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Field Collection with the GNSS Receiver

Prior to fieldwork

Make sure you have:

  • Trimble Geo 7x, SD Card, Batteries
  • Zephyr 2 GNSS Antenna & Cable
  • Antenna Pole
  • Wifi Hotspot or Phone with tethering

In the field

Setup

  • Turn on the Geo 7x
  • Open TerraSync by clicking the center of the screen
  • Connect to Wifi
    • Click the Windows button () in the bottom left
    • Click the Settings button ()
    • Click the Connections folder ()
    • Click Wireless Manager button ()
    • Click Menu in the bottom right
    • Choose your hotspot wifi network, enter credentials, and wait for the unit to connect
    • Click X until you are back in TerraSync
  • In the top left corner of TerraSync, navigate to the Setup screen
  • Click the Ext Source button so that it is activated

  • In the top left corner, navigate to Data

  • Create a New Data File

    • File Type: Rover
    • Location: Storage Card
    • File Name: DataDictionaryYearMonthDayInitials
      • For example, John Doe using the water/sewer data dictionary, on Feb 5, 2023 would name the file: ws20230205jd
    • Choose the Dictionary that you need
    • Click the Create button in the bottom left

Turning the unit off

  • Exit out of TerraSync by clicking the physical green power button ()
  • Click the on-screen Power button
  • Click Shutdown

Getting Data off of the GNSS Unit

This process will move the data from the Geo 7x Unit to the computer, import it into GPS Pathfinder Office, then export it as a shapefile

File Transfer

  • Remove the SD Card from the Geo 7x
  • Insert SD card into card reader and connect to computer
  • Copy all the files that begin with the filename you created earlier into a folder on the computer

Import files into GPS Pathfinder Office

  • Open GPS Pathfinder Office (must be on TOC network for this to open)
  • In the Select Project window, click New... and name the project the same as your file (i.e. ws20230205jd)
  • Once the project is created, click OK
  • Navigate to the Utilities Dropdown, then click Data Transfer
  • If you have not already set up a folder as a device, See Creating a Device Folder below, otherwise choose the folder you created in the Devices drop down
  • Click the Add and choose Data File
  • Choose your project file
  • Click Transfer All
  • Close the Data Transfer window
Creating a Device Folder
  • Click the Devices... button
  • Click the New... button
  • Set GIS Folder as the type of device
  • Browse to the folder where you are saving the files from the SD card to your computer
  • Click Next >
  • Type: TerraSync
  • Version: v3.xx, v4.xx, v5.xx
  • Click Next >
  • Create a name for this folder connection (this is what will show up in the Devices dropdown menu)
  • Click Finish

Export to Shapefile

Now that the files are in Pathfinder Office, we need to convert them from GPS files to Shapefiles so they can be used in GIS software

  • Under Choose and Export Setup choose Sample ESRI Shapefile Setup

  • Properties Setup:

    • Units
      • Use Export Units
      • Distance Units: Feet
      • Area Units: Square Feet
      • Velocity Units: Feet Per Second
    • Coordinate System
      • Use Export Coordinate System
        • System: Lat/Long
        • Datum: NAD 1983 (Conus)
        • Altitude Units: Feet
        • Altitude Reference: MSL
      • Export Coordinates As: XYZ

    • Projection File: NAD83.prj

      NAD83.prj
      GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]]

  • Now that the properties are correct, click the OK button in the Export window

  • Verify that the files will be exported into the Export folder for the particular project
  • If the export was succesful, you will see an Export Completed popup with details
  • GPS Pathfinder Office can now be closed

Save files to GIS Data Share drive

After export, the entire folder created by Pathfinder Office should be copied to the GNSS_Projects folder on toc-voa-app-07.