STAR*NET-PRO V6

Least Squares Survey Adjustment Program

Reference Manual
Professional Edition Supplement

Copyright 2002 STARPLUS SOFTWARE, INC.

460 Boulevard Way, Oakland, CA 94610
510-653-4836
1. LICENSE

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may not network the software or otherwise use it on more than one computer or
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The software is owned by STARPLUS SOFTWARE, INC. and is protected by United

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that you may make copies of the software solely for backup purposes. All copies made
must include the copyright notice. The software is for your exclusive use and may not be
rented, leased or sublicensed to another party.

2. WARRANTY

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the same to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 30 days from
the date of purchase. In the event of notification within the warranty period of defects in
material or workmanship, STARPLUS SOFTWARE, INC. will replace the defective
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3. GOVERNING LAW

This license statement shall be construed, interpreted and governed by the laws of the
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Print/Version/September 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 OVERVIEW 1

Chapter 2 USING STAR*NET-PRO 3

2.1 Overview 3
2.2 Setting GPS-Related Project Options 3
2.3 Import GPS Vectors 3
2.4 Description of Imported GPS Vector Data 4
2.5 Factoring the Supplied GPS Vector Standard Errors 5
2.6 Elevations and Ellipsoid Heights 6
2.7 Solving for Transformations 7
2.8 Notes About Running Preanalysis 9

Chapter 3 GPS OPTIONS 11

3.1 Overview 11
3.2 GPS Options 12
3.3 Inline Options Relating to GPS Vector Data 16

Chapter 4 IMPORTING GPS VECTORS 23

4.1 Overview 23
4.2 Using the GPS Importer 24
4.3 General Notes on Importing Vectors 28
4.4 Importing from Selected Baseline File Formats 29
4.5 Special Leica Descriptor Extraction Options 33

Chapter 5 GEOID HEIGHTS AND VERTICAL DEFLECTIONS 35

5.1 Overview 35
5.2 The “GH” and “GT” Data Type Lines 35
5.3 Performing Geoid Modeling 36
5.4 Performing Vertical Deflection Modeling 38
5.5 Using the StarGeoid Utility Program 40
5.6 Using StarGeoid to Create “GHT” Geoid Height Files 41
5.7 Using StarGeoid to Create “VDF” Vertical Deflection Files 42

Chapter 6 GPS OUTPUT LISTING SECTIONS 45

6.1 Overview 45
6.2 Summary of Unadjusted Input Observations 45
6.3 Statistical Summary 47
6.4 Adjusted Observations and Residuals 48
6.5 Vector Residual Summary 49
6.6 Results of Geoid Modeling 50

Appendix A - TOUR OF THE STAR*NET-PRO PACKAGE 51

Example 1: Simple GPS Network 52
Example 2: Combining Conventional Observations and GPS 60

INDEX 63
Chapter 1 OVERVIEW

STAR*NET-PRO, the professional edition of STAR*NET, includes:

ƒ All the features of the STAR*NET-PLUS edition.

ƒ The ability to import GPS vectors from most popular baseline file formats.
ƒ Handling of GPS vectors in adjustments, either alone or combined with conventional
terrestrial observations and differential leveling observations.
ƒ The ability to manually enter Geoid Height and Vertical Deflection values for
individual stations.
ƒ The ability to perform Geoid Height modeling and Vertical Deflection modeling
during an adjustment.

The main STAR*NET manual describes the installation of the software, and the basic
information required for its operation. This supplement describes the GPS aspects of the
program such as data types, options and its operation. It also describes use of the geoid
modeling facility. It is essential that you become completely familiar with both the main
STAR*NET manual and this supplement manual before attempting adjustments of
projects which include GPS vectors.

Just as with the adjustment of conventional observations, STAR*NET-PRO adjusts GPS

vector observations right “on-the-plane.” During each adjustment iteration, conversions
are made between the earth-centered Cartesian coordinate system and your grid system
so that residuals can be calculated for the vectors and proper corrections can be applied
to the stations. This allows conventional observations and GPS vectors to be combined in
a very natural way. But this also means that all stations in your project must be
somewhat localized so they relate to a single grid system. For example, in the United
States and Canada, projects are run using a single NAD83, NAD27 or UTM zone. Jobs
are not handled that span several zones.

A GPS vector importer built into the program extracts baseline vectors and their
weighting from several popular formats. Vectors are imported into standard text files
which may be easily edited and included with the adjustment.

Options relating to GPS vectors and processing are set in the GPS section of the Project
Options dialog. In addition, certain option settings which you might want to change
anywhere in the vector data (such as factoring vector standard errors and application of
centering errors for special situations) may be entered as “inline” options to give you
complete control.

If your network is fully constrained, STAR*NET-PRO can solve for transformations

consisting of a scale and three rotations. When working on a datum other than the
WGS84 (or NAD83) native to GPS, this transformation facility allows you solve your
network directly on that grid system.

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 Chapter 1 Overview

When you install the STAR*NET program as described in Chapter 2 of the main manual,
the software installed contains all the features of both the standard edition and the
professional edition. The security key issued to you enables the features of the standard
edition or the high-end professional edition depending on which program you purchased.
The program will also run without the security key attached, but it will run in as a
“Professional Edition” demo which handles 10 adjustable stations, many conventional
observations and 15 GPS vectors. Users running the standard edition can experiment
with using the professional edition.

During installation, data files for example projects in two tutorials are copied to your
computer. The first tutorial is in Appendix-A of the main STAR*NET manual, and the
second in Appendix-A of this professional edition supplement manual. These examples
are located on a subdirectory of your install directory named “StarExamples.”

We strongly encourage you to complete the following two steps before reviewing the
remainder of this manual in detail:

1. Run the Tutorial in the main STAR*NET Manual, Appendix-A.

If you are a new user to the STAR*NET program we suggest that you run the
complete tutorial. This will introduce you to the operation of the program and walk
you through the use of all menus. The tutorial illustrates the adjustment of several
networks using conventional observations.

2. Run the GPS Tutorial in this STAR*NET-PRO Supplement, Appendix-A.

This will give you a chance to review the use of the GPS-related options dialogs,
import a few GPS baseline vectors and gain some experience with the program by
running an actual adjustment containing vectors. The second sample project in this
tutorial combines a few conventional observations with GPS vectors.

The next chapter, “Using STAR*NET-PRO” is an overview of the steps you will go
through when preparing data and adjusting a project containing GPS vectors.

The remaining chapters discuss in detail project options relating to GPS vectors,
importing of vectors from baseline files, geoid modeling, and additional output listing
sections which relate to GPS vectors.

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Chapter 2 USING STAR*NET-PRO

2.1 Overview

The list below shows the sequence of tasks you will generally follow when creating a
project and performing adjustments with the STAR*NET-PRO program:

ƒ Open a new project.

ƒ Set options describing your project and conventional observations.
ƒ Set GPS-related options.
ƒ Create one or more input data files containing control points and observations.
ƒ Import GPS vectors which adds one or more data files to the project.
ƒ Run the adjustment.
ƒ If errors or warnings were found, check the error listing for specific details.
ƒ Edit your input data files to correct any errors found.
ƒ Rerun the adjustment until there are no errors or warnings.
ƒ Display the network graphically on your screen.
ƒ Review the output listing.
ƒ Repeat the edit-run-review cycle as needed to get satisfactory results.
ƒ Print output listing, coordinate information and plot diagrams.

This sequence is identical to that shown in the Chapter 3, “Using STAR*NET,” of the
main manual, except for the two additional steps shown below.

2.2 Setting GPS-Related Project Options

Choose Options>Project Options, or press the Project Options tool button. Besides
dialogs discussed in the main manual, GPS and Modeling options, are available in the
professional edition to set GPS-related options.

See Chapter 3, “GPS Options” in this supplement for complete details.

2.3 Import GPS Vectors

Choose Input>Import GPS Vectors to import GPS vectors from a variety of baseline
formats. These vectors are written to a standard text file just like data for conventional
observations described in the main manual. This file is shown in the Data Files List
dialog and it can be viewed or edited just like any other data file shown in the list.

See Chapter 4, “Importing GPS Vectors” in this supplement for complete details.

The remainder of this chapter discusses general GPS-related information including a

description vector format plus some issues relating to GPS adjustments.

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 Chapter 2 Using STAR*NET-PRO

2.4 Description of Imported GPS Vector Data

Data for a GPS project is very simple and consists mainly of vectors and weighting
information imported by the GPS Vector importer. See Chapter 4 in this supplement for
a complete set of instructions for importing vectors.

An imported GPS vector consists of four lines, each beginning with a “G” character. The
G0 (G-Zero) line contains vector identification, the G1 line contains the station names
and the earth-centered DX, DY and DZ vector components, and the G2 and G3 lines
contain the weighting. The weighting information will be either standard errors and
correlations, or covariances depending on the origin of the baseline vectors. If weighting
is not supplied, the G2 and G3 lines will not be present.

If the weighting is in the form of covariances, Trimble and Leica vectors for example,
the lines will contain this information:

G1 From-To DX DY DZ (vector components)

G2 CvXX CvYY CvZZ (vector covariances)
G3 CvXY CvXZ CvYZ (vector covariances)

Or if the weighting information is in the form of standard errors and correlations,

Ashtech vectors for example, the G1, G2 and G3 lines will contain this information:

G1 From-To DX DY DZ (vector components)

G2 SDX SDY SDZ (vector standard errors)
G3 CrXY CrXZ CrYZ (vector correlations)

The following shows data for two GPS vectors imported from Trimble SSF files. The
inline “.GPS WEIGHT” option preceding the vectors indicates that the following
weighting information is supplied as covariances. The option line would include the key
word “STDERRCORR” if the weighting were supplied as standard errors and
correlations. This data line is automatically added by the GPS Vector Importer so you
never have to be concerned about hand-entering it.

.GPS WEIGHT COVARIANCE

G0 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF
G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801
G2 4.35804625082312E-008 2.00368296412947E-007 1.23348139662277E-007
G3 1.29776877121456E-008 -4.73073036591065E-009 -7.87018453390485E-008

G0 'V533 Day134(3) 01:15 12346333.SSF

G1 0035-0040 2064.545306 837.615578 2476.161963
G2 6.79408614714407E-008 3.19044736655059E-007 2.03723479067936E-007
G3 2.52277334566666E-008 -6.54246971775426E-010 -1.41369343650741E-007

The “G0” line contains vector identifier text beginning with a single quote (') character.
This identifier text contains a vector serial number plus any other information which
might help identify the vector such as day of year, session, time of observation and
source file name. For example, the descriptor for the first vector above indicates serial
number 532, day of year 134, session 3, time of observation 01:15 and the file name.

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 Chapter 2 Using STAR*NET-PRO

A vector file created from another manufacturer’s baselines might contain somewhat
different information. For example, the identifier text may include just the serial number
and source file name.

The “G0” identifier lines are not actually required for an adjustment to run. However
when present, the identifiers are included with all listings of the vectors in the output
helping you to match output (residuals, etc.) to particular input vectors.

Imported vector information supplied on G1, G2 and G3 data lines will always be in
Meters whether or not the project is setup to run in Meters. When the project is setup to
run in other linear units, for example FeetUS, vector information is automatically
converted to project units for calculations and output in the listing file.

When vector component weights are supplied as covariances (as shown in the example),
they are internally converted by STAR*NET-PRO to standard errors and correlations. In
addition, the vectors and their standard errors are rotated to local-horizon north, east and
up components which offers much more understandable output. This rotation also allows
you to independently apply factoring and centering errors to the horizontal and vertical
standard error components. See Chapter 3, “GPS Options,” in this supplement for details
on factoring and centering options as well as an option to that allows you to specify
default vector standard errors when G2 and G3 weighting lines are not supplied.

2.5 Factoring the Supplied GPS Vector Standard Errors

As described in the previous section, when you import GPS vectors, you usually also get
weighting information. STAR*NET-PRO shows this weighting as standard errors.
Standard errors reported by most manufacturer’s baseline processors, however, are often
overly-optimistic, and to change these standard errors to real-world values, you will need
to factor them by some value. To do this, you can set a default factor in the GPS options
dialog. In addition, a special “.GPS FACTOR” inline option may be inserted in your
vector data to control factoring of different parts of your vector data when required. See
Chapter 3, “GPS Options,” in this supplement for details on setting these factors.

How do you determine a proper factor? There is no definitive answer to this question
except to say that you must determine factors based on your own experience. The factor
will depend on the equipment you are using (single or dual frequency), the kind of GPS
survey being performed (static, RTK, etc.) and the care taken by your field crew. If your
equipment is properly calibrated and you have removed all blunders, the factor you apply
should cause the “Total Error Factor” for an adjustment to come out to approximately 1.
This means that your residuals are coming out approximately equal to your standard
errors - your expectation.

We hear of factors being used anywhere between 1 and 30. Therefore, if after experience
with several projects, you determine that a typical “static” survey requires a factor of
about 5 for example, you should then normally start out with a default factor of 5 for that
type of survey. Then if the “Total Error Factor” for an adjustment of another “static” job
comes out about 1, you know you are doing typical work. If it is significantly higher than
the value 1, you should find out why!

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 Chapter 2 Using STAR*NET-PRO

2.6 Elevations and Ellipsoid Heights

Sometimes when adjusting GPS projects, you may want to specify that entered height
values are ellipsoid heights rather than orthometric elevations.

