Surveying Made Easy

Introduction

Dear students, teachers,

and everyone interested in surveying,

In recent years, the development of modern and easy to With nearly 200 years of experience in developing and
use measuring instruments has contributed to the use manufacturing surveying instruments, Leica Geosystems,
of such instruments by more and more users in many a Hexagon company, provides a comprehensive range of
fields. The following booklet provides information on the innovative products and solutions for surveying tasks.
basics of surveying measurement, the most commonly To view the entire product portfolio offered by Leica
used instruments and the most important everyday tasks Geosystems, please visit www.leica-geosystems.com.
employed by surveyors and other users.
I wish you every success with your training, study, and
Trainees, students, and professionals in the fields of work and hope that you find this booklet useful.
surveying, civil engineering, architecture, and many other
fields can find answers to their questions: With best regards,
What are the characteristics of survey instruments?
What do I need to take care of when measuring with
a level or total station?
What is the effect of instrument error and how to
recognize, determine and eliminate such errors?
How do I perform simple measurement tasks?

Many survey tasks – the calculation of areas or volumes,

the collection, checking, and staking of points or the Johannes Schwarz,
transfer of heights – can be performed automatically President Division Geomatics
using built-in application programs. In addition to total Leica Geosystems AG
station and level measurement, surveying with GNSS
satellite systems will be briefly discussed.

2 | Introduction
Contents
The Level 4 Instrument Errors 18
Instrument Errors of a Total Station 18
Preparing to Measure 5 Checking the EDM of a Total Station 20
Setting up the Level 5
Levelling-up the Instrument 5 Setup to Measure 21
Preparing the Instrument for Setup over a Known Point
Parallax-free Measurements 6 (enter station coordinates and orientation) 21
Inspecting the Line of Sight (two-peg test) 7 Resection
(calculate station coordinates and orientation) 22
Measuring with the Level 8
Height Difference between two Points 8 Simple Surveying Tasks 23
Measuring Distances Optically Extrapolating a Straight Line 23
with the Level 9 Polar Stake-out of a Point 23
Line Levelling 10 Measuring Slopes 24
Staking out Point Heights 11 Plumbing Up or Down 25
Longitudinal and Transverse Profiles 12
Application Programs 26
Digital Level and Rotating Laser 13 Surveys (polar method) 26
The Digital Level 13 Staking Out 27
The Rotating Laser 13 Reference Line 28
Volume Valculation 28
The Total Station 14 Area Calculation 29
Remote Heights 30
Overview 15 Tie Distances 31
Reflectorless Distance Measurement 15 Staking out Profile Boards 32
Automatic Target Aiming 15
Coordinates 16 Surveying with GNSS (GPS & Glonass) 33
Measuring Angles 17 GNSS Reference Stations 34

Contents | 3
The Level
A level is essentially a telescope that rotates around a Leica Geosystems levels are also equipped with a horizon-
vertical axis. It is used to create a horizontal line of sight tal circle that is very useful for setting out right angles,
so that height differences can be determined and stake- e.g. during the recording of transverse profiles. In addi-
outs can be performed. tion, these levels can be used to determine distances
optically with an accuracy of 0.1 to 0.3 m (4  – 12 in).

4 | The Level
Setting up the Level
1. Extend the legs of the tripod as far as required and 3. Now, and only now, place the instrument on the tripod
tighten the screws firmly. and secure it with the central fixing screw.
2. Set up the tripod so that the tripod plate is as hori-
zontal as possible and the legs of the tripod are firm in
the ground.

Levelling-up the Instrument

After setting up the instrument, level it up approximately To check, rotate the instru­ment by 180°. The bubble
with the bull’s-eye bubble. should remain within the setting circle. If it does not,
then readjustment is required (refer to the user manual).
Turn two of the foot­screws together in opposite direc-
tions. The index finger of your right hand indicates the For a level, the compen­sator automatically takes care
direction in which the bubble should move. Now use the of the final levelling-up. The compensator consists of a
third footscrew to center the bubble. thread-suspended mirror that directs the horizontal light
beam to the center
of the crosshair even
if there is residual tilt
in the tele­scope.

