The theodolite

1.1 Introduction: -

Theodolite is an instrument used to measure

horizontal and vertical angles. It consists of a telescope by means of which
distant objects can be sighted. The telescope has to distinct motions one in the
horizontal plane and the other in the vertical plane, the former being measured
on a graduated horizontal circle by means of a set of verniers, and the latter on
a graduated vertical circle by two verniers. It can also be used for various
other purposes such as lying of horizontal angles, locating points on a line,
prolonging survey lines, establishing grades, determining differences in
elevation etc.
Theodolites are mainly used for surveying applications, and have been
adapted for specialized purposes in fields like metrology and rocket launch
technology. When the telescope is pointed at a target object, the angle of each
of these axes can be measured with great precision, typically to seconds of
arc.

1.2 Classification: -

Theodolite may be classified into two types are as

follows:

Transit theodolite

Non-transit theodolite

Theodolite is also classed as

Vernier theodolite

Micrometer theodolite

1.2.1 Transit theodolite: -

A theodolite is said to be a transit then

its telescope can be revolved through 180 in a vertical plane about its
horizontal axis. The transit type is largely used, while the other two types have
now become obsolete.

Fig.- tansist theodolite

1.2.2 Non-transit theodolite: - A theodolite is said to be a non-transit when

its telescope cannot be revolved through 180 in a vertical plane about its
horizontal axis.

Fig.-non transit theodolite

1.3 The essentials parts of the theodolite: 3

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Telescope
Vertical Scale (or Vertical Circle)
The index frame
Vertical Clamp and Tangent Screw
Upper Plate
The Lower Plate
Horizontal Scale (or Horizontal Circle)
The Upper Horizontal Clamp and Tangent Screw.
The Lower Horizontal Clamp and Tangent Screw.
The Plumb Bob
Leveling screw
Tripod

All of these parts are explained in following:1.

2.
3.

4.
5.

6.

Telescope: -

the telescope is an integral part of the theodolite and is

mounted on a spindle known as horizontal axis or trunnion axis.
The vertical circle: - The vertical circle is a circular graduated arc
attached to the trunnion axis of the telescope.
The index frame: - the index frame is a t-shaped frame consisting
of a vertical leg known as clipping arm and a horizontal bar is known as
vernier arm or index arm.
The upper plate:- The upper plate is the base on which the
standards and vertical circle are placed.
The lower plate:- The lower plate is the base of the whole
instrument. It houses the foot screws and the bearing for the vertical
axis.
Horizontal Scale: - It is used to define the horizontal direction in
which the telescope is sighted.

7.

8.

9.
10.

11.

12.

Tripod:

- The theodolite is supported on a tripod which consists of

three solid or framed legs. At the lower ends, the legs are provided with
pointed steel shoes.
The Plumb Bob: - a plumb bob is suspended from the hook fitted to
the bottom of the inner axis to centre the instrument exactly over the
station mark.
Vertical Clamp: - In order to hold the telescope at a particular
vertical angle a vertical clamp is provided.
Leveling screw: - The horizontal plates can be leveled by means of
three foot screws located beneath the lower plate, in a similar way to a
level.
The Upper Horizontal Clamp and Tangent Screw:- The
upper horizontal clamp is provided to clamp the upper plate to the
horizontal circle. Once the clamp is released the instrument is free to
traverse through 360 around the horizontal circle.
The Lower Horizontal Clamp and Tangent Screw:-The
lower horizontal clamp is provided to clamp the horizontal circle to the
lower plate. Once the clamp is released the circle is free to rotate about
the vertical axis. When clamped, the horizontal circle can be gradually
rotated using the lower-horizontal tangent screw.

1.4 Setting up:1.4.1 The Tripod:The first job is to set up the tripod. Place the forward leg on the orange
line between the marker point E3 and the beam dump and the other two
behind E3, either side of the orange line. In principle, you could have the legs
in another way, but this has two advantages. Firstly, one leg is on the orange
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line, which helps setting it right and secondly there are no legs in the place
where you need to stand! In order to get the centre of the tripod exactly over
the E3 marker, you need to use the optical plumb line. This is a small black
lens which pulls slightly out of the T1A. If you look through it, you can see
the floor directly under the theodolite. Move it in and out to adjust the focus.

Fig. - setting up the tripod

However, this is only correct if the platform on which the theodolite sits is
horizontal. There are three screws to adjust this and a two-dimensional spirit
level with a bubble which comes into the centre when the theodolite base is
horizontal.

1.4.2 Leveling the theodolite:(a)

Roughly level the instrument using the circular level:

Turn the leveling screws A and B in opposite directions to center the bubble
along the AB axis.
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 Turn leveling screw C to bring the bubble to the center of the circular level.

Fig. - Diagram for rough leveling with the circular level.

