What are the COGO tools, and how to use them?

The COGO tools (Coordinate Geometry) in TcpGPS allow you to perform geometric calculations in the field to determine new points from existing elements or specific references. You can access them by pressing the tools button (wrench icon) on the survey screen.

Below are the available tools and how to use them:

1. Intersection Tools

In all these cases, the cota of the new point is calculated by interpolation of the points used.

• Line-Line Intersection: Calculates the intersection point between two lines. You must graphically select the two points that form the first line and then the two that form the second; the application will display the resulting intersection point.

• Line-Circle Intersection: Calculates the points where a line intersects a circle.

• Circle-Circle Intersection: Calculates the intersection points between two circles defined by a center and a radius.

2. Point Calculation Tools

• Distance and Azimuth: Generates a point from a reference point. You must select a point from the job and manually enter the desired distance and azimuth to place the new point.

• Two Points and Distance: Creates a point on the line connecting two known points. You must select two points and set a distance from the second point; the new point will be applied following the direction (azimuth) between them.

• Second Point Normal: Allows you to select two points and specify a distance to calculate a new point located on the normal vector (orthogonal) to the second selected point.

3. Additional Features

• Distance and Area Measurement: By pressing the ruler icon, you can select two points to obtain the 2D distance, 3D distance, difference of cota, and slope. For areas, select the vertices consecutively on the map to obtain the perimeter and surface.

• Laser Distometer Use: If you have a Bluetooth laser distometer connected, you can automatically obtain the distance value in these tools by pressing the button corresponding to the device within the COGO dialog. You can see how to use it here.

Remember that after performing any calculation, the application will ask if you want to save the solution to incorporate it as a new point into the project database.