Repeatably Set Up a GPS Base Station

When surveying with GPS, the process of setting up a traditional base station over a point of interest can be full of opportunities for error. The internet is loaded with cheatsheets, blogs, and videos that attempt to help surveyors achieve consistency in their process.

Could there be a better way? See the RoboDot GPS approach and decide for yourself.

GNSS base stations often need to be set up over monuments for many reasons including:

• Surveyors can use common points of reference in their work

• Surveyors may need to update, extend, redo or verify prior work

• Surveyors may need to post-process a location via a PPP processor like OPUS or CSRS-PPP and return to the same location at a later date.

With RoboDot, a tripod isn't always necessary. There are 3 main ways to reliably and repeatably place the GNSS receiver over a point.

1. Make a mark using the tailored control point stencil and place the RoboDot on the mark.

2. Simply place the RoboDot over existing features.

3. Use the RoboDots built-in locator flap to place the RoboDot over a nail or point.

A Tripod is recommended for RoboDot in areas where poor satellite signal is expected due to blocking on the horizon or when the mounting surface has a slope greater than 15 degrees. The traditional approach of mounting GNSS base stations with tripod and tribrach can still be used with RoboDot in these cases.

When the GNSS Base Position is Irrelevant

Workflows in which the GPS base station position may be irrelevant include any relative positioning or measurement work being performed with a rover/base setup. RoboDot Rover/Base pair can be used to report accurate baseline distances and baseline azimuth.

When the Initial GNSS Base Position is Unknown

In workflows where the GNSS is set up without a control point, RoboDot can be placed arbitrarily. Operators can post-process the GPS log files to determine an accurate GPS location for the base and set a control point if necessary.