Learning Center

Survey a route

Record the ground along a ditch, waterway or tile line so the app can design the grade, one tap at a time: open the Survey screen, START SURVEY, drive the route, STOP, name and save it. Also the Survey screen numbers, getting round obstacles, loading and resetting a survey, and how to drive a survey that gives a good design.

  • Full Automation Kit
  • Guidance Only Kit
  • Ditch Assist Lite
  • DIG™ Kit

In the app Workflow card › New Survey › START SURVEY

A survey records the ground along your route, point by point, as you drive it. The app designs the grade from that line, so the design is only as good as the survey. You drive the route once, with the implement raised.

Ditching, Simple Grading, Tiling, Terracing and Excavation all survey the same way. The pictures on this page come from Ditching.

While you drive, the app records a point every 10 ft and draws the ground under the map. Parts of the clip are sped up.

Before you start

  • The tablet is on your Ditch Assist system's Wi-Fi: the control module, the Reach receiver (Ditch Assist Lite) or the DIG module (Wi-Fi on the tablet, Connect). To practise with no machine, you'll tap Simulate instead (step 2).
  • The machine has RTK Fixed: the most accurate GPS position, and the only one good enough to survey on. The GPS button at the top of the screen then shows a green RTK.
  • Blade height is set for this implement (Set blade height). If it isn't, the app asks when the Survey screen opens.
  • You know where the water has to go: which end is the outlet (where the water leaves), and the line the ditch should follow.

Time: about 5 minutes on the tablet, plus one steady drive from one end of the route to the other.

Open the Survey screen

Tap Ditching

On the Home screen, tap the Ditching card. It's the first big square in the grid, top left, with a picture of a winding ditch. (Surveying for another job? Tap that job's card instead.)

The nine workflow cards on the Home screen in three rows: Ditching, Leveling, Simple Grading; Forming, Terracing, Excavation; Tiling, Levee, LiDAR and Mapping. Ditching is top left with a picture of a winding ditch 1
  1. Ditching. First card, top left. Its subtitle reads Surface Ditch.

A window opens called Ditching — Connect.

Tap Connect, or Simulate to practise

Connect is the big green button in the middle of the window. Tap it. The app finds the control module on the Wi-Fi the tablet is on.

No machine handy? Tap Simulate, the white button under it. The app then pretends to be connected to a machine with RTK, so you can practise anywhere.

Ditching — Connect window, Connect to Controller: a green Connect button, then white Simulate and Bluetooth GPS buttons, and a Manual Options link at the bottom 1 2
  1. Connect. The big green button. Use it with your machine.
  2. Simulate. Practise with a pretend machine and pretend RTK.

A list called System Check appears in the same window. Ditch Assist Lite shows Emlid Reach in place of Connect (Connect to the Reach).

Tap Continue

Check the three rows first. Each needs a green tick: Controller Connected, GPS Signal, and GPS Accuracy reading RTK Fixed. An orange row reading FLOAT means the GPS isn't accurate enough yet: wait until it turns green.

Then tap Continue, the green button across the bottom of the window.

System Check: three rows with green ticks, Controller Connected (Simulator active), GPS Signal (22 satellites), GPS Accuracy (RTK Fixed — 0.8 HDOP), and a green Continue button at the bottom 1 2
  1. GPS Accuracy: RTK Fixed. All three rows green before you go on.
  2. Continue. Bottom of the window.

The window now asks What would you like to do?

Tap New Survey

New Survey is the first of three wide buttons. Tap it. The window closes and the Survey screen opens: a map, with a dark card in the middle called Ready to Survey.

What would you like to do? Survey a new route, or load existing data. Three wide buttons: New Survey, Load Survey, Load Design 1 2 3
  1. New Survey. Record the route now. This page.
  2. Load Survey. Design from a survey you saved earlier (Load a saved survey).
  3. Load Design. Go straight to grading a saved design (Other ways to start).

Simple Grading asks How would you like to grade? here, with two more buttons: Resume Job and Enter Grade Only.

