From Jena. . .

Theodolite Theo 010

USER’S MANUAL - TRANSLATION

ADDENDUM:
BACKGROUND
ADJUSTMENTS

[Note: the German manual is for an earlier version of the Theo 010. Sections no
longer relevant have been omitted.

Please note that this is NOT an authorized Zeiss manual, and it probably con-
tains serious errors or omissions. It is based on my examination of a late model
Theo 010, which is known to differ in construction details from earlier models.]
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CONTENTS

Specifications
1. Range of Applications
2. Description
3. Use
3.1 Set-Up
3.2 Centering
3.3 Leveling
3.4 Illumination
3.4.1 Illumination with Daylight
3.4.2 Illumination Attachment
3.5 Focussing Crosshairs and Image
3.6 Pointing and Steep Inclines
3.6.1 Ocular Prisms
3.7 Stadia-Line Tacheometry
3.8 Reading the Horizontal and Vertical Circles
3.9 Setting the Horizontal Circle
3.10 Distance Meansurement, 2m Subtense Bar
3.12 Horrebow Level
3.12 Use of Horrebow Level
3.13 Stowing
4. Checks and Adjustment
4.1 Plate and Circular Levels
4.2 Horizontal Collimation
4.3 Vertical Index Error
4.4 Built-In Optical Plumb
4.5 Leveling Head Screws and Fine Motion Screws
4.6 Clamps
4.8 Cleaning and Oiling the Vertical Axis
5. Care
7. Notes for Figures
7.1 Figure Captions
7.2 Reference Data
8. Figures
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SPECIFICATIONS 1. RANGE OF APPLICATIONS

