GPS for Land Surveyors, Third Edition [Hardcover]

Jan Van Sickle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0849391954 | ISBN-13: 978-0849391958 | Edition: 3

Since the last edition of this international bestseller, GPS has grown to become part of a larger international context, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Both GPS and GNSS technologies are becoming ever more important in the everyday practice of survey and mappers. With GPS for Land Surveyors, Third Edition, a book written by a land surveyor, for land surveyors, you can stay in the know on the latest GPS techniques, technologies, codes, and signals.

What’s New to the Third Edition?

• Sections on Real-Time Network Services, Block IIF, and control segment modernization
• GPS code, such as the M-code, L1C, and L2C
• An entire chapter dedicated to GNSS
• Discussion of the Russian GLONASS system, the Chinese Beidou system, and the Japanese QZSS

From fundamental theory to practical application and advanced technologies, the book covers GPS without pages of complicated math. It demonstrates the basics of GPS technology, common hardware, surveying methods, survey design, planning, and observation. Additionally, each chapter includes helpful review questions and answers. GPS and GNSS are revolutionizing the practice of surveying and mapping. This user-friendly manual gives you the tools needed to understand and use these important technologies in everyday practice.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jan Van Sickle, P.L.S. has more than 40 years of experience as a land surveyor. He was privileged to supervise surveys with the first commercially available GPS receivers in the early 1980s and has worked with GPS since. He received his MEng from the University of Colorado in 2006. He is the author of GPS for Land Surveyors, Basic GIS Coordinates and 1001 Solved Surveying Fundamentals Problems. The latter is quoted in the feature Surveying Solutions each month in POB magazine. He taught the Advanced Surveying Program at the Denver Institute of Technology and GPS seminars throughout the United States. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at Penn State University. He is a licensed surveyor in California, Colorado, Oregon and North Dakota.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: CRC Press; 3 edition (May 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849391954
• ISBN-13: 978-0849391958
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jan Van Sickle has more than forty-five years of experience in GIS, GPS, surveying, mapping and imagery. He began working with GPS in the early 1980s when he supervised control work using the Macrometer, the first commercial GPS receiver. He created and led the GIS department at Qwest Communications for the company's 25,000-mile worldwide fiber optic network. He also led the team that built the GIS for natural gas gathering in the Barnett Shale. He has led nationwide seminars based on his three books, GPS for Land Surveyors, Basic GIS Coordinates and Surveying Solved Problems. The latter book was serialized in the magazine POB. His latest book will be Geomatic Engineering for McGraw Hill. He led the team that collected, processed and reported control positions for more than 120 cities around the world for the ortho-rectification of satellite imagery now utilized in a global web utility. He managed the creation of the worldwide T&E sites for a major earth observation satellite which are used for frequent accuracy assessments. He created an imagery-based system of deriving road centerlines that meet the stringent Advanced Driver Assistance specifications and developed a method of forest inventory to help quantify that depleted resource in Armenia. He assisted the supervision of the first GPS survey of the Grand Canyon for the photogrammetric evaluation of sandbar erosion along the Colorado. He has done 3D mapping with terrestrial photogrammetry and LiDAR as well as Building Information Modeling. He was involved in the creation of a BIM of very prominent buildings in Washington DC. He was a member of the team of authors for the recently created Geospatial Technology Competency Model for the Department of Labor. He has recently conducted two days of training at the NAVCEN in Alexandria for the USCG. He has recently provided technical assistance in the reconstruction of the geodetic network of Nigeria. He has been a featured speaker at many conferences including MAPPS, GITA, the Institute of Navigation (ION) Annual Meeting and the ESRI UC where he delivered the keynote of the Imagery and Remote Sensing section. He is a Senior Lecturer at Penn State University. He was formerly on the board of RM-ASPRS and was the vice-chairman of GIS in the Rockies. Jan earned his Ph.D. in GIS engineering from the University of Colorado. He has been a licensed professional Land Surveyor for thirty-one years and is currently licensed in Colorado, California, Oregon, Texas and North Dakota

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A concise and practical treatise on GPS without alot of math, June 1, 1998

By 

Norman R. Brown (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gps for Land Surveyors (Hardcover)

I found Mr. Van Sickle's book to be very concisely written yet full of practical "how tos". The flow from concept to concept is well though out. He shows his vast experience and knowledge of the subject on nearly every page. There are however, some large scriveners errors which are too large to be considered typographical errors (sometimes a whole sentence or paragraph is unrecognizable). In some cases these errors detract greatly from the content since it hard to know what he is saying. One aspect of Mr. Van Sickle's style is his ability to explain a concept, albeit difficult for most to understand, using common words and phrases. Generally, I liked the book and would recommend it as a basic part of your GPS library. One should experience various aspects of a subject from all directions to be able to fully understand anything. I will confess to learning a number of things from Mr. Van Sickle's book mostly due to his easy literary style which I had not previously understood. I have used the book as a textbook for two semesters and will continue to do so. I only hope that there is a new corrected edition available soon.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In depth coverage on topics for land surveyors, February 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Gps for Land Surveyors (Hardcover)

Jan presents a very concise and complete book on the intricate details involved with all aspects of GPS, from the GPS satellite signal structure itself to the applications of the Land Surveyor in implementing this technology. This book is a great learning tool for Land Surveyors interested in learning more about the who,what,where,and why's on GPS Surveying.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The GPS Primer - updated, August 14, 2001

By 

Norman R. Brown (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GPS for Land Surveyors (Paperback)

I found Mr. Van Sickle's 2nd edition book to be an expansion, correction and update of the 1st edition (previously reviewed). The book now has nine chapters and includes a new one on "real-time". Various corrections and updates have been placed into print which were greatly needed. The book "boils down" GPS into its basic components and explains difficult aspects in a more understandable fashion. The new, larger illustrations are generally more easier to see and of a better quality than before. Mr. Van Sickle has added questions and answers at the end of each chapter making the book more useful in the classroom. Generally, I liked the new book and would recommend it as a basic part of your GPS/Surveying library. I intend to use the book as a textbook for my upcoming semester and I know that the students will like it as much as I have, especially with the new self-checking questions and answers at the end of each chapter.