In this edition: MapSync welcomes new staff Kathy Donovan and Toby Hardin Tips and Tricks for GeoSync and GPS Sub-foot Mapping with Trimble GPS MapSync to release a Tax Roll solution GDYK? - Antarctica - Win a Prize!

MapSync welcomes Kathy Donovan to our team. Kathy has been working with GIS and Database solutions in and around Kentucky and Tennessee for the past six years. She brings a significant amount of experience with property tax assessment mapping and tax roll management. Kathy will be focusing on our GeoSync customers in Kentucky. Kathy relocated all the way from Paris to join us at our Lexington office. Paris, Tennessee that is.

MapSync welcomes Toby Hardin to our team. Toby is our new sales representative in Indiana.

The addition of Toby allows Jason Hooten, director of GPS sales and prior Indiana sales rep to focus on the Chicago region of Illinois and direction of overall MapSync GPS sales.

Todd Williams has reassumed the coordination of our support group at MapSync. It is good to have him back! Todd will be doing (more than!) his share of phone support. Todd will be supervising the support group which includes Jessica Baker, Gail Lopez, Randall Polly, Kathy Donovan, and Damien Mallen.

The support group, in addition to answering your technical support phone calls and emails, provides numerous data services, quality control, project setup and management, classroom and custom training. As always we will do our best to answer your Help Desk calls directly and/or return them promptly.

 

PVA News

MapSync is pleased to announce the development of a Tax Roll solution for Kentucky PVAs. In addition to providing a quality tax roll solution, we are excited to offer an optimal integration experience between tax roll and map. Stay tuned for more information in the coming month.

ArcPad 7 for GPS is now available. The new version has some significant improvements over previous versions. Click here for more information.

Other current GPS software releases include Pathfinder Office 3.1 and TerraSync 2.52

MapSync offers ArcPad, Pathfinder Office and TerraSync separately or bundled with Trimble GPS hardware.

MapSync will be conducting training in Western Kentucky the first week of April. If you are interested in GeoSync and/or GPS training, please contact Damien Mallen or call MapSync. Please see the Training Calendar for these and more classes. Note, all classes are held at MapSync's training facility in Lexington unless otherwise noted.

Ron Householder will serve as the President of IKO (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio) chapter of GITA (Geo-Spatial Information & Technology Association) during 2006. To learn more, please visit the IKO GITA web site

Map Projection: A mathematical model that transforms the locations of features on the earth's curved surfaces to locations on a two-dimensional surface. Every map projection distorts distance, area, shape, direction, or some combination thereof. (Dictionary of GIS Terminology, ESRI Press)

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3250 Blazer Parkway
Lexington, KY 40509

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Sub Foot GPS - with Trimble GeoXH and ProXH

Trimble Navigation recently began shipping the new GPS Pathfinder ProXH receiver GeoXH handheld unit. The new GPS receivers usher in a new generation of GPS for GIS data collection.

Thanks to Trimble’s new H-Star Technology, the ProXH and GeoXH bring sub-foot (sub-30cm) accuracy to the GIS market. With the addition of Trimble’s Zephyr antenna, you can achieve sub-8 Inch (sub-20 cm) accuracy.
The days of carrying 5 pounds of batteries in a backpack are over - this new receiver including battery weighs in at feathery 1.6 pounds. Both models are WAAS enabled for real-time sub-meter accuracy for navigation in the field.

The ProXH is a receiver with an integrated antenna and a field replaceable all-day battery. Connect the receiver with any field computer running WindowsCE, Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC, Trimble TSCe field device, Trimble Recon handheld, or field computer running Windows desktop operating system. With the complete integration of antenna, receiver, battery, and Bluetooth wireless connectivity there is no untangling unsightly cables.

The ProXH also has a variety of mounting options. Ruggedness is key for any GPS system, and the ProXH meets the challenge no matter the environment. With an operating temperature range of –4 F to 140 F, the ProXH is ready for the elements. Click here and contact MapSync for more information.

The GeoXH is based on the same design as the sub-meter GeoXT and 2-5 meter XM models. Some changes have been made to all three models for 2006. The GeoXH has the same accuracy specs as the ProXH with the addition of an integrated field computer for convenience. Click here and contact MapSync for more information.

GeoSync Tips & Tricks

Tips to make your GIS experience hitch free.

When naming a Shapefile layer or adding a layer to your GeoSync project make sure of the following:

• The layer name does not exceed 16 characters, (not including the extension, i.e. .shp, .dbf, .shx, etc...)
• The layer name must begin with a letter and not a numeral.
• There should not be any spaces in a layer name. Use an underscore when a space is desired.

When Collecting line features you probably log a position every 1 or 5 seconds. While this method typically works satisfactory, a disadvantage is the decreased accuracy you achieve with a single position per location.

Another disadvantage is the number of vertices you have to deal with once the GPS data is in your GIS. Excessive vertices slow performance and can create a headache when cleaning up line features in the map. Generally, the fewer the vertices, the better - the one notable exception being where vertices are necessary to define a curve.

An alternative method when collecting line features is to collect positions only where the line begins, bends (deflects), or ends. The benefits include greater accuracy and less vertices to contend with. The downside is the time required; using this method will not speed up your data collection since you will be standing at each location (beginning, bend, or end) for 15 or more seconds!.

Try It:

1. In TerraSync set the line feature to Log Later
2. Create the line feature (i.e. waterline, sewerline, etc...)
3. Stand at the beginning of the feature
4. Under Options, select New Vertex
5. If you need to, change the logging interval to 1 second (under Options)
6. Log about 15 positions while remaining at the beginning
7. Click OK
8. Move to the next location (a bend or deflection in the feature)
9. Repeat steps 4, 6, and 7
10. Continue on as necessary until the feature has been completely mapped
11. Click OK to store the feature

After trying the above method you will likely discover applications for it as well as the more typical method of logging positions while moving. Good luck!

In the spirit of resilient winter weather, we visit the most wintery of locals: Antarctica Antarctica is roughly 1.5 times the size of the United States. In the winter (March-September in the southern hemisphere) Antarctica's ice shelf doubles the size of the continent (to make it 3 times the size of the USA!) There is an enormous amount of ice in Antarctic - about 29 million cubic kilometers or 60-70% of the world's fresh water.

It is estimated if the ice of Antarctic were to melt it would raise the ocean levels of the world by over 200 feet!

Temperatures have been recorded as low as -89.6 degrees Celsius on the chilly continent. What is the equivalent temperature in Fahrenheit? Email your answer to info@mapsync.com for a chance to win a MapSync baseball cap and Bybee mug! The winner selected randomly from all submitted correct answers and the winner will be announced in our May newsletter.