Alidade

An alidade or a turning board is a device that allows one to sight a distant object and use the
line of sight to perform a task. This task can be, for example, to draw a line on a plane table in
the direction of the object or to measure the angle to the object from some reference point.
Angles measured can be horizontal, vertical or in any chosen plane. The alidade's primary use is
for creating maps in the horizontal plane.

Aquascope
An aquascope (also called bathyscope) is an underwater viewing device. It is used to view the
underwater world from dry land or a boat. It eliminates the water surface glare and allowing
viewing as far as water clarity and light permit. The underwater viewer can be used for observing
reefs, checking boat moorings, secchi disks and other survey work. It is also used as educational
tool to watch plants, creatures and habitats underneath the surface of rivers, lakes and seas.

Circumferentor
A circumferentor, or surveyor's compass, is an instrument used in surveying to measure
horizontal angles, now superseded by the theodolite. It consists of a brass circle and an index, all
of one piece. On the circle is a card, or compass, divided into 360 degrees; the meridian line of
which is in the middle of the breadth of the index. On the circumference of the circle is a brass
ring, which, with another ring fitted with glass, makes a kind of box for the needle, which is
suspended on a rivet in the center of the circle. On each extreme of the index is a sight. The
whole apparatus is mounted on a staff, with a ball-and-socket joint for easy rotation.

Dumpy level
A dumpy level, builder's auto level, leveling instrument, or automatic level is an optical
instrument used to establish or check points in the same horizontal plane. It is used in surveying
and building to transfer, measure, or set horizontal levels.

Graphometer
The graphometer or semicircle is a surveying instrument used for angle measurements. It
consists of a semicircular limb divided into 180 degrees and sometimes subdivided into minutes.
The limb is subtended by the diameter with two sights at its ends. In the middle of the diameter a
"box and needle" (a compass) is fixed. On the same middle the alidade with two other sights is
fitted. The device is mounted on a staff via a ball and socket joint. In effect the device is a halfcircumferentor. For convenience, sometimes another half-circle from 180 to 360 degrees may be
graduated in another line on the limb.

Groma surveying
The Groma or gruma was the principal Roman surveying instrument. It comprised a vertical
staff with horizontal cross-pieces mounted at right-angles on a bracket. Each cross piece had a
plumb line hanging vertically at each end. It was used to survey straight lines and right-angles,
thence squares or rectangles.

Gunter's chain
Gunter's chain (also known as Gunters measurement or Surveyors measurement) is a
geodetic measuring device used for land survey. Gunter used an actual measuring chain of 100
links. These, the chain and the link, have become units of their own.

Gyrotheodolite
A gyro-theodolite is a surveying instrument composed of a gyroscope mounted to a theodolite.
It is used to determine the orientation of true north by locating the meridian direction. It is the
main instrument for orientation in mine surveying and in tunnel engineering, where astronomical
star sights are not visible.

Inclinometer
An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument for measuring angles of slope (or tilt), elevation
or depression of an object with respect to gravity. It is also known as a tilt meter, tilt indicator,
slope alert, slope gauge, gradient meter, gradiometer, level gauge, level meter, declinometer,
and pitch & roll indicator. Clinometers measure both inclines (positive slopes, as seen by an
observer looking upwards) and declines (negative slopes, as seen by an observer looking
downward) using three different units of measure: degrees, percent, and topo. Astrolabes are
inclinometers that were used for navigation and locating astronomical objects.

Jacob's staff
The term Jacob's staff, also cross-staff, a ballastella, a fore-staff, or a balestilha, is used to
refer to several things. This can lead to considerable confusion unless one clarifies the purpose
for the object so named. The two most frequent uses are:

in astronomy and navigation for a simple device to measure angles, later replaced by the
more precise sextants;
in surveying for a vertical rod that penetrates the ground and supports a compass or other
instrument.

Laser line level

A laser line level is a tool combining a spirit level and/or plumb bob with a laser to display an
accurately horizontal or vertical illuminated line on a surface the laser line level is laid against.
Laser line levels are used wherever accurate verticals and horizontals are required, typically in the
construction and cabinetry industries.

Laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder is a rangefinder which uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an
object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by
sending a laser pulse in a narrow beam towards the object and measuring the time taken by the
pulse to be reflected off the target and returned to the sender. Due to the high speed of light, this
technique is not appropriate for high precision sub-millimeter measurements, where triangulation
and other techniques are often used.

Macrometer
A macrometer is an instrument for measuring the size and distance of distant objects. Distant in
this sense means a length that cannot be readily measured by a calibrated length. The optical
version of this instrument used two mirrors on a common sextant. By aligning the object on the
mirrors using a precise vernier, the position of the mirrors could be used to compute the range to
the object. The distance and the angular size of the object would then yield the actual size.

