Another hepful hint is to put the toe of your boot up to the object you are setting up over, to use a reference when looking through the optical plummet.
ive been interning at a surveying firm as a draftsman for a couple months now, realizing I really had no idea how the actual surveying part worked! the video helped! thanks!
The only issue I have with this video is the height. If you set the instrument at that height your back and neck are going to be killing you at the end of one set-up. I recommend setting the legs at chin height prior to setting the legs in the ground. This has always worked for me in natural ground set-ups. Chest height works for concrete or asphalt set-ups.
It's a good basic explanation of setting up a total station over a tripod. Camera and audio work could be a little better, but for someone who doesn't know how to do it, this is a good primer.
Thank you for this informative video. It was comprehensive and you thoroughly explained each step. This helped me tremendously with my undergraduate research assignment.
You should make sure all the thumb screws are roughly centered and level. You are then levelling the baseplate with the legs. Once that's done centre the instrument over the point. The bubble should still be roughly level with minimal help from thumbscrews.
i am currently watching your video because tomorrow is our last field exam in Surveying and we needed to set up the ins by ourselves. your vid reeally helped me. thank you very much
@stevesrt8 Honestly didn't think about having a tri-brach with out an optical plummet! We usually up the plummetless ones to the side since our tribrachs are topcon look throughs. . Sorry wasn't thinking.
You have to collimate (level) the tilt using the function in the TS itself. Usually it,s (star) then tilt. You still have to adjust from there, can't just adjust this way.
After laying out over 60 gas stations and Winn Dixie stores I would have gone broke being this slow setting up the theodolite. About 2 minutes required to set up over a point and get a reference back-site. Too slow with 12 workers waiting for construction stakes. Also had the first rotating beacon laser in South Florida capable of sweeping 17 acres (Spectra Physics). About 3 minutes to set that up as it was powered by a car battery and needed slopes dialed in. No time for slow set-ups. Many times large machines needed to be moved in a hurry to see reference markers and bench marks.
seperate the tribach from the intrument FIRST and secure it on the tripod and sight the tribach over the peg without the instrument on, place instrument on the tripod then do all the checks as above
Hi it is a great video.and the people mut understand that it takes much longer to set a station if you explain every step....But don´t you think the total station it is a little low for your height, after 2 hours of working your back it is going to hurt.
+gmasurveyor May I ask if the model you are using is the Topcon GTS-301D, and when you turn on the EDM, does the have a hum, sort of like the sound of a fan inside? I have a second hand one and wonder if the EDM works. Thanks
Why do they have the lock and fine adjustments bass ackwards on a topcon... I hate that about total station because of that a company I worked for had that same instrument the GTS-300.
now u need to go 1400ft back bout 1ft to the left you may have to clip a few limbs cause we are out of nails and we have only 4IR. LOL THATS SURVEYING FOR U WITH OR WITHOUT A GPS!
Landcruiser Toy- I would say it is the weight and sturdiness of the legs. I do not use aluminum tripods period- they are hollow and will warp when a heavy instrument is placed on them. This means that the gun will inevitably wind up unleveled and/or off of the point you're set up on. One always needs to have a sturdy setup, or your shots aren't worth a shit. Also, if I have to move to another point I already have aluminum legs on, I would have to put away the aluminum tripod and use wooden/fiberglass legs. They are utterly pointless, unless made solid. An aluminum tripod will almost guarantee error if a total station is set on it, unless it is of absolute top build quality.