Telescope
Magnification: 31X The Theo 010 is useful for all surveying work requiring a mean error of less than
Object lens diameter: 53 mm ±4cc (±1.5”) for a direction measured once on both faces (normal and reversed
Field of view: 1.2o telescope). Appropriate applications are
Multiplication factor: 100
Shortest view
Telescope: 2 m Second to fourth-order triangulation
Finder: no limit Precision traversing above and below ground
Longest view Astronomical determination of position
for reading ±0.5 cm: appx. 500 m
for estimating ±0.5 mm: appx. 120 m
2. DESCRIPTION
Level vials The ‘one-second’ theodolite Theo 010 has a completely closed construction. All
Angle for 2 mm bubble deflection
mechanical and optical controls are easily found (cf. Figs. 1, 2). It consists essen-
Plate level: 20”
Vertical index level: 20” tially of the fixed base with its movable horizontal graduated circle and the alidade
Circular level: 8’ (19), mounted on a vertical sleeve bearing. The alidade carries the trunnion (hori-
Horrebow level: 10” zontal) axle with its vertical circle, the telescope (21), the micrometer microscope
(6) and the optical plumb (39). The instrument’s mounting stub is grasped by a
Circles
Horizontal: screw (14) in the leveling head. A pressure plate (37) and foot plate (36) fix this to
Diameter: 84 mm the tipod via the leveling screws. The mirror-lens telescope (modified Cassegrain,
Division interval: 20c with a-focal compensating lens system) is especially compact, has internal focus-
Micrometer division: 2cc ing (23) and a dustproof construction. Its crosshair reticle, which can be illumi-
Microscope magnification: 43X nated by turning (42), has stadia lines for tacheometry with vertical and horizontal
Vertical
staves. The telescope is supported by standards on both sides and can be tran-
Diameter: 60 mm
sited in both directions. Narrow contact rings (52, Fig. 14) concentric to the trun-
Division interval: 20c
Micrometer division: 2cc nion axle serve as bearings for the striding level [not present]. The eyepiece ring
Microscope magnification: 60X (21) for focusing the crosshairs is provided with a diopter scale. All optical surfaces
in contact with the air have a non-reflective coating. The optical sights (25) for
Built-in optical plumb rough pointing also permit parallax-free pointing at short distances, e.g., in center-
Field of view: 6o ing. A flange on the telescope (26) is provided for mounting the Horrebow level.
Shortest view: 0,5 m
Magnification: 2.5X The microscope eyepiece is so placed that, according to the position of the switch
(7), it allows the horizontal or vertical circle to be read conveniently from the posi-
Sizes and weights tion of the telescope eypiece. By forming the mean value of two readings optically,
Height of Instrument: 284 mm the circle reading optics eliminate eccentricity errors. The plate (horizontal) (20)
Height of vertical axis: 219 mm
Weight of instrument: 5.3 kg and circular (18) levels are located in protected positions but are easily read. Both
Weight of carrying case: 5.0 kg have adjustment screws. The vertical index level (28) is enclosed in one telescope
Dimensions of carrying case (cm): 27 x 18 x 38‹ support and thus well protected against changes in temperature. From both tele-
scope positions it can be observed (using coincidence) via the rotating prisms
(27). The graduated circles, enclosed in the instrument housing, are illuminated
via the adjustable mirror (22). All knobs and clamps are so arranged that they can
be used in any position of the telescope. The fine motion screws have a novel ar-
rangement: they are positioned radially rather than tangentially to the housing, so
that measurements will not be disturbed by pressure from the user’s fingers. Their
threads are protected.
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The horizontal circle is fitted to the fixed lower section of the theodolite on its own
axle and can be rotated by means of a spring-loaded gear drive. The drive knob
(31) is secured against unintentional activation by the ring (32). An optical plumb
for centering the instrument (39) is built into the upper section. It provides a view
through the hollow vertical axle. An alignment screw is not provided; however its
verticality can be checked by turning the upper section. The vertical axle and
sleeve of hardened steel are fitted to very narrow tolerances. After loosening the
stub retaining screw (15), the instrument can be pulled out of the leveling plate
(13). The permits using the technique of forced centering for traversing. The level-
ing screws’ (14) threads are protected and their motion can be regulated (38). The
knurled knobs permit easy leveling. The instrument is attached to its tripod or
base by means of a centering cone screwed into the spring plate of the leveling
head (34).
3. USE
3.1 Set-Up
Place the wooden carrying case on its back and open. Using both hands, lift the in-
strument from the case and place it on the tripod. Screw the centering cone (34)
into the spring-plate of the leveling head, leaving it loose.
3.2 Centering
Hang a plumb bob from the hook in the centering cone. Center the instrument on
the tripod head over the reference point by shoving. Then remove the plumb bob.
Center the instrument exactly with the built-in optical plumb (section 3.3).
To use the built-in optical plumb (39), first focus the eyepiece on the concentric cir-
cles of the reticle, then pull out the eyepiece to a point where the ground refer-
ence point is seen sharply. Turning the theodolite 180 degrees, check that there is
no error in alignment; in case there is, take the average of both centerings. Then
tighten the centering cone.
3.3 Leveling
Adjust the leveling screws (14) first, to center the bubble in the circular level (18)
and then in the plate level (20).
3.4 Illumination
The horizontal and vertical circles are lit though the opening behind the illumina-
tion mirror (22).
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3.4.1 Illumination with Daylight
Find the optimum illumination of the circles by pulling out the illumination mirror
and turning its mounting ring.
3.4.2 Illumination Attachment (47, Fig. 3)
For working in the dark, use this attachment. Clamp it to the frame of the window
(28) with the two side-mounted clips. Remove the bulb from a flashlight and con-
nect the cable to the lamp socket. The bulb in the attachment lights the vertical in-
dex vial directly and the circles via the mirror. The brightness of the circle illumina-
tion can be adjusted using the mirror.
Turning the reticle illumination knob (42) to an oblique position sends background
light into the telescope so that the crosshairs may be seen. By day the mark on
the knob should be parallel to the line of sight, so that unneeded light is not di-
rected into the telescope.
3.5 Focussing Crosshairs and Image
Bring the crosshairs (Fig. 4) into sharp focus by turning the telescope eyepiece.
Take care to find a focus point toward the plus end of the diopter scale, to avoid
tiring your eye. Then bring the telescope image into focus with the large ring be-
hind the eyepiece (23). Crosshairs and image must be equally sharp, and they
must not move relative to one another when you move your head slightly to one
side (parallax-free condition). Having adjusted the mirror (22) to obtain good illu-
mination of the circles, bring the circle image into sharp focus by turning the mi-
croscope eyepiece (6).
3.6 Pointing and Steep Inclines
Lift the clamp levers (3, 12). The telescope can now be raised and lowered, and
the alidade can be turned. Using the optical sight (25), point the telescope at a
target. Gently press the clamp levers. Using the fine motion screws for azimuth (9)
and inclination (8), bring the target to the center of the crosshairs. The crosshair
pattern allows various ways of pointing, appropriate to various targets. A single
crosshair line can be centered on a target having two symmetical marks, or a dou-
ble crosshair can be centered about a single symmetical object, like the point of a
steeple, so that both lines touch at the same height.
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3.6.1 Ocular Prisms
g sion nearest the middle, starting from the right side of the main viewing field. This
Using the ocular prisms (46), targets as high as 60 grade ( ) can be observed.
There is one prism to place on the telescope (21) and one for the microscope (6).
The prism for the microscope gives an upright, unreversed view. The prism for the
telescope is provided with a tinted glass for viewing the sun; this can be turned to
one side for viewing other targets. [Viewing the sun is always dangerous — blind-
ness can result from a few seconds of improperly filtered sunlight]. If a
prism sits too loosely on the eyepiece, three narrow segments on the cylindrical
edge can be pressed in slightly to give a tighter fit. While the prisms are mounted
the telescope can be reversed only over the object lens end.
3.7 Stadia-Line Tacheometry
To obtain the horizontal distance s from the instrument position to a vertically held
leveling rod, multiply the distance observed between the two horizontal stadia
lines, D, by 100 sin2 z, where z is the zenith distance that can be read directly from
the vertical circle.
2
s = 100 D sin z
The difference in height between the horizontal axis of the theodolite and the tar-
get h is
h = (100 D sin2 z) / 2
Using a horizontal rod normal to the line of sight, the distance between the vertical
stadia lines times 100 gives the length of the line of sight to the rod.
3.8 Reading the Horizontal and Vertical Circles
The circles have divisons with double marks. By turning the knob for the optical
micrometer (5), bring the marks in the main viewing field of the microscope into
exact coincidence. The amount of angular displacement required to achieve coin-
cidence can be read in the small micrometer window to the right of the main view-
ing area.
The circles are subdivided with double marks at intervals of 20 c. However, be-
cause of the opposing motions of the two circle images, the effective value of a
subdivision is 10c.
-7-
The procedure for reading the circle is thus: Take the upright number of the divi-
is the direction value in grade. Add to this value the number of subdivisions from
this mark to the division having a value (inverted) different from this by 200 g (op-
posite side of the circle). Multiply this number by 10 and add it as centesimal min-
utes (c) to the grade value. Read centesimal minutes and seconds(cc) directly from
the mark in the middle of the micrometer window (to the right) and add these to
the sum.
Example (Fig. 5a)
Grade value . . 85g
Minutes, from number of subdivisions . . 70c
Minutes and seconds, from micrometer . . 5c 03cc
Direction value . . 85g 75c 03cc = 85.7503g
The reading procedure is the same for both circles. Use knob (7) to select horizon-
tal (Hz) or vertical (V). Each time the vertical circle is read, the vertical index vial
(behind window 28) must be brought to coincidence, using the vertical index knob
adjustment (29). View the level vial through the prisms (27).
3.9 Setting the Horizontal Circle
The horizontal circle is held by friction to the vertical axle. It can be rotated, using
knob (31). A spring disengages the gear on this knob until it is pressed in; the
washer (32) must be turned to allow this. A given target can be assigned a direc-
tion in grade and minutes. First set the single-minute value (between 0 to 9) with
the micrometer. Then point point the telescope at the target. Set the grade and
subdivision (units of 10s of minutes) by bringing the image of the circle to coinci-
dence at the desired value.
3.10 Distance Meansurement, 2m Subtense Bar (Fig. 6)
[Subtense bar not supplied. Consult any plane surveying text written between
