carlson_rw5 – Carlson SurvCE Raw Data File Format (RW5)

New in version 0.4.

Carlson RW5 is an exchange format used by the Carlson SurvCE software.

The official documentation about the format is provided on the Carlson website.

RW5 is a rich format for raw data about the entire field operation of total stations and even GPS.

For example:

OC,OP111,N 16556174.237,E 942130.662,EL 16.404
BK,OP111,BP108,BS0.00000,BC0.00000 LS,HI5.684,HR5.500
SS,OP111,FP108,AR0.00000,ZE0.00017,SD3.3566,--FENCE1

At the moment, a minimal subset of the specification is supported, consisting of the OC, BP, LS and SS record types.

Carlson Record Information

The format is a comma separated ASCII file containing record types, headers, recorded data and comments. The format is based on the Tripod Data System raw data specification with the exception of angle sets.

Angle sets are recorded as BD, BR, FD and FR records to allow reduction of all possible data that can be recorded by SurvCE using the “Set Collection” routine. Essentially, these records are identical to a sideshot record. With the exception of the aforementioned angle set records, if the Tripod Data System specification is modified to provide enhanced functionality, the added or modified data will reside in comment records to avoid incompatibility with existing software.

Each record is made of one line of text, with comma-separated fields of ASCII text format:

AH,DC%s,MA%s,ME%s,RA%s

The first field is a two-letter code of the type of record. All the following fields are composed with 1- or 2- letter field codes (such as OP, N or FP) and numeric values called an (ENUM). The “Notes” field is introduced by the -- code and contains a description of the record.

In practice, each point has a unique number and can be referenced for various purposes from other records.

Sideshot records (SS) reference the Occupy point record in the``OP`` field.

Record types

Record Type

Explanation

Applicable for

-- *

Note

General Raw Data

JB*

Job

MO*

Mode Setup

BD*

Backsight Direct

Conventional Raw Data

BK*

Backsight

BR*

Backsight Reverse

FD*

Foresight Direct

FR*

Foresight Reverse

GPS

GPS Position in
Lat: dd.mmss
Lon: dd.mmss - Negative for West
WGS84 Ellipsoid Elevation

GS

Reduced local coordinate from GPS record
and localization data

LS*

Line of Sight

OC*

Occupy Point

OF

Off Center Shot

SP*

Store Point

TR/SS*

Traverse / Sideshot

* implemented type

Field headers

Field header

Explanation

Applicable for

AD

Azimuth Direction
0: North
1: South

AL*

Angle-Left

AR*

Angle-Right

AU*

Angle Unit
0: 360° sexagesimal
1: 400 gon

AZ*

Azimuth

BC*

Back Circle

BP*

Back Point

BR*

Bearing
[N123.4500W]

BS

Backsight
when back point is not defined

CE*

Change Elevation

DL*

Deflection-Left

DR*

Deflection-Right

DT

Local Date
[MM-DD-YYYY]

E*

Easting
[E space]

EC

Earth Curvature
0: off
1: on

EL*

Elevation

EO

EDM Offset

FE

Foresight Elevation

FP*

Foresight Point

HD*

Horizontal Distance

HI*

Height of Instrument

HR*

Height of Rod

N

Northing
[N space]

OC

Occupy Point

OP

Occupy Point

PN

Point Number

SD*

Slope Distance

SF

Scale Factor

TM

Local Time
[HH:MM:SS]

UN*

Distance Unit
0: feet
1: meter
2: US feet

VA*

Vertical Angle

ZE*

Zenith

--

Note

* Filed implemented

Definitions

Backsight Record

Record type

BK

Field headers

OP Occupy point
BP Back Point
BS Backsight
BC Back Circle

Sample(s)
BK,OP1,BP2,BS315.0000,BC0.0044

Job Record

Record type

JB

Field headers

NM Job name
DT Date
TM Time

Sample(s)
JB,NMSAMPLE,DT06-27-2003,TM14:21:53

Line of Sight Record

Record type

LS

Field headers

HI Height of Instrument
HR Height of Rod

Sample(s)
LS,HI5.000000,HR6.000000
LS,HR4.000000

Mode Setup Record

The mode setup will be recorded at the beginning of the raw data file.

Record type

MO

Field headers

AD Azimuth direction
UN Distance unit
SF Scale factor
EC Earth Curvature
EO EDM offset
AU Angle Unit

Sample(s)
MO,AD0,UN0,SF1.00000000,EC1,EO0.0,AU0

Occupy Record

Record type

OC

Field headers

PN Point number
N Northing
E Easting
EL Elevation
-- Note

Sample(s)
OC,OP1,N 5000.00000,E 5000.00000,EL100.000,--CP

Off Center Shot Record

Record type

OF

Field headers

AR Angle right
ZE Zenith (actual)
SD Slope Distance

Sample(s)
OF,AR90.3333,ZE90.0000,SD25.550000
OF,ZE90.3333,--Vert Angle Offset

Store Point Record

Record type

SP

Field headers

PN Point Number
N Northing
E Easting
EL Elevation
-- Note

Sample(s)
SP,PN100,N 5002.0000,E 5000.0000,EL100.0000,--PP

Traverse / Sideshot Record / Backsight Direct / Backsight Reverse / Foresight Direct / Foresight Reverse

Record type

TR / SS / BD / BR / FD / FR

Field headers

OP Occupy Point
FP Foresight Point
(one of the following)
- AZ Azimuth
- BR Bearing
- AR Angle-Right
- AL Angle-Left
- DR Deflection-Right
- DL Deflection-Left (one of the following)
- ZE Zenith
- VA Vertical angle
- CE Change Elevation
(one of the following)
- SD Slope Distance
- HD Horizontal Distance
-- Note

Sample(s)
TR,OP1,FP4,AR90.3333,ZE90.3333,SD25.550000,--CP
SS,OP1,FP2,AR0.0044,ZE86.0133,SD10.313750,--CP
BD,OP1,FP2,AR0.0055,ZE86.0126,SD10.320000,--CP
BR,OP1,FP2,AR180.0037,ZE273.5826,SD10.315000,--CP
FD,OP1,FP3,AR57.1630,ZE89.4305,SD7.393000,--CP
FR,OP1,FP3,AR237.1612,ZE270.1548,SD7.395000,--CP

TOPS is capable of converting raw measurement data into local coordinates, by performing a sequential processing of all records in their order.

Known limitations

Support for measurements is still incomplete, here is a list of TODO:

  • add all missing code

  • get comments

  • add the possibility to customize code

See also

Information on Carlson RW5
Carlson RW5 format
Documentation for Carlson RW5 from Carlson knowledgebase.