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Contents

• What's New
• Contact Information

What's New in SMI 2008

The following items discuss the most recent changes found in the 2008 version of SMI software.

Construction 2008

• Construction includes all the powerful features of Data Collection plus hundreds of routines for working with tangents, simple curves, spiral curves, horizontal alignments, vertical control, and typical sections. Templates let you handle sophisticated functions, including (but not limited to) superelevations, changes in road width and flat bottom ditches. Use Construction to work with station and offsets from anywhere on the job. Construction also quickly handles setting grade stake, slope stakes, bluetops, staking centerlines, side lines, and boundary points.
• Breakpoint - Catch/Interval/Reference
• Chains
• Chain - Copy/New/Rename
• Construction
• Construction Settings
• Cutsheet
• DOT
• Free Station Offset
• Stake Catch/Reference/Slope/Station
• Station Auto
• Store Offset
• Store Station
• View Chain/Template/Vertical

Instrument Profiles

• We now install instrument profiles for the drivers you choose to install, these can be used "as is" or as examples for another model:
• NavCom Base and Rover for the 3010 and 2040
• Topcon GPS Base and Rover for the GR-3 and HiPer Lite
• NMEA for GGA and GLL position message
• Topcon 9000 cable and BT for standard and RC configurations
• Leica 1200 Total Station
• Trimble 5600 and Geodimeter 600
• Sokkia SET

Enhancements in 8.3.0

• Updated GPS Local Coordinate System Transformations
• Updated Topcon Driver for 300 Series
• Updated New Instrument Profile Environment
• Added Support for Export of Alpha Numeric Point Numbers
• Added Export for Latitude Longitude
• Added Support for Nikon (non Servo Instruments)

Issues in fixed by 8.3.0:

• The ESC softkey doe not cause application exception

Enhancements in 8.2.2

• Updated support for the updated NavCom firmwares:
• NCT 2001 boards use version 4.2.26.
• Updated local coordinate system conversions calculations for GPS.
• Certain Job settings are set to default values after creating a new Job.
• Improved speed and performance.

Issues in fixed by 8.2.2:

• Topcon total station driver slowing SMI after connecting to total station is fixed.
• Updated Freestation command for more than three reference points.

Enhancements in 8.2.1

• Updated support for the updated NavCom firmwares:
• NCT 2000 boards use version 3.2.9.
• NCT 2001 boards use version 4.2.20.
• Updated the NavCom driver for the StarFire Quickstart command.
• Updated local coordinate system conversions calculations for GPS.
• Added support for exporting random point groups.
• Added support for SDMS export to include note meta data.
• Added a property to the Topcon total station instrument profiles for timeout to reduce the wait time.
• The Trimble Nomad device are now officially supported.

Issues in fixed by 8.2.1:

• Topcon total station instruments properly reverse.
• Topcon total station instruments work with the servo menu keys.
• The unit display on Leica (GSI software based models) are now assumed to be in feet.
• Turn to foresight commands work properly with Construction is installed.
• Azimuth to Bearing and Bearing to Azimuth commands now properly displays after the conversion.

Enhancements in 8.2.0

• Support for the updated NavCom firmwares:
• NCT 2000 boards use version 3.2.9.
• NCT 2001 boards use version 4.2.20.
• Juniper's rugged handheld Allegro MX is now an officially supported device.
• The PocketPC 2003 family of devices are now officially supported.
• Export Data now supports the SDMS format.
• Added skin items for missing CAD Control and Listbar items.
• Improved Listbar font sizes for headings, focused items and normal text.
• Implemented the ability to collapse the Listbar to viewing of graphical data.
• Added the PocketPC 2003 to the Desktop Assistant.

Issues in fixed by 8.2.0:

• Import Data fixes:
• ASCII format will now work correctly.
• 2008 format will now work with Note Table Libraries.
• 2008 format will now handle duplicate Raw Data entries.
• Improved performance with large data sets.
• The softkeys on the Allegro Monochrome and Archer are now mapped to the appropriate keys on the device.
• The counts in the Delete environment now match what the Job contains.
• Skin issues
• Listbar items and controls now read the skin values for font sizes.
• CAD Control items now read the skin values for colors and sizes.

