Having worked in instrument repair and seen what can happen from throwing a total station over one's shoulder on the tripod, I would never even consider doing it but to each his own. I'll carry it for a short distance over level ground holding the tripod upright, but it's easier to just box it, and in any case I want the case to be where the tripod and gun are.
The tribrach and the instrument circles and centers are most definitely not made to take that lateral force.
I always box it up...The small extra time is worth the piece of mind. I could easily trip myself even on the smoothest of terrain and there goes my golden egg. Why would I want to risk that??
Back in the 1970s, my old professor told us (as I remember it) that the old American-style transits (i.e. Gurleys, etc with 4 levelling screws) had conical bearings and could withstand the lateral forces from carrying over the shoulder, but the newer 3 screw designs were not designed for this type of carry, and that we should always carry them vertically or in the box.
My dad never heard this, and when he upgraded to 3 screw Topcon transits in the 1980s, he just had the crews carry them over the shoulder as he always did, at least until I told him he shouldn't.
I still have these transits on display in the office, and the older one (that was carried over the shoulder the most) is slightly bound up. This started happening back in the 1980s, so I don't think it's just due to age. We had a few problems getting repeatable angles from it back then, so it was retired and replaced with a total station.
I have always made my instrument man dismount and box the total station for every move. Now that _I_ have to do it, I either box the robot or carry it vertically by the handle. I could see carrying on the tripod for very short distances with the instrument vertical on the tripod, but I would never sling it over my shoulder like we did with the old transits. I remember breaking a plate level bubble at least once a year on those things by carrying them through the woods and hitting a tree ( I was young and careless!).
It just doesn't seem worth it to me. I don't even like stepping on the tripod feet with the instrument mounted - it seems like too much jarring. In my opinion, these things are too delicate and expensive to justify taking unnecessary chances with.
Your memory is correct, the old transits had conical brass centers that were machined to fit together perfectly.
Aside from damage to the instrument itself, most tribrachs just have a thin plate holding the leveling screws in place. The force put on this plate when the instrument is turned sideways on the tripod can bow it and - as at least one post above noted - in the worst case scenario the whole thing comes apart and your gun experiences the affect of gravity followed immediately by the force of impacting an immovable object.
Carry it as the situation calls for. Have boxed it, carried it on the tri-pod, by the top handle and put them in the back pack for over 25 yrs and the only time I had a problem was one time in the back pack. Instrument man had put the Set 3 in the pack, I was carrying it into the office by one strap cause it was only 25-30 feet to the office so I figured I'd grab everything to haul in and there was no need to put pack on my back. Done it a hundred or more times no problem. Well the zipper let go and this wasn't a one you put the instrument in the top. It went in through the back and it should have been strapped in but the instrument man was lazy. Needles to say it hit the ground pretty hard. Haven't had a problem since and haven't seen that instrument man since either. Moral of the story, carry it as you see fits the situation and buy the top feed back packs if you can.
I always place my instruments in the case in order to transport. I instruct anyone to do likewise with my instruments.
I do not stand on the case.
It would take less time to place the instrument in the case than to make excuses. You can not deny it is safer there.
johnbo, post: 352935, member: 8695 wrote: Once it left the truck it goes in a backpack.
I'd guess a lot of preferences / techniques relate to the particulars of the work environment & the business you work in. I'm with Johnbo on this one: instruments goes from box to padded backpack right as it leaves the Jeep. Two hands put the instrument on the tripod, two hands take it off & put it back in the backpack, repeat as needed right up until two hands put it back in the box & into the Jeep again. We deal with too much brush, loose & steep ground, etc to sling the tripod over a shoulder & trust it.
Are any of the top-load backpacks tall enough to accommodate a Leica robot? It seems to me that when I looked into this five or so years ago, I didn't find any that would fit.
YA''ll are bunch of pusses
Ya'll sound a lot like a bunch of girlie men!
I dropped a theodolite once, it was an old kern, I believe it was a DKM2. forgot to lock the clip and tried to walk away with the tripod on my shoulders. That was many years ago, I probably started my don't do list about that time. 10 years later, I moved an old Nikon Topgun about 10 feet and tripped on an old piece of barb wire in the weeds, I didn't drop it but got really close. You can do what you feel more comfortable doing, but for me, I try to make it a point not to make the same mistake twice. No one ever thinks it going to happen to them until it does. There is enough accidents waiting to happen without pushing your luck.
BS Surveying, post: 353471, member: 9461 wrote: Ya'll sound a lot like a bunch of girlie men!
Or,...manly girls?
With a good comfortable sling or backpack strap kit, carrying the instrument in the box just isn't much trouble. If for some reason I am making a really short move I may, from time to time, decide to leave the instrument on the legs and pack it as upright as possible up against my frontside, but it just makes me nervous to put that kinda pressure on that tribrach.
I have seen other guys pack it virtually horizontal over their shoulder and not have any problems, but I just can't allow myself to do it.
I have seen other guys pack it virtually horizontal over their shoulder and not have any problems, but I just can't allow myself to do it.
Done it for 30+ years. NO problem!
I now carry my Javad LS, on the HIXON prism pole, with bipod, with bipod clips, over my shoulder. It's a good feeling to be carrying it on the shoulder!
N
