Thanks for info dave, I will bid on the two items you said as better items if they appear to be working and complete and bid on the others if VERY cheap. I assume that is the best way to play it here if these are just average items.
"From what I see there I would guess construction company, not a surveyor."
Totally agree.
I may be alone in my assessment, but I also look at the condition of the outsides of the cases. I see wear on the cases which leads me to also believe it was a construction company's equipment. A land surveyor sees his instruments as his surgical tools, whereas a contractor often sees them as just another tool in the box. I've seen a level on a collapsed tripod rolling around in the back of a pickup as the contractor went from site to site. Most surveyors would not have the cheaper transits in the picture in their equipment. Your target buyer will probably be construction companies for resale.
Did They Get $500 For The Whole Lot ?
Only 1 was an EDM and it was missing the baterties.
I value the lot at $500, borrow a battery and see if the EDM works. Someone may buy it, but it is probable besides having to buy 2 batteries you must also buy a battery charger. If you bought the batteries and charger you would be lucky to cover that cost on resale.
The automatic level and rotating level might each net $200. As for the rest, sell the tribrachs and scrap the rest.
Paul in PA
Did They Get $500 For The Whole Lot ?
If you purchased the whole lot you might be able to use the batteries from the Theodolite next to the Total Station in the Total Station.
But construction companies and mining companies are not known for treating their instruments nicely.
Did They Get $500 For The Whole Lot ?
I don't know, my first impression was: garbage.
But looking closely at the picture, the second shelf from the top does not look that bad (although old). The other shelves have some not so great equipment, but could possibly be salvageable by the right individual.
There's a broken handle on the Topcon total station, the same thing happened at the first company I worked with (a land surveying company that did take good care of its equipment), the handle may have been weak in design. So maybe the actual total station is not that bad of a shape and could give good results. I think that it could be possible to find batteries for this model. Topcon has been consistent with the side batteries style. And if those couple of theodolites can swing good angles, and batteries/chargers are available, I could see someone being interested.
$500 for the whole set might not be that bad of a gamble for the solo guy who can fiddle with things a bit.
Then he can bring the rest that's deemed garbage to a survey convention and use it to raise money for charities as an entertainment game. Mount it on a tripod, take a swing at it with a baseball for 20 bucks and see what happens. I am sure there would be a few takers (especially, if there's a bar at the convention). "Let's see how strong are these instruments" Or "I remember this @%$%#@& piece of @$%*!!!, here's my $20, pass me the bat!"
- - - -
My brother is a musician in France. They went to play once in a biker's convention (French bikers, all leather with their V-twin 250CC). During the night, one of the highlight was to run a motorbike without oil to see how long it would take before the engine seized!
They had a good time!
:beer:
