LEICA TC 307

Using the Leica TC 307

Updated 3/10/09, M.S. Hendrix

1. Set up the tripod in a stable location and secure the total station on top with the bolt on the underside of the tripod. Be sure to anchor the legs of the tripod firmly into the ground; don’t be afraid to stomp them on the pegs located on each leg just above the ground level.

2. Turn on the machine by pressing the red button on the right side of the total station.

3. Begin by placing the total station over the point from which you wish to begin measuring points. The machine has a laser pointer to help with accuracy. This can be accessed by pressing the button that looks like an envelope. The button also has a t with a star underneath it. The bar on the left is the laser intensity that you can use to change the light intensity to make it easier to see. You can change the intensity by pressing the little green arrow head button that is pointed up or pointed down. Don’t worry about exact location at this time because you might have to move the station once it is balanced. Keep this screen until you have finished balancing.

4. Begin balancing the total station by visually looking and seeing that the base of the tripod is somewhat level. This can be changed by moving the legs of the tripod up or down as needed. There is a circular bubble-level located above the screen on the total station for use in leveling. After the tripod has been more or less leveled by adjustment of the tripod leg lengths, use the three black knobs between the red base and the green total station for more precise leveling. Using these three knobs to precisely level the tripod takes practice - just be patient and rotate only one knob at a time.

5. Now you can use the screen and the electronic balance to get the machine precisely balanced. Using both the vertical and horizontal bar on the screen, center the black bar in the bars. Note: The red button on the front of the machine with the arrow symbol is the enter/return button. Once the total station is balanced highlight <OK> by pressing the little green arrowhead buttons (down) and press the enter button.

6. Once the machine is leveled you can shift it slightly within the horizontal plane by loosening the silver bolt you used to attach it to the tripod and adjusting the position of the gun. Be sure to retighten the silver knob if you do make these adjustments. Recheck your level after centering the gun and tightening the knob.

7. Now that the machine is balanced and centered you can set up the job.

8. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that there is an open job to record you data into. This can be done by pressing the shift button and then the "prog" button. The shift button lets you access the items written above the buttons. A screen with these menu options will appear.

MENU

QUICKSETTINGS

ALL SETTINGS

DATA MANAGER

CALIBRATION

SYSTEM INFO

<EXIT>

9. You need to choose the data manager. By scrolling down using the green arrowhead buttons and pressing the enter button.

10. The next screen will have the choices Edit/View/Delete, Initialize memory, Data Download, and Statistics. Choose Edit/View/Delete.

11. Next highlight "Job".

12. From there check and see if there are any open jobs. Each machine can hold four jobs. So if it says (1,2,3,4)/4 jobs, it is full and you will need to delete one of the jobs to make room for yours.

13. Do this by using the green arrowhead buttons that point left and right to scroll through the jobs and find display the one you want to delete. Please make sure that the data you are going to delete can be deleted, and that it is not someone’s work that has not been downloaded onto the computer. Once you have found a job you can delete, highlight the <DEL> at the bottom of the screen and hit enter. It takes the gun a bit of time (15-30 seconds) to delete a job, so be patient.

14. Now just <Exit> out of everything until you can’t <Exit> anymore.

15. The total station has various programs in it to make the rest of the set up and the actual shooting a little easier for you.

16. Being by pressing the button that says "prog".

17. Then highlight <Surveying> and hit enter.

18. Now go through all three set-ups (job, station, orientation).

19. Set Job. Once in this screen you will need to go down to the bottom and select <New>. Then you can type in the name of the job by using the green arrowhead keys. The left and right green arrows will pop up a vertical bar that is full of either numbers or letters. You can switch between the letters and numbers by pressing the "shift" button. Once the letter/number you want is in the horizontal highlighted bar you can go over to the left or right and place your next letter or number. Once you have the name you want press the enter button. Now the operator is highlighted and you can put in the name of the operator the same way. Press enter and the time and date are automatically recorded so press enter when the <Set> is highlighted.

20. Now you need to set the station.

21. Set Station. The first step is to name the station the same way that you named the job. Next you need to find out the height of the instrument (HI). This is done by using a tape and measuring the distance from the ground to the little indented dot on the side of the total station. This dot is in the center of machine at the same level as the eyepiece. Now enter that number (in meters) in the HI spot. The next part is up to you and how you would like to set up your grid. These are the North, East and Height coordinates of the station, the y, x, and z respectively. You can either set them at 0, 0 , 0 , and let the computer program take care of the negative numbers that you will generate or you can set them as a large positive number and avoid using any negative numbers. Either way set the coordinates using the green arrowhead buttons and pressing enter when you have the number you want for that coordinate. Now highlight <Set> and hit enter.

22. Now you need to set your orientation

23. Set Orientation. This is a very critical step to make sure you do properly. When you are first starting to make measurements you need to tell the machine what you want the 0 degrees point to be. I have found the best way to do this is to place a permanent marker some distance away from your first station that is directly TRUE NORTH of the machine. Then place the rod and prism at that point. Now, orient the eyepiece like you were going to shoot that point and edit the base bearing (Bsbearing) to zero degrees. You will also need to name the base station location (e.g., B0). Once you have

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