Web Exclusive: Viewpoint

To OPUS or not to OPUS, that's a no-brainer!

Can the local surveyor rely on the accuracy of the results of OPUS (Online Positioning User Service), the system of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) to provide GPS users easier access to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS)? Can anyone with only one dual-frequency GPS receiver establish control points for any of their survey projects? Can those control points also be accurate enough to use as bench marks? Can all of this be done without the surveyor doing any post-processing or having any post-processing software? The answer to all of these questions is “Yes.”

How many of us pulled the 200-foot chain out of the truck to check our first top-mount EDM? How many of us pulled out our old reliable total station that had been proven over the years to make sure that our new GPS-RTK system was correct? You guessed it…I had to do some static work just to prove to myself how accurate OPUS data could be.