Don't be fooled by the "12V" label - the instruments actually need 13+V and die when the voltage drops to around 12.2V. When fully charged new Trimble...

@jitterboogie   Hey, that's cheap!! Are they real attorneys?

@sireath The UK have had a similar system for several years,  run by The Survey Association.  As well as theft it also has a section for "A...

@benchmarkses See my further comment about redundancy in the observations. If possible it's always better to have "fixed" positions to set up on as ...

@norman-oklahoma I should have been clearer: I should have said never rely on a minimum resection. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen p...

We do a lot of monitoring (BenchmarkSES will know of the Metrocentre). It is unusual but quite possible to get a building which floats around sideways...

I used one back in 1968-69, mainly for tying from primary pillars to set local control - typically lines of 20 to 40km. As already described, you don'...

If you can get hold of them the old Wild GST70 tripods will keep their adjustment very well. We have four - new points made to suit the instrument the...

It's not just steel that moves with the sun. 20 years ago we monitored a tall hotel block which was showing signs of distress - 12 storey concrete, bu...

One very occasional use is if you need to set up a "monitor" to be left on site, so that a non-critical movement can be detected. Place it firmly aime...

As BStrand says, sandbags work wonders. On soft surfaces when the wind is expected we have some screw in pig-tail/corkscrew anchors ( 10 seconds to p...

@a-harris That'll be fun on site : is it a dot? is it a speck of dirt?  

@leegreen I left university wearing glasses and quickly found that they were a real pain on instrument work and pushing glasses onto the top of your ...

Just to add a comment from a different viewpoint: in the UK I would expect any agreements to refer to the centreline of the "circuit" (same as support...

I wonder how useful that little cone is, if they can't see the big yellow one...

@bad Next day looking works wonders.

There's a difference between "fly" and "use".?ÿ Direct regulation will only be interested in "fly". It's the "use" teaching we should be concerned abo...

@a-harris Yes, you can never be certain how short a time will give a good answer. Two hours is around 95% certain of being hard to better (sensibly, ...