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So whats with the red light
Posted by mag-eye on May 9, 2019 at 4:08 pmIve been stumped on this for a while. Whats with the red light I see emitted from the scope of newer leica total stations?
And know not the laser. I am seeing this light when not using the laser or atr. Besides that i thought the passive atr tech was shooting an ir beam.
I notice the light more if shooting through thick brush and on darker days. The best guess for me has always been that maybe the ts is shooting this visble light just to see if there is a prism there and then fire the edm again looking for a return?????
If anybody can fill me in I would really like to know what this is as crew members have been asking about this for years and ive never had an answer.
chris-mills replied 5 years, 4 months ago 13 Members · 19 Replies -
19 Replies
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Automatic Target Recognition? Is it a robot instrument? Or, do you have reflector-less turned on?
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No not in reflecor-less (not the laser) and yes it is a robotic ts but i am seeing this when in manual mode no atr no prism lock
Also like i said even with atr on i thought it was an IR beam
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Guess i gota laugh but i was really hoping the first response wasnt going to be about the reflector less laser.
No offense foggyidea
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You are familiar with the term “red light district”, right? Perhaps you should offer other “services”.
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For years
EDMs have been using laser light on lower power for years with a reflector. My 20 old Trimble 3306 would move a filter into the laser beam to reduce the power and would complain if I used full power on a prism. Usually full power back at me from a prism hurt for a few minutes. The Sokkia I am using now will accept full power back at the prism, but does no use the prism offset. I cannot see any difference through the scope, because with my newer data collector is not as easy to look and push the right button at the same time. That messes me up sometimes, and sometimes requires distance adjustment back in the office.
So I am saying, yes it is your laser, but not at full power.
Paul in PA
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Infrared radiation (IR) is not visible.
Historic Boundaries and Conservation Efforts -
I saw a red light the other day and it was the guide light. I had accidentally turned it on when I was push some other buttons.
Historic Boundaries and Conservation Efforts -
Thanks for the reply Paul but im not sure i understand. Distance adjustment back at the office? accept full power back at the prism?
Just to be clear this is a red light that is seen by the rod man at the rod emitted from the total station. The laser is not turned on. Are you saying that the rod man is getting blasted in the eyes by a reduced power laser beam?
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Does he see a white light, too? That’s the ATR….. I have noticed with my ts12 there is always the red light flashing, and I assumed it was the ATR, even if it’s not searching…
You have to admit that the reflector-less setting was the obvious choice lol
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I dunno what it is but I like it, wish you could turn it on. It makes just the right amount of light to see the center perfect in low light environments.
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The Leica’s have a laser pointer and guide lights. I use Carlson on an Allegro Mx and can turn them on and off in the Settings tab of the Instrument Setup menu. The guide lights are a nice feature in the dark underground.
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My thought was ATR as well but why if ATR is not being used am i seeing this light? Also I thought the ATR camera was using an infrared beam (invisible light)
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My Sokkia has a laser pointer that can be turned on and off.
It is great for finding line ahead of the instrument.
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A laser is used for distance measurement. It is possible that some of the energy is in the visible spectrum.
I too wonder what seeing the light in the prism has to do with distance adjustments. I am not aware of a “power” setting in most current total stations.
-All thoughts my own, except my typos and when I am wrong. -
Even the old Topcon 3b’s and 303’s that I started with emitted a red light from the gun in low light conditions. I’ve always thought that since the instruments are using an infrared beam that maybe there’s s bit of visible red light produced as well.
Based on this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared
It would seem that infrared can be visible at certain frequencies and intensities.
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Have you talked to the dealer you bought it from?
I too, was curious about this. It seemed to me that it was some sort of signal that you were looking down the scope, like the gun was pointed at you.
But that was just a guess (WAG)
Dougie
I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will! -
It is visible mainly in low light condition. With my old Sokkia set 4c and with all Leica total stations that I worked. I think that is IR light emitter that produced some visible low intensity or unfiltered light. I think it is normal and happend with all EDM’s. Maybe I’m wrong.
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SOLVED! I guess i should have looked in the user manual (duhhh) ???? ???? this is what i found>
1.6.2 Distancer, Measurements with Reflectors
General The EDM module built into the product produces a visible laser beam which emerges
from the telescope objective.
The laser product described in this section is classified as laser class 1 in accordance
with:
ƒ?› IEC 60825-1 (2014-05): “Safety of laser products”
These products are safe under reasonably foreseeable conditions of operation and are
not harmful to the eyes provided that the products are used and maintained in accordance with this User Manual.Also this is from a tps1200 manual …… I still have an 1103 and it has the type 1 telescope which is why i never saw the light all those years with the 1103.
Telescope Type 1
ƒ?› When measuring distances to a reflector with EDM mode “IR”
this telescope type uses a wide infrared laser beam, which
emerges coaxially from the telescope’s objective.
ƒ?› Instruments that are equipped with a reflectorless EDM additionally offer the EDM modes “RL” and “LO”. When using
these EDM modes a narrow visible red laser beam is used to
measure distances.Telescope Type 2
ƒ?› When measuring distances to a reflector with EDM mode “IR”
this telescope type uses a wide visible red laser beam, which
emerges coaxially from the telescope’s objective.
ƒ?› Instruments that are equipped with a reflectorless EDM additionally offer the EDM modes “RL” and “LO”. When using
these EDM modes a narrow visible red laser beam is used to
measure distances. -
Never forget the old saying:
“When all else fails, read the instruction manual”
– but remember, only do it when all else HAS failed!
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