Set the blade height, if the app asks

While no blade height is saved (it reads 0), a window called Set Blade Height opens once per session, as the Survey screen opens. If it doesn't appear, your blade height is already set: go to the next step.

Blade height is how high the cutting edge sits above the ground with the implement raised in transport position. The app takes it off every survey point, so the survey records the ground, not the antenna.

Tap Enter Manually (left) if you've measured it, or Auto Measure (right) to let the app measure it with the implement up, then down. Step by step: Set blade height.

Set Blade Height window: Your blade height hasn't been set yet. This measurement is required for accurate survey elevations. Buttons Enter Manually and Auto Measure side by side, and Skip for Now under them 1 2 3
  1. Enter Manually. Type the height you measured.
  2. Auto Measure. The app measures it with the implement raised, then lowered.
  3. Skip for Now. Points are then recorded at antenna height. Only skip it to practise.

Record the survey

Wait for three green rows

The dark Ready to Survey card in the middle of the map checks you're ready. Wait until all three rows are green: Connected, GPS: RTK and RTK: Stable.

START SURVEY stays grey until you're connected with a fresh RTK Fixed position. The bar beside RTK: Stable shows how steady the fix has been; give it a moment to fill.

Ready to Survey card: green ticks for Connected, GPS: RTK and RTK: Stable with a full green bar, the line Drive to the start of your drain route, a big green START SURVEY button and a small Skip guided flow link 1 2
  1. Three green rows. Connected, GPS: RTK, RTK: Stable.
  2. START SURVEY. Turns bright green when you're ready.

Still grey after a minute? A line under the rows says why, for example a stale GPS feed or a receiver reporting DGPS. See START SURVEY is greyed out.

Drive to the start of the route

Drive to one end of the route with the implement raised, the way you carry it in transport. Line up on the line you want the ditch to follow.

Either end works. The app takes the lower end as the outlet, and Ditching asks you to confirm the flow direction after you save.

The same Ready to Survey card, with the line Drive to the start of your drain route under the three green rows 1
  1. Drive to the start of your drain route. The card reminds you. Nothing records yet.

Tap START SURVEY

START SURVEY is the big green button in the dark card in the middle of the map. Tap it.

Survey screen: the dark Ready to Survey card in the middle of the map with a big green START SURVEY button; the column of buttons down the right side reads Home, IQ Survey, Field Survey, Drive, Shots, Slope-IQ, Reset, Load
  1. START SURVEY. The big green button in the middle of the map.

The card closes and recording starts. (Skip guided flow, the small link under the button, is explained below. Don't use it for your first surveys.)

Drive the route

Drive to the far end at a steady pace. A red label at the top of the map reads Recording Survey, with the number of points so far. An orange dotted track draws on the map, and the chart along the bottom fills in with the ground you've driven.

The app logs a point every time you move 10 ft. Something in the way? Tap Pause in the column of buttons on the right (Get round an obstacle).

Recording a survey: red label Recording Survey (15 pts) at the top of the map, an orange dotted track, a small dark bar at the bottom of the map with 15 pts and a red STOP button, the ground chart along the bottom, and a grey Pause button in the right-hand column
  1. Recording Survey (15 pts). The count goes up as you drive.
  2. Pause. Stops recording for a moment without ending the survey.

If the count stops going up while you're moving, the fix has dropped below RTK Fixed. Slow down or stop until it's back.

Tap STOP at the far end

At the far end, tap STOP. It's the red button in the small dark bar at the bottom middle of the map, beside the point count.

The same recording screen, with the red STOP button in a small dark bar at the bottom middle of the map, beside 15 pts
  1. STOP. Bottom middle of the map, next to the point count.

A window called Save Survey? opens, and the keyboard opens with it.

Type a name for the survey

The keyboard opens by itself along the bottom of the screen (typing on the tablet). The Survey Name box already holds a name with today's date and time, for example Survey 10-17 1532 (Ditching).

