I'm having an issue with the Chinese knock off prism carriers our office has been providing us. It looks like the spirit level bubble is being held in with some sort of hard epoxy that is loosening up with the weather. It doesn't help were working in one of the rainiest places in north america.
Has anyone else experienced this? Did you come up with a fix? How do high end prism carriers hold their spirit bubbles in place. We have 4 out of 8 that have shit the bed in the last 8 months that have to be adjusted daily now.?ÿ
The best fix is to buy quality equipment.?ÿ Adjusting daily has to be costing more than the right equipment say nothing of the possibility of poor measurement results.
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
@dms330 Agreed.
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But since I don't buy the equipment my options are to throw it out and be down 4 prisms, try to fix it, or try to convince the "powers that be" why Leica prism carriers are worth the extra money. I was hoping someone is familiar with how the spirit levels are assembled with a Leica unit.
The level vial problem is not new. I remember in the late 70's and 80's having level vials that changed by the minute. The level vials were seated in plaster of Paris. The dry climate of our region would render the level vials useless in a month or two.
The solution I found, which was easily and quickly done, was to replace the plaster of Paris with silicone. I still have some instruments that were repaired and in which the silicone has never failed.
For less than $10 a tube of silicone may be bought. The repair usually takes less than five minutes. A few more minutes for adjustment and the job is complete. Not only is the job complete, I found that the level vials remained in adjustment longer than any others.
The level vial problem is not new. I remember in the late 70's and 80's having level vials that changed by the minute. The level vials were seated in plaster of Paris. The dry climate of our region would render the level vials useless in a month or two.
The solution I found, which was easily and quickly done, was to replace the plaster of Paris with silicone. I still have some instruments that were repaired and in which the silicone has never failed.
For less than $10 a tube of silicone may be bought. The repair usually takes less than five minutes. A few more minutes for adjustment and the job is complete. Not only is the job complete, I found that the level vials remained in adjustment longer than any others.
Thank you very much for the wisdom from experience. I will try this and update in a few months once they've been field tested.
Cheap vials on the carriers is probably no more precise than the bullseye bubble on the tribrach. So I don't get the decision making process involved in buying those things in the first place. The reason for using the carriers of that type is increased centering precision. Buying cheap seems self defeating.
I hope mlschumann's fix works out. Let us know.?ÿ?ÿ
You don't necessarily need to buy Leica.?ÿ They're usually more expensive than some other reputable brands.
That said, what is going on in the field with these??ÿ I've used cheap tribrachs and adapters, and haven't had a lot of issues with them., and none looked as bad as that
You don't necessarily need to buy Leica.?ÿ They're usually more expensive than some other reputable brands.
That said, what is going on in the field with these??ÿ I've used cheap tribrachs and adapters, and haven't had a lot of issues with them., and none looked as bad as that
This job they've been on for the last 8 months is on the shore of the Pacific where it's rained or snowed every day except maybe 20. In that environment 7 days a week for 14 hours a day the humidity and proximity of salt water accelerated their decay I'm guessing.
Cheap vials on the carriers is probably no more precise than the bullseye bubble on the tribrach. So I don't get the decision making process involved in buying those things in the first place. The reason for using the carriers of that type is increased centering precision. Buying cheap seems self defeating.
I hope mlschumann's fix works out. Let us know.?ÿ?ÿ
You're preaching to the choir but I have to do the best with what I have.
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We got sent brand new S7's and TSC7's but get knock off glass, hardware and cheap chinese wooden legs. It doesn't make sense to me.
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Will do.
I'd agree that the silicone solution is the one to use - and perhaps some grease on that spring before you put it together again. Cheap wooden legs are a no-no. Over the years we have accumulated any Wild GST20 legs which came our way. Every 10 years or so they are stripped right down, repainted with yacht varnish (primer, base, two top coats). They are completely impervious to any weather and remain exactly as set for however long they need to be up. Yes, maintaining costs time but over 10 years there must always be a slack couple of weeks and there's never any field problem of tripods moving.
In the unlikely event that any do get damaged they either become spares OR mini-tripods for those difficult set ups where you have to lay on the ground.