Philadelphia rod
A Philadelphia rod is a tool used in surveying. The rod is used in leveling procedures to
determine elevations. It is read using a level.
A Philadelphia Level Rod consists of two sliding sections graduated in hundredths of a foot. On
the front of the rod the graduation increasing from zero at the bottom. On the back of the rod the
graduation decrease from 13.09 ft at the bottom to 7 ft. The division of the device in two sliding
sections are devised for ease of support. Readings of 7 ft or less, and up to 13 ft can be measured.
It has a rear section that slides on the front section. The rod must be fully extended, when higher
measurements are needed to avoid reading errors. Distances of up to 250' may be read. [1]
The rod may be equipped with a target to increase the readable range of the rod. When the target
is equipped with a Vernier scale measurements to the thousands of a foot are possible. For
readings less than 7 ft the target is attached on the bottom section of the rod and adjust by signals
from level operator until the target is inline with the level's horizontal cross hair. For readings
greater than 7 ft the target is attached to top section of the rod and the top section is

raised/lowered until it the target intersects with the cross hair of the level. The rod is then locked
and the zero of Vernier scale on the back of the rod will be aligned with the target's height.[2]

Plumb bob
A plumb-bob or a plummet is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, that is
suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. It is essentially the
vertical equivalent of a "water level".
The instrument has been used since at least the time of Ancient Egypt to ensure that
constructions are "plumb", or vertical. It is also used in surveying to establish the nadir with
respect to gravity of a point in space. They are used with a variety of instruments (including
levels, theodolites, and steel tapes) to set the instrument exactly over a fixed survey marker, or to
transcribe positions onto the ground for placing a marker.

Ramsden theodolite
The Ramsden theodolite is a large theodolite that was specially constructed for use in the first
Ordnance Survey of Southern Britain. It was also known as the Great or 36 inch theodolite.
The theodolite was commissioned from Jesse Ramsden, a leading Yorkshire instrument maker,
who had developed an accurate dividing engine for graduating angular scales. The instrument
was accurate to within a second of arc. The theodolite took three years to build and had a base
circle of 3 ft (914 mm).
The full survey, sometimes called the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain, was begun in
1791 by a team formed under General William Roy (d 1790).[1] The survey used the new
theodolite on a specially surveyed baseline based on Roy's accurate surveys between London and
Paris.
Traces of the theodolite support structure were still to be found many years afterwards at some
remote survey points, such as at Soldiers' Lump, the summit of Black Hill in the Peak District of
England.[2]
The theodolite is now in the Science Museum in London.[3] A total of 8 such instruments were
manufactured to this design and found use as far away as India and Switzerland.[4]
Ramsden, who was elected to the Royal Society in 1786,[5] and was awarded the Copley Medal
in 1795 for his instruments,[6] also made important contributions to fields such as optics (the
Ramsden eyepiece) and electrostatics (the Ramsden machine).

Repeating circle

The repeating circle is an instrument for geodetic surveying, invented by Etienne Lenoir in
1784, while an assistant of Jean-Charles de Borda, who later improved the instrument. It was
notable as being the equal of the great theodolite created by the renowned instrument maker,
Jesse Ramsden. It was used to measure the meridian arc from Dunkirk to Barcelona by Delambre
and Mchain.
The repeating circle is made of two telescopes mounted on a shared axis with scales to measure
the angle between the two. The instrument combines multiple measurements to increase
accuracy with the following procedure:
Align the instrument so its plane includes the two points to be measured, and aim each telescope
at a point (diagram:1). Keeping the angle between the telescopes locked, rotate the left (black)
telescope clockwise to aim at the right point (diagram:2). Note the position of the right (gray)
telescope, and rotate it back to the left point (diagram:3).
At this stage, the angle on the instrument is double the angle of interest between the points.
Repeating the procedure causes the instrument to show 4x the angle of interest with further
iterations increase it to 6x, 8x, and so on. In this way, many measurements can be added
together, allowing some of the random measurement errors to cancel out.[2]

Military Sketching Board

The Military Sketching Board was designed to be used on horseback. The board incorporates a
compass, an inclinometer, a ruler, a roll of paper and an arm buckle.

Tachymeter (survey)
A tachymeter or tacheometer is a type of theodolite used for rapid measurements and
determines, electronically or electro-optically, the distance to target, and is highly automated in
its operations. Such tachymeters are often used in surveying.
Tachymetry or tacheometry is the process of measuring distance indirectly. This can be done
by measuring time and speed in a moving vehicle or by sighting through small angle a distant
scale transverse to the line of sight.

Surveyor's wheel
A surveyor's wheel, also called a clickwheel, hodometer, waywiser, trundle wheel,
measuring wheel or perambulator is a device for measuring distance.

Theodolite
A theodolite is a precision instrument for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes.
Theodolites are used mainly for surveying applications, and have been adapted for specialized
purposes in fields like metrology and rocket launch technology. A modern theodolite consists of
a movable telescope mounted within two perpendicular axesthe horizontal or trunnion axis,
and the vertical axis. 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.
Theodolites may be either transit or non-transit. Transit theodolites (or just "transits") are those
in which the telescope can be inverted in the vertical plane, whereas the rotation in the same
plane is restricted to a semi-circle for non-transit theodolites. Some types of transit theodolites do
not allow the measurement of vertical angles.
The builder's level is sometimes mistaken for a transit theodolite, but it measures neither
horizontal nor vertical angles. It uses a spirit level to set a telescope level to define a line of sight
along a level plane.

Total station
A total station is an electronic/optical instrument used in modern surveying and building
construction. The total station is an electronic theodolite (transit) integrated with an electronic
distance meter (EDM) to read slope distances from the instrument to a particular point.
Robotic total stations allow the operator to control the instrument from a distance via remote
control. This eliminates the need for an assistant staff member as the operator holds the reflector
and controls the total station from the observed point.

Tripod (surveying)
A surveyor's tripod with a shoulder strap. The head of the tripod supports the instrument while
the feet are spiked to anchor the tripod to the ground.
A surveyor's tripod is a device used to support any one of a number of surveying instruments,
such as theodolites, total stations, levels or transits.