I have no training and little experience but I am putting together a Trimble 5600 robotic system for steel layout and as built surveys. I have some questions I haven't been able to find an answer for. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I understand a pair of back sights on a building site would allow me to put the instrument where I want, so I am looking at buying a pair of tribrach/adapter/prism units. There are many for sale but none are described as working with Trimble equipment. Seems to me that the only thing that would fit one brand or another is the instrument hight, where having the hights match is a convenience for a traverse, with Trimble the highest at 196mm. Have I got it right so far? Why are there no prism assemblies for Trimble?
Also, 90 degree eyepieces. There are many available for Topcon and Leica for $100 but only the dealer has the Trimble bent eyepiece for $800. A simple 30X eyepiece is $300. In astronomy that would buy me a telescope eyepiece the size of my fist, solid glass and a 70 degree field of view. From Trimble I get an eyepiece the size (and sophistication) of my thumb nail.
What am I missing here? Do some of the Topcon or Nikon parts fit the Trimble hardware? Is Trimble evil? :excruciating:
Thanks for considering this.
Not evil, just greedy
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> Also, 90 degree eyepieces. There are many available for Topcon and Leica for $100
Dont know about the Trimble stuff, but that 90deg eyepiece for $100 is not a real Leica.
When it came for layout, as long as you have objects inn the area, I used the stickers that had reflectors on them and put them all over my job site. I just traversed on to the site and used direct reflect to locate them all, this would then allow me to set up anywhere on my site and resect in. This beats buyin the extra prism's.
I have no training and little experience but I am putting together a Trimble 5600 robotic system for steel layout and as built surveys
You have to be kidding me.....right? Please post the projects you work on so we know not to enter those buildings
Don't get your shirt in a knot. If the parts don't fit, it won't be built. 😉
It's the engineers you have to worry about. I understand there has been a major bridge collapse every 30 years for the past six generations. Anyone remember when the last one was? The US hasn't done much bridge maintenance since they built I5 and the overpasses in Canada have already started collapsing. The west coast gets a big one (San Andreas is a medium one) every 3 to 7 hundred years and the last one was 3oo years ago. The last thing you need to worry about is how efficiently I lay out the footings.
If you are setting up tripods anyway then you simply measure the target height with a pocket tape.
If you are talking about doing resection every time you set up the instrument then I suggest you need more than two targets so that you have redundancy and can see residuals so you know something didn't get busted or out of whack.
Just because someone can get their hands on a robot, it doesn't mean they are competent to use it properly.
Your predicament reminds me of an instrument man that worked for me. He was an excellent instrument man before the electronic TS came along.
He left helping me and wound up with a concrete company and was expected to use a robot. One problem, he had never seen one before much less know how to operate one.
Like you, he didn't know his next move.
I remember his call of desperation and asking me how does he get the plan information into the robot.
He could not even tell me the name, brand or software he had. All he actually knew was that was supposed to be in control of a robot.
good luck
> Don't get your shirt in a knot. If the parts don't fit, it won't be built. The last thing you need to worry about is how efficiently I lay out the footings.
Funny thing is concrete is not cheap to re-do because a surveyor was not worrying too much about how efficiently they did something. Also a contractor usually doesnt find out something wont fit until after the foundations are in. Believe me, no one else will be checking your work to make sure it fits.
Not saying you can't do what you want, but if you were one of my employees and asking the type of questions you are asking would not lead to me putting you in charge of a layout crew.
Difference is, I'm asking questions before starting a job. Not after.
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Without referencing a specific manufacturer maybe I can clear up the difference in cost for the eyepieces since descriptions can vary.
The less expensive 90 degree eyepieces likely slip on over the eyepiece of the instrument. Usually a friction type fit and inside there's probably just a simple prism. Some may have a swing in darkener lens for sun shots. (Caution always use an objective solar filter on a total station. You could fry the electronics otherwise.) This type of eyepiece can be used for steep shots but not zenith.
The more expensive 90 degree or diagonal, sometimes called zenith, eyepieces are usually attached by removing the standard eyepiece assembly and installed in its place. These eyepieces should allow shots to zenith on most instruments assuming the clearance is right. Additionally most may swivel so the operator can sight from the side of the instrument in a tight situation. There are internal optics and the eyepiece can focus on the cross hairs.
On optical theodolites with circle reading microscopes you'd usually want a set so you could also read angles. Darkener caps were available for these for sun shots.
So if you'll likely be shooting angles approaching zenith or will be working in tight quarters you'd probably want the latter type of auxiliary eyepiece.
Also these are brand and even instrument model specific so don't count on being able to use a less expensive brand y eyepiece on a brand x instrument.
I think that you are asking the wrong question.
Also, for questions related to equipment you should go to your dealer. If you do not have a dealer that can answer your questions you should remedy that. My intuition tells me that you will have many.
If I am following you correctly you plan on establishing control points on your job for the purpose of resection later.
I would say that if there are suitable structures in the the area you would be better suited to mount prisms on them for the duration of the project and then use those points for your resection control.
This approach would be similar to what super surveyor recommended with reflective tape targets but with a mounted prism you can point the prim if needed and also use automated edm pointing instead of optically pointing the instrument.
I had some difficulty finding a online vendor to the type of product I am describing but Page 3 of the following catalog has a nice picture of some prism sets designed to be anchored to walls.
http://www.tunneltrade.com/pdf/4981.pdf
I would pay attention to the voices in this thread that express concern about a person with no practical experience setting up their own control network and then using it to lay out foundations and as built iron.
If you could find a experienced surveyor to agree to establish the control points you will be respecting from you would be a big step ahead.
Thanks for all the info and feedback.
As for for my unkind reference to engineers, anybody hear about the building collapse in Ontario, Canada? Apparently the building was given approval by an engineer a few months back. Two confirmed dead. No mention of the guy who did the layout work contributing to the collapse.
Cheers.