If you lightly tap a leg of the tripod or the housing of the

level, then (pro­vided the bull’s-eye bubble is centered)
you will see how the line of sight swings around the staff
reading and always steadies at the same point. This is
how to test whether or not the compensator can swing
freely. The bubble should be checked frequently to ensure
that the level is still levelled.

Preparing to Measure | 5
Preparing the Instrument for Parallax-free Measurements
A cross-hair parallax is an error that affects optical and level staff or the aiming of the prism is incorrect and con-
electro-optical instruments such as levels and total sta- sequently leads to wrong results.
tions.
Everytime before you start measuring check the parallax
The error occurs when the plane of the cross-hair reticle and eliminate as follows, if required:
does not coincide with the image plane of the focused aim the telescope at a high-contrast or bright
object, i.e. the level staff or the prism. background (e.g. a piece of paper)
focus the cross-hairs by turning the eyepiece drive
This can be easily recognized by moving your head slightly now focus on the staff or the prism
up/down or left/right in front of the eyepiece. The reticle
appears to move and does not stay in line with the opti- The image plane of both the cross-hairs and the object
cal axis. If this error is not corrected the readings of the aimed at now coincide.

6 | Preparing to Measure
Inspecting the Line of Sight (two-peg test)
In new levels, the com­pensator has been adjusted at 3. Read off both staffs and calculate the height
room temperature, so that the line of sight is hori­zontal difference (illustration below).
even if the instru­ment is tilted slightly. This situation Staff reading A = 1.549
changes if the temperature fluctuates by more than ten Staff reading B = 1.404
or fifteen degrees, after a long jour­ney, or if the instru- ΔH = A – B = 0.145
ment is subjected to excessive vibra­tion. It is then advis- 4. Set up the instrument about one meter (3 ft) in front
able to inspect the line of sight, particularly if more than of staff A and take the staff reading (illustration
one target distance is being used. below).
Staff reading A = 1.496
1. In flat terrain, set up two staffs not more than 5. Calculate the required reading B:
30 m (95 ft) apart. Staff reading A = 1.496
2. Set up the instrument so that it is equidistant from – ΔH = 0.145
the two staffs (it is enough to pace out the distance) Required reading B = 1.351
6. Take the staff reading B. If it differs from the required
reading by more than 3 mm (1/10 in), adjust the line of
sight (refer to instruction manual).

1.549 1.404
Actual 1.496 Required 1.351

Preparing to Measure | 7
Height Difference between two Points
The basic principle of levelling involves determining the
height difference between two points. R = backsight V = foresight

To eliminate systematic errors related to atmospheric B

conditions or to residual line-of-sight error, the instru-
ment should be about equidistant from the two points. H
D
The height difference is calculated from the difference A
between the two staff readings for the points A and B ΔH = R – V = 2.521 – 1.345 = 1.176
respectively. Slope in % = 100 x ΔH / D

Reading: 2.521 Reading: 1.345

8 | Measuring with the Level

Measuring Distances Optically with the Level
The reticle has two stadia lines arranged symmetrically
to the cross-hairs. Their spacing is such that the distance
can be derived by multiplying the corresponding staff
section by 100.

Accuracy of the distance measurement: 10 – 30 cm

(4  – 12 in)

Example:
Reading on upper stadia line B = 1.205
Reading on lower stadia line A = 0.996
Staff section I = B – A = 0.209 B
Distance = 100 x I = 20.9 m

D
Measuring with the Level | 9
Line Levelling
If the points A and B are widely separated, the height
difference between them is determined by line level-
ling with target distances generally between 30 and R V R V
50 m (95 –160 ft). R V

Pace out the distances between the instrument and the

two staffs; they need to be about the same. S1 S3 H
1. Set up the instrument at S1. S2
A 1 2 B
2. Set up the staff precisely vertically at point A; read off
and record the height (backsight R).
3. Set up the staff at the change point 1 (ground plate
Station Point No. Backsight R Foresight V Height Remarks
or prominent and stable ground point); read off and
A 420.300
record the height (foresight V).
4. Set up the instrument at S2 (the staff remains at the S1 A +2.806

turning point 1). 1 -1.328 421.778 = height A + R – V

5. Carefully rotate the staff at the turning point 1 so that S2 1 +0.919

it faces the instrument. 2 -3.376 419.321

6. Read off the backsight and continue. S3 2 +3.415

B -1.623 421.113

The height difference between A and B is equal to Sum +7.140 -6.327

the sum of the backsight and the foresight. -6.327 +0.813 = height B – height A
ΔH +0.813 = height difference AB

10 | Measuring with the Level

Staking out Point Heights
At an excavation, point B is to be staked out at a height
ΔH = 1.00 m below street level (Point A).

