CE 21011 Surveying I

Theodolite
What is Theodolite?
• Transit or theodolite is an instrument used to measure horizontal and vertical angles.
• The instrument was used to observe the passage (transit) of stars across any portion of the
celestial meridian.
• Because of its variety of uses, such as the measurement of horizontal and vertical angles,
prolonging a straight line, measurement of bearings, and measurement of horizontal and
vertical distances and determination of the direction of true north, it is sometimes referred to as
universal instrument.
• A modern theodolite is compact, light in weight, simple in design and can be used rough. All
the movable parts and scales are fully enclosed and virtually dust and moisture proof.
Parts of Theodolite
Right Face and Left Face of Theodolite

FACE LEFT : It means that the vertical circle of FACE RIGHT : This refers to the situation when the
theodolite is on the left of the observer at the time of vertical circle of the instrument is on the right of the
taking reading. observer when the reading is taken.
Setting Up
It consists of centring the theodolite over the station and its approximate levellingby tripod legs.
Levelling the instrument with the legs of the tripod. To achieve this, two of the tripod legs are
pushed firmly into the ground and the third leg of the tripod is moved to the right or to the left.
Levelling up the vertical axis truly vertical. This is done with the help of the foot screws

See Video
Optical Theodolite
• These are also known as glass arc or micro-optic
theodolites. In optical theodolites the graduated
brass or silver circles are replaced by graduated
glass circles. The graduations are photographically
etched on a glass disc. A system of prisms and
lenses is used by means of which an image of
graduations, near the point at which they are being
read, is reflected into the microscope.
• The light rays S, reflecting from mirrors Z and
having passed through the prisms will illuminate the
two opposite parts of graduated circle L. The images
of the graduations of these parts of the circle are
transmitted via lenses and prisms, on to the glass
plate P where they can be observed through the
microscope M. The graduations of the vertical circle
illuminated by the light beam S1 are also visible
through the microscope.
Electronic Theodolite
• Electronic theodolites differ in detail from the older vernier models, although in general
principle they are much the same. However, these are becoming popular because of two
reasons. Firstly, the electronic theodolites are light and compact, and secondly, with a distomat
attachment, these become an automatic total survey system. At the touch of a single key the
angles and distances are measured and recorded directly in a solid state memory device. The
data once collected can be processed by a computer.
• An electronic theodolite is similar to an optical theodolite in design. However, it has
arrangements to automatically resolve angular values and display them in a digital form.
Display is achieved with the help of light emitting diodes (LEDs) or liquid crystal diodes
(LCDs), the latter requiring less power. The surveyor does not have to look into a circle
reading telescope or set a micrometer screw to obtain a reading. Since electronic theodolite
provides a digital read-out of those angles instead of a scale; it is both more accurate and less
prone to errors arising from interpolating between marks on the scale or from mis-recording.
The read-out is also continuous; so angles can be checked at any time.
Electronic Theodolite (Continued)

• Within the theodolite, light is passed through the

encoded circle and the light pattern emerging
through the circle is detected by photodiodes. Two
measurement systems are used to scan this light
pattern and these are known as incremental and
absolute.
• When the horizontal or vertical circle of an
electronic theodolite is rotated in an incremental
reading system, the amount of incident light passing
through to the photodiodes varies in proportion to
the angle through which the theodolite has been
rotated. This varying light intensity is converted into
electrical signals by the photodiodes and these in
turn are passed to the microprocessor which
converts the signals into an angular output.
FEATURES OF ELECTRONIC THEODOLITES
Many electronic theodolites have some or all of the following features:
FEATURES OF ELECTRONIC THEODOLITES (Continued)

6. Display Illumination: All electronic theodolites have a built-in illumination function for both
the display and cross-hairs.

7. Data Transfer : In an electronic theodolite, angle information is generated in a digital format.

This can be transmitted by the theodolite to a suitable storage device for subsequent processing by
a computer. A storage device is connected to the data port on the side of the theodolite.
Errors

The sources of error in angular measurement may arise from imperfections in the adjustments and
construction of the theodolite.
Errors

Vertical Axis Error

• If the plate bubbles are not adjusted properly, the vertical axis of the
instrument does not remain vertical even if the plate bubbles are at the
centre of their run. Non-verticality of the vertical axis introduces errors in
the measurements of both the horizontal and vertical angles. This error can
be eliminated only by levelling the instrument carefully, with the help of the
altitude or telescope bubble before starting the observations.

Error due to line of collimation not being perpendicular to the trunnion

axis
If the line of collimation of the telescope is not truly perpendicular to the
trunnion axis, it generates a cone when it is rotated about the horizontal axis.
This introduces errors in horizontal angles measured between stations at
different elevations. This error may be eliminated from the measured angle by
taking the average of the two values of the horizontal angles measured on both
faces.
Errors

Error due to the horizontal axis not being perpendicular to

the vertical axis

If the horizontal axis is not perpendicular to the vertical axis,

the line of collimation does not revolve in the vertical plane,
when the telescope is raised or lowered. Due to this imperfect
adjustment, errors are introduced in both the horizontal and
vertical angles. The magnitude of the error depends on:

• The angle between the horizontal axis and the vertical axis.

• The vertical angle of the station sighted.

• Elevations of the stations sighted. It is considerable if the

stations sighted are at different elevations.
Errors

Error due to non-parallelism of the axis of the telescope level and line of collimation

If the axis of the telescope level is not parallel to the line of collimation, an error is introduced in
the vertical angle, because the zero line of the vertical verniers do not represent the true line of
reference.
Measurement of Horizontal Angle

Horizontal angles are measured on the horizontal circle of a theodolite by operating the upper
clamp, the lower clamp, and the upper and lower tangent screws.

Method of Repetition
To measure an angle by repetition, between two stations, means to measure it two or more times
allowing the vernier to remain clamped each time at the end of each measurement instead of
setting it back to 0° every time when sighting at the previous station.
Thus, an angle reading is mechanically multiplied by the number of repetitions. The value of the
angle observed is obtained by dividing the accumulated reading by the number of repetitions.
Generally six repetitions are done, three with the telescope normal and three with the telescope
inverted.
Method of Repetition
Method of Repetition
Method of Repetition