User guide

Glossary
156 Trimble M3 Total Station User Guide
horizontal distance
The distance between two points, computed horizontally from the elevation of
either point.
input mode
Data received by observation and measurement, or manual input.
instrument height (ih)
1) The height of the center of the telescope (horizontal axis) above the ground or
station mark.
2) The height of the line of sight of the leveling instrument above the adopted
datum.
intersection
A series of calculation functions to define new points by using a combination of
observations.
known station
One of the methods to set up a station in the field. It uses a known coordinate
point as the station point. The backsight point to define the orientation can be an
angle point or a point with coordinates.
M5 format
The original Zeiss M5 data format is the common standard for all former Elta
surveying systems and current Trimble 3600 and M3 systems.
M5“ refers to the five measuring data blocks per data line:
All 5 data blocks are preceded by a type identifier. The 3 numerical data blocks
have a standard layout comprising 14 digits. In addition to the decimal point and
sign, they accept numeric values with the specified number of decimal places.
The information block is defined by 27 characters. It is used for point
identification (PI) and text information (TI e.g.).
measure topo
A topographic survey which has for its major purposes the determination of the
configuration (relief) of the surface of the earth (ground) and the location of
natural and man-made objects thereon.
MEM-Periph
Downloading internal memory to an office computer.
NiMH
Abbreviation for Nickel-MetalHydride, the material used in some battery packs.
Unlike NiCad batteries, NiMH batteries do not use heavy metals that may have
toxic effects. In addition, they can store up to 50% more power than NiCad
batteries and do not suffer from memory effects.
polygonal connecting
distance
A function to calculate the horizontal distance, vertical difference and slope
distance between two points. "Polygonal connecting" uses the latest two points for
calculation.
prism constant
A constant value subtracts from the measured distance when you measure to the
prism. The value is unique to each prism manufacture.
prism mode (PR)
The measurement mode for prism measurement.
radial connecting
distance
A function to calculate the horizontal distance, vertical difference and slope
distance between two points. "Radial connecting" always uses the first measured
point as the base point for calculation.