O/T kinda, Handheld GPS question?

kyplowboy · Aug 13, 2008

Gotta a question for the more tech savy folks. I think that there are some hand held gps units that you can hold and ride a 4-wheeler around the edge of a field and it will give you the acres. Is this right and if so what are some good ones for this? I know if I get one of these soon I will for get 43560 just like I have forgotten most phone numbers with my cell phone. The thing is I have some fields that look like bird poop slatter on a map and they are a pill to figure by hand.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

big fred · Aug 13, 2008

I have a Garmin E-Trex Legend that will do that. Probably be cheaper to go to your County Extension office, though. They most likely have done aerial surveys and know the acreage of all your fields already.

kyplowboy · Aug 13, 2008

Extension office don't but FSA does and for small fields with alot of corners I can get closer by step'n it off and make'n chicken scratches on a piece of paper than they have. When they are off an acre or two, it is not a big of a deal on bigger fields.

Thans for your reply. will do some look'n for one.

Dave

colekicker · Aug 14, 2008

Any of the EZ Guide lightbars can do that. They are powered through a cigarette lighter.

kyplowboy · Aug 14, 2008

Thats a little more high end than what I was thinking. On my row crop fields I always ask the custom sprayer operator to check what it maps out. The apache has something like that on it. I was just thinking about the small hay and pasture fields that he can't turn around in.

Thanks.

Dave

super99 · Aug 14, 2008

I bought a Garmin GPS72 hand held unit that is supposed to do that, but haven't figured it out yet. Want to do the same thing as you. Guess I'll have to wait till one of the kids comes home to let them figure it out and show me. Got it on E-bay, about $80. Chris

Bob M · Aug 14, 2008

Dave - I know both the Garmin eTrex and GPSMAP 60xx series handhelds will calculate acreage within a closed loop path of any shape. I've used both models to calculate acreages off odd-shaped plots - they work very well.

After following the perimeter of the field, total distance travelled and the enclosed acreage is automatically displayed on the "saved tracks" page under the "tracks" menu.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 14, 2008

go to to google earth website and type in your address it will show you a satellite image of your place. You can draw a line around it and it will tell you the acreage and you dont have to spend any money.

kyplowboy · Aug 14, 2008

Rick,

Thanks but I have done that. I can't get google to zoom in close enough. What I have got'n with google is just about what FSA gets. Their maps are zoomed in more than googles does. Where I was wanting it is for little 3 acre dog leg shaped fields. I've got one field that FSA and google say is 1.4 acres, my calculator and a wheel say it's more like .8. I think I am closer because it has never made more than 3 bales of hay. With imput cost what they are, if I could get a better idea of how much ground is actualy there, I think a real acurate hand held would be a good investment.

Dave

kyplowboy · Aug 14, 2008

Thanks Bob,

Have you ever checked to see how acurate thay are? Something like a field that you have planted/harvested the last 20 years and know what the meter is going to say or measured off a 208' square?

Just wander'n how close these get.

Thanks again,

Dave

big fred · Aug 14, 2008

Accuracy of GPS units is pretty much dictated by the sensitivity of the antenna, the number of satellites acquired, and the time you dwell at each point. All the handhelds use pretty much the same small patch antenna, and will have similar accuracy. That accuracy, for area measurement, is much better than the accuracy they display. The displayed accuracy is an absolute value, and what matters for acreage and distance measuring is the relative value. Just about any handheld will be more than adequate for anything short of a legal survey. If you need better, get a handheld that has an external antenna input connection, and buy or rent a good antenna. Antennas can get pretty pricey, though. Expect a good surveyor quality antenna to be up in the high hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Jim in Ma. · Aug 14, 2008

Rick I saw how to use google to do that on here once and it worked pretty good for me. Someone asked me to help them do that for a lease they are doing. It's been a while now and I can't remember how to. How would I find out? Jim

Paul from MN · Aug 14, 2008

I have had a Garmin eTrex Legend for 5 or 6 years. Accurate and dependable.

kyplowboy · Aug 14, 2008

thanks Fred!

Don't need legal acurate. Just better than good enough for goverment work, and faster than a measure'n wheel and claculator.

Dave

Bob M · Aug 14, 2008

Dave -

I’ve used mine only to measure relatively small (1 – 3 acre) irregularly-shaped islands. With these the accuracy is usually within about 5% of the acreage shown on the tax documents (the accuracy of themselves which is questionable however…)

Generally the larger the plot being measured the more accurate the GPS acreage calculation. Ie. the measurement for a 300 acre field will be much more accurate than it will a 0.3 acre suburban lot.

Accuracy depends on the setup of the GPSR’s tracking feature. It can can improved by going to the tracklog setup menu and changing the record method from the default “auto” to “distance”, then specifying a very short distance (eg. 10 feet) for the “record interval”.

Other ways to improve accuracy:

Hold the GPS receiver so it always has a clear view of the sky - ie. so it can "see" as many satellites as possible. Keep it as high and as far from your body as possible.

Avoid travelling under heavy overhead foliage. This can cause the GPS to momentarily lose lock on the satellite signals. When this happens unit estimates track points based on the velocity/direction when the signal was lost.

Travel at a more or less constant speed - and make no stops - while measuring.

buickanddeere · Aug 14, 2008

Most of the Garmin hand helds will.

kyplowboy · Aug 14, 2008

Thanks much Bob.

RayP(MI) · Aug 14, 2008

Had tried to lay out a pasture field, and spot corner posts using a handheld GPS, Garmin, if I remember right. Accuracy wasn"t that great, and I ended up doing it with a tape measure, and lots of legwork. Seems like accuracy was in the + or - twenty feet or so. Fine if you"re looking for the huntin" cabin, but not good enough for surveying!

kito169 · Aug 14, 2008

I have a Garmin map60cs, it's obsolete now. I have used it on my four wheeler for two years now. It works great. Rather pricey though. Around $400. Mine has built in memory where the new ones use sd cards. Mine has 256k memory. I filled it up by driving from Hillsboro,Tx to Amarillo,Tx to Flagstaff,Az and back to the Texas-N.M. state line. approxamately 1550 miles.

Bill(Wis) · Aug 15, 2008

Go to your county FSA office. They should have already plotted your fields down to the hundreth of an acre. If they haven't, ask them and they will. Won't cost you a dime. Hand held GPS's are not anywhere near accurate enough, period.

O/T kinda, Handheld GPS question?

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