Adjustment Computation; By Bacha B. 2021 G.

CHAPTER THREE

Error Sources in Horizontal Angles

Whether a theodolite or total station instruments are used, errors are present in every horizontal
angle observation. Also in pointing to a target a small amount of error always occurs. Some of
major error sources in horizontal angle observations include reading errors, pointing errors,
target centering error, the effects leveling error and electronic distance observation. Each of these
sources produces random errors. They may be small or large depending on the instrument, the
operator, and the conditions at the time of the angle observation. The effects of reading, pointing,
and leveling errors can be reduced by increasing the number of angle repetitions. However, the
effects of target centering errors can be reduced by increasing sight distances.

Reading Errors
Errors in reading conventional transits and theodolites depend on the quality of the instrument’s
optics, the size of the smallest division of the circle, and the operator’s abilities. For example, the
ability to set and read the micrometer of a theodolite.
Pointing Errors

Accuracy in pointing to a target depends on several factors. These include the optical qualities of
the instrument, target size, the observer’s personal ability to place the crosswire on a target, and
the weather conditions at the time of observation. Pointing errors are random, and they will occur
in every angle observation no matter the method used. The pointing error for an angle that is the
mean of n repetitions can be estimated using equation

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Example 3.1: An angle is observed six times by an observer whose ability to point on a well-
defined target is estimated to be + 1.8’’. What is the estimated error in the average angle due to
the pointing error?
Solution

Target Centering Errors

Whenever a target is set over a station, there will be some error due to fault of centering. This
can be attributed to environmental conditions, quality of the optics, plumb bob centering error,
personal abilities, and so on. When care is taken, the instrument is usually within 0.001 to 0.01ft
of the true station location. Although these sources produce a constant centering error for any
particular angle, it will appear as random in the adjustment of a network involving many stations
since targets and instruments will center differently over a point. This error will also be noticed
in resurveys of the same points.
An estimate of the effect of this error in an angle observation can be made by analyzing its
contribution to a single direction. As shown in figure 3.1, the angular error due to the centering
error depends on the position of the target. If the target is on line but off center as shown in
figure 3.1(a), the target centering error does not contribute to the angular error. However, as the
target moves to either side of the sight line, the error size increases. As shown in figure 3.1(d),
the largest error occurs when the target is offset perpendicular to the line of sight.

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Figure 3.1 Possible target locations

Possible target location is from the true station location from figure 3.1(d), the maximum error in
an individual direction due to the target centering error is

where, e is the uncertainty in the direction due to the target centering error, σd the amount of a
centering error at the time of pointing, and as shown in figure 3.1, D is the distance from the
instrument center to the target. Since two directions are required for each angle observation, the
contribution of the target centering error to the total angular error is

Figure 3.2 Error in an angle due to target centering error.

Where σαt is the angular error due to the target centering error, σd1 and σd2 are the target centering
errors at stations 1 and 2 respectively and D1 and D2 are the distances from the target to the
instrument at stations 1 and 2 respectively. Assuming the ability to center the target over a point
is independent of the particular direction, it can be stated that σd1= σd2= σt.

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The results of equation above are unit less. To convert the result to arc seconds, it must be
multiplied by the constant which yields:

Notice that the same target centering error occurs on each pointing. Thus, it cannot be reduced in
size by taking multiple pointing, and therefore equation above is not divided by the number of
angle repetitions. This makes the target centering error one of the more significant errors in angle
observations.

Example 3.2 An observer’s estimated ability at centering targets over a station is + 0.003 ft. For
a particular angle observation, the back sight and foresight distances from the instrument station
to the targets are approximately 250ft and 450ft respectively. What is the angular error due to the
error in target centering?

Solution: From equation above the estimated error is:

If handheld range poles were used in this example with an estimated centering error of +0.01ft,
the estimated angular error due to the target centering would be

Obviously, this is a significant error source if care is not taken in target Centering

Effects of Leveling Errors in Angle Observations

If an instrument is imperfectly leveled its vertical axis is not truly vertical and its horizontal
circle and horizontal axis are both inclined. If while an instrument is imperfectly leveled it is
used to measure horizontal angles, the angles will be observed in a plane other than horizontal.

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Errors that result from this error source are most severe when the back sights and foresights are
steeply inclined: for example, in making astronomical observations or traversing over mountains.
If the bubble of a theodolite were to remain off center by the same amount during the entire
angle-observation process, the resulting error would be systematic. However, because an
operator normally monitors the bubble carefully and attempts to keep it centered while turning
angles, the amount and direction by which the instrument is out of level becomes random, and
hence the resulting errors tend to be random. Even if the operator does not monitor the
instrument’s level, this error will appear to be random in a resurvey.
In figure 3.3, ε represents the angular error that occurs in either the back sight or foresight of a
horizontal angle observation made with an instrument out of level and located at station I. The
line of sight IS is elevated by the vertical angle v. In the figure, IS is shown perpendicular to the
instrument’s horizontal axis. The amount by which the instrument is out of level is ƒdµ, where
ƒdµ is the number of fractional divisions the bubble is off center and µ is the sensitivity of the
bubble. From the figure,

Figure 3.3 Effects of instrument leveling error

Where, D is the horizontal component of the sighting distance and the angular error ε is in
radians. Because the amount of leveling error is small, PP’ can be approximated as a circular arc,
and thus

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As noted above, figure 3.3 shows the line of sight oriented perpendicular to the instrument’s
horizontal axis. Also the direction in which a bubble runs is random can be used to compute the
combined angular error that results from n repetitions of an angle made with an imperfectly
leveled instrument.

Where, vb and vƒ are the vertical angles to the back sight and foresight targets respectively, and
n is the number of repetitions of the angle. N.B, each angle measurement involves both back
sight and foresight pointing.
Example 3.3 A horizontal angle is observed on a mountainside where the back sight is to the
peak and the foresight is in the valley. The average zenith angles to the back sight and foresight
are 800 and 950 respectively. The instrument has a level bubble with a sensitivity of 30’’division
and is leveled to within 0.3division. For the average angle obtained from six repetitions, what is
the contribution of the leveling error to the overall angular error?
Solution:
The zenith angles converted to vertical angles are 100 and -50 respectively. Substituting the
appropriate values into equation

Note: vertical angle = 90 – zenith angle

Errors in Electronic Distance Observations

All EDM observations are subject to instrumental errors that manufacturers list as constant a,
and scalar b error. A typical specified accuracy is + (a+b ppm). In this expression, a is generally
in the range 1 to 10 mm, and b is a scalar error that typically has the range 1 to 10 ppm.

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Other errors involved in electronic distance observations stem from the target and instrument
centering errors. Since in any survey involving several stations these errors tend to be random
and should be combined. Thus, the estimated error in an EDM observed distance is

Where σD is the error in the observed distance D, σi the instrument centering error, σt the
reflector centering error, a and b the instrument’s specified accuracy parameters

Example 3.4 A distance of 453.87ft is observed using an EDM with a manufacturer’s specified
accuracy of + (5mm+10 ppm).The instrument is centered over the station with an estimated error
of +0.003ft and the reflector which is mounted on a handheld prism pole is centered with an
estimated error of +0.01ft. What is the error in the distance?
Solution:
Converting millimeters to feet (5mm to ft), a is 0.0164ft)
The scalar portion of the manufacturer’s estimated standard error is computed as: D*b/1,000,000
then, the error is 453.87ft *10/1,000,000ft = 0.0045 ft. Thus, σD is 0.0196ft

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