1950 and 1970 about subtense meansurement.]
3.12 Horrebow Level (Special order only)
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The Horrebow level is an accessory for the Theo 010, used to hold the telescope at
a given zenith distance during a series of astronomical sightings. Small changes in
the telescope’s inclination can be read on the level scale. Using this accessory it is
possible to carry out a determination of longitude and latitude by observing the
transit times of a number of stars having nearly equal zenith distances (methods
of Horrebow-Talcott, Pewzow, Zinger; simultaneous determination of latitude and
time according to Gauss).
3.12 Use of Horrebow Level
In the middle of the telescope is a flange for a shoe on the Horrebow level (61).
Slide the fixture over the flange from one end of the telescope and fasten it by
tightening the screw (62). Bring the fine adjustment of the Horrebow level to its
middle position by aligning the two horizontal marks above the fine adjustment
knob (63). After the telescope has been set to the inclination at which the sight-
ings will be performed, the level can be tilted and fastened in a horizontal position
by tightening screw (60). For this rough leveling, the bubble can be observed
through the opening (66).
Fine adjustment of the level is performed by obtaining coincidence of the two bub-
ble halves, observing through the prisms (67). Fine-adjust the level to exact coinci-
dence with knob (63). The adjustment range is ±40” [Astronomical observations
are recorded in sexagesimal (degrees) units, not in centesimal.]
The positions of the bubble ends are read from the fine scale on the vial (red
marks and numbers). The signed change in zenith distance is computed by sub-
tracting the left bubble end from the right bubble end. A positive difference means
that the zenith distance is larger (star is lower); a negative difference means the
zenith distance is smaller (star is higher).
The scale value corresponds to appx. 2” per division of difference. (A calibration
report with the exact scale value is [supposed] to be supplied with every Horrebow
level.) [No calibration of this level was available.]
Example (Fig. 13)
right scale reading: 18.0 divisions
left scale reading: 8.0 divisions
difference = + 10.0 divisions X 2”/division = 20”.
On request, a special crosshair reticle with several horizontal lines for astronomical
observations can be supplied. [No longer available.]
3.13 Stowing
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Remove any accessories from the instrument and place them in their containers.
Loosen clamps (3, 12). Turn the telescope so that the object lens is between the
standards, pointing to the base. Tighten vertical clamp (3). Shove in the eypiece
tube of the optical plumb (39). Close the illumination mirror (22). Remove the cen-
tering cone (34). Using both hands, take the theodolite from the tripod and place it
in its carrying case with the vertical index level (28) on the side of the case’s clasp
and with one leveling screw pointing up (see Fig. 3).
4. CHECKS AND ADJUSTMENT
4.1 Plate and Circular Levels
Turn the alidade (19) toward two of the leveling screws (14). By turning these
screws in opposite directions, center the bubble in the plate level (20). Now turn
the alidade 100g and center the bubble again, using the remaining leveling screw.
Turn the alidade 200g. If the bubble is not centered, take out half of the error with
the leveling screw and half with the adjustment screws (30) and (40). (Turn these
screws in opposite directions.) Repeat until no error is evident. Re-level the ali-
dade. The vertical axis is now vertical. Take out any error in the circular level with
the adjustment screws (18). Small misadjustments in the plate level can be com-
pensated by bringing the bubble only half-way to the middle and noting the posi-
tion at which the true level mark would need to stand.
4.2 Horizontal Collimation
Unscrew the telescope eyepiece (21) and remove the protective plate behind it to
reveal the four crosshair adjustment screws. Replace the eyepiece.
To set the line of sight exactly normal to the horizontal axis, proceed as follows:
Set the telescope horizontal and aim it at a mark some hundreds of meters dis-
tant. Read the horizontal circle, reverse the telescope, turn the alidade 200 g and
read the circle again. The difference between the two readings is twice the colli-
mation error, and the average of the first reading with the second (±200 g) reading
is the true direction. Set the minutes and seconds of this corrected direction on the
micrometer, then use the horizontal fine motion screw (9) to obtain coincidence.
Now the telescope points correctly to the target. Use the adjustment screws at the
side of the reticle to bring the veritcal crosshair into alignment with the target.
Now replace the protective cover.
Errors in the horizontal axis are prevented by the theodolite construction. Remain-
ing systematic vertical collimation and axis errors are eliminated by observing on
both faces and taking average values.
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4.3 Vertical Index Error
With the vertical index level (28) showing coincidence in the viewing prisms (27), a
horizontal line of sight should give a reading of 100g on the vertical circle. Index
errors can be identified and corrected as follows: Remove the covering plate (24)
to obtain access to the adjustment for the vertical index level vial. Measure the
zenith distance to a target, not too high, with index level at coincidence, on both
faces. The average of the first reading with 400g minus the second reading is the
true zenith distance. Set the micrometer to the single minutes and seconds of this
true value with knob (5). Returning the telescope to the first face, align the
crosshair to the target again. Turn the vertical index knob (29) to obtain coinci-
dence on the vertical circle. Now adjust the index level nuts in opening (24) to ob-
tain coincidence in the prisms (27). Replace the cover (24).
4.4 Built-In Optical Plumb
The optical plumb has been adjusted at the factory. It can be checked by leveling
the instrument and shifting the instrument on its tripod to bring a centering target
to the middle of the plumb telescope’s view (inner concentric circle). Rotate the al-
idade 200g. If the target is no longer exactly centered, shift the instrument by half
the error.
4.5 Leveling Head Screws and Fine Motion Screws
The stiffness of the leveling screws can be adjusted. Unscrew the leveling screw
(14) to the point that the small holes in the adjustment cylinder become visible. In-
sert an adjustment pin in the hole and turn the cylinder in either direction until the
desired stiffness is obtained [too stiff - wears the theads; too loose - minute play is
possible]. If the instrument is mounted on the tripod, the attachment screw (34)
should be loosend beforehand. The ends of the leveling screws should be oiled
[greased] from time to time at the point where they contact the base plate.
To regulate the stiffness of the horizontal fine motion, turn the knob (9) until the
adjustment nut under the knob becomes accessible. Regulate the stiffness by
turning the nut with an adjustment pin.
4.6 Clamps
The vertical and horizontal clamps (3, 12) should work in such a way that after
softly pressing the lever the telescope is arrested its motion. If the clamping action
is not tight enough, the clamp screws (2, 11) can be adjusted. Loosen the tighen-
ing screws (1, 10) with a screwdriver. Adjust the clamp screws (2, 11) to obtain the
required action. Tighten the screws (1, 10).
4.8 Cleaning and Oiling the Vertical Axis
If the vertical axle becomes stiff in a way that does not disappear after the upper
section has been swiftly turned a few times, the theodolite must be taken apart by
an experienced technician. The following points must be observed:
• Before each step, study the appropiate illustration. Observe the shown working
postions.
• Work carefully and with deliberation.
• Note the place from which each screw was removed. Note the positons of parts
separated.
• Never use force.
• Do not smoke.
• Work only in a dust-free room.
• Keep the workbench clean.
5. CARE
Treat the instrument with care to ensure its continued accuracy. If work is inter-
rupted, place a water and dust-proof protective cover over the instrument. Before
bringing the instrument from a cold to a warm environment or vice versa, enclose
the instrument in its wooden case to let it accommodate gradually. [Sudden
changes in temperature can damage internal parts!] After use remove dust with a
soft brush and moisture with a soft cloth. Clean lenses only with a grease-free, soft
[camel’s hair] brush and clean with a soft linen cloth [using a mixture of ether and
ethanol].
If the vertical axle becomes stiff in a way that does not disappear after the up-
per section has been swiftly turned a few times, the theodolite must be taken
apart by an experienced technician. The following points must be observed:
• Before each step, study the appropiate illustration. Observe the shown working
postions.
• Work carefully and with deliberation.
• Note the place from which each screw was removed. Note the positons of parts
separated.
• Never use force.
• Do not smoke.
• Work only in a dust-free room.
• Keep the workbench clean.
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7. NOTES FOR FIGURES Fig. 22. Place the ball-bearing plate (71) in the sleeve with its flat surface up,
then the ball-bearing (70). Place the glass circle carefully on the axle and fasten
with the three recessed screws (68). Insert the theodolite’s upper section back into
7.1 Figure Captions
the sleeve, taking care not to scratch the sleeve. Align the red marks (17, Fig. 1)
Fig. 1. Theo 010, Eyepiece side before tightening the red screws (69).
Fig. 2. Theo 010, Object lens side
Fig. 3. Theo 010 in wooden carrying case
Fig. 4. Crosshair reticlue 7.2 Reference Numbers in the Figures
Fig. 5. Circle reading of 85.7503 g 1 Tightening screw for clamp lever
2 Clamp screw for vertical motion
Fig. 6. Subtense bar, 2 m
3 Clamp lever for vertical motion
Fig. 7. Subtense bar with illumination
4 Location mark for vertical axis
Fig. 8. Base b at one end 5 Micrometer knob
Fig. 9. Base b roughly in the middle 6 Microscope eyepiece
Fig. 10. Auxilliary base b’e at the end 7 Switch knob for vertical/horizontal circle
Fig. 11. Auxilliary base b’m in the middle 8 Fine motion screw vertical
9 Fine motion screw horizontal
Fig. 12. Auxilliary base b’m in the middle
10 Tightening screw for clamp lever
Fig. 13. Reading the Horrebow level
11 Clamp screw for horizontal motion
Fig. 14. Theo 010 with weather-proof illumination and striding level 12 Clamp lever for horizontal motion
Fig. 15. Theo 010 with ocular prisms and Horrebow level 13 Leveling plate
Fig. 16. Theo 010 with ocular prisms 14 Leveling screw
15 Retaining screw for theodolite stub
Fig. 17. Remove the instrument from the leveling plate. Loosen the three re-
16 Lower section of alidade
taining screws (68) that are recessed in the mounting of the plate stub. These
screws hold the circle mounting; they have retainers and do not fall out. [The con- 17 Index mark for aligning upper and lower sections
struction has been altered: the screws have no retainers. Be careful not to bump 18 Adjustment screw for circular level
or scratch the prisms in the leveling plate.] 19 Upper section of alidade
20 Plate level vial
Fig. 18. Screw out (remove) the four red screws (69) near the edge of the in-
strument base. Holding upper and lower parts of the instrument together, place 21 Telescope eyepiece
the instrument back in the leveling plate and tighten the leveling plate’s retaining 22 Illumination mirror for circles
screw (15). 23 Focus ring

