Okay, I'll admit that I enjoyed this video in many ways, but there are at least a couple of scenes where I'm guessing the director intentionally inserted a blooper to keep the audience amused. At least, I'd like to think that's what happened.
I noticed she did one thing as per the approved surveyorconnect method though and rough centred the legs before screwing on the total station.
i noted in the last setup thread some people (if i remember correctly) pooh-poohed the carrying the total station/backsight on the tripod with eyed glued to the plummet method. i'm not sure if it was suggested that it would be slower or more dangerous that way, but being the tester i am, i decided to time my field buddy to assess the speed of the find-the-target-through-the-plummet method.
so with backsight screwed firmly to the tripod, hands off the legs and a metre or so from the ground mark on level terrain i timed his effort. result: 30 seconds to a near-perfect setup with the 8' bullseye bubble. he wanted me to time his minute adjustment to make it 'perfect': add 7 seconds to make it a 37.
i then entered the setup olympics and gave it a go with the total station and laser plummet. instrument screwed on the legs and a metre and a bit from the ground mark. 29.something seconds later i was level within 12" and plumb on the point. i used the screws to centre the TS, adjusted 2 legs, levelled the screws, translated to the point and a final level with the screws. i wasn't reckless fast but i was moving.
so, how much faster do you need to be, or can be?
bonus question: if i jarred the legs/instrument while stepping the legs in, what part of the instrument could possibly move to cause it to go out of alignment/calibration?
i want to find out if peoples objections to certain ways of setting up are based on something, and whether the imagined ways of un-calibrating(?) an instrument are just imagined/intuition, or based on some knowledge of instrument construction, or experience.
> Okay, I'll admit that I enjoyed this video in many ways, but there are at least a couple of scenes where I'm guessing the director intentionally inserted a blooper to keep the audience amused. At least, I'd like to think that's what happened.
>
>>
br>
The first thing that caught my eye was the uncomfortable set up the instrument operator chose by having to stand on her tip toes to see the target through the instrument. I mean, it's flat and concrete; no sense in not paying attention to the height of the instrument before getting it leveled and over the ground mark.
The second was around the 4:20 mark of the film when the instrument operator decided to place the total station on the ground next to where she was setting up. She seemed to be one inadvertent leg spasm away from calling it an early day.
In Portuguese; un nivelamento altimétrico trigonométrico...a Trigonometric leveling altimeter! Quite a title, for sure.
I guess we're the only ones that call it un estação total..a total station.
I love la musica.
But the way she did it you just set it up anywhere and then mark on the ground (sidewalk) where you set it up.
Andy
> I love la musica.
I hope you you didn't make the ill-advised decision to have your total stations equipped with a heavy metal soundtrack when you could have had the samba version for the same money.
> But the way she did it you just set it up anywhere and then mark on the ground (sidewalk) where you set it up.
Yes, I also thought that was fun.
> bonus question: if i jarred the legs/instrument while stepping the legs in, what part of the instrument could possibly move to cause it to go out of alignment/calibration?
I suppose it depends upon the level of force applied. The acceleration applied to the instrument from stamping in a leg in rocky ground would make me cringe. The question pretty much translates as "what height would you expect to be able to drop your instrument from before something bad happens?"
Well if it passes the McMillan smell test with just a few bloopers then it must be OK for distribution. ; )
But I thought the instrument on the pavement was a mortal error.
The marking of the point was odd. I guess a paint pen was used and later she would have gotten the gas hammer drill humming.
Also no safety cones for the street and was she wearing flip flops too.
That's not good.
>The question pretty much translates as "what height would you expect to be able to drop your instrument from before something bad happens?"
i don't actually like the jarring of the instrument either, and have recently set one of our new blokes straight on doing so, but it's more out of concern for the tribrach than the instrument.
the tribrach we use does have shock absorbing properties (as i hope most of them do) but there must be limits, and i suspect stomping a leg a few times doesn't exceed it.
a leica tech i spoke to who claimed to have toured the factory said instruments are assembled, calibrated, then shaken like all hell in a torture machine that approximates a large paint can shaker. they are checked again and cycled through temperature extremes, presumably to assess the calibration stability among other things. don't quote me on the exact order of those tests.
my testing suggests our instruments and tribrachs have maintained a perfectly acceptable level of precision after several setup jarrings over 5-6 years of use, but my preference is that it not happen if possible. but if your total stations function is altered after a mild shock then it was probably already slowly in the process of un-assembling itself!
> my testing suggests our instruments and tribrachs have maintained a perfectly acceptable level of precision after several setup jarrings over 5-6 years of use, but my preference is that it not happen if possible.
I see a controlled study here. If you will make a point of giving your instrument a good jarring on every setup and after a year or two of such daily happenings report no problems or loss of performance, then I'll consider that it may be unnecessarily cautious to treat a total station more gently.
The obvious next controlled study will then be carrying the total station from point to point while mounted on a tripod slung over the shoulder. :>
> The obvious next controlled study will then be carrying the total station from point to point while affixed to a tripod slung over the shoulder. :>
at our company i'd like to think that'd set up a last chance situation for an employee.
