need beginner help about mapping, gps and autocad

[bookouri]

Im extremely new to autocad but im interested in learning about how autocad is used to make maps, land survey platts and that sort of thing. For example, I have a GPS, and I have downloaded several hundred points from the gps. I can import those into autocad and I can see my mapped points. But how does the rest of it work? Im guessing now that I now need a digital verson of a topo map for the area Im working in. Then somehow I have to get that map into Autocad and then somehow I have to make the digital map and the GPS data match in scale. But can somebody give me a rough idea how all this is accomplished? I dont expect that there is a quick easy technical answer, but I'd like to know at least how these things are "normally" done by surveyors/catographers and that sort of thing. I dont even know if those are the correct terms to use any more. I guess its more proper to talk about it as GIS now.

Anyway, Im shooting in the dark here, totally out of my area of knowledge...but i would appreciate any help pointing me in the right direction..

 

[tman72]

Have you looked at AutoCAD Land Desktop? There is a survey pacakge that you can purchase that goes along with it that you may want to look at as well. Land Desktop allows you to draw from point to point which may be one of the features you are interested in. Also there are point symbols you can assign to various points, say survey control points, trees, fire hydrants, and the list goes on. It's a powerful tool worth checking in to if you don't currently have it.

 

[bookouri]

is that a different product from autodesk MAP? I havnt seen that one yet.. Ill dig around and see what I can find.

thanks

 

[tman72]

Yes it is a different product. Land Desktop has more features than Map does. Map is packaged as a part of Land Desktop so you would have all the features of Map, plus the added functions that come with LDD.

Good luck