1. Set up the level so that the sighting distances to A and

B are about the same.
Set up the staff at A and read off
the backsight: R = 1.305.
Set up the staff at B and read off
the foresight: V = 2.520.
The difference h from the required height
at B is calculated as:
H = 1.00 m – ΔH = 2.520 – 1.305 – 1.00 = +0.215 m
2. Drive in a post at B and mark the required height
(0.215 m above ground level).

In another frequently-used method, the required staff

reading is calculated in advance:
V = R – ΔH = 1.305 – (-1.000) = 2.305

The levelling staff is then moved upwards or down­wards

until the required value can be read off with the level.

Measuring with the Level | 11

Longitudinal and Transverse Profiles
Longitudinal and transverse profiles form the foundation the sum of the staff reading and the station point height.
for detailed planning and stakeout (e.g. of roads), for Now subtract the staff readings (at the points on the
calculation of cut & fill and for the best possible accom­ transverse profile) from the instrument height; this gives
modation of the routes to the topography. First of all the the heights of the points involved.
longitudinal axis (road­line) is staked out and stationed;
i.e. points are established and marked at regular intervals. The distances from the station point to the various points
in the transverse profiles are determined either with the
A longitudinal profile is then created along the roadline, surveyor’s tape or optically using the level. When repre-
the heights of the station points deter­mined by line level- senting a longitudinal profile graphi­cally, the heights of
ling. At the station points and at pro­minent topographic the station points are expres­sed at a much bigger scale
fea­tures, transverse profiles (at right-angles to the road- (e.g. 10x greater) than that of the stationing in the longi­­
line) are then recorded. The ground heights for the points tu­dinal direction, which is related to a reference height
in the transverse profile are determined with the aid of (see illustration below).
the known instrument height. First, po­­sition the staff at
a known station point; the instru­ment height comprises

Longitudinal profile Transverse profile stn175

(planned height)

424.00
Terrain
424.00

Roadline
423.50

423.50
(planned)
Reference 25 m Reference
height: 420 m height: 420 m
100

125

150

175

200

Station (stn)

12 | Measuring with the Level

The Digital Level
Leica Geosystems was the pioneer of digital levels with A digital level is recom­mended for use where a lot of lev-
the world’s first level to digitally process images to deter- elling needs to be carried out; under these circumstances
mine heights and distances; the bar code on a staff is time savings can amount to 50 %.
read com­pletely auto­matically and electronically (see illus-
tration).

The staff reading and the distance are displayed digi­tally

and can be recor­ded; the heights of the staff stations
are cal­cu­lated continuously and so there can be no
errors re­lated to reading, recording and calculating. Leica
Geo­systems also offers software packages to post-pro-
cess the recorded data.

The Rotating Laser

If, for example on a large construction site, a large num-
ber of points at different heights need to be staked out
or monitored, it often makes sense to use a rotating
laser. With this type of instrument, a rotating laser beam
sweeps out a horizontal plane, which serves as the refer-
ence plane for staking out or monitoring heights.

A laser receiver is slid up/down a levelling staff until it

detects the laser beam; the height can then be read
directly off the staff. There is no need for an observer
at the instrument station.

Digital Level and Rotating Laser | 13

The Total Station
Total stations are used wherever the positions and The horizontal distance, the height difference and the
heights of points, or merely their positions, need to be coordinates are calculated automatically and all measure-
determined. A total station consists of a theodolite with ments and additional information is recorded.
a built-in distance meter, enabling it to simultaneously
measure angles and distances. Today’s electronic total Leica Geosystems total stations are supplied with a soft-
stations all have an opto-electronic distance meter (EDM) ware package that enables most survey tasks to be car-
and electronic angle scanning. The coded scales of the ried out easily, quickly and efficiently. The most important
horizontal and vertical circles are scanned electronically, of these pro­grams are presented later in this document.
and then the angles and distances are displayed digitally.

