Surveying

Lecture - Angle measurement &

theodolites

Dr David Connolly
Outline of today’s lecture:
• Recap - levelling
• Vertical and horizontal angles
• Accuracy of angle measurement
• Theodolites
• Measuring and setting out angles
• Sources of error

• Angle measurement tutorial

• Next week!
• Combine with taping
Levelling recap
Levelling
Levelling staff
• Challenge – difficult to hold straight!
– Causes errors in height readings
• Solution – rock forward-backward
– Choose minimum height
Calculation methods
• Rise and fall

TBM 1 49.873 m
• HPC

TBM 2 48.710 m
D
C E

3.019
I2

1.752 2.811
A B

2.513
I3

1.496
I1

3.824
2.325
2.191
2.505
I2
FS
IS E
BS
CP BS
B D
TBM
IS C TBM
BS I3
CP FS
IS FS
A I1
Sources of error
• Equipment errors
• Field or on-site errors
• Curvature and refraction errors
2 peg test – error check
Today's topic:
Angle measurement
Why measure angles on-site
• Surveying relies on triangulation
• To calculate triangle dimensions, we typically
need an angle measurement

Needed for many applications, including:

1. Control surveys
2. Setting out

Very common!
Theodolites
• Telescope mounted on sensitive horizontal & vertical protractors
• Used for measuring angles only
• Electronic (automated display) or optical (manual reading)
• Classified by the smallest reading they can take
Theodolites
• Telescope mounted on sensitive horizontal & vertical protractors
– Clearly visible in older theodolites (optical & mechanical)
Traditional angle measurement
Total stations
• Used for measuring
angles,(i.e. similar to
theodolite) but can also
measure distances
• Larger apparatus
• Electronic
Electronic theodolite
Electronic theodolite
Electronic theodolite
Horizontal angles
• Used for:
– Bearings and directions in control
surveys
– Setting out all types of structure
• Is the angle θ on horizontal
plane through T between
vertical planes containing
TA and TB
• Horizontal circle pivots on Vertical
axis

vertical axis. Unaffected by

Objective
V
Horizontal H le
axis ng
O al a
rtic
Ve

point height Sight

axis
S

Eycpiece Vertical
circle
0,
00
0
go
n

ta l angle
Horizon
Horizontal
Circle
Why measure horizontal angles
Needed for
1. Control surveys
2. Locating detail when
mapping
3. Setting out
Vertical angles
• Used for:
– Determining the height of
points via trigonometry
– Often used for slope
calculations
• Unaffected by horizontal dist
between points
• Vertical angles to A and B
from T are:
αA – angle of elevation
αB – angle of depression
Vertical
axis
Objective
V
Horizontal H le
axis ng
O al a
rtic
Ve
S
Sight
axis Eycpiece Vertical
circle
0,
00
0
go
n

ta l angle
Horizon
Horizontal
Circle
Why measure vertical angles
Needed for:
1. Determining the height of
points
2. Calculating slope corrections

The vertical at A The vertical at B

A Horizontal plane through A B
Unif
orm
slop
e
H L V

A Horizontal plane through B B

D
Accuracy of measurement
• Must choose correct instrument for job
(see table)
• E.g. if 5mm tolerance is required for site
work up to a distance of 100m, a 10”
instrument is needed
• In practice: minimum reading on
instrument ≠ true accuracy (e.g. due to
on-site & equipment errors)
• High precision required for: nuclear,
dams etc.
Angle measurement notation
• Degrees, minutes and seconds
– Symbol for degree: o
– Symbol for minute: ’
– Symbol for second: ”
• Example: 40o 20’ 50”
– Right angle: 90o 00’ 00”
• Seconds (”) also termed ‘mgon’
Example question 1
• Convert (126o 12’ 27’’) into decimal degree
form.
126𝑜 12′ 27′′ = 126𝑜 + 12′ + 27′′

• 60 minutes in 1 hour
• 3600 seconds in 1 hour
1𝑜 1𝑜
= 126𝑜 + 12 + 27
60′ 3600′′