As discussed in Chapter 5, “Preparing Data” in the main STAR*NET manual, height

information for controlling coordinates may be entered in two ways:

Heights entered on C, P or E lines (Coordinate, Position or Elevation data type lines) are
assumed to be orthometric elevations. Heights entered on CH, PH or EH lines are
assumed to be ellipsoid heights. Examples:

# Fixed Coordinate, Position and Elevation data lines

# Example lines entered with Orthometric Elevations
C 151 2186987.234 6417594.321 320.26 ! ! !
P 165 38-01-23.0007 120-59-45.2243 319.55 ! ! !
E 168 321.56 !

# Example lines entered with Ellipsoid Heights

CH 251 2186922.443 6417665.234 221.42 ! ! !
PH 265 38-01-43.3245 120-59-49.4311 209.98 ! ! !
EH 268 212.23 !

The program uses supplied geoid height values to internally calculate ellipsoid heights
from entered orthometric elevations, and orthometric elevations from entered ellipsoid
heights. These geoid heights are determined by one of the following:

ƒ The average project geoid height entered in the Project Options/Adjustment dialog
ƒ Geoid heights calculated by geoid modeling
ƒ Individual heights entered using the GH data type

Note that if your GPS network contains conventional vertical observations based on the
geoid such as zenith angles or elevation differences, it is very important that accurate
geoid height information is given or modeled. Geoid heights are the only connection
between ellipsoid heights (referenced by GPS vectors) and orthometric elevations
(referenced by conventional observations).

You must exercise great caution when mixing fixed orthometric elevations and ellipsoid
heights in the same adjustment. Be sure your geoid heights are accurate, otherwise this
scheme can cause warping in your network!

Note that only ellipsoid heights entered as fixed (or partially fixed using a standard
deviation) will be listed as ellipsoid heights in the review of data in the listing file. Any
ellipsoid heights entered with approximate (free) values will be immediately converted to
orthometric and processed in the adjustment as a normal orthometric elevation.

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 Chapter 2 Using STAR*NET-PRO

2.7 Solving for Transformations

In a fully-constrained network containing GPS vectors, STAR*NET-PRO can solve for

transformations, a scale and three rotations to better fit your control. Indicate whether or
not you want these transformations solved by setting options in the GPS options dialog
as described in Chapter 3, “GPS Options” of this reference manual supplement.

Why solve for transformations? Sometimes systematic errors or biases may exist in your
GPS vector data. Solving for a scale and rotations will “best-fit” the vectors to your
constrained network stations. Depending on the type of network being adjusted,
experienced users may solve for scale only, or solve only for rotations about two axes.
Whether any or all requested transformations can even be solved depends on the
constraints present in your network.

Minimally-Constrained Networks

A minimally-constrained network contains a single fixed station only. Always run a

minimally-constrained network adjustment first to make sure your observations fit
together before attempting a fully-constrained adjustment. In a minimally-constrained
adjustment transformations cannot be solved. STAR*NET-PRO will adjust the network
based only on the observations and the network geometry. The adjustment will indicate
how well the observations fit together, but not how they fit coordinate constraints.

It is very important to note that adjustments of minimally-constrained GPS networks will

not produce valid grid coordinates when running on a non-GPS based datum such as the
Clarke 1866 ellipsoid for NAD27! To get valid grid coordinates using these datums, you
must run a fully-constrained adjustment solving for all transformations!

Fully-Constrained Networks

A fully-constrained network contains at least two fixed horizontal coordinates and at

least three fixed elevations. (These constraints may be full fixities, or partial fixities
defined as standard deviations.) In a fully-constrained network, STAR*NET-PRO can
usually solve for scale and three rotations of the GPS vectors during the adjustment.

When you run a fully-constrained adjustment using the GPS-based WGS84 ellipsoid (or
the essentially-identical GRS80 ellipsoid used for NAD83), solved scale and rotations
should be very small, nearly zero. These solved values might represent small systematic
errors or biases in the GPS vectors. If the solved values seem unreasonably large, you
should determine the reason why and possibly make changes to your data.

When running a constrained adjustment using a non-GPS datum (such as the Clarke 1866
ellipsoid), you should expect the solved scale and rotations to have small values. These
solved values represent the transformations between the two ellipsoids (between Clarke
1866 and the GPS-based WGS84 ellipsoids for example).

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 Chapter 2 Using STAR*NET-PRO

General Notes About Constraining Your Network

1. Always run a minimally-constrained adjustment to make sure your observations fit

together properly before adding more constraints!

2. When constraining a network to several fixed stations, add fixed stations one or two
at a time to assure that the network isn’t being warped by some bad station. If you
are solving for scale and rotations, pay attention to their solutions. An unexpected
large change in one or more of these solved values may indicate the presence of an
erroneous coordinate value.

3. When performing a fully-constrained adjustment using the GPS-based WGS84

ellipsoid (or essentially-identical GRS80 ellipsoid for NAD83), it is recommended
that you first adjust the network with the transformations solving option turned off!
If the adjustment runs OK, with small residuals, then if you wish, you can turn the
transformations solving option on to refine your adjustment.

If you solve for transformations on your initial run, some larger-than-expected

residuals may be partially absorbed by the transformation (especially if your network
is lightly constrained), and you may miss an important clue pointing to a problem
with your observations or possibly bad coordinate constraints.

4. If you have a partially-constrained network consisting of two sets of fixed horizontal

coordinates and only a single fixed elevation, STAR*NET-PRO will be able to solve
for scale only.

5. Caution! If you have a partially-constrained network containing two or more fixed

elevations but only a single station having fixed horizontal coordinates, any scale
transformation solution will be based entirely on the elevation constraints! This may
lead to unexpectedly large solutions for scale causing large changes in horizontal
coordinates. To prevent this, either add horizontal constraints (which mainly control
scale solutions), or turn off the scale transformations solving.

6. You can “set” scale and rotation transformations to predetermined values. For
example, you may have “solved” for transformation values during the adjustment of
a fully-constrained network. Then at a later time you do another GPS survey at the
same site. But this time you simply want to run a minimally-constrained adjustment
of the new survey and apply the originally solved scale and rotation transformations.
Enter the solved scale and three rotations as “set” values in the GPS options, and
these transformations will be applied to the new adjustment. See Chapter 3 “GPS
Options” in this supplement for details on doing this.

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 Chapter 2 Using STAR*NET-PRO

2.8 Notes About Running Preanalysis

You can include GPS vector observations in a preanalysis run just like you would
conventional observations. You will, of course, have to provide approximate coordinates
for all stations. See Chapter 5, “Running Adjustments” in the main STAR*NET manual
for details on required data for running preanalysis.

When G1, G2 and G3 lines already exist in your data, STAR*NET will use the FROM
and TO station information from the G1 lines, and the weighting information from the
G2 and G3 lines.

However, if your GPS vectors have not yet been observed, you obviously will not have
vector data or weighting information yet available. In this case you can prepare true “pre-
planning” data by hand-entering proposed GPS vectors. Lay out a preliminary sketch of
your proposed survey including station names. Then when preparing your preanalysis
data, enter only G1 lines with the planned FROM and TO stations names.

To provide the proposed weighting, use the “Apply Default StdErrs to Vectors with no
Supplied Weighting” option in the GPS Options dialog to give these proposed vectors
the same default weighting. Or to give different weighting to various areas of the
proposed project, use the “.GPS DEFAULT” inline option as illustrated below. See
Chapter 3, “GPS Options” in this manual supplement for details these options.

For example, hand-entered vector data for a preanalysis job might look like this:

.GPS DEFAULT 0.007 2 #Setting StdErrs of 0.007 meters and 2 PPM

G1 DIABLO-CONCORD #Proposed vector connections

G1 DIABLO-X365
G1 90112-HAYWARD
G1 90112-CONCORD
G1 90112-90555

.GPS DEFAULT 0.004 5 #Changing the default weighting

G1 90555-92201
etc...

These proposed vectors can be included with proposed conventional and differerential
leveling measurements in a single preanalysis run for survey planning of a true combined
observation-type network.

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Chapter 2 Using STAR*NET-PRO

10
Chapter 3 GPS OPTIONS

3.1 Overview

As discussed in Chapter 4 of the main STAR*NET manual, the program maintains a list
of option settings for each project. To set or change options for the current project,
choose Options>Project, or press the Project Options tool button. An options dialog
appears with eight tabbed dialog pages:

The first six tabbed options dialogs, Adjustment, General, Instrument, Listing File,
Other Files and Special are fully described in Chapter 4 “Options” of the main manual.

The GPS and Modeling tabbed options dialogs, active in the “Professional” edition, are
described in this chapter. Options set in these two dialogs assume the settings relate to an
entire project. However, there are some settings that may not remain the same throughout
an entire data file. These changes to option settings within a data file are controlled by
“Inline Options” which are also described in this chapter.

Adjustment Options

Although the adjustment options were fully discussed in Chapter 4 of the main manual, it
should be noted that for any project containing GPS vectors, the adjustment options must
be set to “3D” and the Coordinate System must be set to some “Grid” zone as illustrated
in the example settings above.

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

3.2 GPS Options

These fields allow you to set default values or options relating to GPS vectors present in
your network data. Some options relate to weighting of your vectors, or solving for
transformations to better fit your vectors to the datum. Other options simply allow you
the set preferences for the appearance of GPS information in your output listing.

Vector Default Weighting, Factoring and Centering Errors Settings

ƒ Apply Default StdErrs to Vectors with no Supplied Weighting – This option affects
only vectors that are missing their G2 & G3 data lines. Often times, for example,
RTK vectors imported from some systems are not supplied with weighting. This
option allows you to set a default weighting scheme that will be applied to these
vectors during an adjustment.

By default, both horizontal and vertical vector standard errors and PPM are set to the
same values. If you want to apply different vertical standard error and PPM values,
check the “Alt Vert StdErr” box and enter alternate values. In the example dialog
above, the default horizontal values are set to 0.008 meters and 4 PPM, and the
vertical values to 0.010 meters and 6 PPM.

When this option is selected, the default values for missing weights are used for the
entire project. However, these defaults may be changed anywhere in a vector data
file by inserting the “.GPS Default” inline option. See details later in this chapter.

Note! If you feel that none of your imported vectors should be missing the weighting
data (the G2 & G3 lines), we recommend that you do not select this option. Then if
the program finds a vector without weighting during an adjustment, it will issue an
error and you can review your data and take any action required.

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

ƒ Factor Supplied Vector StdErrors by – This option affects only vectors that have
supplied weighting on G2 & G3 lines. As discussed earlier, standard errors supplied
for vectors are often over-optimistic, and to change them to real-world values, you
can factor them. To factor (multiply) all these supplied vector standard errors by a
single value, check the box and enter the value.

By default, both horizontal and vertical components of the vector standard errors are
multiplied by the same factor. If you want to a apply different factor to the vertical
standard error component, check the “Alternate Vert” box and enter an alternate
value. In the example dialog settings shown, the horizontal components of imported
vector standard errors will be multiplied by 3.0, and the vertical, by 5.0.

When this option is selected, these values become the default factoring values for the
entire project. However, these default factors may be changed anywhere in a vector
data file by inserting the “.GPS Factor” inline option. See details later in this chapter.

ƒ Apply Centering to StdErrs - This option allows you to inflate vector standard errors
of by applying horizontal and vertical centering errors at both receiver ends. The size
of the centering error is assumed to be the same at each receiver. When this option is
on, all vectors are affected regardless of how the original standard errors were set.

By default, both horizontal and vertical components of the centering error are the
same. To apply different vertical centering, check the “Alternate Vert” box and enter
an alternate value. In the example dialog settings shown, 0.002 meters centering will
be applied to the horizontal component of each vector at both receivers, and 0.004
meters centering to the vertical component, at both receivers. Note that vector
centering errors are always entered in meters! When the program adds the effects of
centering to vector standard errors, the centering error is always applied after any
factoring has been applied. In other words, the centering is not factored too.

These values become the “default” centering values for all vectors in your project.
However if required, these default factors may be changed anywhere in a vector data
file by inserting the “.GPS Centering” inline option. See details later in this chapter.

Option Group: Transformations

ƒ Transformations – Check this box if you want the program to solve for (or possibly
set values for) transformations during the adjustment as discussed on page 7. When
you select transformations, you can specify which of the four transformations that
should be solved for (or set) during the adjustment process. These transformations
include a scale and three rotations about the North, East and Up axes. You can
choose from three common solve-for selections:

1. Solve for Scale and Rotations

2. Solve for Scale Only
3. Solve for Rotations Only

In addition to the three preset selections, you can choose “Custom” to define any
combination for solving or setting of the scale and three rotations as shown next.

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

Press the “Custom Settings” button as shown below to open up the Custom GPS
Transformations dialog as shown in the next paragraph. Note that any current custom
settings in the dialog are reviewed to the right of the button for convenience.

This settings dialog allows you to independently control Scale, North-Rotation, East-
Rotation and Up-Rotation transformations. Check the box of each component you
want to control, and select “Solve” or “Set” for each. When the “Set” choice is
selected, enter a preset transformation value in its field.

For example, to solve for Scale,

set Rotation about the North axis
to 1.25 seconds, set Rotation about
the East axis to 0.333 seconds, and
no solving or setting of Rotation
about the Up axis, the dialog
settings would be entered like this.

Note that STAR*NET-PRO can solve for transformations only when your network is
adequately constrained! If you request that certain transformation be solved, but the
network doesn’t have enough constraints for them to be solved, the program will go
ahead and perform the adjustment anyway. The listing, however, will indicate that
certain requested transformations could not be solved.

See “Solving for Transformations” in Chapter 2 of this supplement for more

information on minimally-constrained and fully-constrained adjustments and the
solving of transformations.

