Track marking

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gennyshovel
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Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2005 10:10 am
Location: Broken Hill

Track marking

Post by gennyshovel »

On the Volunteers theme, while having our 1st go at track marking sat. We had great diffulcity lining up the 1st mile (actually, we had to do it twice, having lined up with the 1 mile flag 1st time, which was about 2 mtrs out from the actual mile marker)
The main problem was trying to see one mile (yeah,,fridays booze didn't help)
Would it be possible for the surveyors to peg the 1st mile in 1/4 mile stages next year ?
Once the 1st mile is marked, you can sight back along the markers already installed (provided their in the right spot ) while advancing .
Just an idea to speed things up.
Tiny DLRA# 484
Postiebike Racing , created & funded by TwoBob Engineering
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PLUCKA
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Location: Wudinna really close to Lake G

Post by PLUCKA »

The lay out of the track should be able to be done by a GPS with great accuracy. Taking the guess work out of it.

Plucka
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Cookey
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Location: Tasmania

Post by Cookey »

Guys,
What has been done in the past is for someone to go to the next mile marker and stand there whilst a second takes a cone to approximately mid way and the person standing at each mile marker can direct (by 2 way radio) when the mid way guy is in the correct position.
Normally the surveyors drive a wooden peg in and we can find these pretty easily, however this year because of the overlap with the film crew they did not want anything on their screen shots.
When we went to put out the mile marker cones and start to set up the timing system this time we had to find a roofing nail driven fully into the salt with about 150mm of florescent ribbon pinned to it. :roll: :roll: :roll:
Hand held GPS units are scrambled to a degree and will not be accurate enough to give a good line.

As the race timer this year, I probably did more runs up and down the course early each morning and I got the distinct impression that over the full 8 or nine miles that were laid out that the track curved slightly to the western side but it wouldn't have been more than 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.
However I have been known to be wrong now and again :wink: :wink: I think so :!: :!:
Cheers,
Tony Cooke
DLRA # 363
DirtyDave
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Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 10:47 pm
Location: Eden Valley South Ozz

Post by DirtyDave »

Your a Wanka Cookey...
Please next time you post some of this crap keep it real..
Thats 12.7mm to 19mm in the metric system...

Have you got a complete running list i need it asap...
I'll PM my new an email addy..
Don't Worry, It only seems Kinky the first time..
Dr Goggles
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Location: Right behind you Chief !

only a newbie

Post by Dr Goggles »

....all I can say is that as a yippah( first timer, pre-pubescent,etc) the track looked pretty straight ....until I got to the first bollard on the right hand side.....as it went past I thought..."fruit, that was pretty close"...and it was , I'd been hanging against the hard right hand side of the track and I dunno that it wasn't inside the markers?????


With all due respect Cookey Dave's probably got a point....you sure you don't mean chains?
...few understand what I'm trying to do , but they vastly outnumber those who understand why..
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geocacher
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Location: DLRA#794, Lakes Entrance
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Post by geocacher »

Cookey wrote:Hand held GPS units are scrambled to a degree and will not be accurate enough to give a good line.


GPS hasn't been scrambled since 2001 but is still only accurate to +/- 3 metres (if you want to know ask a geocacher) which can be improved upon by the use of a ground based differential GPS transmitter at a known surveyed point. This will get you accuracy in +/- 5 centimetres.

You can buy gear and as it becomes more entrenched in farming it's getting cheaper. You can hire it and maybe that would be an option given that we could possibly lay out our own course without needing the surveyer as all you need to know is one known point on ground. I dare say there's a trig point handy as the surveyors need a reference point too. They may even be using the same sort of system.

Mobs like Ultimate Positioning or CR Kennedy hire gear and could certainly tell us whether what we do is feasible and how much.

Dave
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Greg Watters
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Post by Greg Watters »

I have a mobile base station, built for supposably2 cm accuracy for farming , if its any good i can make it and the rest of the gear available
748
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Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:14 am

Post by 748 »

an 'illegal' green laser at night time would be ideal to align the mile markers.

you could also measure the curvature of the earth while your at it.
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geocacher
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Post by geocacher »

Hmmm. Illegal green laser. A dark fuzzy shot of Al Fountains machine...

A few photos at night in a spooky salt lake environment and I reckon we could work up a seriously good looking UFO landing.

Close Encounter of the Fast Kind...

:wink:

Dave
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