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2.3 Measurement of Horizontal and Vertical Angles in Theodolite

The objective lens has to be focused whenever an object is sighted, as this
depends upon the distance between the instrument and the object. A focusing screw on
the side of the telescope is operated to focus the objective. This operation brings the
image of the object in the plane of the cross hairs. This helps to exactly bisect the
object, be it a ranging rod or an arrow. To focus the objective, swing the instrument to
bring the object into view by looking over the telescope. Rotate the focusing knob till
the object is in sharp view along with the cross hairs.

Using the Theodolite

The theodolite is mainly used to measure horizontal and vertical angles, even
though many other operations can be done with the instrument. It is a delicate and
sensitive instrument and needs to be handled carefully. The following points should be
noted while using the instrument.

1. The theodolite should be set up and levelled at every station. This is a

fundamental, necessary operation and should be carried out carefully.
2. In measuring horizontal angles, the inclination of the telescope is not significant
The line of sight is arranged to bisect the object clearly.

3. The graduated circle plate gives the outer axis and the vernier plate provides the
inner axis. Both the axes coincide if the instrument is properly adjusted and form the
vertical axis.

4. There are three clamp screws each with its own tangent screw. The lower clamp
screw releases the lower plate, the upper clamp screw releases the upper vernier plate,
and the third vertical circular clamp releases the vertical circle. One should be familiar
with the location of the clamp screws and the corresponding tangent screws.

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5. Each clamp screw releases one plate. The lower plate is released by the lower
clamp screw. When this plate is released, swinging the instrument or rotating it in a
horizontal plane causes no change in the reading of the circle, as both the plates move
together. This is used when an object has to be sighted with the zero setting of the
circle or with any other reading without changing the reading.

6. Both the clamp screws should not be released together. When the lower clamp is
tight and the upper clamp screw is released, the upper plate moves relative to the lower
plate and the reading changes. This is done when one has to measure an angle.

7. The clamp screws should be tightened very near to their final position so that only
a very small movement has to be effected by the tangent screw. For each clamp screw,
the corresponding tangent screw should be for final adjustment.

8. To set the instrument to zero at the plate circle, release the upper clamp and rotate
the instrument about the vertical axis. On the vernier A, make the zero of the circle
coincide with the zero of the vernier. Tighten the upper clamp and using the upper
tangent screw, make the zeros exactly coincide. This can be verified by looking
through the magnifying glasses and seeing that the graduations on either side are
symmetrical. Verify the condition on vernier B as well, where the 180 o graduation
should coincide with the zero of the vernier.

9. While bisecting the signals or setting the zero reading, keep the line of sight in
such a position that the tangent screw moves the sight in the same direction as the
movement of the instrument. If the movement is clockwise, then the tangent screw is
adjusted to move the cross hairs from left to right.

10. Operate a tangent screw only after clamping the corresponding clamp screw.

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11. The magnifying glasses are so fixed that they can be moved along the circle.
Read the circle by bringing the glass over the reading and looking directly over the
reading to avoid any parallax error.

12. While bisecting stations with the theodolite, the station mark should be very clear
and must be a point. Bisect either the cross marks on pegs at their inter-section or the
ranging rod and arrow at their lowest pointed end.

13. Clamp screws and tangent screws need careful handling. Do not apply great force
on these screws and handle them delicately during survey work.

Measuring Horizontal Angles

To measure the horizontal angle between two lines, the following procedure is
adopted.
1. Referring to Fig. 6.5, the angle POQ is to be measured. Set up the theodolite at O.

o
2. Set the instrument to read 0 00' 00". This is not strictly required, as the angle
can be determined as the defrauding’s. However, it is convenient to make the initial
reading zero. For this, release the upper clamp and O rotate the instrument to make the
Q reading approximately zero. Clamp the upper plate and using the upper Fig. 6.5
Measuring a horizontal angle tangent screw, make the reading compass exactly zero.
Vernier A reads zero and vernier B reads 180 o 00' 00"

3. Release the lower plate and rotate the instrument to bisect the station P. After
approximately bisecting it, clamp the lower plate and using the lower tangent screw,
bisect the signal exactly. The readings on the plates do not change as both the plates
move together in this operation. Check that the readings on vernier A and B are
zero and 180o, respectively.

4. Release the upper plate by loosening the upper clamp. Rotate the instrument to
screw, exactly bisect the signal at Q. Read both the verniers A and B. The reading at A
will give the angle directly. The reading at B will be 180 o + -POQ.