Option Group: Listing Appearance

ƒ List Vector Weighting as – Most surveyors wish to see standard errors rather than
covariances since they are more understandable and can be easily related to standard
errors of conventional observations such as angles and distances. However if you
prefer to see weighting expressed as covariances, select that option choice.

ƒ Sort Unadjusted Vectors by – In the review of unadjusted vectors in the listing file,
you can select the order you prefer them shown. By default, the vectors will be listed
in the same order they were first read in by the program, but you can also choose that
they be sorted by their station names or by their lengths. Sorting by length usually
causes redundantly observed vectors to be listed together, often useful when
debugging an adjustment.

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

ƒ Sort Adjusted Vectors by – Likewise, in the adjusted observations and residuals

section of the listing file, you can select from the same orders as offered for the
unadjusted vectors. In addition, you can choose that the vectors be listed by the size
of their residuals, largest residuals first.

ƒ Show Residual Summary/Sort by – Check this option to create an output section in

the listing consisting of a one-line-per-vector table which is very helpful for finding
the “worst” GPS vectors in a network. Each line in the table contains a vector’s two
station names, N, E, and Up residuals, 2D and 3D residual lengths, total length and
the vector serial number. It can be sorted in various ways. For example, if you are
particularly interested in the size of horizontal residuals (those computed from North
and East vector residuals) choose to sort by “2D” residuals.

Choosing to sort by “Adj Vect Order” creates the listing in the same order as
selected by the “Sort Adjusted Vectors by” field previously described above.

ƒ Show ECEF Information - By default, final adjusted XYZ earth-centered-earth-fixed

Cartesian coordinate values and Cartesian DX, DY and DX residuals are not shown
in the listing. Most surveyors prefer to see the final adjusted coordinates expressed
as grid coordinates or geodetic positions, and vector residuals expressed in the more
familiar Delta-North, Delta-East and Delta-Up form.

But to see ECEF Cartesian values, select this option, and then choose whether to
show the information for Coordinates, Residuals or Both. If the “Both” choice were
selected, the following example listing sections illustrate the extra information
printed. The first is a section listing the X, Y and Z Cartesian coordinates.

Adjusted ECEF Coordinates (Meters)

Station X Y Z
0001 -2092498.154661 -4924379.150235 3460379.958174
0002 -2091276.069216 -4924320.650192 3461198.060514
0003 -2091439.881629 -4925183.184356 3459816.765030
etc.....

And in the “Adjusted GPS Vector Observations” section, DX, DY and DZ vector
components and residuals are added to the original listing format. .

Adjusted GPS Vector Observations Sorted by Names (Meters)

From Component Adj Value Residual StdErr StdRes

To
(V117 Day124(1) 15:34 00010002.SSF)
0001 Delta-N 975.7438 -0.0003 0.0037 0.1
0002 Delta-E 1101.8681 0.0013 0.0033 0.4
Delta-U 0.7383 -0.0004 0.0055 0.1
Delta-X 1222.0804 0.0013 0.0038 0.3
Delta-Y 58.5045 -0.0003 0.0049 0.1
Delta-Z 818.0993 -0.0005 0.0041 0.1
Length 1471.7981
(V109 Day124(3) 19:24 00010003.SSF)
0001 Delta-N -649.9083 0.0072 0.0078 0.9
0003 Delta-E 1288.4278 0.0023 0.0059 0.4
Delta-U -34.0012 0.0029 0.0128 0.2
etc.....

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

3.3 Inline Options Relating to GPS Vector Data

As described in the main operating manual, there is a category of options called “inline”
options that you insert directly into an input data file, and that in general, affect only data
lines that follow them in that file. Some of these inline options simply change default
settings originally defined in dialogs already discussed. Others perform special functions
unrelated to other option settings.

It is important to note that, in general, the effect of any inline option is only on data
within a single file. Every file listed in the Input Data Files dialog is initialized with the
standard Project Options as it is read in during an adjustment. Therefore, if you want an
inline option to affect several files, you must enter it in each file.

Inline options begin with a period “.” and may be followed by option names, keywords
and numeric values. Option names and keywords may be upper or lower case and
abbreviated as long as the remaining characters are unique. For example both of the
options shown below are exactly the same, except the second is abbreviated.

.GPS FACTOR 7.5 VERTICAL 12 # Using full keywords

.GP FA 7.5 V 12 # Fully abbreviated

The GPS inline options listed below are described in detail in the following sections.
These inline options all begin with a special “GPS” header to differentiate them from
other options more general in character.

Option Function

.GPS WEIGHT This option is automatically inserted into the data file by the
vector importer. It defines the type of imported weighting.
See Section 2.4 “Description of Imported GPS Vector Data”
on page 4 for formats of this inline option.

.GPS DEFAULT Change the current Default Standard Error values for
imported vectors not having supplied weighting.
.GPS FACTOR Change the current Standard Error multiplier for imported
vectors having supplied weighting.
.GPS USE Override the current weighting scheme with your own
scheme based on your entered StdError and PPM values.
.GPS CENTERING Change the current vector Centering Error value.
.GPS IGNORE Ignore a list of vectors identified by serial numbers.
.GPS FREE Free a list of vectors identified by serial numbers.

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

The “DEFAULT” Inline Option

This inline option affects only vectors that are missing G2 & G3 data lines. It sets the
same items as the “Apply Default StdErrs to Vectors with no Supplied Weighting”
section in the GPS Options dialog. The inline sets new “default” standard errors, and this
weighting remains in effect until the inline option is again used, until the option is turned
off, or until the end of the file. When the inline option is turned off or the end of the file
is reached, any “Apply Default” settings from the GPS Options dialog again become the
current defaults. The ability to change the “default” standard errors anywhere is a data
file allows you to control the weighting of different groups of vectors that may exist in
your data – for example, vectors from different equipment.

The example below causes a standard error of 0.005 meters and 3 PPM to be assigned to
subsequently read vectors that have no G2 & G3 weighting lines. Just as with all vector
data, standard error values are always entered in meters.

.GPS DEFAULT 0.005 3

G0 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15

G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801

G0 'V533 Day134(3) 01:22

G1 0036-0041 4874.221344 -534.211324 2644.237764

And just as allowed in the options dialog, you can apply separate weighting values to the
horizontal and vertical components of the vector. Add the “Vertical” keyword and
standard error and PPM values. The following specifies 0.005 meters and 3 PPM for the
horizontal (N & E) components and 0.007 and 4 PPM for the vertical (Up) component.

.GPS DEFAULT 0.005 3 VERT .007 4

Also, the DEFAULT inline option may be used to define any following vectors that are
missing their G2 & G3 lines as free or ignored. Just add the “Free” or “Ignore” keyword.
Free vectors remain in the network but have no influence in the adjustment; ignored
vectors are completely excluded from the network.

.GPS DEFAULT FREE #Or the IGNORE keyword to exclude vectors

To change back to the original values specified in the GPS Options dialog, enter the
default option line with no values.

.GPS DEFAULT

Note that if the original “Default” section in the options dialog had not been selected,
there will be no “default” values available. So unless this or some other option is used to
provide some sort of weighting status, an adjustment run will properly terminate if
vectors are found without G2 & G3 lines.

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

The “FACTOR” Inline Option

This option affects only vectors that have supplied weighting on G2 & G3 lines. It sets
the same items as the “Factor Supplied Vector StdErrors by” section in the GPS Options
dialog. The inline sets new “factoring” values to be applied to weighting supplied on
imported G2 & G3 lines, and this new factoring remains in effect until the inline option
is again used, until the option is turned off, or until the end of the file. When the inline
option is turned off or the end of the file is reached, any “Factor Supplied …” settings
from the GPS Options dialog again become the current factoring values.

This ability to change the factoring of vector standard errors anywhere in your data
allows you to control the weighting of different groups of vectors in a network. For
example one group might be from static observations, another from kinematic, and
another might be vectors from another manufacturer’s equipment.

The example below multiplies all following imported vector standard errors by 7.5.

.GPS FACTOR 7.5

G0 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801
G2 4.35804625082312E-008 2.00368296412947E-007 1.23348139662277E-007
G3 1.29776877121456E-008 -4.73073036591065E-009 -7.87018453390485E-008

And just as allowed in the options dialog, you can apply separate multipliers to the
horizontal and vertical standard error components of the vector. Add the “Vertical”
keyword and a multiplier. The following example specifies a multiplier of 7.5 to the
horizontal (N & E) components and 12 to the vertical (Up) component.

.GPS FACTOR 7.5 VERT 12

Also, the FACTOR inline may be used to define any following vectors as free or ignored
even though weighting on G2 & G3 lines is supplied. Just add the “Free” or “Ignore”
keyword. Free vectors remain in the network but have no influence in the adjustment;
ignored vectors are completely excluded from the network.

.GPS FACTOR FREE #Or the IGNORE keyword to exclude vectors

To change back to the original values specified in the GPS Options dialog, enter the
factor option line with no values. Or if the original “Factor” option in the GPS Options
dialog had not been selected, then no factoring is applied to subsequent vectors.

.GPS FACTOR

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

The “USE” inline Option

In certain cases, you may want to apply your own weighting scheme to the vectors
regardless of whether imported weighting is supplied or not. When the USE option line
is entered, your own weighting scheme is applied to GPS vectors found on the G1 lines.
Any G2 & G3 lines are completely ignored, and in fact, they do not have to be present.
Note that when you apply your own weighting scheme with the USE inline option,
correlations (interdependence between vector components) are set to zero.

The USE inline causes the DEFAULT and FACTOR inlines and the corresponding GPS
Dialog options to be temporarily inactive. When the USE inline is turned off (or the end
of the file is reached) the other weighting schemes again are reset to their previous status.

On the option line, enter a standard error value in meters and a PPM value. The PPM is
based on the total point to point vector length. The example USE line below sets a
standard error 0.008 meters and 3 PPM, and causes any G2 & G3 lines to be ignored.
Just as with all vector data, standard error values are always entered in meters.

.GPS USE 0.008 3

G0 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801
G2 4.35804625082312E-008 2.00368296412947E-007 1.23348139662277E-007
G3 1.29776877121456E-008 -4.73073036591065E-009 -7.87018453390485E-008

To weight the horizontal and vertical components of each vector separately, add the
“Vertical” keyword plus a standard error value and PPM. The example USE line below
sets a standard error value of 0.008 meters and 3 PPM for the horizontal (north and east)
components and 0.012 meters and 5 PPM for the vertical (up) component.

.GPS USE 0.008 3 VERT 0.012 5

Also, the USE inline may be used to define any following vectors as free or ignored. Just
add the “Free” or “Ignore” keyword. Free vectors remain in the network but have no
influence in the adjustment; ignored vectors are completely excluded from the network.

.GPS USE FREE #Or the IGNORE keyword to exclude vectors

When the USE line is entered to define custom weighting, this weighting applies to all
vectors that follow until weighting is redefined by another USE option line, or until the
USE weighting is turned off. Turn the USE weighting off by adding the “Off” keyword
to the inline. Weighting then reverts back to using the original weighting imported on the
G2 & G3 lines or weighting modified by the DEFAULT or FACTOR options.

.GPS USE OFF

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

Modifying Weighting Status of a Single Vector Using the “G0” Line

This feature allows you to change the weighting status of a single vector by entering
extra data on the “G0” line of the vector. The functionality and data parameters are
identical to the FACTOR and USE inline options previously described.

This option takes temporary precedence over any DEFAULT, FACTOR or USE inline
options or corresponding GPS Dialog options that may be currently in effect. No other
option that is currently in effect is changed by the use of this feature.

To factor existing weighting supplied for a single vector, enter the “Factor” keyword and
the multiplier following the “G0” code. In the example below, the 7.5 multiplier on the
“G0” line affects only the standard error components of the single vector. To use this
factor option, the G2 & G3 weighting lines must be present.

G0 FACTOR 7.5 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801
G2 4.35804625082312E-008 2.00368296412947E-007 1.23348139662277E-007
G3 1.29776877121456E-008 -4.73073036591065E-009 -7.87018453390485E-008

Or you can factor the horizontal & vertical weight components differently.

G0 FACTOR 7.5 VERT 12 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

To cause the vector to use a specified standard error and PPM, enter the “Use” keyword
and the values following the “G0” code. In the example, 0.008 meter std error and 3 PPM
are specified. The G2 & G3 need not be present but are ignored if they are present. Just
as with all vector data, standard error values are always entered in meters.

G0 USE 0.008 3 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801

Or you can weight the horizontal & vertical components differently.

G0 USE 0.008 3 VERT 0.012 5 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

Also, in a similar fashion, the “G0” line may be used to free or ignore the single vector.
Just insert the “Free” or “Ignore” keyword directly after the “G0” code as shown in the
example. A free vector remains in the network but has no influence in the adjustment; an
ignored vector is completely excluded from the network.

G0 FREE 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

The “CENTERING” Inline Option

This inline sets the same values as the “Apply Centering to StdErrs” option section in the
GPS Options dialog. The inline option sets new default centering values which remain in
effect until the inline option is again used or until the end of the file. When the inline
option is turned off or the end of the file is reached, any “Apply Centering” settings from
the GPS Options dialog again become the current defaults.

The example below specifies that an instrument error of 0.003 meters is to be applied to
the north, east and up components of the vector at both receiver ends. Just as with all
vector data, centering errors are always entered in meters.

