Topcon Measuring Tools & Sensors - Page 3 - Recent Questions, Troubleshooting & Support

There are 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in a degree. So, 1 second is 1/3600 of a degree. So as an example, 9 seconds is equal to 0.0025 deg.

The lock on almost any Digital Theodolite or non-robotic total staton is very similar. It's an rotating shaft with an side ways egg shape at the end. As you turn the knob the oblong end pushes on a pin or some sort of friction device that is attached to the axis. Often what will happen is either the position of the lock shaft moves, so it reaches a limit before enough friction is applied to the axis. Or some part of the lock is jammed and is not pushing into the axis. It should be visible behind the display, and there should be 2 set screws on the bottom of the instrument below the lock (on the outside, not behind the screen) Most likely backing thoes off, just a little bit will give you enough movement to watch internally where you can find a new lock position, and tighen the setscrews again to hold it in place.

ERROR 03 is a grade circle reading error. The grade system uses an etched glass circle, the same as a digital Theodolite or total station uses, to measure it's grade. If there is a problem with the readings of the circle then values have been lost telling the circuits how to read that exact circle properly, or something has become damaged. I've seen a number of them where the circle was intact, however no longer attached to the axis shaft it is supposed to be permanently fixed to. The user manual says to turn the unit off and back on, to see if it was just a momentary glitch. I would also remove the battery and external power for a few minutes before I turned it back on. Unfortunately, if that doesn't solve the problem the signals are going to have to be realigned, and parts may have to be replaced. In order to realign the signals, a standalone power supply is needed, as well as a digital oscilloscope and Topcon tolling, called "illuminators".

Fix the instrument to a solid tripod. Level the vial. Turn the instrument 180 degrees. If it is out of level. Adjust half of the bubble's error with the foot screws, and the other half with the 3 adjustment screws around the vial itself. Continue to go back and forth 180 degrees until the two sides match. It will take some time to get the hang of. But is not hard to accomplish.

Likely it's dirty battery contacts. Clean the contacts on the battery tray, and the coil springs in the laser, and it should start. If not open the laser, reinsert the battery tray with good batteries and test the voltage at the battery connector at the rear of the laser. Check for signs of water damage or corrosion. short out the power switch, to make sure it's not the problem. The switch circuit board, power connectors, battery tray, and motors are the only electronic parts still available for these lasers, and that is only because they share them with the RL-H3A, which was only discontinued in 2011. If none of the above will make it turn on, you'd need to find used parts, and try and rebuild it.

The GTS 81X series a breif window between the GTS 8XX and the GTS 9 series. The 81X's were discontinued approximately 2005ish when the GPT/GTS 9 series came out, so it would be older than that. But i wouldnt go back as far as the 90's. Hope that helps

It entirely depends on what screw. A picture of the screw and placement would help. However as a rule of thumb, compensator screws are vital to the accuracy of a high precision peice of equipment, and any movement of thoes screws would be cause for getting it serviced.

Hopefully it's the simple answer. The bubble vial may be out. start where the level vial says is level, and move outwards in slow circles to try and find a place the laser thinks is level. if you find a spot, use the 3 adjustment screws on the bottom of the bubble vial to make that your new center. Otherwise, it's a not good news. A couple things could be gone wrong. The oil bath compensator could have leaked. If you open the laser, and it's oily inside, throw it away. It could be the peep site could need adjusting, or the laser diode could be blown. If the laser diode is dead, same solution as the compensator leaking. There are no parts available for these anymore, chuck it out. The peep site isn't a write off, per se. The laser operates by shooting the beam through a oil bath, which compensates for the instrument not being perfectly level, and then through a splitting lens. part of the beam travels up, and through the rotating head. And the rest goes through a peep site, to a light reflecting area of the main circuit board. if the board or peep site is no longer aligned, the laser will never think it's level. The bad news about that, it is a very tricky and time consuming repair, that few technicians know how to do, or if they do know how are most aren't comfortable doing it. You can try taking the cover off, leveling the instrument, powering it up and trying to move the circuit board until the laser thinks it's level, but i wouldn't waste much time on it.

I have one of this model too and have the same problem. It spin and spin but won't level. After a couple of minutes it stops and the power led fast blink.

How old are the batteries? The company appears to be proprietary and does not release much information.