Fig. 19. Using both hands, pull the upper section of the theodolite out of the
axle sleeve in one quick, even motion [to avoid scratching the sleeve].
Fig. 20. Grasp the horizontal circle carefully by the edge and lift it from the
axle. Protect it from dust. Shake the ball bearing ring (70) and plate (71) out of the
sleeve.
Fig. 21. Clean the axle and sleeve with a clean, dust-free linen cloth dipped in
cleaning gasoline. To clean the sleeve, wrap the cloth around a pencil. Afterwards,
clean again with ether. Avoid dirtying the window for the optical plumb. Place
three drops [acid-free lithium-vaseline] on the axle and in the sleeve. Smear a
small amount of [acid-free lithium-vaseline] on the circle axle. [Clean and grease
the ball bearing.]
-14- -15-

24 Plate covering the adjustment screws

of the vertical index level
25 Optical sight for rough pointing
26 Mounting flange for Horrebow level
27 Observation prisms for vertical index level
28 Illumination window for verical index level
ADDENDA TO THE USER’S MANUAL (B. Mayo)
29 Vertical index knob
30 Adjustment screw for plate level
31 Knob for repositioning horizontal circle
32 Safety lock for knob (31) A. Background Information
33 Tightening screw for tripod leg
34 Leveling plate mounting screw
A.1 Concerning this Instrument
35 Clamp for tripod leg
I bought a Theo 010, No. 187764, in 1996 from Herr Guske of Wiethüchter
36 Leveling head
GmbH, a surveying instruments firm in Jena that been part of the East German
37 Spring plate of leveling head
Carl Zeiss works until German reunification, and the following information is based
38 Access hole to tighten leveling screw
mainly on my study of this instrument
39 Eyepiece of optical plumb
40 Adjustment screw for plate level According to Hr. Guske, several thousand Theo 010 were made over the years,
but in 1996 similar instruments had become hard to find. Several surveyors told
41 Centering point
me that, out of sentimental attachment, they rarely resold older instruments taken
42 Knob for crosshair illumination
out of service. Guske’s was the only offer I received from among about 30 inquiries
43 Aperture of telescope
I placed in Germany and Switzerland. He did not mention the original price, but a
44 Dust cover for striding level stub
slightly smaller instrument, the Wild T2, cost about $1,800 in 1966, which could be
45 Colored filter
more than $18,000 in 1996, allowing for exchange rates. (The current Wild T2
46 Prism for steep viewing
costs about this much.)
47 Illumination attachment with cable
From 1953 to 1971 the Theo 010 was the ‘top-of-the-line’ surveyor’s theodolite
51 Mounting stub for striding level
from the East German Zeiss. It was used in extensively in Eastern Europe and to
57 Illumination attachment with cable
some extent in other countries for high accuracy surveying and construction. Be-
60 Clamp for rough adjustment of Horrebow level
cause of its color, Hr. Guske believed this Theo 010 to have been built between
61 Mounting piece 1968 and 1971, the earlier Theo 010 having been olive green. It thus belongs to a
62 Mounting screw for Horrebow level series that was slightly revised relative to the one described in most of the techni-
cal literature and in the manual, and its tolerances may be slightly better than
published data would suggest. Unlike the instrument shown in the manual, it has
aiming collimators on both top and bottom of the telescope. The construction of
the horizontal fine motion and circle also differs somewhat from that of earlier in-
struments.
 -16- -17-