.GPS CENTER 0.003

G0 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF

G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801
G2 4.35804625082312E-008 2.00368296412947E-007 1.23348139662277E-007
G3 1.29776877121456E-008 -4.73073036591065E-009 -7.87018453390485E-008

And just as allowed in the options dialog, you can apply separate horizontal and vertical
centering errors to the ends of the vectors. Add the “Vertical” keyword and a centering
error value. The following example specifies 0.003 meters centering error to be applied
to each end of the horizontal (north and east) components, and a 0.006 meters centering
error to each end of the vertical (up) component.

.GPS CENTER 0.003 VERT 0.006

To change back to the original centering default specified in the GPS options dialog,
enter the centering option with no values.

.GPS CENTER

When centering values are set, centering affects the standard errors of all vectors
whether their weighting is imported from supplied G2 & G3 lines or their weighting is
given using the “DEFAULT” option for vectors not supplied G2 & G3 lines.

Note that the FACTOR option allows standard errors supplied with G2 & G3 lines to be
multiplied by a factor. When the centering errors are applied to standard errors that are
factored, the centering error is applied last (i.e. the centering is not factored too).

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 Chapter 3 GPS Options

The “IGNORE” and “FREE” inline Options

When debugging a GPS network, it is very useful to be able to quickly disable selected
vectors so you can rerun an adjustment and see how the results are affected.

These options allow you to specify a list of vectors to ignore or free up. The vectors are
identified by the serial numbers assigned to them by the vector importer routine. These
serial numbers are on the “G0” lines of the vector data and they also appear on all
sections of the output that list vectors.

In the example below, the first two option lines cause any following vectors read by the
program having the specified serial numbers to be ignored in the adjustment. The third
line causes vectors to be set free. As indicated by the example, you can put one or more
serial numbers on each line, and include as many lines as you wish.

.GPS IGNORE 33 37 38 76 321 334 352 432 166 167 168 521
.GPS IGNORE 214
.GPS FREE 255 256 257 199 198

These option lines may be placed anywhere in you data before the vector data, but we
suggest putting them somewhere very conspicuous. For example, if you place them at the
very top of your main data file or your vector file, you can quickly find them, edit them
and rerun the adjustment.

The IGNORE option causes the vector to be ignored completely when you run the
adjustment. It will show up nowhere in the listings. The FREE option, however, leaves
the vector in the adjustment but gives it no weight. It will not influence the adjustment in
any way, but the vector and its residual will be listed in the output. Freeing vectors is
often a useful debugging tool when analyzing a network adjustment.

Whenever the IGNORE inline is used, a list of ignored vectors are written to an output
section near the beginning of the listing to help you keep track of what you have done.
No such listing is created when the FREE inline is used, but these vectors of course will
show up as “free” in the data review and residual listings.

Error messages will be generated if you try to “ignore” or “free” using a vector serial
number which does not exist, or using a serial number that exists more than once.

We see this facility as a convenient debugging tool only, and highly recommend that
once you determine which vectors to eliminate, you actually edit your vector file and
remove or comment them out permanently.

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Chapter 4 IMPORTING GPS VECTORS

4.1 Overview

GPS vectors can be extracted from a variety of baseline file formats using the vector
importer facility. Choose Input>Import GPS Vectors:

The GPS Vector Importer dialog consists of four tabbed pages. To import vectors into
your project, first select a baseline format on the Import dialog page. Next, set any
desired importing options on the Options page. And finally return to the Import page to
actually select the baseline files and perform the import. Review your imported vector
file from the Vector File page, or if there were problems encountered during the import
processing, review any errors or warnings from the Error Log page.

Details on all steps required to import vectors are described in the following pages.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

4.2 Using the GPS Importer

First, on the Import dialog page illustrated on the previous page, select the format for
your particular system’s baseline vectors from the “GPS Baseline Format” dropdown
selection list.

Note that, in our example, we will be working with “Trimble GPSurvey” baselines.

Next, change to the Options page to set any options you would like the importer to use
when importing the selected type of vectors.

The options page below shows options for importing our “Trimble GPSurvey” vectors.
Options for most vector types will look the same or similar to this example.

ƒ Strip Leading Zeros – This setting causes all leading zeros to be stripped from any
vector station names that are purely numeric. For example, a station having the name
“0057” will be imported as “57” when this option is on. However a station
containing any non-numeric characters such as “00A5” will remain unchanged.

ƒ Change Case of Alpha Station Names – Simply changes the case of alphabetic
characters in station names to all upper or all lower case, if desired.

ƒ Change Dash in Station Names – In STAR*NET programs, dashes are used as

separators in station name strings (for example 0001-0002). If you know that you
have embedded dashes in your individual station names, you can substitute another
character for these dashes. For example, if a station name is “A-773”, and you select
to substitute a “Period” for the dash, the name “A.773” will be used.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

ƒ Change Station Name Separator – As indicated above, dashes are used as separators
in station name strings. Rather than replacing the dash with another character, you
may prefer to preserve the dashes in your names. This option allows you to change
the separator character to something else. For example, if you choose to change the
dash separator to a comma, the station string “0001-0002” becomes “0001,0002” and
in addition, a “.SEP” inline option is automatically inserted in the vector file to alert
STAR*NET that the separator character has been redefined. See Chapter 5 in the
main manual for details on the “.SEP” inline.

ƒ Import Descriptors when Present – This setting allows you to extract descriptors
from certain baseline files whenever they are present. Some baseline files contain
descriptor information for stations, some do not. Trimble and Leica formats, for
example, often contain descriptor information. Leica files sometimes contain fairly
complex descriptor and attribute information which you can selectively import. See
more details for Leica descriptors in the “Importing Specific Formats” section.

Descriptors are inserted into vector data as “C” lines and define the “TO” stations.
The “C” line is usually used for entering coordinates, but can also be used to
initialize a descriptor for a station. Below is an imported vectors having an extracted
descriptor.

C 0040 'Iron pipe

G0 'V532 Day134(3) 01:15 12346643.SSF
G1 0036-0040 4861.328134 -348.097034 2463.249801
G2 4.35804625082312E-008 2.00368296412947E-007 1.23348139662277E-007
G3 1.29776877121456E-008 -4.73073036591065E-009 -7.87018453390485E-008

Depending on the particular type of baseline files being imported, the “C” lines
containing the vector information may be shown with the vector as shown above, or
they may be bunched together above the vector information.

ƒ Default Folder to Look in - At the bottom of options dialog, you can specify a folder
you would like the importer to look in first when you are selecting vector files on the
Import page. For example, if you are running Trimble’s “GPSurvey,” you would
probably want to set this folder to “C:\GPSurvey\Projects” since this directory will
contain subdirectories containing your various projects. Setting this folder is
optional, but it can save you some time each time you select baseline files to import
as described in the next final importing step described next.

Before going on, it is important to note that options set for a particular type of baseline
format are uniquely saved for that type of vector format. Options for Leica, Ashtech, and
Trimble GPSurvey, for example, can be separately set. These options are stored in the
STAR*NET settings in your computer’s registry. Therefore, whenever selecting a
baseline format for importing vectors to a project, the last options set for that baseline
format will be recalled as defaults. In addition, the last “Baseline Format” type is also
remembered, and the next time you import vectors, that baseline format will
automatically be recalled as the default.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

To complete the importing process, change back to the Import page as shown below.

ƒ Make sure the “Import Vectors To” file shown is the file you want to have the
vectors written to. When you first import vectors for a new project, the default file
name shown is the name of your project plus a “GPS” extension. To use another file,
press the “Change” button and choose another new or existing file name.

ƒ Check that the “Beginning Vector ID” is set the way you wish. The Vector ID is an
incrementing number assigned to vectors as they are imported into a project. When
the vector import is finished, the next available number is saved in the job’s project
file. If additional vectors are imported later, the beginning ID number is set to this
next available number.

ƒ To select the vectors to import, press the “Select Baseline Files” button, and if
necessary, browse to the directory containing your baseline files. Highlight one or
more baseline files to import as shown below, and press the “Select” button.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

Note that in this example, “Trimble GPSurvey” had been selected as the default
baseline format type, therefore the “Files of type” field in this example file selection
dialog above show “SSF” and “SSK” files. If another baseline format had been
chosen, the “native” extension for that format would have been shown.

ƒ These selected files now appear in the main Import page dialog.

ƒ Press the “Import” button to actually import the vectors into your data file. In this
example, they are imported to the “VectorJob.gps” file shown above. This file will
be automatically added to the Data Files List for the project. When you import to a
particular file, and that file already exists, the importer routine will ask you if you
want to “Append” vectors to the file, or “Overwrite” the file.

ƒ After successfully importing, and the vector file is created, the “Vector File” tab
becomes active. You can review the vectors by opening that tabbed page. And of
course, you can edit your vector data file from the main Data Files dialog.

ƒ If the import process created errors or warnings, the “Error Log” tab becomes active
and you can open that tabbed page to review what problems were found. When
errors are found, an output vector file is not created, (or overwritten). When only
warnings are issued, the vectors will be imported, however, the messages may
indicate that problems were found that you will have to deal with yourself. For
example, if imported station names exceed 15 characters, vectors will be imported
anyway, but you will have to correct the station names by editing the vector file.

ƒ Finally, to exit the GPS Vector importer, press the “Exit” button.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

4.3 General Notes on Importing Vectors

1. You are free to import the GPS vectors into any file you wish. As indicated in the
previous section. The importer, by default, chooses the name of your project and
adds a “GPS” extension. If your project name is named SouthPark for example, a
file named SouthPark.gps is automatically offered as an import file, and it will be
located in your project directory. Whatever file name is chosen, that file name will
be stored in the job’s project file, and the next time you import vectors to that job,
the same “Import Vectors To” file will be offered as the default.

For very small GPS jobs, you may want to append imported vectors to your standard
data file, the one having the “DAT” extension. In this case when running the
importer, you can simply press the “Change” button, and browse to that file. Note
that when that data file (or any file you are importing to) already exists, the importer
will ask you if you want to “Append” or “Overwrite” the file. Be sure to select the
“Append” choice to add the vectors to your file.

For very large GPS jobs, you may want to create a new “Import Vectors To” file to
hold vectors for each part of a project, or maybe for each day’s collection of vectors.
To do this, you would press the “Change” button for each import and enter a new
data file name. Every time you import vectors to a new file, that file will be
automatically added to the project’s Data File List, and you can easily view or edit
these files from the Input Data Files dialog.

2. You are free to change the “Beginning Vector ID” number in the Importer page to
any numeric value you wish. Some users take advantage of this by assigning special
beginning serial numbers to different vector groups to further identify them, for
example “1000” to one group, “2000” to another, etc. These serial numbers are only
an aid designed to help you match specific input vectors to the vectors listed in the
output listings.

The vector ID serial number scheme, however, was also designed to be used with the
“.GPS IGNORE” and “.GPS FREE” inline options described in Chapter 3 of this
supplement. These inline options cause selected vectors to be ignored or set free in
the adjustment, so for that purpose, it is important that they remain unique.

3. When you press the “Select Baseline Files” button, the files selected are shown in
the large window on the Import dialog page. To remove one or more files from the
list, highlight them and press the “Clear Highlighted” button. To clear all files from
the list, press the “Clear All” button.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

4.4 Importing from Selected Baseline File Formats

The GPS Vector Importer can import baseline data from several vendor file formats.
Each vendor’s files contain somewhat different information, and each has different
naming conventions. Besides that, some baseline files contain single vectors while others
contain many.

The STAR*NET program handles alpha/numeric station names up to 15 characters in

length. If the GPS Vector Importer routine finds names longer than that, they are
imported anyway, and warning messages are posted by the importer in the Error Log. It
is the responsibility of the user to edit the vector data files and correct any problems.

Also during the importing process, if embedded blanks are found in any station names,
they are replaced with the underscore “_” character.

The following baseline vector formats, listed in alphabetical order, are currently
supported by the vector importer routine. These formats may change from time to time,
and new formats may be added. Also, as indicated at the end of this section, some
vendors create baseline files that are already formatted in STAR*NET format. Therefore
if you have questions about a baseline format not mentioned here, or some change of an
existing format, contact technical support at Starplus Software for the most current
information.

Ashtech

Ashtech vector files are binary files, and they begin with the alphabetic “O” character.
Each file may contain a single vector, or it may contain multiple vectors.

Blue Book Gfile

This format is a standard established by NGS, the National Geodetic Survey. This is text
file which is set up in a structured format, and it normally contains many vectors.

Many GPS vendors have software available to convert their vector data to this format.
Therefore for vendor file formats not currently supported by the vector importer routine,
we suggest they be converted to the Gfile format. Old formats, such as Trimble 640 and
Ashtech ASCII formats, will never be directly supported, and therefore these files can be
converted to the Gfile format to be imported for use in STAR*NET-PRO.

These files may have any name, but the importer routine expects an “NGS” extension.
Since these files may be created from many sources, you can, of course, specify any
extension when selecting the vectors in the importer routine.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

Geo Genius (and Geotracer)

The Geo Genius baseline processor, a Spectra Precision product, stores its vectors in an
integrated database that the importer cannot directly use. It has several export formats,
but it has a simple text export to a Geolab format which creates a file named
“Geolab.txt.” GeoLab is a trademark of BitWise Ideas Inc. It is recommended you export
to this format. See the Geo Genius manuals for details on exporting vectors.

The Geotracer baseline processor is a Geodimeter/Spectra Precision product which

stores its vectors in an integrated database that the importer cannot directly use. Just like
with Geo Genius described above, you can export the vectors to a GeoLab format which
creates a file named “Geolab.txt.” Then in the importer, use the Geo Genius selection to
import. See the Geotracer manuals for details on exporting vectors.

