Use a Feature List to capture soil profiles while recording soil sampling points

“I currently use EOS Arrow 100 and Gold in conjunction with iCMTGIS Pro in the field and PCGISX in the office. I primarily collect soil boring points. I would like to ask if there is a recommended companion application or form for me to log the soil data. I would like to enter soil profiles that relate to the collected points. I love iCMTGIS Pro but the data lines are limited for the number of characters. I am looking for something a little more robust to capture soil profiles while in the field.”

You could set up a Feature List containing a Point Topic for the sample points. For this Point Topic, add the built-in Attributes for the coordinates as well as the Attributes Depth1, Type1, Depth1, Type2, etc.
Then, each record in Sheet View will be in this format:

Feature ID Latitude Longitude Depth1 Type1 Depth2 Type2 Depth3 Type3 Depth4 Type4 . . .

You could add the Date as well, if you wish.

The built-in Attribute fields will be automatically filled in by the app.

The data in Sheet View can be exported to an Excel file.

Please watch our Training Video 5 and Video 9 to see how to create a Feature List and how to use it for data collection.

Tracklog details

“I would like to know how to collect sequential GPS data in PC-GIS X. I created a tack log, but it only creates one Feature ID and one position.”

The track log is a Line Feature. You can use the Disconnect Line function to turn all of its nodes to Point Features.

First, create a new Point Topic and give it a unique name.

Then, use the Edit Topic function to add the built-in Attributes, such as the Feature ID, Position X, Position Y and Elevation Z.

Now, select the flight path and disconnect it into points to be stored in the new Point Topic.

The Tracklog function is for recording the track in the background while you are recording your GPS observations.

If you mainly want to record sequential GPS data, you could use GPS > Collect and opt to collect Points dynamically by time interval or by distance interval.

Forester GPS GIS III updated to Version 1.0.5

The following changes have been added to Forester GPS GIS III:

1. For importing from an Excel file, added the ability to detect decimal numbers used as Feature IDs.
2. Bug Fix: Default Value not working when built-in Attribute is added in iPhone version.
3. Bug Fix: The default blue dot was used for GPS data collection rather than the point symbol selected by the user.
4. Bug Fix: When Degrees is selected in Setup Elevation and Angle, the angle must still be input in DMS for the Feature Properties screen.
5. Allow Bearing to be entered with 3 decimal digits for the GPS – Collect – Traverse function.
6. Added Time and Date to the Built-in Attribute List.

 

Is there a way to add the RTK solution type in the built-in attributes of iCMTGIS PRO?

“I am a land surveyor and having the solution type for each collected point is something very important (actually it is mandatory with my professional association) since this information is related to the precision/accuracy.”

The app provides setting for PDOP Mask, 3D only, RMS Limit and DGPS.

PDOP, 2D_3D, C_or_U, and 2DRMS values are available as built-in Attributes.

You can set the PDOP Mask, 3D only, the RMS limit, and mark DGPS (meaning DGPS only) to ensure that the data meets the quality requirement.

If you mark the DGPS check box, that means the app will only record data when it is DGPS. This is much better than logging the data and recording the GPS/DGPS status then later checking the data to see if it meets the requirement.

Similarly, setting the RMS limit and also have the app record the 2D RMS values as built-in Attributes will show your association the quality of your data.

As the solution type for each collected point when collecting data with a GPS RTK receiver/software combination is important for your professional association, we are working on adding it to the built-in Attributes list for the next release of iCMTGIS PRO. We will also add the RMS value to the built-in Attribute list so that it may be recorded along with the location data.

In the iCMT III application, is it possible for the id to appear in a column when exporting in .shp?

Yes, the Feature ID is a built-in Attribute that you can add to a Topic.

So, make the Topic active, then go to Topic Menu – Edit Topic then tap on the Add button. Tap on the little “down arrow” then scroll down to select Feature_ID.

“Ok perfect. Is it possible to integrate the Feature ID in a pre-register feature list? To clarify the question: In the PC-GIS software can I integrate the feature ID to my list?“

This is an excellent idea. You can use PC-GIS X or iCMTGIS III (or iCMTGIS PRO) to add the Feature ID to the Feature List, which can be shared by multiple Jobs.

In the Feature List first select the Feature Topic of interest, then add the Attribute named “Feature_ID“.

Then, with the Feature List selected for a Job, whenever you collect GPS Feature for that Topic, its Feature ID will be displayed in the Feature_ID column of Sheet View. The Features that you digitize will also show the Feature ID in Sheet View.

If you use PC-GIS X to create the Feature List, you can copyit to your iPhone or iPad for use with the iCMTGIS III or iCMTGIS PRO.

Exporting Job data to PDF

“On a future update could there be a way to export the ‘feature properties’ to a PDF file. Showing the info from the various tabs?”

Many of the items displayed in the Feature Properties screen and its sub-screens are available in the Built-in Attributes List of some of our iOS apps.

Please use Topic – Edit Topic to add the desired Built-in Attributes (such as Date, Time, Area, etc.) to the Topic structure. Then those values will be displayed in Sheet View for each Feature in that Topic. You can export all such information to Excel. When you export to PDF, you will only be able to see the coordinates, Area and Perimeter (Length) information for the Features.

What is the built-in Attribute name for Corrected or Uncorrected Points? I want it in my xls report.

When you are working in the “Enable the External GPS” mode of iCMTGIS PRO, the app is able to get the NMEA messages directly from a few specific GPS receivers (such as. EOS Arrow Gold and SXBlue Platnum). Therefore, it will be able to display and store the corrected or uncorrected status of the GPS position.

When you call up the built-in Attribute list, you can select and add “C_or_U“, which provides information about whether a point position is Corrected or Uncorrected. Then this parameter will display in the Sheet View and can be exported.

Can iCMTGIS PRO record GPS quality indicators?

“The things that I need to do are:
1- Getting a report from the data collected by IcmtGisPro which will give me information about the quality of the gps collected points. Data like the time the point was collected, what was the number of GPS reading (average) that made the point (for example, 10x our 20x or 1x), what was the precision of the position when the point was collected, maybe the number of satellite available at recording time of the point. I am looking for information about the quality and the precision of each recorded points.
2- I need to create a list of coordinate (csv file) so I can import the points into my cogo-cad software. Something like this format: point_name, northing, easting, elevation, description
3- I need to be able to upload points (list of coordinates with the above format or something similar) into IcmtGisPro for staking or finding purpose.”

You can accomplish all of the tasks you mentioned by using iCMTGIS PRO.
The thing to note is that iCMTGIS PRO will let you add a number of built-in Attributes to your Feature Topics. To see the built-in Attributes, first select an existing Feature Topic (such as the Topic for the GPS points you have collected). Then, tap on the Topic Menu icon and select Edit Topic. Tap on the Add button near the bottom then tap on the drop-down menu for Name1. These are the built-in Attributes. You can add one of more of them to your Topic and they corresponding values will display in Sheet View and also be available for exporting.

1. Please use the method described above to add the desired built-in Attributes for indicating quality.

2. Please use the method described above to add the desired built-in Attributes for the X, Y, Z positions.

3. On the Topic Menu is an Import Text File item. Currently, you can import a text file with file name ending in .txt. (You can make a copy of your existing comma-delimited .csv files and rename them with .txt). In the next update of iCMTGIS PRO, you will also be able to select text files ending in .csv.