You can keep that name. A name with the field and the ditch is easier to find next year. To change it, press and hold the delete key (an arrow shape with a cross in it, top right of the keyboard) until the box is empty. Then type the new name.

Save Survey? window in the top half of the screen with Points 19, Dist 199 ft, Grade 0.166%, a Survey Name box reading Survey 10-17 1532 (Ditching), Discard and Save buttons; the keyboard fills the bottom half of the screen
  1. Survey Name. The suggested name, with the date and time.
  2. Delete key. Press and hold it to clear the box.

The window also shows Points, Dist and Grade: a quick check that the whole route is there.

Tap Save

Tap Save, the green button under the name. You don't need to hide the keyboard first: Save stays above it.

Save Survey? window with the name North 40 east ditch typed in the Survey Name box, a red-outlined Discard button and a green Save button; the keyboard fills the bottom half of the screen
  1. Save. The green button under the name, right of Discard.

The window and the keyboard close. The survey is saved on the tablet. Discard, the red-outlined button, throws the survey away.

Go on to the design

You should see the design start by itself. In Ditching, a window called Water Flow Direction opens: step 1 of 3 of the Slope-IQ™ setup. Carry on at Ditching: confirm the flow direction.

Simple Grading opens the Simple Grade window (Simple Grading). Tiling opens the tile designer (Tile design).

Slope-IQ setup step 1 of 3, Water Flow Direction: START INLET 806.81 ft, END OUTLET 805.96 ft, We detected you drove from the INLET to the OUTLET. Is this correct? Buttons Yes, that's correct and No, it's reversed 1
  1. Water Flow Direction. Ditching's next window, step 1 of 3.

Read the Survey screen

The white bar across the top of the screen (the stats bar) keeps a running total while you record.

Survey screen while recording: the stats bar across the top reads Distance 154.7 ft, Points 15, Start Elev 806.81, Current Elev 806.27, Drop 0.53 ft and A to B Grade 0.35 percent; the ground chart along the bottom runs from START on the left
  1. Stats bar. The six numbers in the table below. The ground chart along the bottom of the screen starts at START, on the left.
NumberWhat it tells you
Distance (ft)How far along the route you've recorded.
PointsPoints logged so far. Stuck while you drive? The fix isn't RTK Fixed.
Start Elev (ft)Elevation of the first point.
Current Elev (ft)Elevation where you are now.
Drop (ft)Fall from the first point to here. Positive means the ground falls from where you started.
A→B Grade (%)Average grade from the first point to here. Positive means falling.

On the ground chart along the bottom, a short red stretch means points are missing there, usually where RTK dropped out.

Map and chart, or map only

The top two buttons in the column on the right switch the view. IQ Survey shows the map with the ground chart under it. Field Survey gives the whole screen to the map and colours the points by elevation. The selected one turns black. Both record the same survey, so pick whichever you like to drive with.

Survey screen in Field Survey view: the map fills the screen with no chart at the bottom; the Ready to Survey card sits in the middle; in the right-hand column IQ Survey is white and Field Survey is selected
  1. IQ Survey / Field Survey. Top of the right-hand column, under Home.

Skip guided flow

The small Skip guided flow link under START SURVEY hides the Ready to Survey card. A big green Start button appears in the right-hand column instead. Recording works the same way, but:

  • You stop with a red Stop button in the right-hand column, not the bar at the bottom of the map.
  • The design window doesn't open by itself after you save. Tap Slope-IQ in the right-hand column (Grade Design in Simple Grading) when you're ready to design.
  • The suggested survey name has no workflow on the end, for example Survey 10-16 2058.
Survey screen after Skip guided flow: no card on the map, and a big green Start button in the right-hand column under IQ Survey and Field Survey
  1. Start. Takes the place of START SURVEY after Skip guided flow.

Get round an obstacle

Use Pause for a short obstacle on a route you can otherwise drive: a wet hole, a culvert, a fence line.

  1. Tap Pause before the obstacle

    Pause is the grey button in the column on the right, under Drive and Shots. Tap it just before the obstacle.

