19th April 2012, 05:23 PM
kevin wooldridge Wrote:.....tacheometry - measuring distance by use of a dumpy level or theodolite and a survey staff for those young'uns not taught it in college - why would you want to do this if you have a 30m or 50m tape at hand? Anyway I decided after some thought that actually '3-4-5' triangles are the most precise of low-tech survey solutions...so wouldn't bother with any of that old fashioned glass of water and a thimble survey techniques.
Generally I'd agree, but the last time I used it was in a garden (with all the clutter that implies) full of builders sticking in drains, underground tanks etc (with all the clutter that implies, plus a mini-digger) so tapes and triangles were a non-starter. Might point out that tacheometry can be distances and angles. Also tapes don't work well on slopes which tacheo does depending on how long your staff is - if you've got a theodolite and have tangents and stuff on your calculator of course that's not a problem. Alternatively get an EDM or GPS.....
Plane tables are fine bits of kit (not that I've used one for about 25 years, but I have seen others using them post-1990) :face-approve: