Nice looking T3 and I look forward to finding out more about this factory variant
Wild T3 manual PDF
Thank you for the link. I'd found a copy of that one and TM-5-6675-231-24P last year when I was doing my initial T-3 research but your link is a cleaner copy.
Stephen-
I've been discussing your T-3 with Dave Ingram, we've arrived at a couple of different opinions -
One thought is that that the military (Army or Air Force) needed a night-time capable T-3, and the easiest way to aide night-observations was by adding the 2 lighted sighting guides... without any recording mechanism ever installed- seems perhaps a bit of overkill, but it certainly fits the scenario; when asked for a night-observation capable T-3 it's possible that the recommended solution from Wild was to mount the 2 optically-lit sighting aides, without the camera-recording modification.
Wild Heerbrugg as a company seems to have been very willing to provide any type of requested customer-based modification to their instrumentation, although the cost may have been prohibitive for a normal civilian firm, the military/ government was certainly able to get these types of modifications if needed. Since Wild had already manufactured these before for the T-3R, it was probably simpler for them to utilize already-designed parts and install these as a relatively quick solution. It may have only been a 1-time special order from the military, which means that the extra sighting-tubes never made it into any official Tech Manual/ Field Instruction.
The other option is that as manufactured these did have the camera-recording mechanism, but subsequent use and the obsolescence of the ROBOT camera and film setup may have resulted in those specific parts being replaced with a more normal T-3 assembly- the spare micrometer circle parts were readily available from Wild/Leica as needed direct from the factory, and a regular T-3 would have had more use with military engineering units than a special recording camera-based T-3R.
I see that the picture of the other T-3 sold in the same Gov't auction also had the micrometer worked on/ or replaced at some point- they used a lighter-colored green was to fill in the set-screw holes on the yoke. -I'm guessing this was a gov't based replacement/ repair, as the Wild service center in New York would have had the exact-color matching wax to use... Wild service technicians would have been very picky about returning instruments back as close to original as possible, and would not have sent it back with the mis-colored wax.
-Nathan
Thanks for the extra pictures- very helpful.
Also, in the pictures of the Dutch/ Jürg's T-3R, each with at additional "Light" on top of the standard with the micrometer index circle - that "light" is actually the mounting point for the ROBOT camera... it's actually a metal cap that would be removed and the camera attached when recording the vertical index readings.
Hello All,
after all the speculation, I think I need to give you some comments.
Yes, Nathan is right, the Wild T3R with the photo registration, there are also such "tubes" installed.
But not all, some brochures also show only one rectangular tube.
My T3R is from 1950
Please find a photo out of the German manual attached, one from the T3R and one from the microscope to analyse the film afterwards.
In the German manual its called Kollimator and in a English paper they say "finder"
The tubes are not for illuminating the circles ... they are just collimator's to help to find the target.
The light will illuminate the cross inside the collimator's because the T3R was normally used at night.
One paper says that the brightness can be adjusted by turning the light at the front ... not sure if this is right ...
To illuminated the circle if used in combination with the Robot camera, they used a special light as shown on the picture ... its a 15 Watt 12Volt lamp.
Additional I have one T3 with this two tubes, but not the adapter for the camera ... but the standard also large "nose".
Looks its identical with the one on this discussion, except the wiring and slip ring on the axis.
Mine is from 1956 and this one is from 1962
In this case I assume they only wanted a easier target finder instead of using V-notch and bead.
The latest version of the T3 and also the early electronic theodolites also used a similar collimator as well as the late T2's. Just much smaller and without illumination.
Hope this helps a little and will bring some light into the darkness .....
best regards
Jürg
P.S i have some papers in German, English and French ... and would copy them for a small fee ... if needed contact me over my webpage:
http://www.wild-heerbrugg.com/shop/
This just in from Jurg
Hello All,
after all the speculation, I think I need to give you some comments.
Yes, Nathan is right, the Wild T3R with the photo registration, there are also such "tubes" installed.
But not all, some brochures also show only one rectangular tube.
My T3R is from 1950
Please find a photo out of the German manual attached, one from the T3R and one from the microscope to analyse the film afterwards.
In the German manual its called Kollimator and in a English paper they say "finder"
The tubes are not for illuminating the circles ... they are just collimator's to help to find the target.
The light will illuminate the cross inside the collimator's because the T3R was normally used at night.
One paper says that the brightness can be adjusted by turning the light at the front ... not sure if this is right ...
To illuminated the circle if used in combination with the Robot camera, they used a special light as shown on the picture ... its a 15 Watt 12Volt lamp.
Additional I have one T3 with this two tubes, but not the adapter for the camera ... but the standard also large "nose".
Looks its identical with the one on this discussion, except the wiring and slip ring on the axis.
Mine is from 1956 and this one is from 1962
In this case I assume they only wanted a easier target finder instead of using V-notch and bead.
The latest version of the T3 and also the early electronic theodolites also used a similar collimator as well as the late T2's. Just much smaller and without illumination.
Hope this helps a little and will bring some light into the darkness .....
best regards
Jürg
Mr. Jürg Dedual gratefully has responded with his take on these "tubes"- below is a summary... the correct answer seems that these were installed as night-observing aides for pointing the T-3; but without the recording camera option- they are not needed for the camera at all, as they have no direct connection with the camera mount. So my take on their use with/for a T-3R recording camera was wrong; they are just for night-time observations.
I believe that your first scenario is the most likely. From what I can tell from the photos of the T3R modifying it into a normal T3 would required a new U-standard without the arm in front and a different housing for the micrometer.
Thank you to everyone who commented and helped research this. There's a massive amount of accumulated knowledge and experience amongst the members here that never ceases to amaze and educate me.
This just in from Jurg
Description of the numbered items in the picture of the T-3R, above:
1.- connecting block/ electrical relay
2. 15 Watt lamp (12 V)
3. sliding filter (for eye view the put in a filter to see something)
4. inverter knob ..... to change viewing path of the micrometer between horizontal and vertical reading .... photo can be only done for Hz ... in V position ... )
5. recording camera ( its a Robot Camera)
6. special electrically illuminated COLLIMATOR .... facilitating the orientation of the telescope at night.
7. tangent screw for azimuth ..... with one knob on each side for continuous operation
You might take a look at the following:
https://archive.org/stream/TM5-232#page/n74/mode/1up
This is a page of the Department of the Army TM 5-232.
The above link is two photographs of the Wild T-3, by looking at the photographs the two viewing tubes mentioned are not shown on either of the two photographs in the Army Manual.
A few pages later in the Manual has a page showing the Wild T4
A few more pages shows a gyro-azimuth surveying instrument. It has a T2 mounted on top. I think this might be related to another series of posts on this board in the past couple of days.
The Army TM 5-32 has a date of June 1971.
A copy can be seen and downloaded by using Google search for, Department of the Army TM 5-32, you will get several hits.
I bought my copy at Government Printing Office or something like that in Kansas City, Missouri on 22 January 1975, price at that time was $2.25.
Title on the manual is "Technical Manual, Elements of Surveying".
Jerry M. Davis
If you have a link to that description of how to read the scales I'd appreciate the link.
I think I might have figured it out, but it seems complex. (360 degrees, divisions of 4 minutes on the main circle, and 600 divisions on the micrometer, which traverses 4 minutes in going from 0 to 600).
A guide would help.
Thanks
Found it, thanks, in the Guide to Surveying listed below by Jerry Davis.
