 SIY0.TXT    Introduction                                                     0












                                    SURVEY


                                     LAND


                                   YOURSELF:

              A Quick, Easy, and Inexpensive Preliminary Estimate

                        Using the Compass & Tape Method


              Unpublished compuscript Copyright (c) 1985, 1993 by

                              David Perry Beiter
                                  CAVE, Inc.
                                 1/2 Fast Road
                               Ritner, KY  42639

                               byter@mcimail.com
                                 606/376-3137

                           Published as PC-SIG #1826

                        Major Revision date:  22 Oct 90

                             Copied 10 Dec 93 for:

                         JCSM Author to Vendor CD-ROM
                              JCS Marketing, Inc
                                   POB 1216
                             Lakeville, MN  55044


                           ^Go forth & exponentiate^

 SIY0.TXT    Introduction                                                    1

                              Property Evaluation

 When actually evaluating a property, I usually do the following:

 1) I eyeball the property and sketch it on a topo map.  I might pace survey at
this time.  Chapters 5 & 6.

 2) I eyeball the deed, looking for problems in both the land description and
in the chain of title.  Chapter 11.

 3) I plot a map of the property from the land description, if possible.
Chapter 1.

 4) I consult an aerial photo of the property.  Chapter 5.

 5) I have the owner show me the purported lines and corners.  Chapter 11.

 6) I check with the neighbors as to their opinions about the lines, corners,
and deeds.  Chapter 11.

 7) I survey the property lines, corners, etc. as shown and plot a map.
Chapters 3 & 1.  *

 8) I compare the map from the deed with the map from reality.  Chapter 11.

 9) I reconcile the two maps, resurveying as necessary.  Chapters 7, 9, 10, 11.

 10) I measure the acreage.  Chapter 8.

 11) I search the deed against its predecessors in the courthouse.  I look for
problems both in the land description and in the title.  *

 12) I may mark the lines and corners.  Chapter 11.

You may wish to add or delete items to meet your particular needs.  But do not
follow this recipe while learning.  Learn the chapters in order.  And learn to
survey in your back yard before you try it for real.

* Disclaimer.  I am neither a Licensed Land Surveyor, nor an Attorney.  That I
may, from time to time, act as my own surveyor or lawyer is certainly not any
recommendation that you do so.  The most important part of doing it yourself is
knowing the limits of your [in]competence.  Further legal inquires should be
directed to Lyman M. Lyon, Esq., at Pluckum, Phuccum, Chuckem & Moore,
Attorneys at Law, Route 572 Box 66-G, Delta, KY 42613.

See Luke 11:46 for a legal opinion.


 SIY0.TXT    Introduction                                                    2

                            What Else Do You Need?

This text was written assuming that it would be distributed on floppy disk,
which is much cheaper than newsprint nowadays.  If you received a paper copy,
you can ignore the computer references, and they will ignore you.  Ignorance
is bliss.

There are some things that just won't fit on a floppy disk.  And some things
might fit if I were a bit smarter.  Besides, this forces you to register your
copy of my book and programs.

There are 6 levels of registration, which includes updated disk & graphs.
Distributors, shareware vendors, libraries, BBSs & authors get a free updated
disk.  Collaborators, co-conspirators, scientific mappers, & students pay only
$5.  If you will survey only one parcel of land then the price is $10.  If you
will survey multiple parcels then the price is $25.  If you use this
information commercially, then the registration is $50.  If you will use this
method for hire, such as with attorneys, realtors & government agencies then
the registration is $100.

A durable plastic protractor and a ruler graduated in tenths of an inch and
millimeters are two bux [$2].

To actually survey land, you will need a Silva Ranger type 15 compass.  This
does more than just tell you which way is north.  It is the compass of choice
for professional geologists, foresters, prospectors, and guides, as well as
surveyors who need a preliminary survey.  It has its own built-in protractor
and ruler.  This item will cost you forty-one bux [$41].

You will also need a surveyor's tape measure.  For a small job, you could use a
50 or 100 foot carpenter's tape measure.  For learning, you can simply count
your steps (pace the distance).  An unbreakable 200 foot Keson PVC coated
fiberglass surveyor's tape measure, graduated in tenths of a foot, costs you
twenty-seven bux [$27].  A 100' tape is $22 and a 300' tape is $35.  I can also
supply metric tapes, 50m for $28, and 100m for $35.  A stringbox is $105.