14 | The Total Station

Reflectorless Distance Measurement Automatic Target Aiming
Most of the Leica Geosystems total stations include Many total stations from Leica Geosystems are equipped
not only a conventional infra­red distancer that mea­su­ with an automatic target aiming system. This makes tar­
res to prisms, but also an integrated laser distancer that geting faster and easier. It is enough to point the tele­
requires no reflector. You can switch between these two scope approximately at the reflector; the touch of a button
options. then automatically triggers the fine pointing, the angle-
and distance measurements, and records all of the values.
The reflectorless distance measurement brings many This technology also makes it possible to carry out fully-
advantages where points are accessible only with difficul- automatic measurements. Automatic target aiming can also
ty or not at all, for example during the recording of build- be switched to a mode in which moving targets can be fol-
ing faces, when positioning pipes and for measurements lowed and measured; after establishing the initial contact
across gorges or fences. with the target the instrument locks on to it and tracks it.

The co-axial visible red laser dot is also suitable for mark- Advantages:
ing targets in connection with the recording of tunnel High speed of measurement combined with a constant
profiles or indoor work. measuring accuracy independent of the observer.

The Total Station | 15

Coordinates
To describe the position of a point, two coordinates are The total station measures polar coordinates; these are
required. Polar coordinates need a line and an angle. Car- recalculated as cartesian coordinates within the given
tesian coordinates need two lines within an ortho­gonal orthogonal system, either within the instrument itself or
coordinate system. subsequently in the office.

Polar coordinates Cartesian coordinates Recalculation

Direction x given: D, α
of reference required: x,y

y = D x sin α
x = D x cos α
Abscissa

given: x,y
required: D, α

y D =√y2 + x2
Ordinate
sin α = y/D or
cos α = x/D

16 | Polar and Cartesian Coordinates

Measuring Angles
An angle represents the difference between two Z1 = zenith angle to P1
directions. Z2 = zenith angle to P2

The horizontal angle α between the two directions lead- α = Horizontal angle between the two directions leading
ing to the points P1 and P2 is independent of the height to the points P1 and P2, i.e. the angle between two
difference between those points, provided the telescope vertical planes formed by dropping perpendiculars
always moves in a strictly vertical plane when tilted, what- from P1 and P2 respectively.
ever its horizontal orientation. This stipulation is met only
under ideal conditions.
Zenith
The vertical angle (also termed the zenith angle) is the
difference between a prescribed direction (namely the
direction of the zenith) and the direction to the point
under consideration.

The vertical angle is therefore correct only if the zero

reading of the vertical circle lies exactly in the zenith
direction. This stipulation is also only met under ideal
conditions.

Deviations from the ideal case are caused by axial errors

in the instrument and by inadequate levelling-up (refer to
section: “Instrument Errors”).

Horizontal and Vertical Angles | 17

Instrument Errors of a Total Station
Ideally, the total station should meet the following If these conditions are not met, the following terms are
requirements: used to describe the particular errors:

a) Line of sight ZZ perpen­dicular to tilting axis KK a) Line-of-sight error, or colli­mation error c (deviation
b) Tilting axis KK perpen­dicular to vertical axis VV from the right angle bet­ween the line of sight and the
c) Vertical axis VV strictly vertical tilting axis)
d) Vertical-circle reading precisely zero at the zenith c

Line-of-sight error (c)

V (Hz collimation)

K Z

b) Tilting-axis error a (devia­tion from the right angle

between the tilting axis and the vertical axis)

Z K
a

Tilting-axis error (a)

18 | Instrument Errors
c) Vertical-axis tilt (angle between plumb line eliminate it. Its influence on the measure­ment of the hor-
and vertical axis). izontal and vertical angles is auto­matically corrected
by means of the internal compensator.

Vertical-axis tilt d) Height-index error i (the angle between the zenith

direction and the zero reading of the vertical circle, i.e.
the vertical-circle reading when using a horizontal line
of sight), is not 100 gon (90°), but 100 gon + i.

i
Height-index error (i)
The effects of these three errors on the measurement (V index)
of horizontal angles increase with the height difference
between the target points.