(b) Precisely level the instrument using the plate level.
Free the horizontal motion clamp and rotate the instrument horizontally
until the plate level is parallel with line AB.
Bring the bubble to the center of the plate level by turning screws A and B
in opposite directions.
Rotate the instrument by 90 around its vertical axis and turn screw C to
center the bubble once more.
Repeat procedures 1 and 2. For each 90 rotation of the instrument and
check that the bubble is correctly centered for all four points. If after 180
of rotation, the bubble is off center, remove half the error in the bubble
centering. Check that when you have swung another 180 back to the initial
point, the bubble offset is the same as the offset you allowed to remain in
the 180 rotated position.

Fig. - Diagram for _ne leveling with the plate level.

1.5

Measurement: -

In this section we learn how to take accurate readings of horizontal and

vertical angles using a theodolite.
(a) Determine how many reference points you will need to measure, and
make sure that their horizontal and vertical positions are clearly marked. In
order of measurement, these reference points will be referred to as X, Y and
Z in these instructions.
(b) Turn on the theodolite by pressing the green power key.

1.5.1 Horizontal measurement:To avoid confusion, all horizontal angle measurements should be
completed before taking vertical angle measurements.
(a)

Take face-left angle measurements.

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 Rotate the telescope about the trunnion axis until the instrument is in faceleft position.
Press the OSET key and rotate the telescope horizontally to give a reading
between 0 and 1.
Press HOLD to lock this value.
After making sure no one is in the telescope line of sight, press the laser on
button on top of the telescope. Free the horizontal and vertical clamps and
swing the laser spot to reference point X.
Roughly align the laser spot and focus it using the focusing ring on the
telescope. Tighten the horizontal and vertical clamps. Turn off the laser.
Place a blank sheet of paper in front of the telescope, and, looking through
the telescope, focus the crosshairs using the eyepiece.
Remove the paper and focus the telescope on the reference object using the
focusing ring.
Check for parallax by moving your head up and down and left to right. If
the crosshairs move,
Refocus the crosshairs, and refocus the reference object as described above.
Looking through the telescope, home in on the reference object using the
slow-motion screws. For horizontal angle measurements, the vertical
crosshair must be perfectly aligned with the reference point, but the
horizontal crosshair need not be, as long as approximately the same part of
the vertical crosshair is used for each horizontal measurement.
Check the telescope pointing, book the horizontal angle reading, and check
the booking.
Release the HOLD key (only applies to the very first reading).
Repeat steps 4 to 10 for reference points Y, Z, etc.

(b)

Take face-right angle measurements to complete a round of

angles.
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1. Rotate the telescope about the trunnion axis until the instrument is in
face-right position.
2. Repeat steps (a) 4 - 11 In the face-right position. Now you've booked a
series of angles between 0 and 360 and a series between 360 and
720. This completes a round of angles.
(c)

Take at least one more round of angles using an initial horizontal

reading between 90 and 91 for the second round, 180 and 181 for
the third round, etc. If you take only two rounds of angles, make sure
that the readings agree within twice the precision of the theodolite.

(d)

Once the desired precision is achieved, take the mean value of the
measured angles.

1.5.2 Vertical measurement: The vertical angle scale is referenced absolutely to the ground, so it is
impossible to use different initial readings for the multiple rounds of
angles.
(a)

Take face-left angle measurements.

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 Rotate the telescope about the trunnion axis until the instrument is in faceleft position.
After making sure no one is in the telescope line of sight, press the laser on
button on top of the telescope. Free the horizontal and vertical clamps and
swing the laser spot to reference point X.
Roughly align the laser spot and focus it using the focusing ring on the
telescope. Tighten the horizontal and vertical clamps. Turn o_ the laser.
Place a blank sheet of paper in front of the telescope, and, looking through
the telescope, focus the crosshairs using the eyepiece.
Remove the paper and focus the telescope on the reference object using the
focusing ring.
Check for parallax by moving your head up and down and left to right. If
the crosshairs move, refocus the crosshairs, and refocus the reference object
as described above.
Looking through the telescope, home in on the reference object using the
slow-motion screws. For vertical angle measurements, the horizontal
crosshair must be perfectly aligned with the reference point, but the vertical
crosshair need not be, as long as approximately the same part of the
horizontal crosshair is used for each vertical measurement.
Check the telescope pointing, book the vertical angle reading, and check
the booking.
Repeat steps 2 to 8 for reference points Y, Z, etc.
(b)

Take face-right angle measurements to complete a round of

angles.

Rotate the telescope about the trunnion axis until the instrument is in
face-right position.
Repeat steps (a) 2 - 9 in the face-right position. This completes a round
of angles.
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(c)

Take at least one more round of angles. If you take only two rounds
of angles, make sure that the readings agree within twice the precision of
the theodolite.

(d)

Once desired precision is achieved, take the mean value of the angles
measured.

1.6
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Reference

Surveying vol.- 1 By Dr. B.C.Punamia, Ashok K. Jain, Arun K. Jain.

Surveying vol.- 1 By Duggal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodolite.
http://www.ikp.uni-koeln.de/~warr/doc/alignment.pdf
http://www.tlaloc.demon.co.uk/theodolite.doc

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