After German reunification, the East German VEB Zeiss was broken up and its
optical divisions were taken over by the Zeiss firm in Oberkochen, West Germany,
which then spun off the maintenance and repair business to Wiethüchter, along
with a small stock of older parts and instruments. Out of this stock Hr. Guske was
able to find ocular prisms (for steep viewing angles), a Horrebow level (for measur-
ing latitude and longitude), and an illuminator attachment (for observations at
night). Hr. Guske, formerly a technician at VEB Zeiss, claimed to have readjusted
it, but the vertical circle-reading optics were still misaligned. I touched up the
paint, cleaned some of the parts and tried to improve the alignment and focusing.
The information that follows I gathered both from this experience and from the
published literature, from conversations with a number of dealers in surveying in-
struments, from a visit to the Leica-Wild factory in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, and, at
the Zeiss works in Jena, from a short talk with Dr. Feist of Zeiss’ geodetic instru-
ments division and from a morning’s conversation with Hr. Guske, during which he
disassembled the instrument and read many of the adjustment procedures aloud
from a tattered DIN A5 school notebook. Wayne Clausen, Sr., the importer of Zeiss-
Jena instruments for the US and Canada (who was trained by Hr. Guske in Jena),
also offered some helpful background information.

A.2 What’s It For?

The Theo 010 is a device for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical
planes to an accuracy of better than ±2 arc seconds (±2”). It was used for high-
accuracy plane and geodetic surveying and for setting angles and distances in
construction work.Historically, it is significant as one of the last and most original
designs in a line of Zeiss surveying instruments, first conceived by Heinrich Wild,
that radically changed the way surveying instruments were built the world over. It
may be safe to say that no other purely optical theodolite has since improved on
its trade-off of accuracy against size and weight, and the only widely used and
easily portable instruments that achieved significantly higher accuracy were the
Kern DKM-3 (Fig. A.1), the Wild T3 (Fig. A.4), the Zeiss (West) Th 2 and the Russian
OT-02 and its successors. It nevertheless represents a ‘high’ technology that has
passed into history, for with the advent in the 1970s of atomic clocks, lasers and
microcomputers, surveying technology has radically changed. New techniques like
laser ranging and the satellite-based Global Positioning System have now made it
possible to measure distances and find coordinates on the earth’s surface with lit-
tle effort and hitherto unknown accuracy.
Until these techniques became available, for mapping town and continents, sur-
veyors set up networks of points whose positions and altitudes were determined
by painstaking triangulation and leveling and finally checked by astronomical ob-
servations, often in inaccessible and treacherous environments. In the most accur-
Fig. A.1. Kern DKM-3 Geodetic Theodolite.
rate, “first-order” network of a survey, they determined the positions of points ly-
ing 30 to 100 km apart, starting from some arbitrary geodetic datum, such as the
mark on a tablet established by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey at Meade’s
Ranch, Kansas, or the one at Johnston, Australia (Fig. A.2). Distances and angles
from the datum to visible surrounding points were measured to an accuracy of one
part in thirty thousand or better (one in several hundred thousand was often real-
ized), and from these points the network was extended to further sets of points.
This network of first-order positions furnished points of reference for more de-
tailed, but less accurate networks of points (second, third and fourth-order), ex-
tending down to the individual contour and boundary lines, roads, buildings, etc. of
map-making surveys. Referenced to a large-scale framework of geographic coordi-
nates, the coordinates of points determined by this methed are called geodetic
positions.
 -18-
Fo
Fig. A.2. First-Order Survey of Australia.
For map-making it is convenient to think of the earth as a ball of water, marked
with regularly spaced lines of longitude and latitude. The water surface is thought
of as continuing under the land masses, providing a reference for altitudes, and
the ball rotates inside a stationary sphere of fixed stars. When no points of refer-
ence on land are visible, navigators at sea can use a clock, the stars and the visi-
ble horizon to determine their longitude and latitude. On land, surveyors can simi-
larly use the positions of stars relative to a clock and to the vertical line given by
the theodolite’s level vial to establish an astronomic position. In fact, however, ir-
regularities in the earth’s gravity make the imaginary ball of water slightly lumpy,
with the gravitational vertical not always passing exactly through the earth’s cen-
ter. Because it is referenced to the gravitational vertical, an astronomic position
can vary relative to the geodetic position determined by triangulation, in some
places by more than two kilometers. Astronomic positions were also measured in
first-order and second-order surveys, mainly at the periphery of the network, to
establish the network’s azimuth, or north-south orientation, and to orient it as a
whole relative to an abstract, smooth description of the earth called the geodetic
ellipsoid.
-19-
From the differences between astronomic and geodetic positions surveyors
could try to calculate the true lumpy shape of the earth, called the geoid, for that
third of the earth not covered by water. These primary surveying measurements
were carried out mainly with “first-order” theodolites, the most accurate that in-
strument makers could produce, capable of measuring angles with an error no
greater than one or one and a half arc seconds. (One arc second, 1”, is the width
of a pencil seen from one mile or 1.6 km.)
The Theo 010 was marketed as a “second-order” theodolite, i. e., for geodetic
and topographical work at all but the highest level of accuracy. Its most common
use was probably in construction work for precise optical distance measurement
and setting-out; one was used, for example, to bring the 36l m (1173 ft) television
tower in East Berlin to within 5 cm of true vertical (Fritz Hennecke & Hans Werner,
Ingenieur-Geodäsie, Berlin: VEB Bauwesen, 1986). In combination with a 2 m sub-
tense bar, the Theo 010 could measure distances of 20 to 200 m to about the
same accuracy as a steel measuring tape, but much more rapidly. In surveying the
Theo 010 would have been used for second (and lower) order geodetic triangula-
tion and traversing, and with the Horrebow level attachment it could be used for
determining astronomic positions to second-order accuracy.
Filling in the large gaps left in the first-order network, points in a second-order
network were typically only 20 km apart (5 km in a third-order network), and there
were comparatively many of them to cover. For first-order points surveyors could
justify using heavy instruments of the highest attainable accuracy, but for lower-
order work they preferred a theodolite that was also easy to carry and simple to
use, especially since, to cover a terrain evenly, a survey sometimes had to place
lower-order points in inaccessible and dangerous locations. Using a light and easy
to carry theodolite inevitably imposes some loss in accuracy, however. Following a
generally accepted requirement for second-order measurements, the Theo 010 is
specified as capable of measuring a single direction (one side of an angle) with an
error no greater than ±1.2”. Thus, when an angle is measured, the errors from
each of the two direction measurements add statistically to give an expected ac-
curacy of ±1.7”, up to 40 percent worse than that of a typical first-order theodo-
lite. (A single direction measurement is actually understood as the average of two
measurements, one with the telescope in its “normal” and the other in its “re-
versed” position, to cancel certain instrument errors. An angle measurement com-
prises two such direction measurements.) Yet with its case the Theo 010 weighs
only about 10 kg (22 lbs) and can be carried on the back of one person — to the
tops of smokestacks or mountains (cf. Fig. A.3), to remote deserts, and on horse-
back if necessary.
 -20-
For this reason, it appears the designers of the Theo 010 thought it might be-
come suitable for some kinds of work that previously had required a much heavier
first-order theodolite. Skilled users with good vision were in fact able to obtain im-
pressive accuracies with the Theo 010, and some may even have used it to carry
out first-order measurements in places where a first-order instrument would have
been too heavy or too cumbersome. One test of an early Theo 010 claimed to es-
tablish its direction uncertainty as only ±0.54” to ±0.82”, depending on viewing
conditions (G. Bahnert, Untersuchungen der Leistung des Spiegellinsentheodolits
Theo 010 des VEB Carl Zeiss JENA, Vermessungstechnik 4:4 (1956)). While direc-
tion accuracies of ±1.0 to ±1.5” were more typical for the Theo 010, it neverthe-
less is instructive to compare its performance with some
Fig. A.3. First-order Surveying Party,
Switzerland, 1914.
-21-
of the heavier and more expensive first-order theodolites of its era, such as the
Wild T3 (Fig. A.4).
The T3 was the Theo 010’s most respected and widely used contemporary for
first-order work in Europe (cf. the standard German work on surveying, Jordan-Eg-
gert-Kneissl, Handbuch der Vermessungskunde vol. 3, Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche,
1956), and after about 1950 it was also the workhorse of the U. S. Coast and Geo-
detic Survey (F. R. Gossett, Manual of Geodetic Triangulation, U.S. Dept. of Com-
merce, Coast and Geodetic Survey Special Pub. 247, Washington, 1950). Repeated
readings of the divided circles in the T3 typically gave a mean (1σ) deviation under
±0.3” (its micrometer precision). Several published studies of the T3 showed, how-
ever, that the circle itself had division errors of around ±0.5” (whereas the circles
of the Theo 010 probably have less than two-thirds this error). The long tube of its
telescope allowed high magnification (max. 40X), but through bending this tube
may have introduced additional, unpredictable errors of a fraction of an arc sec-
ond, so that the total direction precision in the field for a single direction measure-
ment with the T3 was probably never better than ±0.6” or ±0.7”.
Fig. A.4. Wild T-3 Theodolite on Triangulation Point.
 -22- -23-

Studies conducted during the construction of particle accelerators at CERN, DESY

and SLAC using the T3 yielded values of about ±1” even under controlled, indoor
conditions over short distances of 30 to 100 meters. Unlike that of the Theo 010,
the long telescope could not be pointed vertically for certain astronomical mea-
surements. Moreover, being twice as heavy and 7 cm taller than the Theo 010, the
T3 would have sometimes been difficult to carry to high or cramped vantage
points with clear views of other, distant triangulation stations.
Another portable (12 kg) instrument that gained acceptance in the 1960’s for
first-order position measurements was the Kern DKM-3A, an enhanced version of
the instrument shown in Fig. A.1, outfitted with a special moving-crosshair eye-
piece for astronomical observations. A similar moving-crosshair eyepiece for the
Theo 010 is mentioned by Bahnert, op. cit., suggesting that at its introduction the
Theo 010 may very well have been thought of as a light-weight competitor to in-
struments like the T3 and the DKM-3, although I have seen no evidence that this
eyepiece was brought into production. A reticle for second-order astronomical
sightings with several parallel cross-hairs is mentioned in the manual (Section
3.12), but Wiethüchter had none. With weight similar to the T3, the direction accu-
racy of the DKM-3 was also no better than ±0.7”.
In attainable accuracy, the Theo 010 was probably not much more than a factor
of two removed from the most exact first-order instruments ever built, the so-
called astronomical universal theodolites. These claimed accuracies approaching
±0.3”. They could not, however, be carried and set up by one person. While with
their cases the T3 and DKM-3 weighed 16 kg, the Zeiss-Jena Theo 003 (Fig. A.5)
weighed 90 kg (198 lbs), and the Wild T4 weighed 110 kg and had to be trans-
Fig. A.5. Zeiss-Jena Theo 003 Astronomical Universal Theodolite
ported in three separate boxes. Hence, these massive theodolites were not practi-
cal for any but a few critical measurements in a survey — typically at a geodetic
datum and at control points that could be reached by car. Although it owned such
instruments, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey did not prescribe their regular A description of the Theo 010, with a separate discussion of its telescope, ap-
use for first-order work in the Manual of Geodetic Triangulation. It is also unlikely pears in the Handbuch der Vermessungskunde op. cit. (Vol. 2, 1963); it is based in
that their capabilities were often realized in practice, as their nominal accuracies part on the first detailed study, Bahnert, op. cit.
could be achieved only under ideal viewing conditions and with very careful ad-
justment, and the errors introduced by atmospheric refraction are in any case of
the same order of magnitude (cf. Ivan I. Mueller, Spherical and Practical Astron-
omy, NY: Ungar, 1969).
For measuring angles, modern surveying instruments have hardly bettered the
accuracies of these classic optical theodolites, despite the intervening advances in
precision machining and optics. The current Wild T2, of the same size as the Theo
010, and possibly the last high precision, purely optical theodolite still in produc-
tion, claims a DIN standard deviation of 0.8” for a direction measurment. The top-
of-the-line theodolite in the current (1995) Leica-Wild catalog, which was used in a
promotional re-survey of Mount Everest around 1990, is the electronic T2002,
which carries a rated standard deviation of 0.5”, comparable to the Wild T3, but
still inferior to the Theo 003.
 -24-
B. History of the Theo 010
The Theo 010 is a product of a high-precision machine and optical industry that
grew up in Saxony and Thuringia in the century preceding World War II and domi-
nated a large share of the world market for precision instruments and machine
tools until the breakdown of world trade in the 1930s. This industry was intimately
tied to traditions of manual craftsmanship and a system of apprenticeship having
long historical roots, and it depended heavily on the skills of its production work-
ers, as well as on well-funded public universities and research institutes for applied
physics, optics and engineering sciences that had been established in the nine-
teenth century. Saxony and Thuringia were traditionally strongholds of Protestant
egalitarianism, socialist thinking and leftist politics, and in the first decades after
World War II their workers were not unreceptive to the new forms of industrial or-
ganization imposed by the Soviets in East Germany. In these years many shared
the official idealism of the young German Democratic Republic and felt proud of
their accomplishments and of the recognition they found in the new system. The
years around 1970, when this Theo 010 was built, were their most prosperous,
when East Germany’s per capita income exceeded that of Britain. The technical
successes of GDR enterprises were obtained at considerable expense to other sec-
tors of the economy, however, and were incorrectly touted as proof of the viability
of the East German regime. The periodicals Vermessungstechnik and
Feingerätetechnik document the post-war development of this industry.
The Potsdam accords among the allied victors of World War II had stipulated that
the German war conglomerates should be broken up and dispersed. Thus, like
many others, the Zeiss firm was split up at the end of the war, when American
forces occupied Jena for about two months. Before they turned Jena over to the
Soviets, the Americans shipped 126 key people from the Zeiss works, including
many scientists, to the West to continue development and production of optical in-
struments in a new firm named “Opton” in Oberkochen, northern Württemberg,
West Germany. In 1948 the Soviet military government expropriated the Zeiss
foundation in Jena and reorganized the eastern Zeiss as a state enterprise or
“Volkseigener Betrieb” (VEB). Consequently, the Oberkochen firm claimed the
rights to the Zeiss trademark, and in the 1950s it took legal action to prohibit sale
of products of the Jena firm in the West under the Zeiss name. Products of VEB
Carl Zeiss Jena had to be described and sold in the West under the name “Jena” or
“Jena Optik”, while in eastern Europe the products of Zeiss, Oberkochen, had to be
identified with the trademark “Opton”. This is the reason that the manual for the
Theo 010 does not display anywhere the trade name Zeiss, and that the Carl Zeiss
nameplate on the instrument itself is detachable. The inscription “Q1” on the mi-
-25-
crometer standard is the quality stamp that was centrally awarded to products of
the hightest quality in the GDR.
Although at the end of the war the Americans had removed many managers
and scientists and the Soviets had confiscated most of the production equipment,
VEB Carl Zeiss Jena retained a large number of highly skilled craftsmen and engi-
neers, and in the 1950’s it was able to reestablish itself as one of the world’s most
important manufacturers of optical equipment, especially of geodetic and astro-
nomical instruments. Indeed, many of the optical systems produced in Jena in this
era are still regarded as unsurpassable. A peculiarity of the Zeiss firm had been its
organization as an employee-oriented, non-profit foundation, with close ties to the
University of Jena and to scientific organizations, and many of these aspects sur-
vived the Soviet expropriation. The most prestigious manufacturer of surveying in-
struments before the war, Max Hildebrand of Freiberg (Saxony), was partially
merged with Zeiss-Jena, perhaps compensating for some of the post-war losses in
personnel and equipment. In its early years the West German Zeiss had to pro-
duce innovative but nevertheless cost-effective products for the capitalist markets.
Zeiss-Jena, as a state enterprise, could afford to develop many exotic and not nec-
essarily profitable instruments, e.g., for astronomical observatories, for planetari-
ums and for key modules of Soviet spy satellites, although it was also forced into
producing many kinds of non-optical technical equipment, including computers
and peripherals, as well as simple parts, such as ball-bearings, that it could not ob-
tain in the sometimes chaotically planned Stalinist economy of East Germany.
Starting in the early 1950’s Zeiss-Jena brought out a broad new line of surveying
instruments, drawing on Zeiss’ pre-war tradition but with many innovations. New
model numbers were introduced to suggest classes of accuracy in terms of dis-
placements that theodolites and levels could resolve at one kilometer. Thus, the
first-order (astronomical) Theo 003 (later 002) was (rather optimistically) desig-
nated to resolve within 3 mm at 1 km distance, and the Theo 020, 20 mm. The
Theo 010 (10 mm/km ≈ ± 4.84 mm/km <= ± 1 arc second) was meant as a suc-
cessor to a line of Zeiss theodolites developed before the war for second and third-
order work, including the Th I, Th II, Th C and Th 40. For short sightings, the geo-
detic level Ni 002 was probably the most accurate ever produced and was used to
build the famous electron synchrotron (DESY) at Hamburg.
 -26-
The design lineage of the Theo 010 goes back directly to the Zeiss Th I (1924,
Fig. B.2), which was the first modern “optical” theodolite, being the first regularly
produced instrument to have graduated circles divided on glass. It was also the
first theodolite in which the circles were read in a single operation by bringing
marks on opposite sides of the circle into coincidence, using an optical micrometer
(cf. Addendum E, Optical Overview). At this time most theodolites, e.g. Fig. B.1,
had an open construction and circles divided on silver that were viewed through
two, occasionally three or four, microscopes placed around the periphery, each of
which had to be read separately. The readings were then averaged to obtain an
exact direction measurement. (Theodolites of this older construction have come to
be known as transits in English, the term theodolite being mainly reserved for the
“optical” construction with glass circles.) Because it was possible to etch smoother
Fig. B.1. Hildebrand Microscope Theodolite (ca. 1910)
-27-
and smaller division marks on glass than could be inscribed on silver, the Th I
could be made smaller and easier to carry than traditional instruments of compa-
rable accuracy. Reading the circles by obtaining coincidence of opposing marks
was also faster, and it avoided shifts in the theodolite’s position that could result
when the surveyor walked around it to read the microscopes. Moreover, the open
transit construction required frequent cleaning and adjustment. Nevertheless, hav-
ing a long tradition of use, the characteristics of transits were well understood,
they were simple and rugged, and they could be adjusted and repaired easily in
remote locations.
Fig. B.2. Zeiss Th I (1924)
Instruments of this sort remained in use well into the 1950s; in the U.S., into the
1970s. In fact, much of the highly-regarded first-order network for the U.S. was
surveyed with the Coast and Geodetic Survey’s Parkhurst 9-inch transit, a large in-
strument of traditional construction whose accuracy, according to data in Gossett
op. cit., was actually somewhat worse than that of the Theo 010.
 -28-
The Th I was conceived by the Swiss surveying engineer Heinrich Wild, whom
Zeiss had hired before World War I to develop an innovative line of surveying in-
struments that would be smaller, easier to use and carry, and more accurate than
the traditional levels and transits. Wild left Zeiss in 1921 to form his own company
in an Alpine valley at Heerbrugg, Switzerland, and perfected there the construc-
tion still followed today in the Leica-Wild T2. Other Zeiss scientists carried on with
Wild’s ideas, but their successor to the Th I, the Th II (1934, Fig. B.3), contained
several significant departures from Wild’s original design. The Th II was more
