JCSM Shareware Collection 1996 September/JCSM Shareware Collection (JCS Distribution) (September 1996).ISO/bother__/sly253a.zip/siy1_c.txt

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SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 84


                           Chapter 1_C


       Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way


For this chapter you will need:

a) These instructions, copies of the necessary graphs, and some
graph paper.  These are available for five bux [$5] from CAVE
Inc, 1/2 Fast Road, Ritner, KY 42639.

a½) Optionally, a durable plastic circular protractor and tenths
of an inch & millimeters ruler for another two bux [$2],

a-) If you are in a hurry, or are a cheapskate, you can make do
the first time with a schoolchild's semicircular protractor, a
ruler, and any lined paper.

b) Pencil and paper,

c) Calculator.  A common calculator makes the arithmetic a lot
easier, tho you could do it by hand if you like.  If you don't
own a calculator, I suggest that you purchase one.  They cost
between $2 and $10 and are available almost everywhere.  The most
significant difference between varieties is the quality of the
key pad.  Everybody skip the fancy math the first time.  I find a
hand calculator to be a lot more useful than a pop up
"calculator" on a computer.  I personally use a Sharp EL-510S
(solar) and a Sharp EL-506A (battery).

You will not need:

a) Any land,

b) Any land description,

c) Any assistant,

d) Nor to leave the comfort and safety of your kitchen.

e) You don't even need this computer, except to make a printout
so that these instructions can be doodled with a pencil.




SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 85


Normally I have students plot the map using the Silva Ranger
compass as the protractor.  This develops familiarity with the
compass and thus makes its use in the field easier.  This compass
costs $43 + $5 shipping & handling, which is why you will use a
circular protractor for learning.  If you have a Silva Ranger,
then use the instructions in the regular Chapter 1.

A survey station consists of some point with an individual name
and location.  The survey station may be located on the land, in
a land description, or on a map.

Survey stations on the land or on a map are connected together
with lines, similar to a "Connect-the-Dots" puzzle.  These survey
stations may or may not be at the corners of the property.
Survey stations in a land description are connected by a set of
instructions telling you how to find the next station.


                             TABLE 1

Line   Station   Station   COMPASS   TAPE        Comments
       TO        FROM      degrees   feet

1      0         0         0         0           You gotta start
                                                 somewhere!

2      1         0         40        200

3      2         1         122       170

4      3         2         193       224

5      4         3         305       271         This is supposed
                                                 to be the same
                                                 as station 0

Look at Table 1.  The station is named "0".  This is the station
TO which you are surveying.  The station FROM which you are
surveying is also named "0".  The station refers to itself.

The COMPASS direction to TO from FROM is 0.  A fancy name for the
compass direction is AZIMUTH.  The TAPE distance is also 0.





SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 86


Each station must refer to either some previous station or be
given some arbitrary location.  Be sure that you start
someplace.  The best directions in the world are worthless if you
don't know where to start.  Have you ever asked for directions in
Rural America?  If so, you know about directions which start at
no where.  Convert to now here.

When you get around to using CAVEMAP2 you will find Graph 1
there.  Or you could register this disk and I'll send you the
graphs.  Meanwhile, any piece of lined paper can be used.  Draw
an arrow along one of the lines and write an "N" near it.  My
graph has cheater lines on it, but they are not necessary.

Turn the graph paper so that the North Arrow points up.  Away.
To the top.  Unless there is some very good reason not to do so,
always put North at the top of your map.  This cartographic
standard makes it much easier to keep the map orientation fresh
in your feeble little mind.  You will learn to *!HATE!* maps with
North in any other direction.

Station 0 is plotted as the little "x" labeled "0" on my paper
Graph 1.

Line 2 of Table 1.  The station TO is named "1".  The station
FROM is named "0".  The compass direction is 40.  Lay the
circular protractor on the map.  Turn the protractor so that "N"
points North.  Slide the protractor around until you can see [If
you don't have Graph 1, then you won't see it until you make it!]
the "x" which marks station 0 thru the center hole.  Twist the
protractor until the N-S line on the protractor aligns with the
lines on the map.  The 40 degree compass direction lies in the
direction marked "40" on the protractor.

