- Why should I run miniCAD on a Palm?
- What about my RPN calculator?
- What hardware do I need to run miniCAD?
- What Total Stations are supported?
- What Data Recorder Formats are supported?
- What Third Party CAD Formats are supported?
Why should I run miniCAD on a Palm?
Most surveyors rely on Hewlett Packard calculators to perform their survey
calculations. They enter a large amount of information from both plans and field
observations. The calculator stores coordinates and associates them with a point
number. While the surveyor is entering this information he needs to manually
draw a diagram of what he is entering and write the point numbers on it. Then
when calculations are done, say to see how far a building is from a boundary,
point numbers are entered to perform the calculation.
If this data is entered into miniCAD, the surveyor gets a drawing of his job
automatically created for him and the point numbers are largely irrelevant. To
perform a calculation, the surveyor points to the information on-screen. Data
entered incorrectly, either because of dyslexia or bearings entered in the wrong
direction, is immediately detected.
If the information is required urgently, or the surveyor is working in a very
remote location, the CAD file can be sent to the office via mobile phone.
Alternatively if there is no urgency, the data can be transferred when the
surveyor is back in the office. Either way data re-entry required when using a
calculator is avoided.
Stakeout calculations can be easily performed using miniCAD or uploaded to
your data recorder.
With the improvements in modern total station software, there is
less need to do survey calculations. However, there are numerous occasions when
the total station is not able to do the job. The Palm PDA can also be carried in
your top pocket. Try doing that with a total station!
What about my RPN calculator?
Good question. It is true that the Palm does not include an RPN calculator.
So we provide one free of charge when you purchase miniCAD. It is easier to use
than an HP too, because it has been designed with the surveyor in mind and
there is no requirement to decimalise and undecimalise bearings.
What hardware do I need to run miniCAD?
- Release 4 PC
- Any PC capable of running Windows 95 or better
- 10MB free on the hard disk
- CD-ROM Drive
- USB or Parallel port
- Printer or Plotter recommended
- Palm PDA field versions
- Any Palm compatible PDA running OS5 or later
- Optional SD or MMC card for data storage
- Optional Serial cable
- for upload & download of files to your Total Station
- for use as a data recorder
- Optional USB SD / MMC card reader or similar device
What Total Stations are supported?
- Leica
- Pentax
- Trimble / Geodimeter
- Topcon
- Sokkia
- Nikon
What Data Recorder formats are supported?
The ability to read and write:
- Leica GSI16 & GSI8 formats
- Pentax DC1 format
- Trimble / Geodimeter Job and Area files for most UDS formats
- Topcon GTS-7 and FC5 formats
- Sokkia SDR33 & SDR20 formats
- Nikon 700 & 800 formats
- Tripod Data Systems (TDS) format
- miniCAD's Neutral File Format
What Third Party CAD Formats are supported?
The ability to read and write:
- DXF
- LandXML (not yet available)
- 12D Model ASCII
- CivilCAD ASCII 4
- Geocomp Points & String files
- CSV (Comma Separated Values) files
- Space delimited files