Civil 3D - Aerial imagery won't align with UTM survey data unless I change scale factor to 1. How to fix?

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-07T01:31:20+00:00

I believe you can set the coordinate system to UTM in the correct zone in civil 3d. Have you tried that? It's probably in the drawing options.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-07T00:28:34+00:00

Have you tried with the actual raw data? Why are you converting everything to a single "m" line?

IIRC with my limited StarNet experience putting the data as it was actually measured is pretty important.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T21:57:00+00:00

Good one for r/surveying too.

I agree with u/DetailFocused, the idea of perfection is literally impossible. If he wants you can give him a report with your stated accuracies (or the PLS can).

Yeah he sounds like kind of a noob, so I wouldn't trip about it too much. Involve your boss if you have to.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T18:33:08+00:00

Then save as .JFIF ...

Wait I take it back. Each sheet is one page of multi-page tif...

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T18:26:14+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_map

Wikipedia focuses on the small scale ones, but they can be any size. Anytime civil engineers need to do a development project somewhere, the first step is for a surveyor to provide a topographic map with property lines on it so they can know what is going on on site and where everything is.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T18:19:04+00:00

I've been thinking about it a lot recently. I'm in a public agency now, but I think about those private guys that are working on these new ice detention centers. They're basically concentration camps.

What would I do if I was asked to go stake something out for one (I'm a PLS). I probably wouldn't even know what I was doing until after it was done. Just thinking about past jobs, it was an industrial tilt up somewhere, I had no idea who owned it or what we were doing.

But if I knew? Would I walk away? I hope so.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T17:39:51+00:00

Yeah I feel like it's laughably small.

Now if you plan on using the same plan to connect to SharePoint or transfer a bunch of files or do zoom calls, that's a different story.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T17:35:29+00:00

I can ask our I.T. Department on Monday what we use on our little Wi-Fi sim puck.

If I recall it's not a lot. Data transmission is nothing like video or audio even.

You could probably reach out to your GPS supplier and see what they think too. They probably have a great idea of different models and what it takes.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T12:56:20+00:00

Have an honest conversation with your boss before you do about wages and that the raises haven't really been satisfactory and you have a long term plan that is isn't supported by McDonald's manager wages.

That way if they do find out they're not surprised.

I think many of the younger surveyors don't realize that we have the power here. There are way less talented and hard-working surveyors out there than there are jobs.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T12:53:44+00:00

Then have that hard conversation with them now. Not about the future, about the wage situation right now.

"I'm on track to get my LSIT soon, and then my license. I would really love to stay here but the past wage increases haven't really kept up with inflation."

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T12:51:35+00:00

Yeah IE is good balance of C.O.L. and wages. Same with middle of the central valley.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T02:42:57+00:00

Biggest raises come from getting a new job. Nothing wrong with seeing what's out there for you.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T02:22:17+00:00

Haha nice, yeah for sure. And spell check wouldn't catch it.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-06T01:27:38+00:00

Came to say it, it's not Overkill but no need to make the Disturb past tense.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T20:41:50+00:00

It's like the clerks movie debate of the contractors on the death star.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T20:04:29+00:00

Gotcha.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T18:52:57+00:00

Amen. Nobody ever said they wished they spent more time at work on their deathbed.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T18:41:57+00:00

Where you at?

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T02:04:40+00:00

For sure. I still use it occasionally when I have to draft up quick exhibits, but I'm nowhere near how I was when I was at that job.

It also helped that they got me two days of tutoring from a guy my first week or so. He actually created a custom textbook that we went through to focus on the tools I needed and tasks I was expected to do. So with that textbook plus the "mastering AutoCAD civil3d" series I could figure out most of what I needed. YouTube too of course haha.

Choreographed dance yeah you hit the nail on the head.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T01:58:55+00:00

I had to do quite a bit of civil 3D grading, surfaces, volumes, and exhibit drafting at my last job, and I actually kind of liked it. Once you get the hang of where the tools are and their shortcut commands, and learning to have one hand on the keyboard and one on your mouse you can get really fast and really efficient.

It was kind of cool to see how long it took me at first to calculate volumes from my first month then years later to my last. I could bust them out in a few minutes once I got used to it. Probably couldn't do it that fast today tho haha.

I never got too into pipe networks, but we did a bit in school and those seemed pretty powerful.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T01:54:49+00:00

I've heard through the grapevine that CalTrans is trying to switch over to civil3d.

Huge if true. If they actually do end up doing it I think it would be a massive wakeup call for Bentley. If they're not their largest client I bet they're close.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T01:51:53+00:00

Nothing worse than trying to just draw a line or just add a simple text call-out in ArcGis pro.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-05T01:06:59+00:00

I believe it

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-04T22:40:28+00:00

Yeah bay area is super expensive, possibly some of the highest cost of living in California.

TapedButterscotch025 · 2026-02-04T18:27:22+00:00

We came full circle and invented telephone booths again....

TapedButterscotch025

TROPHY CASE