Leica

The Leica baseline processors store vectors in an integrated database that the importer
routine cannot directly use. To use these baseline vectors, you can export them from the
database to a standard text file. The Leica export software allows you to export to any
file name, but it defaults to an “ASC” extension unless you indicate otherwise. Likewise,
the importer routine also defaults to the “.ASC” extension.

When setting export options the Leica software select “Baselines” as the information to
export. The coordinate type should be “Cartesian” (not “Geodetic”), and in addition, if
there is an “Export Variance-Covariance” box, make sure it is checked so that vector
weighting is exported. Different versions of Leica software have different options. See
Leica SKI and SKI-PRO user’s manuals for details on exporting vectors.

Leica has an elaborate scheme for collecting station descriptors and attributes. See the
next section in this chapter for special options available to extract selected descriptor and
attribute text into STAR*NET data.

NovAtel

The NovAtel GPS baseline processor stores vectors in an integrated database that the
importer cannot directly use. To get access to these vectors, you must export the vector
information to a text (ASCII) format. The export format is to the GeoLab format.
(GeoLab is a trademark of BitWise Ideas Inc.) This file may be given any name, and the
extension will be “IOB” by default. See the NovAtel user’s manual for details on
exporting baseline vectors.

Sokkia

The Sokkia GPS baseline processor stores vectors in binary files, one vector per file.
These files may have any name with an “SGL” extension.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

TDS Survey Pro GPS

The TDS Survey Pro GPS is a data collector used to record RTK vector information as
well as conventional observation data. The built-in importer can extract GPS vector
information from these field files on your computer. A “RAW” extension is assumed.

This collector system can collect vectors from several brands of equipment (Trimble,
Topcon, etc.). Note that these imported vectors may or may not include weighting
information depending on what TDS options were set when the vectors were recorded.

It is important to note that the vector information present in a the raw file is based on
Cartesian Delta X, Y and Z vectors measured from antenna to antenna, not ground to
ground. The importer uses antenna height information in the field file plus approximate
geographical positions calculated for all points in the file to convert the vectors into
ground point to point Delta X, Y and Z measurements.

Topcon

The Topcon baseline processor stores vectors in what is called “TURF” files. These file
names have extensions beginning with “TS” and are appended with single character
numbers (for example, TS0, TS1, TS2, etc.) Each file contains a single vector.

Trimble Geomatics Office

The Trimble Geomatics Office (TGO) baseline processor stores vectors in an integrated
database that the importer cannot directly use. You can export vectors directly from the
TGO suite into a text file that, by default, has an “ASC” extension.

Briefly, this is the procedure. From the TGO processing screen, select all the vectors you
wish to export. You can click each vector, select a group by dragging your mouse, or
press Control-A to select all. Then choose File>Export to bring up an export dialog, and
select the “Trimble Data Exchange Format (*.ASC)” item. Press OK, giving a file name
in the file selection dialog. (Note that the export dialog was named “Observation Data
Export Format” in early TGO versions.)

Trimble GPSurvey

The Trimble GPSurvey baseline processors store vectors in binary files. These files have
“SSF” and “SSK” extensions and are supported by the vector importer routine.
Depending on the particular baseline processor used, the “SSF” files may contain one or
more vectors. The “SSK” files usually contain multiple vectors and are the result of
kinematic processing.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

Trimble TSC1/TSCe

The Trimble TSC1 or TSCe is a data collector used to record RTK vector information as
well as conventional observation data. The built-in importer can extract GPS vector
information from these field files on your computer. A “DC” extension is assumed.

Note that these imported vectors may or may not contain weighting information
depending on what TSC1/TSCe options were set when the vectors were recorded.

It is important to note that the vector information present in the raw file is based on
Cartesian Delta X, Y and Z vectors measured from antenna to antenna, not ground to
ground. The importer uses antenna height information in the field file plus approximate
geographical positions calculated for all points in the file to convert the vectors into
ground point to point Delta X, Y and Z measurements.

Waypoint

The Waypoint software in an independent suite which processes baselines using raw
files from many manufacturer’s receivers. The processed baseline vector files are then
stored in files having “EXP” extensions (meaning exported). These are standard text files
and each file may contain many vectors. See the Waypoint user’s manual for details on
exporting baseline vectors.

Other Formats

All the formats shown above are either formats for the manufacturer’s “native” vector
files, or formats for the “exported” vector files.

Some manufacturer’s have developed their own exports directly in STAR*NET format.
Magellan and Javad have both created exports to text files that can be read directly by
STAR*NET-PRO without modification.

To use one of these data files, simply “Add” it to the data file list using the Data Files
dialog described in Chapter 5, “Preparing Data” in the main STAR*NET manual.

See these manufacturer’s operating manuals for details on exporting baseline vectors.

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 Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

4.5 Special Leica Descriptor Extraction Options

As mentioned earlier, Leica has an elaborate scheme for collecting station descriptors
and attributes. Special options have been added to the GPS importer to extract selected
items of text from Leica’s vector file and construct descriptors for points.

As Leica users know, all lines in the text file exported from the Leica database begin
with the “@”character. The GPS vector importer routine can extract descriptor text from
lines beginning with the following character codes: @1, @2, @3, @4 and @A.

There will be only single occurrences of @1, @2 and @3 lines for any station.

But there may be up to four @4 lines per station. And there may be many @A lines, but
the importer only works with the first nine appearing for each station.

When “Leica” is selected as the baseline format in the vector importer, you will see a
“Descriptor Specification” field on the importer “Options” dialog page. In this field, you
can specify what descriptor text items to import.

An item specification begins with a “/” forward slash character, followed directly by the
item identifier. If you wish, separate each specification item by one or more separator
characters. (You can use any character except a “/” character.) The example specification
string below indicates that you want to extract text from: the @1 line, the @2 line, the
first and third @4 lines, and the sixth and seventh @A lines:

In the example above, each item was separated from the next by a comma and a space.

In the Leica vector file, the “@A” line always contains two parts, a “prompt string” (the
part to the left of the equal sign), and the descriptor text (the part to the right of the equal
sign). The specifications shown above extracts just the descriptor text part. You can
extract the “prompt string” for any of the nine “@A” lines by entering a specification
such as “/A3P” which, in this case, extracts the prompt for the third line.

In the example above, six text strings would be extracted from selected fields in the
Leica file and concatenated into a single point descriptor. The separators shown in the
specification (a comma plus space in this example) would appear in the descriptor
separating the parts.

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Chapter 4 Importing GPS Vectors

34
Chapter 5 GEOID HEIGHTS AND VERTICAL DEFLECTIONS

5.1 Overview

By default, the average Geoid Height value that you specify in the Project Options
Adjustment dialog is assigned to every station. In the standard STAR*NET edition, this
constant value is used for the entire project.

However in the STAR*NET-PRO edition, you can assign a different geoid height value
to each individual station. In addition, you can perform modeling for both geoid heights
and vertical deflections during an adjustment.

5.2 The “GH” and “GT” Data Type Lines

GH At Geoid Height [Vert Def-North] [Vert Def-East]

GT At Vert Def-North Vert Def-East

The “GH” data line allows you to assign a geoid height value to a specific station, and if
you also know the vertical deflections at that station, you can enter them on the same
line. The “GT” line (Geoid Tilt) is used to enter just vertical deflections for a station.

Since geoid heights are usually published in meters, a geoid height assigned using this
data line must also be entered in meters, not necessarily the units of the project. If your
project is run in units other than meters however, any review of these geoid heights in
your listing are converted to the project units for consistency.

Vertical deflections define known north and east deflections from a vertical line normal
to the ellipsoid. They are always entered in DMS seconds. A positive deflection in the
north direction, for example, means that the top of a plumb line leans north of its bottom
when compared to a vertical line normal to the ellipsoid passing through the point.

The following “GH” and “GT” lines illustrate the assignment of specific geoid heights
and/or vertical deflections to three individual stations. These lines may be entered
anywhere in any of the data files that will be processed in the adjustment.

GH CONCORD -32.76 # assign –32.76 geoid height to CONCORD

GH MRK009 -32.58 2.5 -3.8 # assign both geoid height and deflections
GT BRIDGE 3.6 -4.6 # assign just vertical deflections

Geoid height values explicitly defined for any of these stations take precedence over the
default value from the Adjustment Options dialog. In addition, geoid height and vertical
deflections set by these data lines take precedence over any geoid height or deflection
values calculated by modeling.

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5.3 Performing Geoid Modeling

Before geoid modeling can be actually preformed, you must first create one or more
geoid files in a “neutral” STAR*NET format using the “StarGeoid” utility program
included with this installation. This utility creates “neutral” geoid files by extracting
geoid data from files supplied by government agencies such as the NGS in the United
States and the Geodetic Survey Division of Natural Resources Canada. See detailed
instructions on using the “StarGeoid” utility program later in this chapter.

Once you have created one or more “neutral” geoid files as mentioned above, you can
simply check the “Perform Geoid Modeling” box in the Project Options/Modeling dialog
to direct STAR*NET to perform geoid modeling during subsequent adjustments.

With the Perform Geoid Modeling box checked as shown above, choose how the
“neutral” geoid files should be selected in the modeling process during the adjustment:

ƒ Automatic Selection from “GHT” Files – This choice directs the program to look in
the “Models” subdirectory of your installation directory and automatically choose a
geoid file with a “GHT” extension that covers the extent of your project.

ƒ Select Specific Geoid File – This choice allows you to select a “specific” geoid file
to use with your project adjustment. Simply browse for any STAR*NET formatted
geoid file. It can be located anywhere and have any name.

Also in the Geoid Modeling options above, you can choose whether or not to have
modeled geoid heights shown in the output adjustment listing file.

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 Chapter 5 Geoid Heights and Vertical Deflections

General Notes About Geoid Modeling

1. When you choose the “automatic” geoid file selection method, STAR*NET will look
through all geoid files having a “GHT” extension in the “Models” directory and
choose the first one it finds that includes the geographical extent of your project. If a
file cannot be found that includes the extent of your project, the adjustment
terminates with an appropriate error message. It is recommended that you name your
geoid files with descriptive names such as “Calif-Nevada.ght” or “Florida.ght.”

2. Whenever government agencies issue newer geoid data, you will likely want to
create all new “GHT” files based on new undulation data (for example, updating
from NGS Geoid96 to the newer Geoid99 data). When you do this, be sure to first
delete all your old GHT files from the “Models” directory so there is no chance that
wrong undulation data will be chosen by the STAR*NET program.

3. When you update your geoid files using newer undulation data, you may want to
continue using older geoid data for some projects that are still in progress. In this
case, instead of deleting an old “GHT” file used for the project, simply rename it to
some descriptive name without the “GHT” extension (or with a different extension)
such as “FloridaGeoid.1993.” And then in the Modeling options, choose the “Select
Specific Geoid File” option and specify that new name.

Note that neutral geoid files with and without the “GHT” extension can be safely
mixed together in the “Models” directory since the “Automatic” selection method
looks only for files with “GHT” extensions. For simplicity we recommend keeping
all geoid files in the “Models” directory, however you can place a geoid file that is
only referenced by the “Select Specific Geoid File” option anywhere.

4. Except for stations having their geoid heights pre-defined by the GH data type, geoid
modeling is performed on all network stations every iteration. This assures that, as
each station moves around during the adjustment, even though a small amount, the
correct geoid height will have been computed when the adjustment is finished.

5. Geoid modeling is not performed on sideshot stations (those defined using the “SS”
data type). As a good approximation, the geoid height computed at the instrument
station is used as the geoid height for the sideshot station.

6. Even though you invoke geoid modeling, you should still enter a reasonably correct
geoid height in the Adjustment options dialog. That geoid height will be used for
computing approximate elevation values from the unadjusted vector data.

7. If you are running an adjustment using NAD27 in the United States, geoid modeling
is disabled. By definition, the geoid and ellipsoid for that system are the same.

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 Chapter 5 Geoid Heights and Vertical Deflections

5.4 Performing Vertical Deflection Modeling

Just as with geoid modeling, before vertical deflection modeling can be preformed, you
must first create one or more vertical deflection files in a “neutral” STAR*NET format
using the “StarGeoid” utility program. This utility creates “neutral” vertical deflection
files by extracting data from models supplied by government agencies such as the NGS
in the United States and the Geodetic Survey Division of Natural Resources Canada. See
detailed instructions on using the “StarGeoid” utility program later in this chapter.

Once you have created one or more “neutral” vertical deflection files, you can simply
check the “Perform Vertical Deflection Modeling” box in the Modeling dialog to direct
STAR*NET to perform vertical deflection modeling during subsequent adjustments.

With the Perform Vertical Deflection Modeling box checked as shown above, choose
how the “neutral” vertical deflection files should be selected during the adjustment:

ƒ Automatic Selection from “VDF” Files – This choice directs the program to look in
the “Models” subdirectory of your installation directory and automatically choose a
vertical deflection file with a “VDF” extension that covers the extent of your project.

ƒ Select Specific Deflection File – This choice allows you to select a “specific”
vertical deflection file to use. Simply browse for any STAR*NET formatted vertical
deflection file. It can be located anywhere and have any name.

Also in the Vertical Deflection Modeling options above, you can choose whether or not
to have modeled vertical deflections shown in the output adjustment listing file.

ƒ Apply Constant Deflections Only – Alternately, if you know that the geoid plane in
your project area has a fairly constant tilt or slope (i.e. it doesn’t undulate), you can
choose to apply constant deflections only.

If you perform geoid modeling and your network includes conventional data, it is highly
recommended that you also perform vertical deflection modeling (or at least specify
constant deflections if the geoid plane is at a somewhat constant tilt). Vertical deflections
affect zenith angle, turned angle, direction and azimuth observation computations in grid
jobs. These computations rely on knowing the relationship between gravity (plumb line)
at a point and the normal to the ellipsoid at the same point.

