Situation
Survey company has a detail and topographic survey in a remote area. Vegetation makes kinematic RTK difficult and a total station has to be used. There are no control points but there is a reference station 40 km away transmitting RTK.
The conventional way
Fix a series of control points with GPS. Transfer the coordinates into the total station. Occupy the points with the total station, orient to other points, and survey the detail. If the total station occupies points before GPS, results have to be transformed in the office. Points have to be occupied twice, once with GPS and once with the total station. Two sets of equipment are needed. Two crews may be needed. It may be necessary to transform results.
The SmartStation way
Set up SmartStation where it is convenient and determine the position with RTK. Orient to a second point that will be used but is not coordinated yet. Survey the detail from the first station. Set up at the second point and determine the position with RTK. As the bearing between the points is now known, SmartStation transforms the coordinates of all detail surveyed from the first point. Orient to the first point and survey the detail from the second point.
The advantages
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Points occupied only once.
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Only SmartStation is needed.
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Only one crew is needed.
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Automatic transformations.
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The survey takes less time.