Make a mark on your graph at the 40 degree direction.  Use a
straight edge to draw a straight line from the "x" marking
station 0 to and thru the mark you just made marking the 40
degree direction.  Now use your ruler to measure off 200 feet [at
the scale of 100 feet per inch] along the 40 degree direction.
That will be two full inches.  Now put an "x" at this point and
label it "1".  Ain't this easy?!

If you can do it once, then you can do it twice.  On to Line 3 of
Table 1.  The TO station is 2.  The FROM station is 1.  The way
to get to TO from FROM is to go in a COMPASS direction of 122
degrees from North for a TAPE distance of 170 feet.


SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 87


Put your circular protractor on the map with the "N" end pointing
the same way as the North Arrow in the map.  Slide it until you
can see station 1 thru the peephole.  Precisely align the N-S
line on the protractor with the lines on the map, and place the
center of the protractor precisely over the station.  Mark the
map precisely at the 122 degree direction.  Remove your
protractor and draw a straight line along the 122 degree
direction.  Measure off precisely 170 feet with the 100 feet per
inch ruler and mark the station.  Label it "2".

This is easier done than said.  On to line 4.  These are the
instructions to locate station 3.  Plot and label station 3.
Hopefully this is still easy.  If you can do it thrice, then you
can do it forever.  Or however long it takes to get the job done.

Plot line 5.  Station 4 should be at the same place as station
0.  Or at least too close to call them different.  If there is
more than about 20 feet [that's really 20 hundredths of an inch]
between them, try it again.

If you have already tried it again, then give it up for a few
days.  You have blundered.  Your blunder should be obvious in
hindsight.  If it is already a few days later and you are still
making the same mistake, then perhaps it is hopeless.  You can
send me back my instruments and instructions, and I'll send you
your dollars back.  Be sure to enclose the maps which you have
tried to draw so that I can improve my instructions.

Or just send me copies of your maps and whatever else you have
done, and I'll straighten you out.  If you have an idea of what
went wrong, then make a note of it.  Dave Beiter, CAVE Inc, 1/2
Fast Road, Ritner, KY 42639.  606/376-3137.

Everybody else now knows how to plot a map.

The CLOSURE ERROR is the distance on the map between two stations
which are supposed to be in the same place.  It is a reality
check on the precision of your work, and by implication, its
accuracy.

Precision is like getting all the bullets in the same hole while
target shooting.  You have a steady hand, or a good shooting
rest.  Accuracy is getting them onto the proper target and evenly
distributed around bulls eye.  Your rifle is properly sighted in.



SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 88


The closure error is best thought of as a percentage of the run.
The RUN is the distance which you have surveyed around a loop
until you used the same station location again for a closing
station.  Just add up all the tape distances.  The run for the
map of the land description in Table 1 is 865 feet.

Measure the distance between station 0 and station 4 on your
map.  Divide this by 865 and push the % key.  If you have no
distance between the stations, then you have 0.0% closure error.
Congratulations.

                             TABLE 2


Line   Station   Station   COMPASS   TAPE         Comments
       TO        FROM      quadrants poles

1      10        10        0         0            Beginning at a
                                                  stone in
                                                  Speed's line

2      11        10        S72E      293 3/4      Two white oaks

3      12        11        N37E      123          Corner with
                                                  Davis & Green

4      13        12        N87W      352          Dogwood in
                                                  Green's line

5      14        13        S3W       23           The beginning
                                                  corner again

Table 2 is the land description of a real parcel of land in
Kentucky.  The compass is recorded in quadrants and the distance
is in poles.  This is the common notation in Kentucky.  It keeps
the landowners stupid.

The best way to handle the oddball units of measure is to convert
them to the familiar common units.  Change the quadrant notation
to the 360 degree notation and understand where you are going.
What the quadrant notation means is to face the first direction.
Then turn the given number of degrees towards the second
direction.  You can plot this with a semicircular schoolchild's
protractor, but that won't teach you how to survey land.



SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 89


Look at Table 2, Line 2.  The COMPASS direction is S72E.  What
this means is to face South, then turn 72 degrees towards the
East.  Look at your circular protractor.  South is 180 degrees.
Now count off 72 degrees around towards the east.  You will wind
up at 108 if you do it correctly.  If you have your calculator,
or are old enuf to be able to subtract with a pencil, then you
can simply subtract 72 from 180 and get that 108.

To translate quadrants to degrees, use the following rules:

   If the compass direction is a cardinal direction (N, E, S,
or W), then translate to ([0 or 360], 90, 180, or 270).