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5. If there is any difference, take the average of the two values as the correct angle.
Horizontal angles are measured this way for ordinary work. The accuracy can be
improved by reading the angles with face-left and face-right observations and taking
the average of the two. For more precise work, the angles are repeatedly measured
with both the faces and the average taken. This method is known as the repetition
method and is described below.

Method of Repetition in Theodolite

In the method of repetition, the horizontal angle is measured a number of times and the
average value is taken. It is usual to limit the number of repetitions to three with each
face except in the case of very precise work. With large number of repetitions, errors
can also increase due to bisections, reading the Vernier’s, etc. Very large number of
repetitions necessarily do not lead to a more precise value of the angle. However, a
number of errors are eliminated by the repetition method. The procedure is as follows
(Fig. 6.6).

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1. Angle POQ is to be measured. Set up, centre, and level the theodolite at
O. Ensure that the instrument is in the normal position, i.e., face left.

2. Set the instrument to read 0 o 00' 00". For this release the upper clamp and bring
the zero of the vernier (at vernier A) very close to the zero of the circle. Clamp the
upper plate and using the upper tangent screw, coincide the two zeros exactly.

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3. Loosen the lower clamp and rotate the instrument so that the left signal at P is
approximately bisected. Tighten the lower clamp and using the lower tangent screw,
bisect the signal at P exactly. Read the verniers at A and B. The reading should not
change and they should read zero and 180 o

4. Loosen the upper clamp and rotate the instrument clockwise to bisect the right
signal at Q. Using the upper tangent screw, bisects the signal at approximately Q
exactly.

5. Read the verniers at A and B. The reading at A gives the value of the angle
o
directly. The reading on the vernier at B will be 180 + the angle. Record both the
readings.

6. Release the lower clamp and rotate the instrument clockwise to bisect the sig-
mal at the left station P again. Using the lower tangent screw, bisect the signal

Fig- Reiteration method

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The method of repetition helps to eliminate the following errors.

(a) Errors caused by the eccentricity of the centers and verniers, by reading both the
verniers and averaging.

(b) Graduation errors by reading from different parts of the circle.

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(c) Imperfect adjustment of the line of collimation and horizontal axis by face- left
and face- right observations.

(d) Observational errors and other errors tend to be compensated by the large number
of readings.

However, the errors due to levelling cannot be compensated. This has to be done by
permanent adjustment. Also a large number of repetitions tend to increase the wear of
clamp and tangent screws.

Therefore, from the two sets,

Mean value of the angle = (1/2)(61 o 42' 47"+ 61 o 42' 40") = 61 o 42' 44"

Method of Reiteration in Theodolite

The method of reiteration is another method of measuring horizontal angles. This

method is useful when a number of angles are to be measured at one point. In Fig. 6.7,
let O be the point where the instrument is set up and P, Q, R, and S be the stations.
Angle POQ, QOR, and ROS are to be measured. In the reiteration method, each angle
is measured in succession and finally the line of sight is brought back to P, i.e., the line
o
of sight is made to close the horizon. The instrument is turned through 360 .
Obviously, the instrument should read, upon closing the horizon, the same reading set
initially at P. The procedure is as follows.

1. Set up and level the theodolite at O. Keep the instrument in the normal position,
i.e., face left. Set the vernier at A to read zero using the upper clamp and upper tangent
screw. Check that the vernier at B reads 180 o .

2. Loosen the lower clamp and swing the instrument to bisect the station mark P
Tighten the screw and using the lower tangent screw finally bisect the signal at P.
Check that the verniers at A and B read zero and 180 o , respectively.

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3. Release the upper plate with the upper clamp, swing the instrument clockwise to
bisect the signal at Q. Tighten the clamp and using the upper tangent screw, bisect the
mark at Q exactly.
4. Read the verniers at A and B and record both the readings.
5. Release the upper clamp screw, bisect the signal at R. Tighten the clamp and
bisect the mark at R exactly with the upper tangent screw. Read the verniers at A and
B and record the readings.
Continue the procedure with other stations.
-POQ = 68 o 32' 30" -QOR = 61 o 41' 10" -ROS = 102 o 54' 20".

Measuring Vertical Angles in Theodolite

A vertical angle is made by an inclined line of sight with the horizontal. The line of
sight may be inclined upwards or downwards from the horizontal. Thus one may have
an angle of elevation or depression. See Fig. 6.8. For measuring vertical angles, the
theodolite is levelled with respect to the altitude bubble.