compact, and the microscope eyepiece was placed directly next to the telescope
so that the circles could be read without a change of position. Around 1000 Th I
and 2500 Th II were sold all over the world
Fig. B.3. Zeiss Th II (1934).
-29-
An important Zeiss innovation in a later version of the Th II (1935) was double
division of the circle. At this time, the division marks on theodolite circles were
usually created by automatic circle-dividing engines (mainly from the firm of
Heyde, later Feinmess Dresden) that would always place a given scale mark (say
99 degrees) in the same, but not necessarily the right place. If one thinks of the di-
viding engine as carrying out a transfer function from a hypothetically perfect divi-
sion to marks actually inscribed on the circle, then this function can be approxi-
mately described by a Fourier series with a base period corresponding to 360 de-
grees and with sine and cosine error terms at integer divisions of 360. At 180 de-
grees all odd cosine error terms have the same value as at 0 degrees but with op-
posite sign, and so averaging readings from the circle on opposite sides cancels
the effect of these terms. Bringing marks from opposite sides of the circle into co-
incidence in a single microscope has the same effect, and it saves the effort of
walking around to the opposite side of the theodolite and of computing a mean
value.
This still leaves the even cosine error terms, which add at 0 and 180 degrees
and thus are not canceled by averaging the readings from opposite sides of the
circle. One way to eliminate these terms from the average would be to take addi-
tional readings of the circle at 90 and 270 degrees, since at these points the even
terms have inverted sign relative to 0 degrees, and take the average of all four
readings. Alternatively, one could divide the circle twice, shifting it 90 degrees af-
ter the first pass through the dividing engine, or employ a second engraving tool,
displaced about 90 degrees from the first, to produce two sets of adjacent division
marks. This is apparently what was done in the Th II. Because the pair of marks
were not drawn in parallel but rather by two scribes at different positions on the
dividing engine, all systematic error terms in the division ought to cancel. Defining
coincidence as the best match between pairs of marks means that the odd terms
and the even terms in the Fourier series are all taken together and averaged. Ran-
dom errors of the dividing engine are also reduced by about one-third by virtue of
statistical averaging.
Other manufacturers brought out their own variants of the double division, and
in 1939 Heinrich Wild took it a step further for the Kern DKM-3, which ingeniously
adds yet a third set of marks. By 1970, however, Feinmess Dresden had reduced
the nominal mean error of its dividing engine TKF 1000/1 (also being used by man-
ufacturers in the West, including Wild) to only ±0.2 arc second (±0.7 cc), so that
cancelling its errors was probably no longer of great importance to Zeiss or anyone
else. Nevertheless, Zeiss-Jena retained double marks in the Theo 010, as well as in
its later versions 010A and 010B and in other products like the Theo 003. A study
done in the 1930s claimed to show that coincidence can be judged some 35 per-
cent more precisely with pairs than with single marks (F. Ackerl, Die Hori-
zontalkreisteilung eines Universaltheodolits II von Zeiss, Zeitschrift für Instru-
mentenkunde, 1935), and an experimental comparison of singly and doubly di-
vided circles by Bahnert (op. cit.) tended to confirm Ackerl’s result.
According to Hr. Guske, the circles in this Theo 010 were not directly engine-di-
vided but produced by photolithography. A layer of silver (or chrome) and a layer
 -30-
of photoresist were deposited on each glass circle. It was then exposed to a mas-
ter pattern, and the silver between the marks was etched away. How the master
circle was made Hr. Guske didn’t know; it is probable that it was divided at a larger
size on a Dresden engine, as described in Fritz Deumlich, Instrumentenkunde der
Vermessungstechnik, Berlin: VEB Bauwesen, 1980, and then projected at a much
reduced size on the theodolite circles. The width of the marks suggests that each
side of each mark was cut separately, at a different displacement in the dividing
engine (a technique used by the firm Askania) so that in effect a single coinci-
dence would average the positions of altogether eight different marks from the di-
viding engine. M. A. R. Cooper, Modern theodolites and levels, Oxford: BSP, 1987,
reports an error curve for the horizontal circle of a Theo 010 shown in Fig B.4.
This curve suggests a mean systematic error of well less than 0.3”, which is sig-
nificantly better than the value of 0.4” reported for a Wild T-3 in R. Koch, Meßver-
fahren für die Teilungsfehler eines Theodolit-Horizontalkreises in seiner Gebrauch-
slage, Zeitschrift für Instrumentenkunde, 1061:2.
Fig. B.4. Circle Division Error, Theo 010.
Following the precedent of the Kern DKM-3, the level vial for the vertical circle
was relocated to within the telescope support (cf. Fig. A.1), so that it is protected
from radiant heat and rapid changes in temperature. The vial is illuminated from
beneath by a white card via a window in the support, which provides a very even
image of the bubble in the viewing prisms (via the cylinder at the top of the tele-
scope support). Jordan’s Handbuch (vol. 3, 1956) claims that these coincidence
prisms (another early invention due to Heinrich Wild) allow setting the vertical cir-
cle to within a fraction of an arc second of the true horizontal, even though the
level vial has a nominal sensitivity of only 20 seconds per 2 mm displacement of
the bubble. (Although later levels and theodolites from Zeiss-Jena, including the
-31-
Theo 010A, replaced the vertical index level vial with convenient, self-leveling ver-
tical indexes, it is interesting to note that many manufacturers, e.g., Wild, never
gave up the manually adjusted spirit level and coincidence prisms for their highest
precision geodetic levels.) Simple collimators used as pointing devices on the top
and bottom of the telescope (the manual shows only one pointing device) were, as
far as I can tell, an original innovation in the Theo 010, as was placing the fine mo-
tion screws on radii extending from the instrument’s vertical axis. This placement
prevents accidental pressure on a knob from translating into a torsion that could
disturb the instrument’s horizontal orientation. On the other hand, the use of
levers to actuate the fine motion clamps was a less successful innovation, as
many users complained that the pressure used to displace a lever often disturbed
the position of the alidade (telescope and support). A Horrebow level with coinci-
dence prisms was also a departure from tradition, allowing a small level vial but
±0.3” precision or better, considerably better than the largue traditionally used
vials that were read directly and were easily distorted by temperature gradients in
the surrounding air.
Certainly the boldest innovation in the Theo 010 was its reflecting telescope
(Fig. B.5), based on studies by Horst Köhler and other Zeiss scientists, and possibly
also inspired by Heinrich Wild’s use of a more complicated mirror-lens construction
for the DKM-3. It was meant to address the following problem. The telescope of a
first or second-order theodolite must be able to bring its crosshairs into alignment
with the image of a distant object with an error of well under one arc second. To
obtain this kind of precision, the telescope must be mechanically rigid, and opti-
cally it must allow precise matching of the crosshair to the image. A conventional
telescope with an achromatic (color corrected) object lens imposes a difficult
tradeoff between length and image quality, however. To be rigid, the telescope
should be short, but an object lens with a short focal length inevitably produces a
distorted image; in particular, it spreads the real image in front and in back of the
crosshairs, giving bright objects a diffuse, bluish halo at high magnification. This
allows the kind of error, called parallax, that you see when reading a clock from
various angles. It is easier to compensate a lens with a long focal length for such
distortions, but the tube of a long telescope is subject to thermal and elastic bend-
ing, which again makes the position of the crosshairs relative to the image uncer-
tain. (For a 200 mm tube, a distortion that displaces the object lens by 0.24 micron
— half a wavelength of green light — introduces an error of one arc second.) In ad-
dition, a long telescope must be mounted in a tall yoke if it is to be both reversed
and pointed at the sky for astronomical measurements. This makes the theodolite
heavier, larger, and harder to carry to out-of-the way observation points on church
steeples, smokestacks, mountain tops, and the like.
It was long known that, in principle, a very compact and rigid telescope could be
constructed by using a corrected mirror instead of a lens as the main light-gather-
ing element. But it was not until 1940 that researchers discovered practical mirror-
lens constructions, now globally identified as Maksutov-Cassegrain, that suggested
solutions to many problems which had hitherto made reflecting telescopes unsuit-
able for surveying. Drawing on these new ideas, Horst Köhler (who, after leaving
 -32-
the GDR, later designed many optical sytems at Zeiss-Oberkochen) was able to
calculate a telescope construction that has a bright and even field of view over
1.2degrees, a resolution of about 2”, and with an effective focal length of about
300 mm is but 140 mm long. In Maksutov’s design the spherical aberration of the
main mirror was corrected by a glass miniscus (dish-shaped lens) with spherical
surfaces; the center of the miniscus’ rear surface was aluminized to form the sec-
ondary (Cassegrain) mirror. In Köhler’s elaboration, the Maksutov telescope’s
miniscus is realized with an achromatic pair, allowing a larger aperture ratio (f/5)
than is usual with Maksutov telescopes (Fig. B.5). Since mirrors have no color er-
ror, and the miniscus bends the incoming light only slightly, the telescope pro-
duces an image practically free of chromatic aberration.
In addition, the large secondary mirror (silvery disk in the middle of the tele-
scope opening) helps to give high-contrast objects a sharpness that would be seen
only with a larger conventional telescope, using a trick that in more recent years
has been used to project the finest details of integrated circuits.
Fig. B.5. Telescope Optics, Theo 010
According to the laws of wave mechanics, the maximum resolution of a telescope
is limited by the diameter of its object lens: the larger the lens opening (aperture),
the finer the resolution. However, by blocking out a large central area of the aper-
ture (the curve 0.447 in Fig. B.6), Köhler’s secondary mirror alters the diffraction
pattern from the lens opening, causing the diffraction image of an infinitesimal
point of light (the Airy disc) to be about 1/6th smaller than the disc produced by an
unoccluded opening. This gives the Theo 010 with its 53 mm aperture the same
point size as a telescope with a 60 mm unoccluded lens. (Figs. B.5 and B.6 are
from A. König, H. Köhler, Die Fernrohre und Entfernungsmesser, Berlin: Springer,
-33-
1959.) Points and edges thus gain higher definition than would result from a disk-
shaped aperture of the same size, although the brightness and the local image
contrast are lowered. With this effect, “one hopes”, in Köhler’s words, that the res-
olution of the telescope is increased in such a way as to improve pointing preci-
sion. The telescope’s large aperture ratio also gives it a narrow depth of field,
which makes focusing troublesome but ensures that a sharply focused real image
lies very nearly in the same plane as the crosshairs. This further helps to avoid
