As a complete novice, I am diving into the world of GNSS devices to address a challenge in my business. With so much information available, I am finding it difficult to know where to start and what questions to ask. The abundance of acronyms and technical details can be overwhelming, so I am reaching out for advice from the community. I am determined to learn and appreciate your patience as I work through this process.
The Business
My company specializes in building custom homes on customer-owned land, which often consists of larger parcels. A challenge is obtaining accurate site plans during the estimation and design phase. Traditional methods, such as pulling tape between property pins, are not always possible due to limited line of sight or access. We utilize site plans for drafting, septic system design, county or HOA approvals, utility planning, and cost estimation. Currently, we are repeatedly returning to drafting or paying surveyors to make necessary adjustments. Having direct control over data collection would significantly improve our workflow and client presentations, especially since much of this work is done before contracts are signed and represents both time and financial investment.
Wish List
· Marking Locations and CAD Integration: I need the capability to mark physical locations on the site and export them in a format compatible with CAD software for drafting purposes. For example, after manually marking out a house footprint on-site, I want to collect GNSS points and send them to the drafter (outsourced) for reference.
· Transferring Site Plan Data to the Field: Once the site plan is prepared, the GNSS device should help transfer that data back to the field, ensuring accurate positioning. This allows us to verify the house location in the field or make adjustments and communicate changes back to the drafter.
· Additional Tasks: Other important tasks include marking tree locations (priority), capturing topographical information, and recording utility as-builts.
· Splitting Property Lines: Frequently, I need a surveyor to place additional points along property lines for reference. For instance, if there are pins at the corners but they are 1,000 feet apart, I would like to find the midpoint at 500 feet along a straight line.
Accuracy
For rough site layout, an accuracy of up to one foot is adequate but not sufficient for final layouts. Achieving six-inch accuracy would be excellent, and an inch would be game changer
I am confused about RTK options. I understand that a subscription service like PointPerfect might deliver the level of accuracy required, but I am unsure whether all GNSS devices support this. I would prefer to avoid using a base and rover setup unless absolutely necessary for accuracy but having a unit we can grow with would be comforting. Above all, I need a simple workflow—perhaps something like SW Maps.
Availability – Reviewing the website and inventory, I’m concerned my decision may have to be based on inventory but maybe someone can advise waiting times