Taking measurements in both telescope faces eliminates

line-of-sight errors and tilting-axis errors. The line-of-
sight error (and, for highly-precise total stations, also the
tilting-axis error, which is generally very small) can also be By measuring in both faces and then averaging, the index
determined and stored. These errors are then taken into error is eliminated; it can also be determined and stored.
consideration automati­cally whenever an angle is mea-
sured, and then it is possible to take mea­sure­ments prac- Note:
tically free of error even using just one telescope face. Instrument errors change with temperature, as a result of
The deter­mination of these errors, and their storage, are vibration, and after long periods of transport. If you want
described in detail in the appropriate user manual. Verti- to measure in just one face, then immediately before the
cal-axis tilt does not rate as being an instrument error; it measurements you must determine the instrument errors
arises because the instrument has not been adequately and store them.
levelled up, and measuring in both telescope faces cannot

Instrument Errors | 19
Checking the EDM of a Total Station
Permanently mark three or four baselines within the range Measure these baselines with each EDM at least four
typical for the user (e.g. between 20  – 200 m / 60  – 600 ft). times per year. Provided there are no systematic errors in
excess of the expected measuring uncertainty, the EDM is
Using a new Electronic Distance Meter (EDM), or one in order.
that has been cali­brated on a standard baseline, measure
these distances three times. The mean values, corrected
for atmospheric influences (refer to the user manual), can
be regarded as being the required values.

20 | Inspecting the EDM

Setup over a Known Point (enter station coordinates and orientation)
1. Place the tripod approximately over the ground point. 5. Center the bull’s-eye bubble by adjusting the lengths
2. Inspect the tripod from various sides and correct its of the tripod legs (illustration, bottom right).
position so that the tripod plate is roughly horizontal 6. After accurately levelling up the instrument, release
and above the ground point (illustration, bottom left). the central fixing screw so that you can displace it on
3. Push the tripod legs firmly into the ground and use the the tripod plate until the laser dot is centered precise-
central fixing screw to secure the instrument on the tri- ly over the ground point.
pod. 7. Tighten the central fixing screw again.
4. Switch on the laser plummet (or, for older instruments, 8. Enter station coordinates (refer to user manual).
look through the optical plummet) and turn the foot- 9. Aim to another known point, enter the coordinates or
screws so that the laser dot or the optical plummet is horizontal direction angle.
centered on the ground point (illustration, bottom mid- 10. Now your instrument is setup and oriented. You can
dle). now stake out coordinates or measure more points in
this coordinate system.

Setup to Measure | 21
Resection (calculate station coordinates and orientation)
Resection is used to calculate the position and height forced to use a known point that is in an unsatisfactory
of the instrument station, along with the orientation of location.
the horizontal circle, from measurements to at least two
points, the coordinates of which are known. The options for measuring, and the measuring procedure,
are described in detail in the­user manuals.
The coordinates of the known points can be entered
manually or they can be stored in the instrument before- Note:
hand. When performing survey tasks that involve determining
heights or staking them out, always remember to take the
Resection has the great advantage that, for large projects height of the instrument and that of the reflector into
involving surveying or staking out, you can choose the account.
most favourable station for the instrument. You are not

22 | Setup to Measure
Extrapolating a Straight Line Polar Stake-out of a Point
1. Position the instrument at point B. The setting-out elements (angle and distance) here relate
2. Target point A, transit the telescope (i.e. reverse it) to a known point A and to a known starting direction
and mark point C1. from A to B.
3. Turn the instrument 200 gon (180°) and target point
A again. 1. Set up the instrument at point A and
4. Transit the telescope again and mark the point C2. target point B.
Point C, the mid-point between C1 and C2, corresponds 2. Set the horizontal circle to zero (refer to the
exactly to the extrapolation of the line AB. user manual).
3. Rotate the instrument until α appears in the display.
A line-of-sight error is re­sponsible for the discre­pancy 4. Guide the reflector carrier (person) into and along the
between C1 and C2. line of sight of the telescope, continually measuring
the horizontal distance until point P is reached.
Where the line of sight is inclined, the influence of the
errors is a combination of target error, tilting-axis error
and vertical-axis error.