= 126𝑜 + 0.2𝑜 + 0.0075𝑜

= 126.2075𝑜
Example question 2
• Convert, 85.8031o into ‘degrees, minutes,
seconds’, format.
85.8031 = 85𝑜 + 0.8031𝑜

0.8031 × 60′ = 48.186′

0.186 × 60" = 11.16"

• Therefore the final angle is:

85𝑜 48′ 11.16" ≈ 85𝑜 48′ 11"

Electronic theodolite
• More common than optical
• VA = Vertical Angle
• HA = Horizontal Angle
• Encoder and microprocessor used to
convert readings into digital signals
Optical theodolite
• Relies on manual
operation and recording
• Several type of reading
systems
• Optical theodolite rarely
used nowadays
Setting up a theodolite

• Very similar to setting up a

level, total station (later!) and
tripod-mounted GPS antenna
• General steps
1. Setup tripod
2. Centre theodolite
3. Level theodolite
4. Remove parallax
Step 1 - setting up the tripod
• Rest tripod feet on the ground
and centre it over the nail/peg
using tripod plummet
• Keep the tripod head approx.
level and adjust the feet
positions to centre it
• When centred, push feet into
ground
• Ensure plate is approx. horiz.
• Check plummet again
Step 2 – centre theodolite

• Remove theodolite from case

• Carefully place theodolite on
tripod and tighten screw
• Use theodolite optical
plummet to check if
theodolite is centred on nail
• Loosen the screw (slightly!)
and line up the optical
plummet cross-hairs with nail
Step 3 – level theodolite
• Observing the spirit level
(bubble), adjust the 3 foot-screws
on theodolite to ensure it is
horizontal
• Readjust the theodolite position
if it is no longer directly centred
above the nail
• Iterative procedure – trial & error
Step 4 – remove parallax
• If theodolite incorrectly focused, errors
(parallax) occurs
• Detected by moving eye to different positions
• If parallax present, staff readings will change
with eye position
• Solution – refocus
until readings
don’t change
Setup notes
• Takes practice/experience to
setup quickly
• When finished, place theodolite
in box. Trickier than it looks!
• If working in wet weather, leave
the box case ajar to prevent
water from affecting
theodolite internal workings
Target types
• Need targets at measurement points
• Tripod mounted target
– Time consuming setup
• Detail pole target
– Must be vertical & above point – use bubble
• Mini-prism target
Measuring angles - definitions
Vertical
axis
Objective
V

Transiting: aka plunging/reversing – rotate Horizontal

axis
H
O rtical a
ng
le

Ve
telescope 180 in the vertical plane (about S
Sight
horizontal axis). It now points in the axis Eycpiece Vertical
circle

opposite direction

0,
00
0
go
n
tal a ngle

Swinging the telescope: turning the Horizontal

Circle
Horizon

telescope in the horizontal plane

Face Left: The vertical circle is off-centre. If it is
on the observers left then the position is called
‘Face Left’ (as in picture below)
Face Right: If the vertical circle is on the
observers right then the position is called ‘Face
Right’ (as in picture above)
Break
Example – St Giles Cathederal
A new statue is due to be
constructed on the Royal
Mile. As part of a control
survey exercise, we need
to know the angles of 3
particular points
Example – St Giles Cathederal
Example – St Giles Cathederal
• Prism held at each required
location
• Probably pole-mounted

