Problems With GPS for Land Surveys
- A GPS device may fail now and then in receiving accurate satellite signals. Hindrances such as cloudy weather, tall buildings or electromagnetic interference can harm the accuracy or reception of the GPS unit. When working out in the field as a land surveyor, these hindrances may be a bother or make a job take too long.
- GPS units cannot give an accurate description of attributes on land. If pipes increase the height of a lawn or there are slight elevations, the GPS won't detect these variables. Land surveyors require accurate measurements of land dimensions, and variables such as elevation are hard to measure with GPS.
- A GPS must calculate and configure multiple satellite signals to give a graphic map of an area. However, the distance between Earth and space is large enough for any of the signals from any satellite to be disrupted. This will not obstruct the GPS calculation, but it may give a land surveyor measurements that are miscalculated by a couple of inches or feet.
- Land surveyors using typical equipment, looking through the lens of a surveying device, get relatively accurate measurements for land area. The devices are grounded to the Earth and not handheld by surveyors. GPS devices triangulate the coordinates and data of both a moving planet and moving satellites. Because of this, surveyors can be perfectly still, but the GPS records them as moving slightly, say a foot or two, in a direction. This results in more inaccurate results and is another hindrance to the surveying process when using GPS.