Knowledge from the build
The OpenSurvey3D field guide
Practical, vendor-neutral writing on 3D capture methods, AR asset finding, raw measurements, coordinate frames, open formats, and acceptance checks behind modern fieldwork.
Finding Surveyed Assets in AR: From Map Coordinate to Camera View
How stored survey coordinates, live GNSS, and device heading turn the camera into a practical find-mode — and where AR precision ends.
Feature Codes, DXF, and LandXML: A Field-to-Finish Workflow
How field codes, typed attributes, CAD layers, and survey interchange formats move cleanly from the phone to the office.
Check Shots and Field QA: Measuring the Accuracy You Actually Achieved
Why receiver RMS is not a check, and how known-point residuals turn an estimate into defensible project evidence.
Georeferenced 3D Capture on iPhone: Meshes, Point Clouds, and Photo Scans
Choose the right 3D capture mode, anchor it to a surveyed observation, and preserve the frame behind the model.
Why Self-Host Your Survey Data (and How Open Source Makes It Possible)
Survey data is legal evidence and client property. What self-hosting means in practice, and what to demand from a field platform.
NMEA 0183 for Surveyors: GGA, GST, and What Fix Quality Really Means
The sentences behind every position an app shows — and why an app that ignores GST cannot show honest accuracy.
Budget RTK Receivers in 2026: Survey-Grade Accuracy Under $1,000
The cost floor is collapsing. What affordable rover systems offer, what they omit, and what to look for.
Stakeout Basics: Navigating to Design Points with Cut and Fill
From imported design points to as-staked records: how stakeout works and how to avoid the classic mistakes.
The PNEZD Format: How Survey Point Files Actually Work
Point, northing, easting, elevation, description — the humble file that moves survey data, and the traps hiding in it.
Free RTK Corrections: State CORS Networks, RTK2go, and Public NTRIP Casters
How to find a correction source, evaluate its reference frame, and choose the right mountpoint.
Gaussian Splatting for Surveyors: Georeferenced 3D Scans on the Map
Photoreal 3D capture is becoming practical. What changes when a splat carries real coordinates.
Site Calibration (Localization) Explained: Tying GNSS to Local Grid
Why RTK coordinates rarely match the plat, and how a Helmert fit over control pairs bridges the gap.
How Accurate Is iPhone GPS? From 3 Meters to 3 Centimeters
What the phone in your pocket can and cannot do, and how external receivers close the gap to survey grade.
Emlid Flow Alternatives: Free and Open Options for Reach Owners
An honest look at the field-software landscape for low-cost RTK receiver owners.
NAD83 vs ITRF: Why Your RTK Coordinates Are 1–2 Meters Off
Datums, epochs, and plate motion — the invisible meter that bites every new RTK user.
What Is RTK GNSS? Centimeter-Accurate Surveying, Explained
How carrier-phase corrections turn an affordable receiver into a centimeter-grade instrument.