Calibration of survey equipment

Legal traceability

Surveyors have a legal obligation to ensure that their equipment is standardised (s. 24 of the Survey and Mapping Infrastructure Regulation 2014). For distance measurement, this means that measurements are traceable to the national standard. This can be achieved by doing a comparison test on an electronic distance measurement (EDM) calibration range which has a valid Regulation 13 certificate under the National Measurement Act 1960.

To assist surveyors, we maintain electronic distance measurement equipment (EDME) calibration baselines throughout Queensland.

EDME comparison procedure and booking sheets

We recommend that surveyors use the following procedure and booking sheets to achieve legal traceability of length:

Calibration baselines

Use these links to find information on baseline location, design, access and Regulation 13 certificate.

Warning notices

Pillar 2 at Gold Coast baseline is suspected of disturbance. Use discretion when processing observations to and from this station.

For enquiries regarding baselines, software and calibrations, contact the appropriate Regional Calibration Officer listed on the baseline information pages.

EDM calibration processing software

Landgate (Western Australian Land Information Authority) have developed a new EDM calibration software called Medjil, which replaces the existing software Baseline. The Department has adopted Medjil for the 2025 recertification of the northern QLD baselines but has also made the results available in Baseline. Both Medjil and Baseline are available for use for the next 12 months to ensure surveyors sufficient time to transition to Medjil. After this, no future distributions of Baseline will be released and only Medjil will be supported.

Some key difference between Medjil and Baseline are as follows:

  • Medjil has a different least squares adjustment process and the uncertainties are handled more rigorously. This may result in slightly different results between each software.
  • Medjil requires the baseline alignment to be from the first to the last pillar of a baseline. The alignment of Townsville and Leyburn have been changed in Medjil as a result.
    • Townsville alignment has also been changed in Baseline.
    • Leyburn alignment remains unchanged in Baseline as per the 2024 Regulation 13 certificate.
  • Manual entry of raw observations will not be supported. Observation data must be uploaded in a Comma Separated Values (CSV) text file format. The Department strongly encourages electronic recording of observation data wherever possible. Refer to the Medjil technical manual for the input file format.
  • Wet bulb temperature is not supported in Medjil, Relative Humidity will need to be recorded.

When using either Medjil or Baseline you will require the instrument specific values, which can be obtained from the relevant manufacturer. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure the values used are correct.

Medjil

Medjil is an online portal on the Landgate website.

The Department working with Landgate to develop a user guide to assist surveyors on the use of the Medjil software and assessment of test reports.

Baseline

The baseline software can be downloaded from the link below. This will be the last distribution of the Baseline software before which will be decommissioned in September 2026. Read the software guide before downloading the software to ensure correct operation:

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