Favorite piece of survey equipment

Kern DKM2a.

I know....instead of using your real name (Holy Cow), you might want to coin the nickname "Hole Digger".

I think that maybe my favorite was the Wild T2. In my i-man days I used to get amazing closures with that thing. great bearings using my clock and software on the old HP41CX

This tool has brought me a lot of smiles over the years.

Trimble 5603 and Survey Controller. Also really liked the Leica TS15, but didn't care for it's attendant CS15 data collector and VIVA so much.

I prefer a "pinch point" style digging bar over a pick axe.

Long handled shovel over the short "D" handled type. Except I like to keep a short handled drain spade around for when I have to do a lot of walking to do a little digging.

Schonstedt.

But probably my favorite "piece of equipment" is StarNet.

+1 on StarNet.

One more, a right angle prism, very handy at times, still have one in my vest!

I just ordered one of these for my truck. Thanks.

Already tried that one out on that board that dies a little more every day.

But, you already knew that. Smarty.

Gammon Reel

The number of times I nearly garroted myself on the old bricklayer's string pre-gammon .................

YOS

DGG

McCracker, post: 338752, member: 9299 wrote: Anything and everything from your beautiful robot, to your four-wheeler, to your 16 oz plumb bob; what is your favorite piece of surveying equipment that you use or have used? Anything from a specific instrument to a sweet target you just can't backsight without or even your 32 oz plumb bob for those real windy days.

I would have to say my favorite piece of survey equipment would be a tie between the older Leica TCR307 (substitute any modern transit really) I've been using and a 200' nylon-clad-steel tape. Where I survey, most places are accessible in almost any vehicle or hiking distance so I can't say a sweet off road rig, but with those tools I feel un-stoppable!

What are yours?

HP 41CX

I grew up surveying. One time I was surveying with a TRANSIT and TAPE, and traversing up a mountain. The earth under my feet gave way, and I fell down the mountain, landed some 50' below, on the tripod. We cut a small tree, replaced the leg, and finished the job. We broke the tape, many times, and finished the job with a 164 foot tape, (or the like).

Favorite tool? Dang. I like getting home to the wife! Way better than surveying! 🙂

I even took her out surveying, when we first got married. I have some pics somewhere, with her some 7-8 mos pregnant, on a job! (I got some looks for that!) But, we were having fun!

N

My eye balls. Never met a blind surveyor.

Mine is likely my Garmin handheld GPS receiver (a 72H) -- A.C. Mulford famously wrote that "It is far more important [preferable, I think he meant] to have faulty measurements on the place where the line truly exists, than an accurate measurement where the line does not exist at all." The Garmin helps me recognize and walk away from the latter and toward the former."

I have my first plumb bob, gammon reel, range pole and then there came all that other stuff that will fill a truck and trailer and storage building.
Have used everything from trig tables, trig fans, long hand DMD forms, basic +-/x= math adding machines, scientific sharp pocket model, Olivetti calculators the size of a microwave with mechanical interior that would jump up after reaching another significant figure and on to the xp and win7 computers.

MY all time favorite is Carlson Surveyor1 Cogo Software. It is the mother and father of SMI, TDS and maybe it is the root of all of today's cogo on any language, format and under most every label.
ty Bruce......

:beer:

Stuff I use, my VRS account and not just because Gavin posts here. I remember well the days of the GPS trailer and I am glad they are gone. 3D mouse is a close second

Stuff I no longer use, Geodimeter 510N manual.

Really great variety in our favorite tools and I think it says a little bit about everybody. Everybody has a little different favorite tool, yet we all use each one for different styles of measuring. I asked the owner of the small firm I work for this question today, and his response was almost instantaneously the plumb bob. He chose the plumb bob due to it's historical importance. It's also interesting that everybody's favorite tool is complimentary to another. I am surprised nobody said their #2 pencil or four-wheeler though.

Don't forget the Timely plastic pocket sized template for tracing symbols in your field book.

What is that? A probe?

My robot.

She's never called in sick in more than ten years. Don't have to pay worker's comp insurance on her. Or health insurance. Or 401K. Never takes vacations during the busy season. Always ready to go work when I'm ready to go work - even Sunday morning. Does not own or use a cell phone during work hours. Never sits in a diner drinking coffee and reading the paper while I'm thinking she's on site getting the job done. The list goes on and on.

Too bad about the mentor thing, though....