    Recording screen with a grey Pause button in the right-hand column, under the Drive and Shots buttons
    1. Pause. Grey, in the right-hand column under Drive and Shots.

  2. Drive round, then line up on the route again

    You should see the label at the top turn orange and read Survey PAUSED. Pause has turned into an orange Resume button. Nothing is recorded now; a thin line on the map shows where you've been.

    Survey paused: an orange label Survey PAUSED (10 pts) at the top, a thin green line on the map ahead of the last orange point, and an orange Resume button in the right-hand column
    1. Survey PAUSED. The point count stays where it was.
    2. Resume. Where Pause was, now orange.

  3. Tap Resume

    Back on the line past the obstacle, tap the orange Resume button. The next point is logged straight away where you are.

    You should see the skipped stretch joined by a straight line, drawn dashed on the map and on the chart. Its length is the straight distance across, not your detour. The app designs to that straight line, so keep bridged stretches short.

    Recording again after Resume: on the chart along the bottom, a dashed straight stretch between about 100 and 305 feet where the survey was paused; Pause is back in the right-hand column
    1. Dashed stretch. Bridged with a straight line, not surveyed.

Can only reach the route at certain spots, or want to check the fall between two spots without recording? See Survey a run you can't drive for Shots and Grade Check.

Drive a survey that gives a good design

Slope-IQ designs along the exact line you drove, from the exact elevations you recorded. These habits matter more than any setting.

  • Drive the line the water will take. For a new ditch, the centreline you want cut. For a cleanout, the bottom of the existing ditch. The app grades along your GPS track, so a wandering survey gives a wandering ditch.
  • Go from one end to the other in one run. Inlet to outlet or outlet to inlet both work. The app takes the lower end as the outlet, and Ditching asks you to confirm the flow direction.
  • Cover the whole route, past both ends. Start a little above the highest point you want drained and finish in the outlet itself. The design can't go beyond your first and last points.
  • Keep a steady, moderate speed. Points come by distance, not time, so at the default 10 ft the spacing barely changes with speed. A steady pace keeps the implement at the same raised height and the antenna steady. Avoid bouncing over rough ground.
  • Carry the implement at the height you measured blade height at. Raised in transport position, every time.
  • RTK Fixed only. With the RTK Filter setting on (it is, unless you changed it), points stop logging the moment the fix drops. Slow down or stop and wait for it rather than leaving a gap.
  • Use a map overlay as your guide. LiDAR flow lines (LiDAR drainage layers) or a route drawn in the owner portal (Plan routes in the owner portal) show on the Survey map. Drive along the line. Overlays must be added again after the app is closed and opened (Add a map overlay).
  • Point spacing. The app logs a point every 10 ft unless you change the Recording Interval setting (in Settings, under SURVEY; 1 to 100 ft). 10 ft suits most field ditches. On a short run where small humps matter, shorten it to a few feet and drive slower, so the receiver reports often enough to land a point at each spacing. On a long, even ditch a wider spacing is fine. Change it before you start recording.
What blade height measures Two side views of the same pull-type implement with the GPS antenna on a mast. 1, survey: the implement is raised in transport position, so the cutting edge is off the ground; that gap is the blade height, and the app takes it off every survey point so the survey records the ground. The antenna rises by the same amount. 2, calibrate and grade: the implement is lowered so the cutting edge rests on the ground, and nothing is taken off. Bottom: Auto Measure takes the reading with the implement up, minus the reading with it down, and that difference is the blade height. What blade height measures 1 Survey: implement raised Blade height Taken off every survey point 2 Calibrate and grade: edge down Nothing taken off Auto Measure: UP − DOWN = blade height
Survey with the implement raised. The app takes the blade height off every point, so the survey is the ground, not the antenna. When you calibrate and grade, the cutting edge sits on the ground and nothing is taken off.