Vertical deflection modeling is particularly important when combining conventional

observations (gravity based) and GPS vectors (ellipsoid based) in the same adjustment.

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 Chapter 5 Geoid Heights and Vertical Deflections

General Notes on Vertical Deflection Modeling

1. When you choose the “automatic” deflection file selection method, STAR*NET will
look through all deflection files having a “VDF” extension in the “Models” directory
and choose the first one it finds that includes the geographical extent of your project.
If a file cannot be found that includes the extent of your project, the adjustment
terminates with an appropriate error message. It is recommended that you name your
deflection files with descriptive names such as “Calif-Nevada.vdf” or “Florida.vdf.”

2. As mentioned before, whenever government agencies issue newer geoid and/or

deflection models data, you will likely want to create all new modeling files based on
new undulation data. When you create new vertical deflection files, be sure to first
delete all your old VDF files from the “Models” directory so there is no chance that
wrong deflection data will be chosen by the STAR*NET program.

3. When you update your deflection files using newer undulation data, you may want to
continue using older deflection data for some projects that are still in progress. In
this case, instead of deleting an old “VDF” file used for the project, simply rename it
to some descriptive name without the “VDF” extension (or with a different
extension) such as “FloridaDef.1993.” And then in the Modeling options, choose the
“Select Specific Geoid File” option and specify the new name.

Note that deflection files with and without the “VDF” extension can be safely mixed
together in the “Models” directory since the “Automatic” selection method looks
only for files with “VDF” extensions. Although for simplicity we recommend
keeping all deflection files in the “Models” directory, you can place a deflection file
that is only referenced by the “Select Specific Deflection File” option anywhere.

4. Except for stations having their vertical deflections pre-defined on GH or GT data

type lines, deflection modeling is performed on all network stations every iteration.
This assures that, as each station moves around during the adjustment, even though a
small amount, the correct vertical deflection values will have been computed when
the adjustment is finished.

5. If you are running an adjustment using NAD27 in the United States, geoid modeling
is disabled because by definition the geoid and ellipsoid for that system are the same.
And therefore, government supplied geoid and deflection model data does not exist.
However in an NA27 job, if you can determine average north and east deflections
one way or another, you are still allowed to enter average deflection values in the
Project Options/Adjustment dialog and those deflections will be applied.

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5.5 Using the StarGeoid Utility Program

The StarGeoid program is a stand-alone utility used to extract geoid undulation data and
vertical deflection data from three kinds of file formats:

1. United States National Geodetic Survey files (GEOID96, GEOID99, etc.)

2. Canadian Geodetic Survey Division files (GSD95, HT97, etc.)
3. World files (based on NGS binary “BIN” file format)

Using the extracted data, the utility builds geoid or vertical deflection files in “neutral”
formats and places them in your “Models” subdirectory. As described in the last two
sections, when modeling is performed, these “neutral” files are used during the
adjustment to determine the geoid height and/or deflection values.

To run the StarGeoid utility, press the Start menu, select Programs>Starplus, and then
click the “StarGeoid” program selection. Follow the general procedure shown below:

1. Select to extract either geoid heights or vertical deflections.

2. Select the type of model source to extract data from – USA, Canadian or World.

3. Enter the desired boundaries as geodetic positions in D-M-S or DD.MMSS format

paying attention to the rules for signs displayed below the latitude/longitude fields.

4. Browse for an “Input Folder” containing the government models source the geoid
height or vertical deflection information will be extracted from (i.e. NGS files, etc.).

5. Browse to a folder and then enter a file name to receive the extracted geoid height or
vertical deflection information.

6. Finally press the “Build” button to actually perform the extraction process!

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5.6 Using StarGeoid to Create “GHT” Geoid Height Files

The following illustrates the appearance of the utility dialog with all values entered.
Pressing the “Build” button performs the geoid height data extraction process.

Example settings shown in the dialog indicate that geoid height information is to be
extracted from USA model files (Geoid96, Geoid99, etc.). The bounding geodetic
positions will cause information to be extracted from a region including all of California
and Nevada. Geodetic positions can entered to whole degrees for convenience. However
minutes and seconds may be included, for example 31-22-55.7 or 31.22557.

The input model source files are located in a “C:\GeoidData\Geoid99” folder, and the
extracted geoid data will be written to “C:\Starplus\StarNet\Models\CalNevada.ght” in
this example dialog.

Notes on Extracting Geoid Height Data

1. When specifying the Output File, the initial default directory offered will be the
“Models” subdirectory of the install directory. This is where you normally want
these files placed so that they can be “automatically” selected during the adjustment.

2. By default, output files are created with a “GHT” extension. To create a file with a
different extension (or no extension), select the “*.*” file type in the “Files of Type”
field in the file selection dialog.

3. See additional notes on the following pages relating to particular details on the USA,
Canada and World model data.

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 Chapter 5 Geoid Heights and Vertical Deflections

5.7 Using StarGeoid to Create “VDF” Vertical Deflection Files

The following illustrates the appearance of the utility dialog with all values entered.
Pressing the “Build” button performs the vertical deflection data extraction process.

Example settings shown in the dialog indicate that vertical deflection information is to be
extracted from USA files (Deflec96, Deflec99, etc.). The bounding geodetic positions
will cause information to be extracted from a region including all of California and
Nevada. Geodetic positions can entered to whole degrees for convenience. However
minutes and seconds may be included, for example 31-22-55.7 or 31.22557.

The input model files are located in a “C:\GeoidData\Deflec99” folder, and the extracted
deflection data will be written to “C:\Starplus\StarNet\Models\CalNevada.vdf” in this
example dialog.

Notes on Extracting Vertical Deflection Data

1. When specifying the Output File, the initial default directory offered will be the
“Models” subdirectory of the install directory. This is where you normally want
these files placed so that they can be “automatically” selected during the adjustment.

2. By default, output files are created with a “VDF” extension. To create a file with a
different extension (or no extension), select the “*.*” file type in the “Files of Type”
field in the file selection dialog.

3. See additional notes on the following pages relating to particular details on the USA,
Canada and World model data.

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 Chapter 5 Geoid Heights and Vertical Deflections

United States NGS Geoid and Deflection Model Data

The StarGeoid utility handles data from all currently available NGS models. Depending
on whether geoid height or vertical deflection information is to be extracted, the program
examines the names and/or extensions of the source files to determine if the proper files
are present, and if so, what method to use to extract the data.

Files for the newest Geoid99 release (and future releases) begin with a “G” and have a
“BIN” extension. Older files (Geoid96 and earlier) simply have a “GEO” extension.

Files for the newest Deflec99 release (and future releases) come in pairs. Each file in the
pair begins with “E” and “X” respectively, and all files have a “BIN” extension. Older
deflection files (Deflec96 and earlier) also come in pairs, and each file in the pair simply
has an “ETA” and “XII” extension respectively.

It is important to keep NGS geoid and deflection model files from different years in
separate folders! When you select the “Input Folder” in the StarGeoid utility, you are
actually choosing to extract information from model files for a specific year.

Note that if your specified bounding region spans two or more NGS files, the program
extracts data from parts of each file to create a single “GHT” or “VDF” file.

Canadian Geoid Model Data

Prior to mid-year 2001, Canadian geoid files names for regions below 72 degrees latitude
begin with one of more of the following names: GSD91, GSD95, HT97 or HT1_01.
Geoid files for regions above 72 degrees latitude begin with POL91 or Arctic96. Each
model includes a pair of files having “SLV” and “BIN” extensions. So for example, if
you only have the “HT97” geoid model data on your computer, you will have two data
files named “HT97.slv” and “HT97.bin.” When you use the StarGeoid utility to extract
data from Canadian geoid models, it first looks in the “Input Folder” for a single pair of
“SLV” and “BIN” files that contains the geographical area selected by your latitude and
longitude boundaries. If found, the program then extracts the geoid information.

Keep these geoid models for different years in separate folders! When you select the
“Input Folder” in the StarGeoid utility, you are actually choosing to extract information
from geoid models for a specific year.

Note that when extracting vertical deflections to create a “VDF” file, the StarGeoid
program uses the geoid models to calculate vertical deflections based on formulas
provided by Natural Resources Canada. No separate vertical deflection models exist.

After mid-year 2001, a new geoid model named CGG2000 was issued in Canada. This
model has a “BIN” format compatible with the US “BIN” format. The original
combination “SLV/BIN” format used in Canada is being discontinued. Therefore when
extracting geoid data from the new CGG2000 model, select the “USA” Type in the
StarGeoid utility and follow the instructions for the USA extraction. Currently, there is
no vertical deflection modeling provison in STAR*NET using this model.

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World Geoid Model Data

The NIMA/NASA EGM96 Earth Gravity Model is available via the internet. This is
geoid model with geoid height information at every 15 second increment covering the
globe. This data available via the internet is in somewhat bulky text form.

Starplus Software has this model available in a more compressed “BIN” format, the same
format employed by the newest NGS Geoid99 model files. This model file is available
via media for a small materials and shipping charge, or as a free but large download. At
some time in the near future, this “BIN” file may be distributed with the STAR*NET
distribution media. Contact Starplus Software for details.

To extract from the Starplus Software supplied world model, select “World” as the type
in the StarGeoid utility. Extracting geoid height data from this model is handled the same
as from USA geoid model files having “bin” extensions. The only difference is that you
must use international sign conventions (negative latitudes south of equator and negative
longitudes west of Greenwich) for the entered bounding geodetic positions to assure that
the location of the extraction region in the world is uniquely defined.

The extraction process creates a “GHT” file as usual. For example, if you extract an area
including Singapore, you might name the file “Singapore.ght.” With this file placed in
your “Models” subdirectory, you can simply turn on Geoid Modeling in the Project
Options/Modeling dialog, and geoid modeling will be performed during an adjustment.

There is no provision for performing Vertical Deflection modeling using the World type.

Where to Get Model Data Files and Information

If you don’t have the National Geodetic Survey geoid model files, they can be ordered
directly from NGS in Silver Spring, Maryland, for a nominal fee. To order these files
from NGS phone 301-713-3242. Alternately, they can be downloaded from their web site
free of charge. Their web site address is: www.ngs.noaa.gov.

If you don’t have the Canadian geoid undulation files, they can be ordered directly from
Natural Resources Canada, Geodetic Survey Division. Phone 613-995-4410. Their web
site address is: www.geod.nrcan.gc.ca.

For technical information about the NIMA/NASA EGM96 Earth Gravity Model, go to
this NIMA web site address: www.nima.mil/GandG/wgs-84/egm96.html.

44
Chapter 6 GPS OUTPUT LISTING SECTIONS

6.1 Overview

This chapter illustrates the additional listing sections created when you run adjustments
containing GPS vector observations. Some of these listing sections are optional and may
be turned on or off by settings in the Project Options/Listing dialog. Other sections are
always there and contain additional information due to the existence of the vectors.

You should thoroughly review Chapter 8 “Analysis of Adjustment Output” in the main
STAR*NET manual for a complete discussion of output listings for adjustments which
include conventional observations. That chapter also discusses the Statistical Summary
listing and Chi Square test in detail.

6.2 Summary of Unadjusted Input Observations

This section includes a review of controlling input stations and all unadjusted input
observations. The first part of this section consists of any fixed or partially fixed
coordinates that control the network constraints.

When network constraints are entered as coordinate values, the review of the entered
stations shows the information as coordinates. When geodetic positions are entered as
constraints, as they often are in networks that contain GPS vectors, the review of entered
stations will show the latitudes and longitudes as illustrated below.

Summary of Unadjusted Input Observations

========================================

Number of Entered Stations (Meters) = 5

Fixed Stations Latitude Longitude Elev Description

0038 33-06-59.983100 112-59-00.927810 657.0410 Rock
0040 33-05-55.750960 112-38-57.752370 250.8570 ADOT 80.136
0043 32-54-32.648860 112-58-19.794590 221.4100 MID

Partially Fixed Latitude Longitude Elev Description

N-StdErr E-StdErr StdErr
0041 32-55-33.146010 112-40-40.571420 250.2870 Giant
FREE FREE FIXED
0042 32-55-04.583950 112-54-20.124750 219.2800 Crossing
FREE FREE FIXED
etc..

Only the controlling coordinates or positions “entered” by the user are reviewed in this
listing, not “approximate” coordinates automatically computed by the program.

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 Chapter 6 GPS Output Listings

The unadjusted GPS vector observations are reviewed next. The vector components
(Delta X, Y & Z values) and weightings are listed as earth-centered Cartesian values, just
as originally imported. By default, however, the reviewed component weightings are
expressed as standard errors and correlations even though weightings may have been
imported as covariances. In general, most surveyors wish to see standard errors rather
than covariances since they are easier to understand and more easily related to standard
errors of conventional observations. If you prefer to see weightings in the listing
expressed as covariances, a setting in the GPS options dialog allows this to be done.

The text shown in parentheses above each vector is the vector identifier. It includes a
vector number and any other descriptive information that may have been available when
it was imported. This text helps you relate vector listings to input vector data.