Enhancements in 8.1.2

• All Geodimeter total stations including the Geodimeter 400, 500 and 600 series total stations are now supported. The Geodimeter 600 series instrument is supported via a cable at the instrument as well as 450 MHz Georadios.
• The Focus 10 total station is now supported. You may use a cable at the instrument, or connect using the internal 2.4 GHz Radio.
• Conventional Leica total stations are now supported. This includes any of the TPS 100, 300, 500 or 800 series total stations.
• Conventional Sokkia total stations are now supported. This includes any of the SET and SET B series total stations.
• The Trimble 5600 total stations are now supported. You may use a cable at the instrument, or connect using either the 450 MHz Georadio or the newer style 2.4 GHz Radio.
• Sound feedback for errors, warnings, taking shots and storing points has now been added. On the Archer and Allegro implementations, you may associate any .WAV sound file for any of the appropriate type of notification messages that display in the program.
• Battery status of the data collector is now always displayed on-screen so you know when to plug your data collector on the charger or to switch batteries.
• Import and Export ASCII now uses user specified delimiter between data and optional meta data can use a different user specified delimiter.

Issues in fixed by 8.1.2:

• Horizontal Curves has been updated to include several fixes:
• Will now display the Tangent out as the Tangent in once the Traverse Tangent command key is activated.
• Will now write out the point numbers to the stack when tapping the 2Stack command key. This allows the Stake Curve environment to automatically read those values for staking the curve.
• Now updates other calculated values when one of the parameters entered has changed, including the curve direction.
• Now holds the CC point if you have entered this point to solve for the curve. Switching the curve direction will then reverse the Tangent In direction. If you don’t enter the CC point to solve for the curve, changing the curve direction will solve for different CC/PT point location while maintaining the Tangent In direction.

Enhancements in 8.1.1

• Juniper's rugged handheld Archer is now an officially supported device. Unique features of the SMI 2008 implementation on this device include use of the Windows Mobile 5 menu bar and a custom command key layout.
• All Leica 1200 Series Total Stations are now officially supported, including the custom Leica Allegro CX with the RH 1200 Internal Radio Modem pod.
• The PNG format photogrammetry files are now supported on the Monochrome Allegro.
• Support has been added for industry standard formats of PNG, BMP, GIF, JPG, TIF and GeoTIF on all supported platforms. Note: for optimal performance when using large images use a quality high-speed memory card.
• The Desktop Assistant is now available for all supported devices. This new desktop module allows users to view all officially supported devices in an "emulator" type environment running the SMI 2008 on a desktop computer in a fashion nearly identical to the efficient field devices.

Issues fixed by 8.1.1:

• The installer will now properly handle files marked read-only by the user.
• When using "North" as your reference point in the Stake Point, Stake Curve, or Stake Line environments the Left, Right, Come and Go directions were incorrect. The system now calculates all directional references to "North" correctly.
• When using NavCom's TruBlu adapter certain receiver setup commands (for example Radio Net ID) would not be set according to the Instrument Profile due to the timing differences with NavCom's implementation of the Bluetooth protocol. These issues have been resolved and the TruBlu adapter now works in all situations.
• The NGS loader would crash when loading more than about 6000 control points from the NGS web server. This issue has now been fixed.
• In rare situations within 1 minute of the North or East edges of a geoid file SMI 2008 would calculate an obviously erroneous geoid separation.

Free Technical Support

Eagle Point provides free technical support for registered users of the current SMI version. Support is available from our experienced surveyors and engineers via a toll-free phone number or email.

Data Collection

Data Collection includes the following features expected from a high-end Windows-based survey controller without sacrificing efficiency.

