How to setup a Total Station

The Total Station is the weapon of choice for the field engineer. It is the one instrument that can perform the bulk of the survey tasks on the construction project. The total station utilizes an electronic signal to shoot targets (prisms), in-conjunction with a microcomputer inside the instrument that performs calculations with the data from the EDM (Electronic Distance Measurement). Total Stations can provide horizontal measurements, vertical measurements, horizontal angles and vertical angles and many other functions.

This video will illustrate how to set up the Total Station, by following industry standard ways to do so. It is imperative that accurate, stable and efficient set up techniques be followed when first using a total station. This will ensure efficient and accurate layout every time.

Common uses of the total station include performing a traverse on a group of points (primary or secondary control), layout of points (primary control, secondary control, and working control), setting benchmarks and checking elevations. Those are the major uses of the total station.

For more information, or to understand the terms above (primary control, secondary control, traverse, etc.), please visit the following link:

www.fieldengineermanual.com