High accuracy/quality survey compass

I used a Wild T-0 quite a bit back in the early 80s (Idaho, South Dakota, Maine, California, etc.).

IMO, it's the BOMB, and I wish that I had bought that little sucker when I had the chance ($500). Been kicking myself ever since.

Loyal

Nate,

I'd suggest the Wild B3 compass.?ÿ It doesn't have a vertical scale nor can the declination be set.?ÿ However, it is lightweight (only 2 lbs.) and can be used with a small tripod or prism pole with bipod.

I have one that reads in grads, but it goes with my old-style T-2 with GAK north-seeking gyro and illuminated target set.

I attached a PDF of the sales brochure.?ÿ The price is far less than a T-0.?ÿ Reading can be estimated to 6'.

Here is a new, good one.?ÿ

http://www.warrenknight.com/survey/wk-40-1300-surveyors-compass/

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Posted by: Gene Kooper

Nate,

I'd suggest the Wild B3 compass.?ÿ It doesn't have a vertical scale nor can the declination be set.?ÿ However, it is lightweight (only 2 lbs.) and can be used with a small tripod or prism pole with bipod.

I have one that reads in grads, but it goes with my old-style T-2 with GAK north-seeking gyro and illuminated target set.

I attached a PDF of the sales brochure.?ÿ The price is far less than a T-0.?ÿ Reading can be estimated to 6'.

Attachment : B3CompassSalesBrochure.pdf

COOL!

Thanks everybody.

It appears that the Wild B-3 would fit the bill. It seems also that I will be wanting a T-0 eventually.?ÿ

There is a plethora of low grade compasses on today's market. Lot's to wade through.

This thread saved me lot's of time.

N

?ÿI worked with T-0 way back, never thought of it as a compass. Nice instrument as I remember, basically a construction-short rough traverse gun. I think we did stadia topos with it also.

I ruined a T-0 once by putting it back in the bullet case wet, but it kept me out of jail! ??ÿ

The spring and summer of 1980 I was working on a seismograph crew in Eastern Tennessee. Most of the crew were from Louisiana and Mississippi so we worked 10 on/ 4 off to give the guys a better chance of getting home more often. Some of the survey crew decided to go to Myrtle Beach SC for the weekend. I wanted to go but I had to finish tying in a line to a good elevation.

Friday morning, me and the only other Texan went out to finish the line. The rest of the crew went to Myrtle Beach. The tie-in was about half a day shooting from hill to hill. The last two shots was shooting cross country to a bridge on a 4 lane road and then a short shot to a BM. I had the T-0 setup and ready while the rodman took the truck around to get on the bridge. By the time he got there, it was raining so hard that I could not see him and he couldn't see me. He couldn't even tell which direction I was, just a general area. He stood there with the stadia rod long enough that I could have shot it twice and then came back to get me.

We sat there in the truck for a while, went back to the office for a while, and finally gave up for the day. The plan was to get out there early the next morning and make the last two shots. Everything would be figured beforehand so we could check the last two shots for a good tie-in, then we would be ready to go.

Then we found out the instrument was fogged up inside. I had closed the bullet case on the way to the office but never took it out and dried it off. When it got wet, I would dry it off and usually set it out all night. I had been using this instrument for about a year and never had a problem. We sat there on the side of the road with the instrument in the sun for a while. Went back to the office and set the instrument in the window for a while.

We never made it to Myrtle Beach.?ÿ I still have never seen the Atlantic. I still have never been to South Carolina. But we found out that when the rest of the crew was coming out of a bar Saturday night, they were all arrested for public intoxication. And I was sitting in Greenville Tennessee free as a bird.

James