This video is (as regards the initial setup, the rest is OK) completely incorrect. Proper procedure use will get you to the point where you can set up in 60 to 90 seconds every time. This video shows a setup that is too narrow and too short. Too narrow means that the instrument will get blown over by the air from a passing truck if you are set up near a busy road. Too short means you will get a backache because the eyepiece ought to be just a couple of inches or centimeters below your eye. Too narrow also means the tips of the legs are not as far apart as they could be. The legs are long for a reason. The legs tips should be at least a yard or a meter apart, with the head of the tripod just below neck level. That puts the eyepiece at a comfortable height. This is the way a setup should be done (this assumes you are already pretty close to the setup point): 1. Set up the tripod length such that, with the leg tips at least a meter apart. the tripod top is just below YOUR neck level (it'll be lower once you step on the leg points later). 2. Attach the instrument to the tripod, taking care never to take your hand off the instrument until it is secured. 3. Take tripod and instrument and set it roughly over the point with the tripod top at neck level or slightly higher. 4. Adjust one leg tip sideways to render the tripod top roughly level. Your eyeball guess is fine for this! 5. stand exactly between two of the legs, and imagine a plumb line from the middle of the tripod to the ground. Your imagined plumb line will almost certainly be off (of your setup point) left or right by eyeball. 6. grab one of the tripod legs on either side of you, and lift those two near legs just off the ground, and move the whole assembly left or right as needed, such that your eyeball plumb line hits the setup object (hub or nail). While you do this, the third leg is still on the ground, so you are swinging everything around the tip of that leg. Keep the tripod head ROUGHLY level! 7. set the two legs you are holding back down on the ground, taking care to keep the tripod head roughly level by eyeball. Step back and eyeball that imaginary plumb line again, and adjust slightly if needed. 8. Walk around the tripod and repeat steps 6 and 7 with any other pair of legs. Usually I only have to do this twice. You might have to do it three times, but probably not. When you have done this, the tripod will be ROUGHLY level and ROUGHLY (within a few inches/centimeters) over the point. This process "walks" the tripod head closer and closer to being directly above the setup point by rough eyeball. 9. The tripod leg tips are still loose, it is now time to step on each leg and press it securely into the ground. 10. I routinely use a plumb bob at this point to figure out roughly how far off I am. I strongly suggest you purchase a plumb bob, holster and gammon reel if you want to learn to set up really fast. If you have one of these, it makes steps 7 and 8 easier, because you can step back and use the plumb bob string (instead of your imagination) to see whether you are off left or right. Don't have a plumb bob? SKIP this step! 11. IMPORTANT! Note that at no point has the optical plummet been used yet! The primary mistake made in this video (and made every day by many users) is looking thru the optical plummet when the instrument hasn't been leveled. Roughly eyeball leveled isn't good enough, it just wastes your time. So this is not a step, but an important comment. 12. Level up the instrument using the circular bubble. It is accurate enough for the next step. 13. NOW look thru the optical plummet! You are probably close enough to the point so that you can loosen the tripod holding screw and just slide the instrument over the point. If you are too far off for that, notice which way you need to go. The legs are already securely planted, so use the adjusting screws on one or two of the legs to move the tripod head in the desired direction. In case unclear, lengthen or shorten legs as needed, don't pull any legs up at this point. DO NOT look thru the optical plummet yet, re level the instrument first. Then, use the optical plummet, and slide the instrument over the point. This step MAY make the tripod head less level. That does not matter, so long as the instrument can be rendered level using the leveling screws on the tribrach. 14. When you slide the instrument, try to keep the sides of the tribrach (instrument base) and the sides of the tripod top parallel, by feel, using your fingers. You will get off level just a bit when you slide things around. 15. Over the point? Recheck the circular level bubble, and then re-look at the plummet, and make any final adjustments. 16. Use the more sensitive long bubble to completely level the instrument and check the plummet one last time. That is it, you are set up over the point. You will note that this set of instructions seems horribly lengthy and complicated. It just looks that way. I can set up over anything (flat ground or slope, ground point or tall stake) myself in 60 seconds. I can do it every time, and i have had countless co-workers bet me I couldn't. Most people waste an enormous amount of time trusting the optical plummet when it is not actually pointing straight down. This confuses and confounds beginners. Experienced workers can set up the way this video says, but their setup times are quite slow. Everyone I have taught this to can set up consistently in 60 to 90 seconds. A final note: Unless your circular level, and the longer sensitive level AND your optical plummet are ALL in good adjustment, you will have endless heartache trying to set up regardless of method. I hope somebody finds this comment useful.
30seconds to set up or 30 seconds to level and then start taking readings? Because I find it hard to believe you can accurately "set up" a TS in 30seconds
Un trépied en alu et un axe de tourillon à hauteur des tétons ! Ne parlons pas de la façon de stationner. NUL. N étant pas suffisamment anglophone, je ne me prononce pas sur ses explications. Un démonstrateur en aspirateur reconverti en prof de topo ? Si vous voulez apprendre à mettre en station allez voir ailleurs.
