuals folder on the Ashtech ftp server.
Send me a note at pstevenson@magellangps.com and I will be glad to provide the link to that file if you can't find it.
They gave me a ProMark2 to learn to use on my first day on the job here. I think it is a very slick little box and wish I could have had something like this around when I started my GPS survey career.