Number of GPS Vector Observations (Meters) = 120

From DeltaX StdErrX CorrelXY

To DeltaY StdErrY CorrelXZ
DeltaZ StdErrZ CorrelYZ
(V117 Day124(1) 15:34 00010002.SSF)
0001 1222.0791 0.0044 0.0904
0002 58.5048 0.0047 -0.0380
818.0998 0.0045 -0.0780
(V109 Day124(3) 19:24 00010003.SSF)
0001 1058.2695 0.0051 0.1527
0003 -804.0274 0.0068 0.0131
-563.1984 0.0070 -0.3813
(V116 Day124(1) 15:34 00010004.SSF)
0001 1762.3854 0.0046 0.1291
0004 -667.0269 0.0051 -0.0615
39.7325 0.0048 -0.1300
(V108 Day124(3) 18:33 00010005.SSF)
0001 1020.0136 0.0049 0.1082
0005 -6324.0743 0.0060 0.0047
-8367.1653 0.0066 -0.3507
(V107 Day124(3) 18:38 00010037.SSF)
0001 2129.2314 0.0046 0.0720
0037 -3512.9613 0.0052 0.0071
-3642.2568 0.0055 -0.2312
(V115 Day124(2) 17:22 00020003.SSF)
0002 -163.8113 0.0048 0.1822
0003 -862.5286 0.0053 -0.0947
-1381.2898 0.0046 -0.1410
etc...

The vector component standard errors shown in this listing include the affects of any
“Factoring” and “Centering” set in the GPS options dialog or by inline options. The
vector and standard error values are displayed in the units of the project.

A setting in the GPS options dialog controls the order in which these vectors are listed.
The vector review shown in the example listing above is sorted by station name.

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 Chapter 6 GPS Output Listings

6.3 Statistical Summary

The statistical summary contains some very important information, especially when you
are mixing conventional observations and GPS vectors in the same adjustment. The
listing includes a summary line for each type of observation existing in your network (i.e.
angles, distances, zeniths, GPS vector components) indicating how well that type of data
fit into the adjustment. The example Statistical Summary shown below is for a project
having 120 GPS vectors but no other types of observations.

Adjustment Statistical Summary

==============================

Convergence Iterations = 4

Number of Stations = 45

Number of Observations = 360

Number of Unknowns = 128
Number of Redundant Obs = 232

Observation Count Sum Squares Error

of StdRes Factor
GPS Deltas 360 158.33 0.83

Total 360 158.33 0.83

Adjustment Passed the Chi Square Test at 5% Level

The first line indicates how many iterations were performed to get convergence.

The next item indicates how many stations are in the network. Any station included in
your data, but not connected to other station by an observation, is not counted.

The next three lines indicate the numbers of observations, unknowns and redundant
observations in the network. A single GPS vector includes three observations, the X, Y
and Z components. Therefore, the 120 GPS vectors in this network create a total of 360
observations. Any vector in the adjustment that has been set free is not counted.

The “Error Factor” shown for GPS vectors is very important. In general, when residuals
in your adjustment are approximately equal to your weighting expectations (the standard
errors), the value of the Error Factor will be approximately 1.00. If your vector residuals
seem reasonable but the error factor for the vectors is much higher than 1.00 (for
example 15), you may need to “factor” your imported vector standard errors to make
them more realistic. This is particularly important when mixing conventional
observations (angles, distances etc.) with GPS vectors. For details on factoring GPS
standard errors, see Chapter 3, “GPS Options” in this supplement.

For a complete description of the Statistical Summary, including a discussion on Error

Factors, Total Error Factor and the Chi Square test, read the “Adjustment Statistical
Summary” section in Chapter 8 of the main STAR*NET manual.

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 Chapter 6 GPS Output Listings

6.4 Adjusted Observations and Residuals

Output relating to adjusted observations and residuals consists of two sections.

The first section lists any scale and rotation transformations that you have asked to be
solved or set in the GPS options dialog. A note on each line shows a status for each
transformation: None, Solved, Set by User, or Unsolvable. An “Unsolvable” status
means that a requested transformation could not be solved because of inadequate
constraints. When no transformations are requested, this section will not be present.

The second section lists adjusted GPS vectors and their residuals. All vector, residual
and standard error components have been rotated from XYZ earth-centered Cartesian
components to local-horizon North, East and Up components. This orientation is easy to
understand and very easily related to conventional observations.

Adjusted Observations and Residuals

===================================

Adjusted GPS Vector Observations Sorted by Names (Meters)

Datum Transformations StdDev

Scale Factor 0.999995829182 : 4.170818 PPM 0.1393 (Solved)
Rotation Around North Axis : 0.667364 Sec 0.0482 (Solved)
Rotation Around East Axis : 0.058706 Sec 0.0438 (Solved)
Rotation Around Vert Axis : 0.371553 Sec 0.0288 (Solved)

From Component Adj Value Residual StdErr StdRes

To
(V117 Day124(1) 15:34 00010002.SSF)
0001 Delta-N 975.7430 -0.0010 0.0044 0.2
0002 Delta-E 1101.8684 0.0016 0.0043 0.4
Delta-U 0.7376 -0.0012 0.0049 0.2
Length 1471.7979
(V109 Day124(3) 19:24 00010003.SSF)
0001 Delta-N -649.9085 0.0088 0.0028 3.1*
0003 Delta-E 1288.4280 0.0024 0.0051 0.5
Delta-U -34.0018 0.0024 0.0079 0.3
Length 1443.4624
etc...

The vector standard error components shown in this listing section include the affects of
any “Factoring” and “Centering” set in the GPS options dialog or by inline options.
Adjusted vectors, residuals and standard errors are listed in the units of the project.

A setting in the GPS options controls the order in which adjusted vectors are listed. The
adjusted vector listing shown in the example above is sorted by station name.

As discussed in Chapter 8 “Analysis of Adjustment Output” of the main manual, you

should carefully examine the residuals to see if they appear reasonable. The listing shows
a Standardized Residual (StdRes) which is simply the residual divided by the standard
error. Standardized Residuals larger values than 3 are flagged with an asterisk character
(*) to help you find vectors having potential problems.

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 Chapter 6 GPS Output Listings

6.5 Vector Residual Summary

Output for this section is a compressed one-line-per-vector table which lists residuals in
various ways. By choosing a listing setting in the GPS options dialog, this summary may
be sorted by 3D residuals, 2D residuals, Up residuals, or it may be simply listed in the
same order as other vector shown in the output listing. This entire section may also be
eliminated from the listing file if you choose.

This summary is useful for finding the “worst” vectors in a network. For example, if you
are particularly interested in the size of horizontal residuals (made up of North and East
residuals), you could set this table to be sorted by 2D residuals. The example below is
sorted by 3D residuals, largest residuals listed first.

GPS Vector Residual Summary (Meters)

(Sorted by 3D Residual Length)
(Vectors Marked with (*) are Free)

From To N E Up 2D 3D Length VectID

0009 0013 0.000 0.010 0.021 0.010 0.023 4875 *53
0011 0013 0.002 0.001 0.021 0.002 0.021 1672 51
0011 0012 -0.005 -0.003 -0.019 0.006 0.020 10468 *92
0009 0015 -0.002 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.016 9825 52
0012 0013 -0.002 -0.002 -0.015 0.003 0.015 10262 90
0031 0033 -0.008 -0.002 0.011 0.009 0.014 2023 9
0008 0012 -0.006 -0.004 -0.012 0.007 0.014 5740 95
0018 0036 -0.002 0.006 -0.011 0.007 0.013 9709 64
0007 0009 0.003 0.011 0.006 0.011 0.013 3201 55
0029 0031 0.007 0.002 -0.010 0.007 0.012 1608 12
0006 0007 0.004 0.008 -0.007 0.009 0.011 11163 103
0013 0015 -0.002 0.002 -0.011 0.003 0.011 4999 49
0005 0009 0.001 0.008 0.006 0.008 0.010 4020 56
0007 0008 -0.007 -0.004 -0.006 0.008 0.010 11374 100
0017 0042 -0.000 -0.002 0.010 0.002 0.010 12463 44
0015 0019 -0.003 0.004 0.008 0.005 0.010 8530 47
0009 0011 -0.003 0.009 -0.001 0.010 0.010 3228 54
0043 0007 -0.008 -0.005 -0.001 0.009 0.009 6232 59
0038 0002 0.005 0.008 -0.001 0.009 0.009 5089 119
0003 0005 0.006 0.006 0.003 0.009 0.009 9559 106
0029 0035 0.001 -0.002 0.009 0.002 0.009 4931 10
0010 0011 0.001 0.000 0.009 0.001 0.009 10484 94
0013 0014 0.001 0.001 0.009 0.001 0.009 8296 87
0011 0015 0.000 0.003 0.008 0.003 0.009 6668 50
0010 0012 -0.003 -0.001 -0.008 0.003 0.008 3222 93
0043 0009 -0.004 0.003 0.006 0.006 0.008 8789 58

etc...

The vector serial number ID is included in this listing so that it is easy for you to relate
any line in this output to the actual input vector. When “debugging” a network, vector
serial numbers can be used with the “.IGNORE” and “.FREE” inline options to quickly
ignore or free certain vectors so you can rerun an adjustment and see how the results are
affected. As illustrated above, vectors whose serial numbers are prefixed with an asterisk
character (*) had been set free.

49
 Chapter 6 GPS Output Listings

6.6 Results of Geoid Modeling

When geoid modeling is performed, or when individual geoid heights are entered for
stations using the “GH” data type, these modeled or entered heights may be shown in the
output listing file. There is an option in the Modeling options dialog which allows you
select whether or not to show modeled heights for every point.

When geodetic positions are selected in the Listing options to be shown in the listing, the
Geoid Heights will be shown as illustrated below.

Adjusted Positions and Ellipsoid Heights (Meters)

Station Latitude Longitude Ellip Ht Geoid Ht

0001 33-04-04.729598 113-01-18.892909 184.5589 -31.2894
0002 33-04-36.399347 113-00-36.410946 185.4698 -31.2633
0003 33-03-43.631136 113-00-29.226324 150.7246 -31.2836
0004 33-04-07.138671 113-00-06.305634 143.3870 -31.2700
0005 32-58-41.087753 112-59-07.491499 171.2339 -31.3283
0006 33-03-52.060232 112-59-17.411999 173.8724 -31.2657
0007 32-57-54.635274 112-58-06.878665 171.2370 -31.3343
0008 33-04-03.809294 112-58-12.051914 175.5950 -31.2505
0009 32-59-03.939538 112-56-35.046118 172.5443 -31.3190
0010 33-04-27.272136 112-56-38.621043 177.1151 -31.2269
0011 32-59-04.475307 112-54-30.727495 173.0659 -31.3135
0012 33-04-44.244330 112-54-36.045690 193.0912 -31.2082
etc...

However, when geodetic positions are not selected in the Listing options to be shown in
the listing, the Geoid Heights will be shown in their own section. If vertical deflections
are manually entered using the “GH” or “GT” data type, or calculated using vertical
deflection modeling, this output section will be always be shown rather than showing the
geoid heights with the geodetic positions.

Geoid Heights (Meters) and Vertical Deflections (Seconds)

Station Geoid Ht North Def East Def

0001 -31.2894 0.0000 0.0000
0002 -31.2633 0.0000 0.0000
0003 -31.2836 0.0000 0.0000
0004 -31.2700 0.0000 0.0000
0005 -31.3283 0.0000 0.0000
0006 -31.2657 0.0000 0.0000
0007 -31.3343 0.0000 0.0000
0008 -31.2505 0.0000 0.0000
0009 -31.3190 0.0000 0.0000
0010 -31.2269 0.0000 0.0000
0011 -31.3135 0.0000 0.0000
0012 -31.2082 0.0000 0.0000
etc...

50
Appendix A - TOUR OF THE STAR*NET-PRO PACKAGE

Overview

This tutorial is designed to be used with the STAR*NET-PRO edition and the supplied
sample data files to acquaint you with some of the capabilities of the package.

However, if you are new to the STAR*NET program, we strongly suggest before you run
this tutorial, you first review the standard STAR*NET manual and run its tutorial located
in Appendix-A. That will introduce you to the general operation of the software and
illustrate the adjustment of networks having conventional observations.

The STAR*NET-PRO tutorial contains the following examples:

Example 1: A simple network containing only GPS vectors. The example walks you
through the basic steps of setting required options, setting up the main
data file, importing vectors, and running an adjustment. The example
also takes you through the output adjustment listing to review the
particular sections which relate to GPS projects.

This example demonstrates the adjustment of a fully-constrained

network. Note that you should always run a minimally-constrained
adjustment first to check the integrity of the observations before adding
coordinate constraints! However to keep this tutorial short, we have
bypassed this initial step.

Example 2: This example demonstrates combining conventional observations with

GPS vectors. The network consists of GPS vectors from the first
example, and conventional observations consisting of a single traverse
plus four observation ties to other GPS stations.

It is assumed that you have already run the tutorial in the main STAR*NET manual and
know how to make menu selections, set options and maneuver through text files.

However, if you have not run the main STAR*NET tutorial, we suggest before
continuing, you at least review that tour’s Overview to see how to select projects and run
two of the example projects. Review Example 1 which will acquaint you with using all
options dialogs, using the Data Files dialog, running an adjustment, and viewing listed
and plotted output. Finally review Example 4 to get a good overview on a running
project in a grid coordinate system.

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 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

Example 1: Simple GPS Network

The first example demonstrates the major steps you would go through to setup and adjust
a simple network made up only of GPS vectors. You will set a few required project
options, review the main data file which defines the coordinate constraints, import a few
vectors from Trimble GPSurvey baseline files, and adjust the network.

