Levelling Tutorials

The aim of this series of short tutorials is to guide you through the procedures for setting up
an automatic level to make it ready for use, and reading the levelling staff.

You can select individual pages from the site map below, or
work through the series in sequence by using the 'next' link at
the foot of each page.

Some pages have links at the bottom to interactive activities

designed to help you check your knowledge. These activities
open in new windows. When you have completed the activity
click on the 'submit' button to check your results. If you need
another try use the 'reset' button. Click the 'close this window'
link at the bottom of the page when you have finished the
activity.

You will find the answers or methods for the activities in the
tutorial. Two activities include a help link should you get really
stuck.

Introduction
Setting up the instrument

The aim of this tutorial is to guide you through the procedures for setting up a tripod to
make it ready for use

Attaching the Instrument

The aim of this tutorial is to show you how to attach the level to the tripod. The attachment
method is the same for most modern survey instruments including levels, theodolites, and
EDM systems.

Parts of the Instrument and Levelling Head

The aim of this tutorial is to introduce you to the automatic level and levelling head on the
instrument. The three screw levelling head is found on most modern survey instruments
including levels, theodolites, and EDM systems.
Principle of the Automatic Level
The aim of this tutorial is to describe the basic
principle of an automatic level.
Reading the Staff
The aim of this tutorial is to demonstrate how
to read a levelling staff that conforms to British
Standard 4484.
Height References
The aim of this tutorial is to introduce Bench
Marks as a height reference.

Next Step
Using a surveying instrument effectively is a
practical skill. It is not difficult, but does require
care and patience.You now need to go out and
practice using a level and staff.

Setting up the instrument

The aim of this tutorial is to guide you through the procedures for setting up a tripod to
make it ready for use.Parts of the tripod

Basic Kit, tripod and instrument in carrying case.

Each leg of a tripod is adjustable for length.
The legs are locked by a lever clamp (left) or
screw (right).

Once the legs have been set to the correct

length it is important that the locking lever or
screw is tight. Otherwise, the leg may move in
use which means the instrument will have to be
set up again, and all readings taken again as
the instrument height will have changed.

Level in transit case. Note the plumb bob

(lower left) which may be used to centre the
instrument over a survey station.

Setting up the instrument

Setting up the tripod
 Aim - to set up the tripod so that:
it is secure
the head is approximately level
the instrument telescope will be at eye level
you will be able to see the staff through the telescope

Using a methodical approach keeps the task simple.

Undo carrying straps

Extend legs

Set tripod in position - if the ground is sloping place

two legs on the down hill side
 Firmly press the two tripod feet on the down hill side
into the ground using your own foot on the tripod's
foot plate. (This will tilt the head)

Foot plate on tripod leg.

Move the third leg so that the head looks

level and the instrument telescope will be at
a comfortable height when this leg is firmly
pushed into the ground.

Fine adjustments can be made by changing

the length of each leg.
Make sure that the clamp or locking screw is
tight when finished.

Notes:

If the tripod head is not almost level you

may have difficulty setting up the
instrument.

Do not lean on the tripod when using it, as

this could disturb the setting of the
instrument.

Tripod set up, legs secure, head level

at a suitable height for use,ready for the
instrument.
Attaching the Instrument
The aim of this tutorial is to show you how to attach the level to the tripod. The attachment
method is the same for most modern survey instruments including levels, theodolites, and
EDM systems.

Attaching the instrument to the tripod

Tripod Head has a polished level

surface for the instrument to stand
on. Some tripods have a cover to
protect the head when not being
used. Take care not to damage the
surface.
The Tripod Screw is captive and
mounted on a movable bracket to
allow the instrument to be centred
over a station if necessary.

The instrument base plate (trivet stage) is threaded to

take the tripod screw. The three raised 'feet' are
machined to give a stable contact with the tripod head.

The tripod screw has a large head and is designed to be

tightened and undone by hand. Do not apply undue
force.

Parts of the Instrument and Levelling Head

The aim of this tutorial is to introduce you to the automatic level and levelling head on the
instrument. The three screw levelling head is found on most modern survey instruments
including levels, theodolites, and EDM systems.

Typical parts of an automatic level

The instrument is secured to the tripod head using the tripod screw.
Right side of Level

The levelling head has three parts:

A top plate or tribrach which carries a

spirit level and the instrument

Three levelling, or foot, screws

A foot plate or trivet that attaches to the

tripod head

Also labeled in this picture:

The horizontal circle, which allows the instrument to be used to measure horizontal angles
to an accuracy of 1° (Not found on all instruments)

The object focusing screw, which is used to bring the staff or other image in to focus.