C1

C
A B
C2

Simple Surveying Tasks | 23

Measuring Slopes
Place the instrument on a point along the straight line the set to % (refer to user manual) so that the slope can be
slope of which is to be determined, and position a reflector read off directly in %.
pole at a second point along that line.
Target the center of the prism and measure the distance.
Enter the instrument height i and the target height t The slope is shown on the display in %.
(prism). The vertical angle reading in gon or degrees can be

t
%

24 | Simple Surveying Tasks

Plumbing Up or Down
Plumbing down from a height point, plumbing up from a The mid-point between the points B and C is the exact
ground point, and inspecting a vertical line on a structure plumbing point.
can be carried out accurately in just one tele­scope face,
but only if the telescope describes a pre­cisely vertical The reason why these two points do not coincide can be
plane when it is moved up and down. To ascertain that a tilting-axis error and/or an inclined vertical axis.
this is so, proceed as follows:
For work of this type, make sure that the total station
1. Target a high point A, then tilt the telescope down- has been levelled up pre­cisely, so that the influence of
wards and mark the ground point B. vertical-axis tilt on steep sights is minimized.
2. Transit the telescope, and repeat the procedure
in the second face. Mark point C.
A

B
C

Simple Surveying Tasks | 25

Surveys (polar method)
To create e.g. an as-built plan, the position and height
of points are determined by measuring angles and dis-
tances. To do this, the instrument is set up on any promi-
nent point to create a local coordinate system. Enter the
coordinates as (X = 0,Y = 0, instrument height i). A second
prominent point is selected for the purposes of orienta-
tion; after this has been targeted the horizontal circle is
set to zero (refer to the user manual).

If a coordinate system already exists, set up the instru-

ment on a known point within it and set the horizontal
circle to a second known point (refer to the user manual).
You can also use the resection method to setup and ori-
ent your instrument (see page 22).

26 | Measuring with a Total Station

Staking Out
1. Set up the instrument at a known point and set the 5. Measure the distance; the difference in the distance
horizontal circle (refer to the sec­tion “Instrument Set- ΔD to the point P will be displayed automatically.
up” in the user manual).
2. Enter the co­or­dinates of the point to be staked The coordi­nates of the points to be staked out can be
out. The pro­gram automatically cal­culates direction trans­ferred beforehand from the computer to the total
and dis­tance to the point (the two para­me­ters needed station. Under these circum­stances only the point number
for staking out). then needs to be selected.
3. Turn the total station until the horizontal circle
reads zero. If two points are known you can also use the resection
4. Position the reflector at this point (point P’). method to setup and orient your instrument.

D
P
P'


Application Programs | 27
Reference Line Volume Calculation
All Leica Geosystems total stations and GNSS systems Another onboard application mostly used on construction
are equipped with modern onboard applications. Refer- sites is Volume Calculations. This application allows sur-
ence Line is one of the most used applications. It has two faces to be measured and volumes (and other informa-
basic methods. tion) to be computed from these surfaces.

1. Measuring to a Reference Line Measure points (surface points and boundary points) that
The horizontal and vertical position and the offset of a define a surface or extend existing surfaces. Volumes are
manually measured point can be calculated relative to directly computed. You can also use stored points to cal-
the defined reference line. culate volumes.

2. Staking to a Reference Line Please refer to the user manual of your total station or
Allows for the position of a point to be defined relative GNSS system to see which tasks are supported.
to a reference line and then staked out.

Please refer to the user manual of your total station or

GNSS system to see which tasks are supported.

28 | Application Programs
Area Calculation
1. Set up the total station in the terrain so that it is 3. Afterwards, the area is calculated and displayed auto-
within view of the entire area to be surveyed. It is not matically at the touch of a button.
necessary to position the horizontal circle.
2. Determine the boundary points of the area sequentially For detailed instructions refer to the user manual of
in the clockwise direction. You must always measure a your total station or GNSS system.
distance.