Shipping and handling are five bux [$5].  Shipping is by US Postal "Service"
First Class Priority Mail.  For delivery to Kentucky addresses, add 6% "sales"
tax on the merchandise or supply exemption.  Our Kentucky sales tax # is 050222

Make checks payable to CAVE, Inc and send your order to: Dave Beiter, CAVE Inc,
1/2 Fast Road, Ritner KY 42639.

Foreign orders are welcome, tho we will have to work out the details.

There is a handy order form in file REGISTER.ME on this disk.  You could copy
it to your printer.  Or you could import it into your word processor and fill
it out the modern way, if you have nothing else interesting to do.  It is a
plain vanilla ASCII text file, as are all these instructions.
 SIY0.TXT Introduction                                                       3

                         How to Use These Instructions

Land surveying involves two parts.  Part of the work is done in the field.
Here you actually walk around the real land and measure directions and
distances.  The second part is done in an office, or more commonly on the
kitchen table.  Here you evaluate what you have done in the field.

You will actually have to survey some land and plot some maps in order to learn
to survey land and plot maps.  This should take you a weekend to learn.  I
think that it is pretty simple, altho I distinctly remember puzzling for hours
while I was devising this method.  Of course I didn't have any instructions and
I was surveying alone in a deep dark dank hole in the ground.  You got it easy!

Applying your new abilities to your particular problem could be more
difficult.  I can't imagine, let alone write instructions for, all of your
applications.

If you have a question on either the basic method or on a specific application,
ask.  Dave, CAVE Inc, 1/2 Fast Road, Ritner, KY 42639.  byter@mcimail.com
Phone 606/376-3137.  Please don't expect me to think on the phone.  Days,
evenings, weekends-it's all the same to me.  I'm retired.  Are you interested
in retiring young?

When writing, enclose a copy of your deed, map, data, or whatever is in
question.  Tell me what you are trying to do, and why you can't do it.  Enclose
a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope [SASE] if you wish a reply.






















 SIY0.TXT Introduction                                                       4

MY GUARANTEE: I can teach you to survey your land.  If either you or I decide
that you are incapable of learning and applying this technique, you get your
money back.  Or rather, I'll send you a check which your bank will exchange for
those little green pieces of paper which drive white men crazy.  I get my
instruments and instructions back.  Used, please.

To encourage you to start learning this evening, this guarantee is good only
for three months from the date which you receive my materials.  It can be
renewed for $1 per month.  Write or call if you get stuck.

If your guarantee has expired, enclose a $10 service charge for questions about
the basic method.  Enclose a $20 service charge for questions about a specific
application.  If you enclose a signed statement releasing your material for
inclusion as an example in future instructions, then the service charge is
waived.

I would appreciate any comments, complaints, criticisms, collaborations,
corroborations, or corrections.  I will consider any editing, from catching
mispellings and typograhpic errors to co-authoring additional chapters.
Negative feedback invited.  One constructive criticism is worth more than a
thousand adulations.

CAVE Inc., 1/2 Fast Road, Ritner KY  42639.  Dave, 606/376-3137





      "Thou shalt not move survey markers." -Moses, in Deuteronomy 19:14


          "Accursed is he who moves back survey markers." -Deut. 27:17






                                  Dedication



Dedicated to the memory of James Ballentine, the Union College IBM 1620
computer, and Wuckit's Skull Cave, without whose serendipitous congruence in
1965, none of the following would have been conceivable, let alone possible.



 SIY0.TXT Introduction                                                      5

                               Table of Contents


Chapter   Name                                                 Page

0         Introduction                                           0

1/2       Compass Theory and Operation                           6

1_C       Plot a Map from a Land Description the Cheapie Way     9

2         Write a Land Description from a Map                   19

3         Field Survey and Write a Land Description             21

4         Locate a Point on the Earth from a Land Description   27

5         Topographic Maps and Aerial Photographs               29

6         Township and Range                                    32

7         Slope Distance and Clinometers                        33

8         Measure Acreage                                       39

9         Calculators and Computers                             42

10        Error and Blunder                                     47

11        Helpful Hints for Surveying in the Real World         52

12        The Next Step Up                                      58

13        Self Defense Against Surveyors                        59

14        Sources                                               60

G         Glossary of Surveying Words Defined                   61

B         Biography and History of the Method                   65

W         List of Unusual Words with Their Meanings             66

1         Plot a Map from a Land Description                    72

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