Top of Level

This picture shows the instrument

controls:

Spherical level is a bubble spirit level

attached to the tribrach and referenced
to the axis of the telescope. In use the
bubble must be within the circle for the
instrument to give a horizontal sight line
(Collimation).

The eye piece is adjustable and should

be set for each observer to bring the cross hairs in to sharp focus.

The instrument can be rotated by hand, using the 'gun sight' on top of the telescope to find
the staff.

Tangent screws (one on each side) allow fine adjustment when aligning the telescope on the
staff, or setting out a horizontal angle using the horizontal circle.

The Telescope is focussed using the object focus screw on the right side of the instrument.
Left side of level

The only new component in this view is

the mirror over the spherical level. This
mirror allows the observer to see the
bubble and confirm that the instrument
is correctly levelled before taking a
reading. Not all instruments will have a
mirror.

Linear bubble level

Not all instruments have exactly the

same features. This automatic level has
a linear bubble level. It only has one
tangent screw and the horizontal circle is
replaced by marks at 90° intervals to
allow setting out of right angles.

Eye piece focusing of the cross hairs and an object focus screw are usually provided on all
instruments.

Now check your knowledge:

Parts of the Instrument and Levelling Head

Adjusting the levelling head

Aim - to level the tribrach so that the telescope rotates in a horizontal plane.
Levelling an instrument with a linear bubble tube.

Align the bubble tube parallel to two foot

screws.

Facing the instrument rotate both foot screws in

opposite directions at the same time. Either
thumbs moving inwards or thumbs moving
outwards.

The bubble moves in the direction of the left

thumb.

When the bubble has settled in the exact centre

of the tube the instrument is level on this axis.

Rotate the telescope through 90° so the bubble

tube is aligned with the third levelling screw.

The
first two screws are level so they must not be
touched.

Using the left hand adjust the third levelling

screw to centre the bubble. Again the bubble will
move in the same direction as the left thumb.
 With the bubble centred the instrument should be
level.

As a check rotate the instrument through 90°. If

necessary re-level the original two foot screws and
repeat the rotation to check the third one.

You may have to do two sets of adjustments

before the instrument is level and the bubble
remains in the centre of the tube as the telescope
is rotated.

The tube is engraved with calibration marks to

show the centre. The bubble must be no more
than one space on the calibration scale off the
centre for the compensator to work.

Principle of the Automatic Level

The aim of this tutorial is to describe the basic principle of an automatic level.

Principle of levelling.

The level is an optical instrument that

provides a height reference. This reference is
a horizontal plane through the axis of the
telescope, known as the "Height of
Collimation".

Once the height of collimation (or instrument

height) has been measured the height of
other stations can be found by measuring
from this plane with a staff.

The height of collimation is found by taking a

backsight to a staff placed on a bench mark.
The staff reading is added to the bench mark
value to obtain the height of collimation.

Once the height of collimation has been found ground height at any spot below this plane
can be found by observing the staff and subtracting the staff reading from the height of
collimation.
Principle of the Automatic Level

The aim of this tutorial is to describe the basic principle of an automatic level.

The Automatic Level

It is essential that the sight line through

the telescope is exactly horizontal. If not
errors will occur. One solution to this
problem is the automatic level.

The automatic level has a compensator

mechanism that uses a combination of
fixed prisms or mirrors and a moving
prism suspended on a pendulum to give
a horizontal reference. When correctly
set up the compensator will ensure that
the ray of light through the centre of the
reticule is exactly horizontal.

Design of the compensator mechanism varies with each manufacturer, so the diagram
above is intended to show the principle of the method, not a specific instrument.

Not shown in the diagram is a damping mechanism to stop the pendulum from continuing to
swing when the instrument moves. The quality of the damping mechanism is very
important; too little damping will give an unsteady image which may blur in windy
conditions, but too much damping may lead to errors if the pendulum does not respond to
slight movements of the instrument.

The reticule is a glass plate with fine cross hairs engraved to provide the height reference.
The eye piece should be adjusted to bring the reticule into sharp focus. The internal
focussing lens is then controlled by the focussing screw on the side of the instrument to
bring the staff image in to focus on the reticule.

Staff and its graduation

The aim of this tutorial is to demonstrate how to read a levelling staff that conforms to
British Standard 4484.
Levelling staff.

