At my company, we retired our final ??conventional? total station about 4 years ago, after finally fully transitioning to robotics. The old conventional Topcons have been sitting in the closet for a few years now, and I decided I might as well see if they want to sell me one for cheap.?ÿ
I used them regularly in the field, and they were solid instruments. But, of course it??s been awhile since they were used, and even longer since I was in the field.
I know some of you are really knowledgeable when it comes to instrument calibration and testing and whatnot, so I??m wondering: If you had a chance to get a good deal on a gun, and had all the time in the world to make sure it was still operational and up to snuff, what testing would you do on it to make sure it was worthwhile and trustworthy?
I imagine it would be great to turn lots of repetitive angles in direct and reverse, shoot lots of distances, etc. Any other advice from a pro? Or a previously burned consumer?
Start with the basics:?ÿ
All accessories available??ÿ Probably have to recell, or get new batteries.?ÿ Grab a case that is in decent shape.
Make sure the motions screws are in good shape.?ÿ Lightly clamp the motion, and put a finger the the scope.?ÿ Does it hold, or move off target?
All of the electronic buttons work, and easily??ÿ They will tend to get dirty and you will have to push hard to get it to trigger, which could move the scope off target.
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Grab one while you can, it will probably last longer that those new robots they are using - and be more reliable too.
I might suggest doing a simple traverse of say 4 angles that are close to 90?ø with legs around 300' or so. Ideally with a pair of tripods with prism adapters for BS and FS shots. You could take it a step further by doing the same loop with your best instrument in your inventory to compare it. Not the most scientific method but it should give you a good idea without shipping it out for cleaning/calibration.
I have found that an instrument in its case stored away for a long time will usually be just as good as it was when stored away.
Go thru every movement the instrument has and turn every knob and switch used to level, activate and operate the gun and listen for any sign of dryness in the motions.
At most, it would probably be in need of a lube job.
For used total stations, first thing I would check are the vertical/horizontal screws. Most used equipment have loose threads on the locking screw meaning you can't lock the vertical/horizontal motions to use the micro movement knob. Those are a bit more difficult to repair or replace.
The calibration part I think is the easiest to fix. For topcon guns the operation manual has a section on how to do a quick angle calibration.
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I would check if the dealer still services them.
Beyond that, is there an EDM baseline nearby??ÿ They're not usually maintained anymore, but it's a decent start to checking things over.
Site direct, site reverse. See how well it hits 180 degrees. See that the vertical fits the reciprocal. Then, shoot a dist and see that the internal edm lines up with the crosshairs. Coaxial alignment it's called.
Check Batts. Tribrach.?ÿ
Anything too tight. Too loose.
N
I bought a Trimble S6 in 2006, thinking it would last hopefully at least 4 or 5 years, it is still going strong, and we turn a lot of rounds with it. I actually was using the same original 3 batteries that came with it until a year or two ago. If I recall the only things that have been replaced was a compensator about 10 years ago and this year communications board. Always been under warranty, and send it in every other year to get cleaned, etc.
I have held on to several old optical instruments (T2, T3, DKM3) and a Zeiss S10 just in case, but never have needed them. I bought an SX10 last year, that went down recently and had to be sent back to Sweden, they could not figure out the problem at the dealer or later in Dayton at trimble. Got a loaner, though.
I have an old S6, could be a decade or more old, no idea of age. Still going strong, we use it for a forest traversing instrument.
My instrument bought new a few years ago is an S7 but it is more of the prima Donna of the two.
My three decade plus old batteries are finally showing their age, only show 80% charge when full, need some newer ones.
Most instrument repair shops have a simple check up procedure, (Dust & Adjust) why not send it to them and get the batteries re-celled.
Wouldn't that be better?
