[GIS] Software for amateur topographic surveys

software-recommendationsterraintopographywindows

I'm interested in doing rough topographic surveys using my tripod-mounted Brunton transit compass for azimuth readings and laser rangefinder (and maybe an optical level), so obviously going to be much less accurate than using a theodolite and EDM but find (and fast) for the level of accuracy I need for say 25cm contour maps of rural properties.

I'm looking for low-end (but not necessarily free) Windows GUI software that doesn't have all the bells and whistles of most of the $1,000+ packages out there that I can manually transcribe my data points into and do some sort of least squares network adjustment or whatever it's called to solve traverse misclosures etc as well as be able to easily work with and offset for some of the hacky ways of taking observations like fixed height range rods (painted rebar jammed into the ground) and working in some consumer GPS (3 metre error) readings and hopefully getting a reasonable terrain model out of it.

Suggestions? Also any appropriate reading pitched at this level of topographic surveying and cartography would be welcome too! Like this http://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-eastmead/landscape-surveying-using-handheld-gps-receivers/ebook/product-20624990.html

Best Answer

Copan Lite should do exactly what you need. It's a free, GUI-based Windows COGO tool for land or topographic surveyors. (I was heavily involved in its development.)

From the Field Bearings Processing section of the User Manual:

Use this module to process raw field data from hand-held survey instruments such as compass, inclinometer and rangefinder. Copan can process the data — azimuths (or bearings), vertical angles, slope distances, and instrument and signal (or target) heights — whether concerning one or more connected traverses, independent radial surveys, or combinations thereof, to calculate new points. Data may come from data logger files or be manually input from field books. Traverses may be adjusted for coordinate misclosure and new points may be saved.

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