Yes, the TS16 negotiations were done without my involvement, The Tripod I have now was bought by the supervisor stating high quality, I could only find it on Amazon. Not saying it is a bad tripod, it feels good legs seem to be of wood and the rest is fiberglass with a nice metal polished big round flat head.
I will check all the nuts and screws and go from there, if I see no improvement, I will ask to get the Leica one. And yes I do use sandbags at its feet. There could be a loose screw by the head or foot not sure, but when setting up it felt solid.
Are you pulling your instrument straight out of the case and getting surveying.
In the past I have found it can be worthwhile to let the instrument and legs acclimatise for ten or fifteen minutes before trying to do any really high accuracy work.
yeah, straight to work, this time of year in Vegas the morning temps could be 35 degrees, and afternoon like 65 70 degrees. But I'm not usually out all day, just the temps are constantly moving up.
Also, the machine and legs are in a warm trailer, pull the gear out into the cold etc...
A lot of factors going on here...............
Ideally, set up your tripod about 20 minutes before backsighting. That will give the stresses time to equalize. In practice that means checking and resetting your BS after that amount of time. Thereafter it will stay "on" for quite a long while if undisturbed.
Composite tripods are really popular here in the PNW where we work in the rain - a lot. I prefer the Leica 120-9s even so, and if I was working in the desert that would be x100.
Check out the white paper here:
https://leica-geosystems.com/en-us/products/levels/accessories/tripods
With a Total Station or and/or Robotic TS, if you re-level or make any adjustment at-all to your setup, you MUST recheck your back site. I would also mention to; re-zero, but that is no longer applicable to many modern instruments. Also be aware and determine if your instrumentation accounts for PPM adjustments, this has nothing to do with the instrument being level but it is important if your environmental temperature has changed significantly since you initially started collecting data. Someone already mentioned your back-site setup as well; never tear-down without checking and insuring your back-site setup is still plumb.
I am very familiar with the unique range of daily temperatures that can occur rapidly in southern NV . Also be aware that an instrument can still be level but if one side is constantly exposed to the sun more that the other, it will definitely influence any bubble level indicators. During your initial instrument setup, ensure you rotate the ‘gun’ after the initial leveling to ensure it looks good in all quadrants. Also no matter what tripod you use, slap the legs a few times to ensure nothing is pinching and any stress is relieved before being satisfied with your setup.
Many moons have passed since I last worked on a two man crew and a Total Station. That being said, I recall taking a ‘natural’ site on some disguisable far away object (maybe the Stratosphere Casino Tower) in the general direction the ‘gun’ is pointing at for a quick check by the Instrument Operator without having to keep turning to the back-site. At the end of the setup however the IO should shoot and record the last BS reading.
Thank you Everyone for all of your knowledge! This Super helps!
My new set up, Thank you, EVERYONE!
Great! What is your initial impression of the new legs?
"I stopped using Tri-Max for anything other than GNSS or radios, years ago because was constantly out on back site checks as the weather changed. The coefficient of expansion plays a lot into the issue. Not to sound like a salesman but the Leica GS120-9 legs. The Tri-Max work well if the conditions are constant."
I experienced that too, fibreglass tripods move. I installed dual clamps on the GS120 for some extra rigidity, and I tighten torque the bolts clamping the leg pin bushes at the tripod head. I've broken the bush retaining clamps on the Tri-Max when tightening them, I haven't broken any on the GS120.
Tribrach's have three levelling screws, the old Y levels and transits had four, this was so the elevation didn't change when adjusting level. When adjusting two levelling screws in opposite directions, the height won't change, so adjust half on one side, then the remaining half on the opposite site to bring the tribrach level without changing height. Provided you don't change the height, if levelling the tribrach over the point returns it to centre, you're back in the original position. If however it doesn't return to centre over the point, then you'll need to re-centre the tribrach, to return it to its original position, in this case it's inevitable that the tribrach will be rotated slightly and you'll need to re-setup the instrument. Always check the back sight after making any minor adjustments.
Legs feel good! much lighter than the other tripod I showed you
Thank you
One more new item I got!
How are they doing in the heat?
Hope it's all insured! Can see some dummy grabbing some rebar next to it. 🤡
Doint better with temp changes, and yes they are insured
