Following are the types of different levels used for leveling in surveying:

1. Dumpy Level

- Dumpy level is the most commonly used instrument in leveling. In this level the telescope is

restricted against movement in its horizontal plane and telescope is fixed to its support. A bubble

tube is provided on the top of the telescope.

But however, the leveling head can be rotated in horizontal plane with the telescope. The

telescope is internal focusing telescope is a metal tube contains four main parts as given below.

 Objective Lens should be made as the combination of crown glass and flint glass.

Because of this some defects like spherical aberration and chromatic aberration can be

eliminated. A thin layer coating which has smaller refractive index than glass is provided on

the objective lens to reduce the loss due to reflection.

 Negative lens located co axial to the objective lens. So, the optical axis for both

lenses is same.
 Diaphragm is fitted inside the main tube which contains cross hairs (vertical and

horizontal) and these are adjusted by capstan headed screws. The cross hairs are made of

dark metal as filament wires which are inserted in diaphragm ring in exact position. For

stadia leveling purposes, extra two horizontal cross hairs are provided above and below the

horizontal wire.

 Eyepiece lens enable the ability to sight the object together with cross hairs. The

image seen through eye piece is magnified and inverted. Some eyepieces erect the image

into normal view and those are called as erecting eyepieces.

2. Y Level

- Y level or Wye-level consists y-shaped frames which supports the telescope. Telescope

cane be removed from the y-shaped supports by releasing clamp screws provided. These y-shaped

frames are arranged to vertical spindle which helps to cause the rotation of telescope.
Compared to dumpy level, adjustments can be rapidly tested in y- level. But, there may be a 3chance of
frictional wear of open parts of leve33. Cushing’s Level

- In case of Cushing’s level, the telescope is restricted against rotation in its longitudinal axis

and it is non-removable. But, the object end and eye piece end can be interchangeable and

reversible.

4. Tilting Level

- Tilting level consist a telescope which enabled for the horizontal rotation as well as

rotation about 4 degree in its vertical plane. Centering of bubble can be easily done in this type of

level. But, for every setup bubble is to be centered with the help of tilting screw.

The main advantage of tilting level is it is useful when the few observations are to be taken with

one setup of level.

5. Cooke’s Reversible Level

- Cooke’s reversible level is the combination of dumpy level and y-level. In this instrument,

the telescope can be reversed without rotation the instrument. Collimation error can be eliminated
in this case because of bubble left and bubble right reading of telescope.

6. Automatic Level

- Automatic level is like the dumpy level. In this case the telescope is fixed to its supports.

Circular spirit can be attached to the side of the telescope for approximate levelling. For more

accurate levelling, compensator is attached inside the telescope.

Compensator can help the instrument to level automatically. Compensator is also called as

stabilizer which consists two fixed prisms and it creates an optical path between eye piece and

objective.Due to the action of gravity, the compensator results the optical system to swing into

exact position of line of sight automatically. But before the process of leveling, compensator should

be checked.

To check the compensator, just move the foot screws slightly if the leveling staff reading remains

constant then compensator is perfect. If it is not constant, then tap the telescope gently to free the
compensator. Automatic level is also called as self-adjusting level.57. Builder’s Level

- This instrument is used primarily in different phases of building construction where high

degree of precision is not a primary requisite. As implied by the name, these are used by builders

and engineers. Their design is basically as described earlier, and they use graduated staffs in which

the smallest graduation is 1cm. Millimetres must be estimated, and the accuracy of a single reading

will be about 2-3mm.

8. Digital Level

- This type of level uses a special bar-coded staff. The image of the staff passes through the

objective lens and then via a beam splitter to a photodetector array, where it is digitised. The

microprocessor compares this image to a copy of the bar code and calculates the staff reading,

which is displayed and/or stored. The sensitivity of the device is such that single reading accuracies

of 0.2mm to 0.3mm can be achieved, and sight lengths can be extended up to 100m.

9. Precise Level
- This is a modification of the conventional level in which a parallel plate micrometer is

placed in front of the objective lens. This allows the image of the staff graduation to be moved up

or down by very small measurable amounts. For sight lengths of under 50m, single reading

accuracies of 0.02mm to 0.03mm can be achieved.

10. Geodetic Level

- The geodetic level is basically another type of tilting level. Most of its metal parts are

made of invar too reduce the effects of temperature. Geodetic levels are employed in first-order

leveling work where extreme precision is an important requirement. The instrument is equipped

with stadia hairs to make it suitable to three-wire leveling.

