What do land surveyors see in those "scopes" and what is that thing called.?

Question

I often see them along roadsides looking into their little viewfinders and making orange marks on the ground, but what image do they see and what is the machine called that they are using?

Answer 1

The instrument is a Transit or a Theodolite. It is a telescope of about twenty power(magnifies the image 20 times)and is able to measure angles very precisely, both side ways and up and down. Most modern ones are equipped with microwave or infrared devices to measure distance too, those are the ones you see where they set up little prismatic mirrors as targets to look at, thos machines are referred to as Total Stations.

Answer 2

The "scope" is actually called a transit, theodolite or total station. In the scope, the instrument operator sees crosshairs like in a gun scope and something to line it up on. Usually a guy holding a red and white pole with a prism on top of it to measure a distance to by shooting a laser. I'm a licensed land surveyor in Florida.

Answer 3

It is called a transit. It is a low power telescope with markings on the lens. It is used to measure angles and elevations when surveying roads, property markers, rivers, etc. At one time it was the most accurate way of surveying property or land but is rapidly being replaced by extremely accurate GPS devices.

Answer 4

the machine they are using is called a gun. The image looks like a rifle scope with two extra horizontal lines. They are usually finding property lines.
The official U.S.A.P. color guide to the paint/flags they are always using is as follows:
WHITE-proposed excavation
PINK-temporary survey marking(most commonly used)
RED-electric power, cables, light cables, electric conduit
YELLOW-gas
ORANGE-communications(telephone & cable)
BLUE-table water(you can drink it)
PURPLE-reclaimed water
GREEN-sewer & drains(storm)

Answer 5

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