Load a saved survey

Use a survey you saved earlier, for example to design it again. There are two ways in. From the start window (What would you like to do?), tap Load Survey: in Ditching the Slope-IQ window then opens on the survey by itself. Or, on the Survey screen, follow these steps:

  1. Tap Load

    Load is the dark button with a folder picture at the bottom of the column on the right, beside Reset. Tap it. A window called Load opens with your saved surveys.

    Survey screen with a dark Load button with a folder picture at the bottom of the right-hand column, beside a greyed-out Reset
    1. Load. Bottom of the right-hand column, beside Reset.

  2. Tap the survey you want

    Surveys are grouped by day, newest first. Scroll the list to find older ones (scrolling). Tap the survey's name: its track shows on the map on the right, with a green Start and a red Stop pin. Check it's the route you want.

    Load window, Surveys tab: surveys grouped by day; South 40 main ditch is selected, with Shots and ACTIVE tags, a green Load button, a share button and a delete button; on the right a satellite preview of its track between a green Start pin and a red Stop pin
    1. The survey's name. Tap it to preview. Points, length and time are under it.
    2. Preview. The track between the Start and Stop pins.

  3. Tap Load on that row

    Each row has a green Load button, right of the name. Tap the one on your survey's row.

    The same Load window, with the green Load button on the South 40 main ditch row
    1. Load. The green button on the row. The share and delete buttons are to its right.

    You should see the survey's name in a green label at the top of the map, and Slope-IQ ready to tap in the right-hand column.

  4. If the app asks, tap Load Anyway

    If a survey or design is already loaded, a window called Replace Current Survey? asks first. Load Anyway (red, bottom right of the window) clears the survey, the design and the grading progress from the screen, then loads yours. Nothing saved on the tablet is deleted. Cancel keeps what you had.

    Replace Current Survey? window over the Load list: Loading this will discard the survey and design currently in memory. Grading progress and coverage will also be cleared. Saved files on disk are not deleted. Buttons Cancel and Load Anyway
    1. Replace Current Survey? Appears only when something is already loaded.
    2. Load Anyway. Bottom right of the window.

The other buttons on each row: share exports the survey as XYZ or KML (Export a survey); the bin deletes it after asking. Import survey file (XYZ / XYZP), top right of the window, brings in a line from design software, used like a survey you drove (Import a design or survey). The ACTIVE tag marks the survey loaded now; Shots marks one with shot points.

Reset the survey

Reset clears everything on the screen: the survey, the design, grading progress and coverage. It takes you back to Home. Saved files are not deleted, so you can load them again.

  1. Tap Reset

    Reset is the grey button with a circular arrow at the bottom of the column on the right, beside Load. It's greyed out until there's something to clear.

    Survey screen with a saved survey: the green label South 40 main ditch at the top of the map, and Reset and Load at the bottom of the right-hand column
    1. Reset. Bottom of the right-hand column, beside Load.

  2. Tap Reset in the window

    A window called Reset All? asks first. Tap Reset, bottom right. You should see the Home screen.

    Reset All? This will clear the active survey, design, grading progress, and coverage data. Saved files on disk are not deleted — you can reload them anytime. Cancel and Reset buttons at the bottom right 1
    1. Reset. Clears the screen. Files on the tablet stay.

To record a fresh survey on the same job: Reset, then tap the workflow card again and tap New Survey.

If it doesn't work

  • START SURVEY stays grey: no RTK Fixed yet, or the receiver reports DGPS. More.
  • Recording, but Points doesn't go up: the fix dropped, or you're barely moving. More.
  • Gaps or red stretches on the ground chart: RTK dropped there. More.
  • No Save Survey? window after STOP: fewer than 2 points were logged, so there was nothing to save. Check the fix and drive the route again.
  • The Save Survey? window closed and the survey is gone: Back was pressed while it was open. Don't start a new survey yet. Close the app fully and open it again (close an app fully). If the survey had at least 25 points, it comes back in the Load list as Recovered with the date and time, up to the last full 25 points. Check it covers the route; if not, drive it again.
  • The survey sits too high or low against known ground: wrong blade height. More.

Related

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