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1. Set up the theodolite at the station from where the vertical angle is to be
measured. Level the instrument with reference to the plate bubble.
2. Further level the instrument with respect to the altitude level fixed on the index
rm. This bubble is generally more sensitive. The procedure for levelling is the same.
Bring the altitude level parallel to two foot screws and level till the bubble traverses.
Swing through 90o to centre the bubble again with the third foot screw. Repeat till the
bubble traverses.

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3. Swing the telescope to approximately direct the line of sight towards the signal
at P. Loosen the vertical circle clamp screw and incline the line of sight to bisect P.
Clamp the vertical circle and bisect the signal exactly with the horizontal cross hair.
4. Read the verniers C and D. The average of these readings gives the value of the
angle.
This procedure assumes that the instrument is properly adjusted. If there is an
index error, the instrument does not read zero when the bubble is in the centre and
the line of sight is horizontal, the adjustment is done by the clip screw. There may be a
small index error, which can be accounted for in the value of angle. The readings can
be recorded as shown in Table 6.7.

Measuring Vertical Angle Between Two Points

The two points may be above the horizontal or below the horizontal or one may
be above and the other below. In all cases, the vertical angles between the instrument
and the points are measured. If the points lie on the same side of the horizontal, the
vertical angle between the points is the difference between the measured angles. If they
lie on either side of the horizontal through the instrument, the vertical angle between the
points is the sum of the angles measured.
Table 6.7 Recording of observations Face left
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Interconversion of Angles
The theodolite measures the whole circle bearings of lines. These can be
converted to reduced bearings by the methods discussed in Chapter 3. Also, one can
calculate included angles from bearings and vice versa. Included angles can also be

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calculated from deflection angles and vice versa.

The following relationships of the angles of a closed traverse are known from
geometry:
(a) sum of the interior angles = (2n - 4) right angles
(b) sum of exterior angles = (2n + 4) right angles

(c) sum of the deflection angles = 4 right angles

It is desirable to draw a rough sketch of the traverse before attempting to solve
problems. The following examples illustrate these principles.

Locating Landscape Details with the Theodolite

We have discussed so far methods to survey the main frame or the skeleton of
the survey. In most surveys, it is necessary to locate details such as buildings, railway
lines, canals, and other landmarks along with the survey. A transit with a steel tape is
used to locate details, and many methods are available, as the transit is an angle-
measuring instrument. The following methods can be used.

Angle and distance from a single station

A point can be located with an angle to the station along with the distance from
that station as shown in Fig. 6.28(a). The angle is preferably measured from the same
reference line to avoid confusion. A sketch with the line and the distance and angle
measured will help in plotting later. A road can be located as shown in Fig. 6.28(b).
Angles to a number of points are measured and with each angle two distances are
measured to locate the road.

Angle from one station and distance from another

If for any reason, it is not possible to measure the angle and distance to an object
from the same point, it may be possible to locate the point by measuring angles from
one station and distances from the other. The recorded data should clearly indicate the
stations from which the angle and distance are measured. Figure 6.28(c) shows this
method of measuring. The angle is measured from station A to point P. When the

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instrument is shifted to B, the distance to point P is measured from B with a steel tape.

Angles from two stations

If for some reason, it is not possible to measure distances, then angles from two
stations are enough to locate a point. As shown in Fig. 6.28(d), the point P is located
by measuring angles to point P from stations A and B.

The following are the fundamental lines.

1. The vertical axis
2. The horizontal or trunnion axis
3. The line of collimation or line of sight
4. Axis of altitude level
5. Axis of plate level
The meaning of these terms has been discussed earlier. The axes are shown
in Fig. 6.29. When the instrument is properly adjusted, the relationships between these
axes are the following.

(a) The horizontal axis must be perpendicular to the vertical axis.

(b) The axis of the plate level must be perpendicular to the vertical axis.
(c) The line of collimation must be at right angles to the horizontal axis.
(d) The axis of the altitude level (and telescope level) must be parallel to the line of
collimation.
(e) The vertical circle vernier must read zero when the line of sight is horizontal.
Each one of these relations gives conditions for accurate measurement.

(a) When the horizontal axis is perpendicular to the vertical axis, the line of sight
generates a vertical plane when transited.

(b) When the axis of the plate level is perpendicular to the vertical axis, the vertical
axis will be truly vertical when the bubble traverses.

(c) When the line of collimation is at right angles to the horizontal axis, the tele-

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scope when rotated about the horizontal axis will move in a vertical plane.

(d) When the line of collimation and the axis of altitude level are parallel, the vertical
angles will be measured without any index error.

(e) The index error due to the displacement of the vernier is eliminated when the
vernier reads zero with the line of collimation truly horizontal.

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