   If a direction is within a quadrant, then do the following
with the number of degrees within the quadrant:

   If the quadrant is NE, then add the degrees to 0.

   If the quadrant is SE, then subtract the degrees from 180.

   If the quadrant is SW, then add the degrees to 180.

   If the quadrant is NW, then subtract the degrees from 360.

   To translate your normal compass direction (azimuth) into the
quadrant system, use the following rules:

   If the direction is a cardinal direction ([0 or 360], 90, 180,
or 270) then translate to (N, E, S, or W).

   If the compass direction is greater than 0 and less than 90,
then the degrees are correct and the quadrant is NE.

   If the compass direction is greater than 90 and less than 180,
then subtract the degrees from 180, and the quadrant is SE.

   If the compass direction is greater than 180 and less than
270, then subtract 180 from the degrees, and the quadrant is SW.

   If the compass direction is greater than 270 and less than
360, then subtract the degrees from 360, and the quadrant is NW.

Believe me, the quadrant system made a lot of sense in Antiquity
(B. C., Before Calculators) when the arithmetic was done by
hand.  Today its only use today is to confuse those who would
survey it themselves.

SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 90


A pole is the same as a rod, is the same as a perch.  Still
confused?  That's 16.5 feet in the English system of measurement.

To plot a map at the scale of 100 poles to the inch, you could
make a new ruler labeled so that each tenth of an inch equals 10
poles.  Each inch is 100 poles.  Or you can use your old 100 feet
per inch ruler and mentally change the scale from feet to poles.

Typical Kentucky land corners are identified under comments.

Translate the compass directions and plot a map of this
property.  Plot it on the same graph paper as you used before.
Draw a North Arrow pointing towards the top of the paper.  Note
the scale; "100 poles per inch".  Start where I have marked an
"x" and labeled it "10".

When I plotted a map of the data of Table 2, I really couldn't
see any closure error.  Calculating with a hand calculator, I
determined the closure error to be 3.0 poles, or 0.4%.  The
direction to station 0 from station 4 is 293 degrees.  Compare
this with the closure error of your plot.  Remember, the percent
closure error is the map measured distance between the two
stations representing the same location on the ground, divided by
the run around the surveyed loop, times 100%.  You should come
out with a closure error of less than 2%.  Anything more is
blunder.

A bit more about blunder and error.  Error is a small difference
of opinion which sneaks into measurements.  This is due to the
unfortunate fact that the real world isn't mathematically
perfect.

Error is a part of this method, as it is with all real
measurements.  So far you have made errors in placing the exact
center of the protractor over the station, in aligning the
protractor with the lines on the graph paper, in getting the mark
exactly at the proper degree, in placing the straightedge so that
the direction line goes exactly thru the from station and the
direction mark, in placing your distance ruler with 0 exactly
over the station, in guesstimating where some distance such as
293 3/4 really is on the ruler, and in getting the station mark
exactly where you want it.  And the protractor and ruler have
error in their manufacture.  Plus a few more errors that I
haven't thought of yet.

You can never eliminate all the errors.  Just realize that they
are there, and manage them.
SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 91


Blunders are the *BIG* mistakes.  The most common blunder in
surveying is to read the wrong end of the compass.  You are going
just exactly bassackwards from where you think you are going.
Blunders are obvious when you notice them.  When eliminated, they
are gone completely.  Except that friends keep reminding you of
the time when you surveyed for half a day before realizing that
your compass was always pointing toward your new belt axe!

Blunders, by definition, are big enuf to catch and cure.  Always
be sure that your work has built-in blunder traps.  When they are
not caught, little blunders become BIG ERRORS.

                             TABLE 3

TO    FROM     COMPASS  TAPE                 COMMENTS

20    20       0        0

21    20       122      127 feet

22    21       8        169 feet

23    22       3        103 feet

24    23       86       211 feet

25    24       92       174 feet


26    25       S15E     12 poles

27    26       S14E     5 rods 7 links

28    27       S86W     7 poles 5 links

29    28       S2E      1 chain 32 links

30    29       S86W     13 rods 13 links


31    30       N4W      6 poles 1.5 links

32    31       N8E      3 rods

33    32       278      245 feet             closes on 20?