• Runs on most devices running Windows Mobile and Windows CE.
• Same keyboard overlays from previous versions along with 90% of the keystrokes, allow you to be productive in minutes.
• The new user interface of SMI allows you to configure the information you want to see on the screen depending on the type of work you’re performing.
• Operate the software using the keypad or touch screen. You can access over 50 commands with one button, and more than 500 commands and settings with only 2 buttons.
• The "always on" base map graphically displays all points including their specified symbology and supports geo- referenced raster files. Key presses and screen taps allow you to pan and zoom manually, whereas enabling “Follow Mode” continuously adjusts the map to place your location on the center of the screen.
• During collection, icons identify your current position and setup location when moving throughout your job. Collecting via Separate Distance and Angle (offsets) is much simpler by allowing you to see your reference on screen and visually confirm your shot before it's stored.
• When staking points, arrows and display vectors indicate which direction you need to go. A Cutsheet feature displays "bread crumbs" of points previously staked so you can see where you've been.
• Includes over 4000 coordinate systems with the ability to transform between them. You can also create your own local projections and GPS localizations.
• Random Points TRS Environment supports projecting an unlimited number of points from one projection or datum to another.
• Contains the most comprehensive set of routines for locating objects, including sideshot, real-time sideshot, 2- corner, 3-corner, angle point, X point, separate distance & angle, shots, and reflectorless wall.
• Numerous precise calculations take into account local earth radius for adjustment of horizontal and vertical distances.
• Access an “HP-like” calculator with hundreds of additional surveyor-specific functions for easy calculations. Unit conversion is also available when entering data within an input field.
• Provides numerous robust coordinate geometry routines for solving unknowns in the field (direction-direction, direction-distance, distance-distance, triangle solutions, horizontal and vertical curves, geodetic calculations, unit conversions, unlimited point free station, translate-rotate- scale, etc).
• Transfer jobs easily through ActiveSync connections. Simply save the job file on the device, make your connection, and drag the file to your PC. Likewise, transfer files to your data collector by dropping them in your jobs folder. If you have removable data storage, simply pull your card from the collector and insert it in your PC.
• The addition of numerous desktop tools increases SMI 2008’s productivity. For example, the NGS Data Loader Wizard populates your control point database on the collector with all the points stored in the NGS database. The Note Table Manager populates your standard Note Tables with mapping symbols, help text, attributes and data validation rules.
• Addition of an advanced pattern recognition and prediction engine (SmartNote™) that simply requires depressing the enter key to confirm the note. The SmartNote feature can even handle interruptions and notes out of sequence. It can also be adapted for the suffix coding required by most CAD desktop survey software, including Eagle Point™, Civil 3D®, GEOPAK®, InRoads® and Carlson®. When in full operation, SmartNote tremendously reduces operator keystrokes.
• SMI 2008 no longer has separate real-time and robotic versions because every total station driver is real-time. Every instrument is continuously monitored by the software and can be used to perform real-time collection and graphical staking. SMI also supports the newest GPS (Global Position System) receivers and optical total stations. Supported instruments include:
  • Topcon standard and robotic total stations, including the GTS, GPT and 9000 series
  • Topcon GPS receivers, including HiPER, Legacy and GR-3
  • Navcom GPS receivers including the 3010 and 2040 series
  • NMEA GPS
• SMI 2008 uses a maintenance-free database that resists corruption. The database drivers seamlessly handle catastrophic events such as card removal and loss of power during read/write operations.
• SMI 2008 stores the raw data as well as the survey process you use in developing the data. This means you can now store measurements, intermediate calculations, settings, instrument changes, etc.
• Screen readability has been improved with larger fonts and input field magnification. This reduces the possibility of transposed or misread information from going on your cut/fill stakes. On-screen tapping areas are larger, allowing for finger presses to activate most buttons and input fields.
• SMI 2008 gives you 5 options in which you can access commands: pull-down menu, key in, command key, keyboard accelerator/overlay and favorites. This allows you to access information in the way you are most comfortable. In addition, you can access all menus, environments, commands and settings using a single customized keystroke.
• The layered user interface of SMI 2008 provides a way for you to view critical information simultaneously, increasing job accuracy. By making use of both the text-based information and real-time base map simultaneously, you can immediately spot field errors and potential problems.
• Using the Note Table Manager desktop utility, you can customize note tables including on-screen point symbology and user-defined attributes beyond the traditional "description/note" field.
• Within SMI 2008, you can customize profiles for the instruments you use. Because all GPS and total station profiles are in one location, you can quickly switch from one instrument profile to another in just 2 screen taps.

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Copyright © 2001 - 2008 Eagle Point Software Corporation
Last revised: August 6, 2008.