11. Transit as a Level

- The engineer’s transit has always been referred to as the “universal surveying instrument”

because of its variety of uses. There is no doubt that it can be used as for leveling work. It can
provide results which are fairly precise although not as good as those obtained with conventional

levels.

11. Laser Level

- A new innovation introduced to surveying operations is the used of lasers. A laser system is

separate unit equipped with a portable power supply and be a helium-neon laser or gas laser.

They are usually mounted or attached to conventional surveying instruments such as levels,

transits, and theodolites.

TYPES OF LEVELING RODS USED IN SURVEYING

1. Self-Reading Rod

- This is the most commonly used type of levelling rod. It can be read directly by the

instrumentman through the telescope by noting the apparent intersection of the horizontal hair on

the rod.

2. Target Rod
- This type of rod has a sliding target which is set and read by a rodman at the position

selected by the instrumentman.

Other Types of Rod

There are several other types of rod used in leveling work. Among tehse are:

1. Grade or Level Rods Leveling rods- are typically made from aluminum or fiberglass and

are graduated in feet and tenths, or feet and inches depending on the user’s preference.

2. Philadelphia Level Rods Philly Rods- feature two sliding sections joined by a brass sleeve;

can be used for measurements of to 13 feet; can be read with a level from a distance of up to 250

feet

3. San Francisco Level Rods- Similar to the Philadelphia rod; features three separate, sliding 84. Direct
Reading Rods- read directly through a optical scope by the user. Direct Reading Rods

are also known as self-reading rods.

5. Direct Elevation Rods- Has a graduated strip that revolves around the rod using rollers and
features numbers in reverse order which are capable of providing elevation readings without need

for additional foresight and backsight calculations. This saves time and avoids most errors.

6. Chicago Rod- the Chicago rod is available with three or four sections that, instead of sliding,

are joined at the end to each other like a fishing rod.

7. Lenker Rod- the Lenker rod is a two-section rod similar to the Philadelphia but is graduated

in feet and inches to the nearest one-eighth inch rather than the decimal. The upper section of the

Lenker rod has the graduations on a continuous metal belt that can be rotated to set any desired

graduation at the level of the height of the instrument (HI). To use the rod, set it on the bench

mark and bring the graduation that indicates the elevation of the bench mark level with the HI.

As long as the level remains at that same setup whenever you set the rod on a point, you can read

the elevation of the point directly. In short, the Lenker rod does away with the necessity for

computing the elevations.

8. Lovar Rod- the Lovar rod is a high-precision leveling rod. It is usually T-shaped in cross section
and has the scale inscribed on the metal strip. High-precision leveling rods usually have tapering;

hardened-steel bases and some are equipped with thermometers so that the temperature

correction can be applied. These rods generally contain built-in rod levels.

9. Measuring Rod- measuring rod is a tool used to physically measure lengths and survey areas

of various sizes. Most measuring rods are round or square sectioned; however, they can also be flat

boards. Some have markings at regular intervals.

10. Ranging Rod- a ranging rod (or range rod) is a surveying instrument used for marking the

position of stations, and for sightings of those stations, as well as for ranging straight lines. Initially

these were made of light, thin and straight bamboo, or of well-seasoned wood such as teak, pine 1011.
Rod Ribbons- this is an improvised type of rod used in leveling work. The graduations on this

rod are marked either on canvass or metal strips which are attached to a quite handy as these can

be easily removed from the wood to which it is attached, rolled, and put into one’s pocket after I is

used.
12. Precise Rod- is a form of rod ribbon which uses a graduated invar strip permanently fastened

to a four-meter long wooden or metal frame. It is equipped with a rod level to allow the rodman

to hold the rod vertically when used.

13. Geodetic Rod- this rod is similar to a précis erod except that a nilvar metal strip is used

instead of of invar. The graduations on a geodetic rod are painted upside down for use with

inverting telescopes, and are shown in meters, decimetres, and centimeters.

13. Tape Rod- is also known as the automatic rod. It is used advantageously when numerous

elevations are to be determined from a single set-up of the leveling instrument.

TARGETS USED IN LEVELLING

A target is a small device attached to the rood when extremely long sights make direct

reading of the rod difficult or impossible. Targets are made of metal and may be circular, elliptical,

or rectangular in shape. Horizontal and vertical lines are formed by the junction of the alternating

red and white quadrants painted on its face. It usually has a rectangular opening in the front to
to the target to allow more accurate readings on the rod.

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expose a portion of the rod in order that readings can be made. A small vernier may be attached 12