X Y Z
Example – St Giles Cathederal

X Y Z
Measuring angles
• We setup a theodolite at ‘W’ and
need to measure angles X, Y and Z
• Targets established at X, Y and Z
• X defined as the ‘reference object’ –
all horizontal angles are referred to
this point, i.e. XWY & XWZ. Does
NOT mean it is at angle 0o 00’ 00”
(origin)
• Note – line of sight challenges
presented by vehicles & general
public…Same happens on site! Must
carefully choose setup & control
points! What about cobble vibration!
Measuring horizontal angles - steps
1. Reading set along direction RO in
Face Left (FL) Position and recorded
in FL column
2. Rather than define the first point
(i.e. X) as having coordinates 00o
00’00”, our origin often starts at
‘North’. North can be arbitrarily
chosen for a particular project
• In this example, point X is
00o 03’50” from North
Measuring horizontal angles - steps
3. Y & Z sighted and FL readings
recorded
(17o22’10” & 83o58’50”)
4. All angles are measured
clockwise
5. Fill in ‘Face left’ column in your
log book
Measuring horizontal angles - steps
5. Telescope returned to origin & ‘transited’ so now in the
Face Right (FR) Position. Horizontal angles recorded again
in reverse order
Measuring horizontal angles - steps
Process now repeated a second time to
minimise errors.
6. Theodolite changed back to FL and
sighted at X (RO)
7. Horizontal circle set to a different
reading (arbitrary) from 1st reading, e.g.
45o12’30” or 00o00’00” (almost like
changing where North is)
8. Process repeated, by taking FL & FR –
this helps to detect and minimise errors
in the survey
Measuring horizontal angles - steps
Our field book table now looks
something like this:
Reducing angles - horizontal
9. Mean taken for each pair of FL and FR angles
• Subtract 180o 00’ 00” from FR readings
• Add mean minutes(‘) and mean seconds(“), to degrees(o) of FL
10. Final angle calculate by subtracting X(RO) mean from Y or Z mean
• So that we calculate angles from X rather than North
Reducing angles - horizontal
11. Final horizontal angles calculated by taking the average angle
over the 2 setups.
e.g.
𝑋𝑊𝑌 = (17𝑜 18′ 30" + 17𝑜 18′40")/2 = 17𝑜 18′ 35"
Measuring vertical angles
Very similar process to horizontal angles:
1. Take FL vertical angle readings
2. Theodolite rotated 180o in horizontal axis and then transited
3. Take FR vertical angle readings
Typically, only 1 set of angles taken (rather than 2 for horizontal)
Reducing angles - vertical
For convenience, it is common that FL & FR angles are
reduced as follows:
𝐹𝐿 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 90𝑜 − 𝐹𝐿 𝑧𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝐹𝑅 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 𝐹𝑅 𝑧𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 − 270𝑜
On the angle booking form these are computed using:

𝑅𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝐿 = 90𝑜 − 𝐹𝐿 𝑅𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑅 = 𝐹𝑅 − 270𝑜

Then, final vertical angles calculated using mean of reduced FL and FR angles:
Checking for errors - Horizontal
FL & FR angles should differ by 180o
Therefore, subtracting (FR-180o) from FL, we get the table below
These must be checked against the theodolite accuracy (and site
specifications) to determine whether acceptable.
The error between X,Y & Z measurements is:
• First round = 30”
• Second round = 10”
Checking for errors - Vertical
FL & FR angles should sum to 360o
FL + FR calculations shown in table below
Again, these must be checked against the theodolite accuracy (and
site specifications) to determine whether acceptable
The error between X,Y & Z measurements is 30”
Sources of error
1. Equipment errors
2. Field or on-site errors
Sources of error - equipment
• Equipment errors occur if the axes are not in perfect alignment
• Perfect alignment is almost impossible – will always be error!
– Remember accuracy example!
Examples:
• Horizontal collimation error – if line of sight is not perpendicular
to tilting axis then FL and FR will not differ by 180o
• Plummet error – must be aligned with vertical axis
of theodolite. If not then the theodolite will not
be correctly aligned over the nail
Sources of error – field 1
Incorrect use of theodolite
• Parallax present – often occurs if
theodolite focus is not changed
after each target sighted
• Leaning on the tripod – effects
readings.
• Only observing left/right face
rather than both (e.g. to save
time)
Sources of error – field 2
Ground/weather conditions
• Do not setup on soft ground
• Direct sunshine can affect the
instrument
• Refraction due to earths curvature
• Let the instruments adjust to
atmospheric conditions
• Avoid using instruments in windy conditions
No tutorial

Next week the tutorial will

combine ‘angle measurement’,
and next weeks topic, ‘Taping’