Mapping Help....Again

“Here's the issue:

I work in the oil & gas industry. (No Flaming, Please)

I have been given the task of locating ALL wells in our oil field in Colorado (~8500'), along with access roads, buildings, and production flow lines. I then need to post and print on Topo maps.

I am thinking a 'Good' GPS, a mapping software and a week in the field (Bummer, huh?).

Any suggestions on GPS's and mapping software?

Thanks in advance for your help.”

“Earthtrak Realtime Vehicle Location if you're driving to all the sites, but that's probably overkill.

TOPO! sync in combination with a Garmin or Trimble or anybody's handheld GPS will let you connect to your PC and show your routes and waypoints on a map.”

“Convince your company to bite the bullet and buy ArcView GIS software. Everyone else is just a pretender.

For GPS use Trimble equipment.
Forget about the recreation grade GPS receivers. They are garbage. Do not waste your time with any receiver that will not filter weak signals and cannot be differentially corrected.
Check with the state agency (GIS dept.) appropriate to your industry in CO. Collect and format your data according to the common geographic data standards. You will be far better off the long run.”

“Chief, once you figure out the logistics on this, clue me in. We are negotiating to begin maintenance on cell towers (15000+) and most of them are referenced only by GPS coordinates and not by address. As my dispatch system is driven by zip code, I will need a system that will translate coordinates to either zipcode area or to the county level. So far, I am reluctant to take on this project because of the dispatch problems.....which by the way is the reason the tower company wants to farm it out.”

“chili36,

Meridian World Data sells a cheap CD ($30) that lists all zip codes and their lats and longs which is how a GPS unit spits out coordinates.”

“Chili36:

Contact your local university with a geography department. Geography students are always looking for projects like that. If you have a spreadsheet or even a delimited text file with the tower coordinates it is simple to get the information you need with GIS software.”

“kleetn/gordon,,,,thanks.

I might be whip this problem. 15000 sites has our sister company chomping on the bit for the weed/vegetation control.”

“Chief:

For GPSing the data consider the Trimble Pathfinder Pocket unit linked to a pocket PC. If your company does serious GPS collection they already have a Pro-XR or related model, which is the best way to go but expensive.

www.trimble.com”

“I got an email at work today for an introductory offer for a GPS with WAAS capability, Mapping software, Computer interface, Digital maps of the entire US, The gps stored four topo maps at once with a color lcd map display and internal compass. It was a pretty good deal at $695.00.

I can post a link tommorrow.

The expert on GPS technology is Joe MaHaffey. Another good source is usenet sci.geo.satelite-nav

http://joe.mehaffey.com/”

“What kind of batteries do you recommend for GPS's? I go thru a set of Duracell batteries/day while snowboarding (6-8 hrs), even on battery save mode. I tried rechargables (Brunton Portable Solar Charger), and they last 3 hrs. Maybe I need a different type of charger?”

“Here is the link for the Navigation system.

http://www.navitrak.com/handheld.html”

“Lithium Batteries will last four times as long as duracells. They are pricey and some stores keep them behind the counter so kids won't steal them for the lithium.

Lithium Batteries go out in a hurry when they do run down. The voltage indicator will go from full to zero in a few minutes. Lithium batteries weigh half of regular batteries.

The E Energizers seem to last longer than duracells.”

“My advice would is similar to what gordon said. Go with ArcView and Trimble. The rest are just imitations. That's the best way to avoid using a combination of 3rd party equipment and maintain decent customer support.”