Application Programs | 29
Remote Heights
1. Set up a reflector verti­cally beneath the point the 3. Target the high point.
height of which is to be determined. The total station 4. The height difference H between the ground point and
itself can be situated anywhere. the high point is now calculated and displayed at the
2. Enter the reflector height, target to it, and measure touch of a button.
the distance.

30 | Application Programs
Tie Distances
The program determines the distance and height Points stored on the internal memory can also be used to
difference between two points. calculate the tie distance and height difference (refer to
manual).
1. Set up the total station at any location.
2. Measure the distance to each of the two points A and B.
3. The distance D and the height difference H are dis-
played at the touch of a button.

D
B
H
A

Application Programs | 31
Staking out Profile Boards
In the following example, profile boards are to be erected a
parallel to the pro­posed walls of a large building and at
distances of a and b respectively from the boundaries. A d A4 A5 A6 C

1. Establish a baseline AB parallel to the left-hand bound- b

ary and at a freely-selectable distance c.
2. Mark point A at the defined distance d from the upper A1 H3
H1
boundary; it will be the first location for the total sta-
tion.
3. Using a ranging pole, mark point B at the end of
the baseline.
4. Set up the total station on point A, target point B, and c
set out the points A1, A2 and A3 in this align­ment in
accordance with the planned length of the side of the
building. A2
5. With point B sighted, set the horizontal circle to zero,
turn the total station by 100 gon (90°) and set out the
second line AC with the points A4, A5 and A6.
A3
The easiest way to stake out profile boards is to use the H2
Reference Line application. This application allows you
to complete all steps as described above more efficiently
and conveniently. In most cases only one instrument set-
up is required. B

32 | Application Programs
Surveying with GNSS (GPS & Glonass)
GNSS sensors use the signals transmitted by GNSS centimetre accuracy by placing the pole tip on the points
satellites to determine the position of any point on the that need to be measured.
Earth’s surface at any time and independent of weather
conditions. The positioning accuracy depends on the To measure points even more accurately, static GNSS
observation method and processing techniques used. measurements can be performed. Ideally, the GNSS
sensor has to be set up on a tripod over the ground
A GNSS sensor can be used as a GNSS rover receiving point that need to be measured. By receiving the signals
real-time kinematic (RTK) corrections from a reference transmitted by satellites, collecting the observations for
station, or can perform static GNSS measurements. a longer period of time (ideally over 24h), and processing
the observations in a post-processing, the point can be
In contrast to total stations, GNSS rovers offer the measured with a sub-centimetre accuracy.
advantage that they do not need to be set up using
available reference points with known coordinates. It is To accurately measure points, the GNSS sensor has to
simply needed to mount a GNSS rover on a pole, receive ideally be located in open-sky environment, meaning no
the signal from enough GNSS satellites and make sure obstructions such as trees, buildings etc. above or close
that correction data is being received. The sensor can to the sensor.
be used right away to instantly measure points with

Surveying with GNSS | 33

GNSS Reference Stations
Also known as a Conti­nuously Operating Reference Sta- and hydrography. With additional CORS, larger areas –
tion (CORS), this is typically a multi-frequency GNSS even countries – can be covered with a CORS network
receiver located at known coordinates, supplied with per- infrastructure.
manent power and connected to several communication
devices. CORS are controlled remotely by a specialized software
program, such as Leica GNSS Spider, which connects to
A CORS normally logs GNSS data for use in post-proces­ the CORS via a range of telecommunication media: seri-
sing tasks, or supplies real-time GNSS correction data to al, radio or phone modem, even the Internet. Once con-
DGPS and/or RTK applications. In many cases, it performs figured, a CORS network receiver will run continuously
both tasks, satisfying the demands of many different supplying the full range of GNSS data, DGPS, RTK and
applications including surveying, engineering, construc- network RTK services to a virtually unlimited number of
tion, geodetic control, GIS, monitoring, tectonic studies, users.

34 | GNSS Reference Stations

Are you interested in learning more about this topics?
Leica Geosystems provides more reference booklets
online at:

http://www.leica-geosystems.com/booklets/

Leica Geosystems Construction Tools

Leica Builder
Leica SmartPole and SmartStation
Introduction to GPS
Guide to Reference Stations

More Booklets | 35
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Illustrations, descriptions and technical data are not binding and may be changed.
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