You could always look on E-bay for the survey grade GPS units, but they are complicates to use. Plus they are still thousands of dollars for a decent one. There are some survey grade handheld GPS that say that they can get accurate to within a foot using WAAS technology, assuming you have a satellite in view that can supply the WAAS reading. It's probably a little too much of an undertaking really.

The new handheld GPS units are fairly accurate, and can pick up WAAS technology as well. They don't get down to one foot accuracy, but do get within 15 feet fairly easy. The elevation readings aren't always as accurate with them. They are much cheaper as well, being within the range of a few hundred dollars brand new. You can find some that you can leave setting and will average the readings. Using one of those with a fairly open sky (which you should have being on top of a ridge), and letting it set and average for 15 - 20 minutes at a time, you should get fairly accurate readings with both Horizontal and Elevation readings. Especially if you go back and do them again on a few different days, and average all the seperate readings.

I don't know if I helped much. I know a little about them if you need more help. I work for a surveying company and we do a lot of surveying with survey grade GPS. We must be working in the wrong area of the country, we aren't getting anything near $25,000 for a job like you're describing.

Thanks for the helpful information. I checked back to when I was given the $25K quote. It was shortly after October 13. I must have been so shocked I failed to write it down and reciting it from memory. I'm actually doing a 12+ acre development and each lot has corners to plot, and so on. This may have jumped the price some.

The local bureaucarcy recently instituted a water run-off ordinance which can only be addressed with a topo. I don't know if this is common in other areas but it adds significant bucks to a developer's plan.

I've read of GPS's having a temperature meter that coordiinates with its built-in barometer reading to offer help in giving the best altimeter reading possible. I think your idea of staying at a particular point for fifteen minutes or so to take several readings and to return to the same point a few times later on to take a few readings makes the most sense. At least one can average all the readings.

It will take a while longer but if I could get the County to accept the readings it'll save some bucks. I've had a perimter survey done. A surveyor is to come in and do the lot corners and the road. What's left is topo data and that's what I hope to do myself.

I've been reading about Garmins and Magellans. I appreciate the offer to call on you again and I may just do so once I get a unit. I've seen one at $349.00 that gives location within 3 meters but doesn't say anything about how well their temperature/barometer adjusted altimeter reading pans out. But, it may be what I can use. Thanks, again. Gene