Two "E" pattern staffs are shown on the right, note slight differences in
the marking and numbers. The "E" pattern is designed to make it easy
to read a small section of the scale when seen through a telescope.

The staff is simply a large ruler, available in lengths of 3, 4 or 5 metres

and usually made of aluminium with telescopic sections.

The sections have locking buttons to ensure

accurate length is maintained.

Some staffs also have an extended length

scale in mm on the back.

Measurements are in metres and cm (10mm

blocks) which enable heights to be estimated to 1 mm. Alternating
colours are used to differentiate each metre length, the most common
being black and red on a white background.

Major graduations occur at 100 mm intervals and are denoted by

figures. Minor graduations are at 10 mm intervals and form coloured
squares or intervening spaces. The lower 50 mm of any 100 mm block
are joined by a band to form the distinctive E pattern which is designed
to make reading a small section of the staff in the telescope easier.

Example staff readings are shown below:

Through the telescope

The aim of this tutorial is to demonstrate how to read a levelling staff that conforms to
British Standard 4484.

Focus the reticule.

The reticule (or diaphragm) is a glass plate with fine lines

etched on it to provide the horizontal reference and stadia
marks for estimating distance. When first looking through
the telescope rotate the eye piece to bring the reticule in to
sharp focus.

Each observer will need to focus the reticule to allow for

their own eye.

Failure to do so will cause parallax, where a small

movement of the eye's position will cause the horizontal
lines to give a different staff reading.
With the eye piece focused you will see a vertical
and a horizontal line dividing the field of view. The
middle horizontal line marks the horizontal plane
through the telescope (height of collimation) and is
the reference for all height readings.

There may also be two short stadia lines. Stadia are

used for measuring the distance to the staff by
multiplying the difference between the two stadia
readings by a constant (usually 100).

Focus on the staff

Align the telescope on the staff using the gun sight on the
top of the instrument and gently rotating the telescope by
hand.

Using the side focussing screw bring the staff in to sharp

focus.

Fine adjustment of the alignment can be made with the

tangent screw.

Check that the spirit level bubble is within the central portion of the scale before reading the
staff.

In this view the staff reading is 2.993

Upper stadia = 3.040

Lower stadia = 2.946
Stadia difference = 0.094
Distance to staff = 0.094 x 100 = 9.4 metres

Note that stadia distances have a low level of accuracy, one

mm error in staff reading gives a distance error of 0.1
metre

Through the telescope

The aim of this tutorial is to demonstrate how to read a levelling staff that conforms to
British Standard 4484.

Check that the staff is vertical.

It is essential that readings are taken when the
staff is vertical. If the staff is not vertical the
reading will be larger than it should be, as you
are measuring a slope distance, and will give
errors.

Some staffs are fitted with a spherical spirit

level and handles to help the staff person keep
it vertical. Even with a spirit level it is difficult
to hold a staff vertical. This difficulty increases
in wind.

Staff leaning forward

reading high

To read the staff when vertical the surveyor use

the vertical reticule line to direct the staff
person to move the top of the staff left or right
of the sight line.

The staff person then slowly tilts the top of the

staff towards and away from the instrument so
that it will pass through the vertical. The staff
will appear to move up and down in the
telescope field. The lowest reading is recorded
as this is the point at which the staff is vertical.

Staff vertical
lowest reading
 Staff leaning back
reading high

Height References

The aim of this tutorial is to introduce Bench Marks as a height reference.

OS Bench Mark (OSBM).

OS Bench Marks are

established by the Ordnance
Survey to provide height
references. They are usually
carved into stonework or
other stable material that is
unlikely to be disturbed.

The centre of the horizontal

groove is the height
reference.

Heights are given in metres above OS Datum on large scale OS plans and other references.
Temporary Bench Marks (TBM)

Temporary Bench Marks are often established around the

survey site. TBMs may be surveyed in to the OS Datum
by levelling between the site TBMs and an OSBM.

A site datum may be established instead and all levels

referred to a TBM that has been given an arbitrary value
(usually 100.000 metres, or a value that ensures all
heights will be positive).

TBMs require to be stable. The main site reference is often a steel pin set in a block of
concrete but wooden pegs set in concrete with a nail head providing the reference level are
often used.

It is good practice to establish a number of TBMs around the perimeter of a building site as a
precaution against the only site height reference being disturbed or dug up part way through
the contract.