34    33       237      15 feet              closes on 20
SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 92


Table 3 gives you some more practice in plotting a map.  Note
that the direction and distance units vary.  Translate all of
this to into degrees and feet.  Plot a map from this land
description.

What sort of closure error did you get?  What is this in terms of
percent closure error?  Is this an acceptable closure error?  The
actual calculated closure error is 0.00%.  Station 33 was
supposed to be the closing station as I produced these data.  The
distance for station 34 is my closure error when hand plotting
the map.  My hand plotting error was 0.8%, which I consider to be
excessive.  That's why I use a computer.  And the computer is
easier too.

Take another look at your map.  The closure error should be quite
small.  Now look at the boundary of the parcel and think about
it.  Is it possible to make a blunder and still have a small
closure error?  Possible, but not probable.

You are now ready to plot a map of whatever interests you.  You
may need to translate the land description into the proper format
to plot.  Some units of distance which you may encounter are: a
pole or a perch or a rod, 16.5 feet; a rope, 20 feet; a chain, 66
feet; a link, [a hundredth chain] 0.66 feet; a furlong, (ten
chains) 660 feet; a yard, 3.00 feet; a meter, 3.28 feet; la vara,
2.78 feet (Texas, variable).

If your map comes out too tiny, or if it won't fit on the paper,
then you will have to change the scale of your map.  A square
plot containing 10 acres has the length of each side exactly one
furlong, or 660 feet.  At a scale of 100 feet per inch, the map
of that 10 acre square would be 6.6 inches square.  This fits
nicely on the graph paper.  You might want to plot on a few
different scales just to see what happens.  If you run off the
graph paper, you can add another piece to that side.  Line up the
grid lines.  Mark how the two sheets connect, or tape them
together.

You can obtain a copy of the deed for a parcel of land by
visiting your Recorder of Deeds, or whatever title s\he holds in
your county.  Just walk into the courthouse and ask for deeds.

You will need help finding what you want, so ask.  The deeds are
indexed in various ways, depending upon where you are.  In Wayne
County Kentucky, deeds are indexed alphabetically by date.
Really!  I said that you would need help!

SIY1_C.TXT  Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way 93


To actually survey land, you will need different instruments.
The protractor will be replaced with a compass.  I use the Silva
Ranger type 15 compass for all of my surveying work.  It is
reasonably cheap ($43 + $5 shipping & handling), precise to about
one degree (the same as your hand plots), fits in your pocket,
and is nearly indestructible.  Anyone can quickly learn to take
good compass directions with it.

You may already have a compass sufficient to survey it yourself.
The Brunton pocket transit is also known as the Army Artillery
compass.  These are commonly available in Army surplus stores,
after having been dropped by an excited soldier.  They can be
rebuilt for approximately $50.  They are slower, more difficult
to use, much more delicate, and more expensive than the Silva
Ranger, but if you have it, use it.

A lensatic compass, also known as an Army marching compass, is
not sufficient.  This fine product of the American
military-industrial complex was diabolically engineered.  Without
eight weeks of Basic Training in the use of the bassackwards
scale, you are sure to get lost with it.  Should The Enemy
attempt to use one of these marching compasses, he would
immediately become completely disoriented.  He couldn't even find
his way back from the latrine with it.  Leave your lensatic
marching compass in the latrine where it belongs.

A Boy Scout compass, a car compass, a "survival knife" compass,
or other such compasses are not capable of being read to a
sufficient precision.  There are several other types of compass
which are capable of a one degree precision.  If you think that
you might have one of these, ask.

The ruler will be replaced by a tape measure.  A 200 foot
fiberglass and PVC surveyor's tape costs $28 + $5 shipping &
handling.  You can get away with using a carpenters tape measure
if you are careful not to snag or step on it.  It's nice to get
more than 12 feet in a shot, too!  A steel tape will work until
somebody steps on it.  And you might not want to be holding onto
the end of a 200 foot lightning rod.

Copyright (c)1995 by David Perry Beiter

If you have any questions, problems, or comments, write or call
me.  Dave Beiter, CAVE Inc, 1/2 Fast Road, Ritner KY 42639.
606/376-3137.
MCI Mail: 635-1762   [e-mail]
X.400: c=US;a=MCI;s=BEITER;d=id=6351762
CIS: >MCIMAIL 635-1762 (be sure to include your name in the text)