Measurement Modes

To demonstrate that the instruments are now connected, move the instruments to a new position and click the Query All button. You should see all the instrument move to their actual azimuth and elevation in SA.

 

Theodolite Manager allows operators to use theodolites in one of three primary measurement modes. These modes have been established based on a survey of common methods for applying theodolites. Some industries or applications may exclusively use one method while still others will vary their selection with each task at hand.

To change Measurement modes, click the User Options button.

The General > Target Offset section will apply to all measurement modes. This is the probe offset used in SA for various analysis tasks such as point to surface queries.

 

Freeform Mode

The Freeform measurement mode is designed for experienced theodolite crews who want and have the ability to enter target numbers at the theodolite. This is the recommended setting for Total Station users who use the Control Pad. In freeform mode it is necessary that the operator set the target number on the scope before recording.

Recording may be accomplished at the instrument or the interface as desired. Since SA uses both Target Names and Group Names the strategy employed is to arbitrarily divide the number into a group component and a target component. Several examples will be presented below to further illustrate the concept.

 

With the following settings:

the target numbers would convert to:

Target Number

Group Name

Target Name

1000

Group10

Tar00

2505

Group25

Tar05

2833

Group28

Tar33


With the following settings :


The target numbers would convert to:

Target Number

Group Name

Target Name

1000

Fender1

T000

2505

Fender2

T505

2833

Fender2

T833

 

Single Target Mode

This mode is often used when building operations need to be performed or when a novice crew needs to be guided through the measurement process. The basic premise is that all theodolites will typically shoot the same target at the same time. This is particularly helpful for inexperienced users since sighting errors can be immediately identified and corrected.

After enabling the Single Target Mode in the user options dialog, the interface will appear as below:


Note the extra section added to the bottom of the standard dialog. This enables users to enter alphanumeric group and target names. When the Prompt Scopes button is hit, the theodolites will display the desired target to prompt the scope operators to point at it. Any incrementing or decrementing of the group or target name will automatically update the instrument prompts. Recording may be accomplished through the standard user interface or by hitting the record button on the theodolite.

 

Prompted List Mode

This measurement mode is designed for tasks where the desired survey points are known right from the start. These names may either come from a CAD file, an ASCII file or may be entered at survey time by the operators.


When the Prompted list interface is initiated, the user interface appears as follows:


Alternatively, if user names were entered as the instruments were added, this dialog might appear as:

In this mode, each instrument has it’s own list of targets to be surveyed. This list may be created on the spot using an ascii editor such as notepad, or by using the Build List option. Or it may be read from an existing file with the Read ASCII List option. Alternatively the user may hit the Get List From SA button and they will then be prompted in SA to select points. All points are identified by both group and target names with the following format (group::target).

When the Build List button is hit, the operator sees the Construct Target

By typing a “group::target” name in the green field and hitting enter a new target is added to the list.

After several are entered our list might appear as follows:

Clicking OK will retain the list for this job. Clicking Save List will allow the operator to specify a file name so that this may be recalled later (always a good idea).

Returning to the main dialog, we see that the instrument list now has two lines. One line corresponding to each instrument station (or user).


The buttons to the far right hand side in each row allow the operator to Record-R, Query–Q, or Skip–S a specific instrument.

The second column is the current target for a given user. When the dialog is first presented this column displays “No List” since a target list has yet to be loaded. After the target list is loaded, this column will display the current target for each instrument.

In Synchronous mode all instruments will be prompted to shoot a specific target. If an operator cannot see the target, plunging (pointing the scope downward) causes the shot to be skipped when the record all button is pressed. As each operator acquires data, they will be prompted to “Wait”. When the last theodolite acquires data, all scopes will be prompted with the next target name. In Asynchronous mode all operators may proceed through the list at their own rate.

A target hot-spot box to choose the current target for that scope (more about that later). To the right are buttons for Record, Query, and Skip.

The down arrow in the second column is called the Target Hot Spot Control. The target hot spot pops up the target list for each instrument. When you hit the hotspot you get the list at right.

This is similar to the building list except the user cannot add new tar- gets and the left column displays target status for that particular instrument.

The left column presents icons to indicate state of the target (Shot, Skipped, UnShot). The bold item is the current target for that user. You can click select what target you want to shoot next, and then either continue from there or (optionally) only prompt skipped or undone targets. When you shoot or skip the scope will proceed to the next target in the list. In Asynchronous mode all scopes use the same list but can progress through them at their own pace, skipping as required, and going back as required. Note that the operator will not normally view the list in this way, normally they would view all this information in the main dialog. The list is just a control to allow the user to move around the job freely.

 

Also see Theodolite Data Observer

This dialog makes it easier to drive Theodolite systems from the graphic view in SA.