# Simple GPS Network

# Fully-constrained, two fixed stations plus a fixed elevation
# Grid Coordinates are used for constraints in this example

C 0012 230946.1786 120618.7749 224.299 ! ! ! 'North Rock

C 0017 218691.2153 131994.0354 209.384 ! ! ! '80-1339
E 0013 205.450 ! 'BM-9331

0012

0016

0018

0015

0013

0017

52
 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

1. Run STAR*NET-PRO and open the “VectorJob.prj” example project. The Main
Menu will appear as shown below:

2. Choose Options>Project, or press the Project Options tool button.

Settings in the Adjustment options dialog describe major properties of the project.
Note that the Adjustment Type is set is “3D” and the Coordinate System is set to
“Grid.” When a project contains GPS vectors, these two options must always be set
this way. This example project is set to use NAD83 Arizona Central zone 0202.

The Average Geoid Height is set to -32.20 meters. For simplicity, we will not be
performing geoid modeling in this example, therefore this value will be assigned as
the geoid height to all stations in the project.

3. If you wish, review the next four option tabs: General, Instrument, Listing File,
Other Files and Special. They contain typical settings you have seen before while
reviewing the tutorial in the main manual. The “Instrument” settings only relate to
conventional observations, so in the case of this project having only GPS vectors,
they have no relevance in the adjustment.

53
 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

4. Review the “GPS” options by clicking the “GPS” tab. These fields allow you to set
default values or options relating to GPS vectors present in your network data.

We know that all vectors imported for this example have supplied weighting so we
didn’t set any default standard errors offered by the “Apply Default StdErrs” field.

A value of 8.00 has been set for the “Factor Vector StdErrors” field which means
that all imported vector standard errors will be multiplied by this factor. Standard
errors reported by many baseline processors are over-optimistic and this option
allows you to make them more realistic based on your own experience with your
equipment. A “Vector Centering StdError” value of 0.002 meters has been entered
which further inflates the standard errors.

The “Transformations” box is checked and a choice has been made to solve for scale
and three rotations, around North, East and Up axes, during the adjustment. Solving
for these transformations often helps “best-fit” vectors to your station constraints by
removing systematic errors or biases that may exist in vector data.

Finally, in the “Listing Appearance” options, certain output preferences are set for
various listing items including how you like to see vector weighting expressed and
how both unadjusted and adjusted vectors data should be sorted. Note that in this
section, a “Residual Summary” has been chosen to be included in the listing. We’ll
review this very useful report later.

5. Review the “Modeling” tab. It is here that you select to perform geoid modeling. For
simplicity, we are not going to perform modeling. The average geoid height specified
on the Adjustment options dialog will be applied to all stations in the network.

6. This concludes the overview of the Project Options set for this example. After you
are finished reviewing it, press “OK” to close the dialog.

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 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

7. Next, review the input data. Choose Input>Data Files, or press the Input Data Files
tool button. Note there are two files in the list. The first file is the main data file
shown at the beginning of this example. It simply contains two stations with fixed
north, east and elevation values, and one station with a fixed elevation.

The second file contains the imported vectors for this project. For simplicity, we
have already imported the vectors into a file for this example, and it appears in the
data file list with the same name as the project, and with a “GPS” extension. In the
next step, we’ll actually go through the exercise of running the GPS importer to
show you how this file was created.

But while we are still in the Data Files dialog, let’s review the vector file. Highlight
the “VectorJob.gps” file in the list and press the “View” button.

The file contains eight imported vectors. Each vector consists or four lines which
includes a vector ID number, the Delta-X, Y & Z vector lengths, and covariance
information for weighting. After reviewing the vector data, close the window.

55
 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

8. Now that the imported vectors have been reviewed, let’s see how they were actually
imported in the first place. Choose Input>Import GPS Vectors.

In this example we are using vectors created with the Trimble GPSurvey package.
Therefore, from the GPS Baseline Format dropdown selection list, choose “Trimble
GPSurvey” as shown above. Next, take a quick look at the “Options” tab. Here you
can set a few options that will affect importing of these Trimble vectors.

Now back in the “Import” tab, press the “Select Baseline Files” button to bring up a
file selection dialog. (The baselines are in the “Examples” sub-folder of your install
directory, so if the dialog does not open there, browse there.) The selection dialog
will show eight Trimble “SSF” baseline files. Highlight these files as shown, and
press the “Select” button.

56
 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

These selected files now appear in the main Import page dialog as shown below and
the “Import” button is now active.

If we press “Import,” the importer will extract vectors from these files and write
them to the file named “VectorJob.gps” specified in the “Import Vectors to” field
above. But to simplify this tutorial example, we had previously imported them.

However, if you want to import the vectors anyway just to see how it works, press
the “Import!” button. When importer warns you that the file already exists, it asks if
you want to Overwrite or Append the file - select to Overwrite the file.

For complete details on importing vectors, import options, and information on the
current baseline formats available to import from, see Chapter 4 “Importing GPS
Vectors” in this supplement. Press “Close” to exit the vector importer.

9. Project Options have been set and all input data files created, so now we can adjust
the network. Choose Run>Adjust Network, or press the Run Adjustment button.

The Processing Summary window opens, and the network adjustment iterations
finish quickly. Note that the total “Error Factor” was low, less than 1.00, and the
adjustment passed the “Chi Square” test.

10. Review the network plot if you wish. Note that the geometry for point 0015 looks
rather weak, and the error ellipse for that point is larger than those for the other
points. In the next example, we will run a traverse from 0013 to 0018 and make ties
from the traverse to points 0015 and 0016.

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 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

11. View the output Listing file and browse through the various sections, especially the
output sections relating to GPS vectors. Go to the “Summary of Unadjusted Input
Observations” section where you will first see the list of controlling coordinates.

Directly following will be the unadjusted vectors showing the lengths and standard
errors of the Delta X, Y and Z components of each vector expressed in the earth-
centered Cartesian system. Standard errors shown for these components include the
affects of any “Factoring” and “Centering Errors” set in the options.

Next go to the “Adjusted Observations and Residuals” section. The first part if this
section shows solutions of the transformations requested in the GPS options
reviewed earlier. Here you see solutions for a scale and three rotations. The scale
change is very small as are the three rotations. This should be expected when
performing an adjustment on a GPS-based ellipsoid such as WGS-84 or GRS-80. If
any of these solved transformation values are unreasonably large, you need to review
your observations and constraints and find the reason why.

As shown above, the next output in the same section are the adjusted GPS vectors
and their residuals. Always review this important section since it shows you how
much STAR*NET had to change each vector to produce a best-fit solution.

Note that all the vector, residual and standard error components have been rotated
from earth-centered Cartesian to local-horizon North, East and Up components. This
orientation is simple to understand and easily relates to conventional observations.

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 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

The next section is the “GPS Vector Residual Summary” mentioned earlier in this
example when setting GPS options. Users find this one of the most useful sections in
the listing. It can be sorted in various ways to help you find the “Worst” vectors in
your network. In our example, the summary is sorted by “3D” residuals, made up of
local-horizon North, East and Up residual components.

Review the remaining sections in the listing file if you wish. These section are not
unique to GPS vectors, and you have seen them before when running the tutorial
examples in the main manual.

12. This completes the “VectorJob” example project. This was a realistic example of a
small GPS job containing only vectors.

To keep the tutorial short, this example skipped a very important step! When running
your own adjustments, always run a minimally-constrained adjustment first, holding
only a single station fixed. This will test the integrity of the observations without the
influence of external constraints. When you are confident that all observations fit
well together, then add any remaining fixed stations to the network.

The next example adds some conventional observations to the vectors in this project.
You will run a combined network adjustment.

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 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

Example 2: Combining Conventional Observations and GPS

This example demonstrates combining conventional observations and GPS vectors in a

single adjustment. We will use the same imported vectors and constraints in the first
example, only now a traverse and some ties have been added to the network.

# Combining Conventional Observations and GPS Vectors

# Latitudes and Longitudes are used as constraints in this example
# The "VectorJob.GPS" file is added in the Data Files Dialog

P 0012 33-04-44.24402 112-54-36.04569 224.299 ! ! ! 'North Rock

P 0017 32-58-09.73117 112-47-13.55717 209.384 ! ! ! 'AZDOT 80-1339
E 0013 205.450 ! 'BM-9331

TB 0012
T 0013 67-58-23.5 4013.95 90-04-44 5.35/5.40
T 0051 160-18-01.7 2208.27 90-14-33 5.40/5.40
T 0052 213-47-22.1 2202.07 89-43-20 5.36/5.40 'SW Bridge
T 0053 198-52-17.3 2714.30 89-58-19 5.35/5.38
TE 0018

# Ties to GPS points

M 0051-0013-0015 240-35-47.03 1601.22 90-27-52 5.40/5.40
M 0052-0051-0015 320-50-46.25 2499.61 90-05-49 5.36/5.41
M 0052-0051-0016 142-02-01.50 2639.68 90-07-37 5.36/5.40
M 0053-0052-0016 61-14-43.77 2859.65 90-20-19 5.35/5.42

0012

0016

0053 0018
0052

0051

0015

0013

0017

60
 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

1. Open the “VectorCombined.prj” example project.

2. Review the Project Options if you wish. Since this project contains conventional
observations, the “Instrument” options setting are relevant in the adjustment. Note
that the standard error values entered for the turned angle, distance and zenith angle
observations are quite small indicating that high quality instruments and field
procedures are being used. The “GPS” option settings are the same as in the first
example project.

When combining conventional observations with GPS vectors, it is particularly

important to carefully set weighting parameters in the Instrument options as well as
in the GPS options since standard errors determine the relative influence of each
type of data in the adjustment.

3. Open the Input Data Files dialog. There are two data files in the list. The first file
named “VectorCombined.dat” contains the station constraints and conventional
observations, and the second file named “VectorJob.gps” contains the GPS vectors.
Note that you can use the same daya file in more than a single project This file was
simply added to the data file list by pressing the “Add” button and selecting the file.
View either of these files if you wish, otherwise press “OK” to exit the dialog.

Note that in the “VectorCombined.dat” file, shown on the first page of this example,
the same stations have been constrained as were in the last project, except they are
entered as equivalent geodetic positions rather than grid coordinates simply to
illustrate use of that data type. Results will be identical either way.

Conventional observations in the network include a traverse and four ties from
traverse stations to two of the GPS stations. The traverse lines and the tie
observations (the “M” lines) include turned angles, slope distances and zenith angles.
Instrument and target heights are also included.

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 Appendix A STAR*NET-PRO Tutorial

4. Run the network adjustment! The Processing Summary window opens, and the
adjustment converges in four iterations. The total “Error Factor” was slightly greater
than 1, but the adjustment passed the “Chi Square” test.

5. View the network plot. Note that although the standard errors for the conventional
observations were set quite small (indicating use of high quality instruments and
field procedures), the error ellipses for points observed only by these observations
are noticeably larger than those observed by GPS vectors.

If you wish, bring up the Plot Properties dialog, and turn on both relative ellipses and
point descriptors. Experiment by double clicking points and lines to see the adjusted
information including ellipse and relative ellipse sizes.

6. View the listing file. Note that listing sections reviewing unadjusted and adjusted
observations now include both conventional and GPS vector observations.

Find the “Statistical Summary” listing section and review how each type of
observation (angle, distance, zenith angle and vector) fit in to the adjusted network.

7. This completes the “VectorCombined” project, the last example in this tour.

As you can see, combining conventional observations and GPS vector observations is
very easy. All data formats for conventional observations and descriptions of options
relating to conventional observations are described in the main STAR*NET manual. For
GPS, all data formats and options are described in this supplement.

When combining conventional and GPS observations, the most important consideration
is establishing realistic weighting relationships between your GPS vector observations
and your conventional observations. As mentioned in the first example, the standard
errors reported by most manufacturer’s baseline processors are usually over-optimistic,
so you normally need to set a “factor” in the GPS options to make them realistic and
compatible with conventional observations.

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INDEX

Adjustment Output Listing

Adjustment Observations and Residuals, 48
Results of Geoid Modeling, 50
Statistical Summary, 47
Summary of Unadjusted Input Observations, 45
Vector Residual Summary, 49
Constraining your Network
General Notes, 8
Minimally or Fully, 7
Data Types
Coordinates, 6
Elevations, 6
Ellipse Heights, 6
Geoid Height, 35
GPS Vector Data, 4
Positions, 6
Vertical Deflection, 35
ECEF Output information
Adjusted Coordinates, 15
Adjusted Vectors, 15
Geoid Modeling, 36
Importing Vectors
Baseline Formats, 29
Overview, 23
Setting Importing Options, 24
Special Leica Descriptor Extraction, 33
Using the Importer, 24
Inline Options
.GPS CENTERING, 21
.GPS DEFAULT, 17
.GPS FACTOR, 5, 18
.GPS FREE, 22
.GPS IGNORE, 22
.GPS USE, 19
.GPS WEIGHT, 4, 16
Inline Options Overview, 16
Modeling
Geoid Heights, 36
Vertical Deflections, 38
Modeling Source Data
Canadian Geoid Models, 43
United States NGS Geoid and Deflection Models, 43
World Geoid Models, 44

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 Index

Preanalysis
Notes about Running, 9
Weighting with the .GPS USE inline, 9
Project Options
Adjustment Settings, 11
GPS Settings, 12
Modeling Settings
Geoid Modeling, 36
Vertical Deflection Modeling, 38
StarGeoid Utility Program
Extracting from Geoid Height Models, 41
Extracting from Vertical Deflection Models, 42
Overview, 40
Transformations, Vector Scale and Rotations
Setting, 13
Solving, 7, 13
Vectors
Factoring a Single Vector, 20
Freeing or Ignoring a Single Vector, 20
Importing, 23
Weighting a Single Vector, 20
Vertical Deflection Modeling, 38

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