parallax.
J = light intensity
K = degree of occlusion (% of diameter)
Fig. B.6. Interference Pattern vs. Aperture Occlusion
The study by Bahnert op. cit. found the telescope of the Theo 010 to give a point-
ing precision from 20 to 40 percent better than the refractive telescopes of compa-
rable one-second theodolites he had available. Bahnert attributed some part of
this precision to the especially fine and even crosshairs of the Theo 010. Compar-
ing theodolites available around 1960, including the Wild T2 and T3 and the Kern
 -34-
DKM-3, an exhaustive study at the Technical University of Aix-la-Chapelle gave the
Theo 010 the best mark for image quality (K.-E. Nigge, Untersuchungen über die
Achromasie moderner Theodolitfernrohre und ihren Einfluss auf die Zielge-
nauigkeit. Veröffentlicheungen des Geodatischen Instituts der TH Aachen, No. 4,
1962)
This design was thus a notable achievement in the search for a theodolite tele-
scope that optimally fulfills the conflicting requirements for rigidity, compactness,
and image quality. Among theodolites of the easily-carried 4 to 6 kg class, it made
the Theo 010 uniquely qualified for second, even first-order work in cases where a
heavier instrument would not be practical. It undoubtedly brought prestige to the
Jena firm and to its parent, the German Democratic Republic. However, like many
other prestige products of the GDR, it was probably sold in the West at a loss (al-
though GDR firms did not calculate gain or loss) to obtain convertible currency. Ac-
cording to Hr. Guske, the Maksutov telescope was time-consuming and expensive
to manufacture. Mirrors, in general, must be finished and mounted to more exact-
ing tolerances than lenses. In addition, the miniscus lenses must be correct both in
curvature and in thickness, they must be individually matched to the mirror, and
their optical alignment is critical. For these reasons Köhler’s design was dropped in
the successor models Theo 010A and 010B, and other manufacturers did not copy
it. Zeiss-Jena may have needed to retain the expensive reflecting telescope so
long for lack of access to the computer services of the firm Zuse KG, which in the
1950’s helped several optical firms in western Germany to calculate economical
new designs for object lenses with short focal lengths and high image quality.
These lenses yielded telescopes that were longer than that of the Theo 010 but
undoubtedly easier to produce and considerably more comfortable to use. Variants
of the Maksutov telescope have nevertheless found a niche in amateur astronomy
and as high-magnification objectives for photography, applications for which it is
still the best known construction — as well as the most expensive.
Reflecting telescopes are notoriously sensitive to changes in temperature, and
in a follow-up study of his Theo 010, Bahnert found indeed that its image moved
relative to the crosshairs about 0.3” per degree C, four times the temperature sen-
sitivity he found in comparable refractive instruments (Die Einwirkung größerer
Temperaturunterschiede auf die Zielachse von Sekundentheodoliten, Vermessung-
stechnik 4:7 (1956)). This means, in effect, that the mechanical stability gained
from the short telescope tube could be more than lost to the thermal instability of
the mirror construction if the temperature drifts during a set of measurements. Al-
though in later models changes in the telescope were meant to greatly reduce its
temperature sensitivity, a later evaluation by Bahnert of field data accumulated
with with the Theo 010 speculated that some unusually large errors were due in
some measure to failures to avoid changes in temperature between direction read-
ings. Jordan’s Handbuch questions the optical longevity of the first-surface mirrors,
and in fact the main mirror in this instrument has acquired a faint bluish haze.
However, the corrective lens is also slightly clouded, which suggests that some
sort of thin film has precipitated on the internal surfaces. Dr. Feist of Zeiss-Jena
told me that the oils used around 1970 did in fact emit substances which could
-35-
precipitate on the optical surfaces. Unfortunately, it is now impossible to open the
telescope for cleaning because it cannot be reassembled correctly without the
alignment jigs that were used in the original production, and these have long since
been discarded.
A disadvantage of the Maksutov telescope’s ring-shaped aperture is that it
sends its light to the periphery rather than to the center of the viewer’s pupil,
where imperfections in the eyeball lens degrade the image most strongly. The ac-
curacy attainable with the Theo 010 thus depends more strongly on the quality of
the user’s vision than with theodolites having conventional telescopes. In the tech-
nical literature I have consulted, this factor was never taken into account.
According to Hr. Guske, the Theo 010 went into regular production in 1955, in
the color of the two ocular prisms, which are from an earlier instrument. In early
units the glass circles were held in place against a layer of thick paper that with
time got compressed and let the circles slide out of concentricity. Later (and in this
version) the circles were fastened with optical cement, which is more permanent
but which can soften at high temperatures. (Don’t store the Theo 0l0 in a hot car
in the summer, and always store it in a vertical position.) From 1968 to 1971 the
Theo 010 was made in gray, following geodetic fashion, with a few minor changes
in design evident from the photographs in the manual. While studies repeatedly
showed that skilled users could obtain excellent results with the Theo 010, it was
not well liked by practicing surveyors, who found it hard to use. It was replaced by
the Theo 010A (introduced 1971, 010B after 1981), which had a conventional tele-
scope giving an upright image and an automatic vertical compensator with 1” ac-
curacy. It also moved the load-bearing ball bearings from the bottom of the verti-
cal pivot to the top, as in Wild’s theodolites, to avoid load distortions of the verticle
axle.
Despite the many innovations in its design, the Theo 010 was built largely by
the methods of century-old, traditional instrument-making. Many internal parts
were evidently milled and finished by hand, and some carry hand-inscribed num-
bers matching them to related parts. Apart from the vertical pivot and various
springs, which are of steel, the internal construction is in brass, bronze, glass and
ceramics. (Hr. Guske lamented that in recent years even Zeiss, alas, had stooped
to using molded plastic for some parts of theodolites.) The case, including the tele-
scope standards, is cast from an aluminum alloy. By contrast, the frame of the Wild
T2 was, and still is, largely made of steel, and much of the precise fitting and fin-
ishing is now done by robots. There was also a completely non-magnetic version of
the Theo 010, presumably for mining, where magnetic compasses are often used
for finding azimuth bearings. The pivot shaft and sleeve were of aluminum alloy,
with a hardened plating.
 -36-
After German reunification, Zeiss-Oberkochen took over the surveying instru-
ments from Zeiss-Jena, but stopped manufacturing them. Like other theodolites in
the ‘high-end’ of geodetic surveying, the Theo 010B had lost its market niche to
electronic instruments. Plans to continue manufacturing the popular Theo 020 in
China were made but then abandoned. For triangulation and construction, today’s
laser and microprocessor-based theodolites are in general simpler, cheaper, easier
and quicker to use, and hence more economical than the masterpieces of the opti-
cal instrument-makers, and they are just as accurate. Moreover, modern instru-
ments like the Wild T2002 require no special observational skills beyond the ability
to point the telescope accurately. A microcomputer instantaneously reads the cir-
cles and levels, computes various corrections, tabulates running results and can
later transfer the survey data to a central data bank. These instruments’ software
has taken over many of the traditional, practical tasks of the surveyor, who now
rarely needs special observational skills or a command of optics and measurement
techniques for his day-to-day work. Modern theodolites also often incorporate
laser ranging devices, whose ability to measure long distances with an accuracy of
better than one part in a million has made it possible to derive exact angle mea-
surements from distances rather than vice versa.
-37-
C. Accuracy and Use
The circles of the Theo 010 are divided in centesimal grade ( g) rather than de-
grees, with 400g being a full circle. The division of the circle into 400 parts was in-
troduced in France as part of the metric system, but its use has not spread beyond
surveying. In the centesimal system, a right angle is 100 g, and each quadrant of
the circle has a different first digit. The opposite side of the circle is thus at ±200 g.
The grade is subdivided into hundredths (notated c) and ten-thousands (cc), some-
times called centesimal minutes and centesimal seconds; 1.2345 g is the same as
1g 23c 45cc. One centesimal minute (1c) is 0.54’ (sexagesimal minute), and is a lit-
tle less than the smallest angle that the best unaided human eyes can resolve
(appx. 1c 30cc). One centesimal second (1cc) is about 0.3” and is the smallest in-
crement that can be reliably determined with the best optical surveying tools. Con-
tinental European surveyors generally reckon in the centesimal system, although
modern usage prefers thousandths of a grade, written mgon, to centesimal min-
utes and seconds.
Since in the metric system 10,000 kilometers were meant to make up one quad-
rant of the earth’s circumference, 1 grade of latitude or longitude is about 100 km.
Thus centesimal latitudes and longitudes translate directly into metric distances.
To illustrate: the Theo 010’s Horrebow level can resolve about ±1 cc; to what uncer-
tainty does this translate for an astronomic position measurement? Very simply,
±1cc = ±0.0001g, and ±0.0001g X 100km/grade = ± 10m. If, additionally, stars
could also be matched to the crosshairs with ±1 cc accuracy, theoretically a Horre-
bow-Talcott position measurement could give the theodolite’s astronomical latitude
and longitude with an accuracy of ±1.4 cc (statistical or root mean square sum of
1cc + 1cc is 1.4cc); these in turn would specify the astronomical position to
±0.00014 X 100km/grade = ±14 meters. (To avoid adding to the uncertainty, time
of star coincidence would have to be measured with an accuracy better than ±.02
sec., since relative to the stars, the surface of the earth at middle latitudes moves
about 330 meters a second. This is an accuracy obtainable only with special mov-
able-crosshair eyepieces.) Convenient as this system is, astronomical geodesy is
nevertheless always reckoned in the sexagesimal system because of the simple
correspondence between sexagesimal units in time and in angular measure (a star
moves15” in 1 second), and the Horrebow level is divided to read in sexagesimal
seconds.
 -38-
Following in the path taken before WW II by Heinrich Wild for the Kern DKM-3,
the designers of Theo 010 evidently hoped to produce a theodolite no larger than
the most commonly used field instruments, but capable of performing measure-
ments for which much larger and heavier theodolites had hitherto been required.
The Theo 010 was, indeed, the only theodolite of its size and weight recognized in
1963 in the Handbuch der Vermessungskunde as accurate enough for second-or-
der surveying, and, as noted above, using a well-adjusted Theo 010 a skilled ob-
server with excellent eyesight may be able to get first-order results. Using an
early, factory-fresh instrument under realistic field conditions over distances of 2
to 4 km, Bahnert op. cit. obtained a mean deviation for direction measurements of
only 2.45cc (0.8”), meaning that averaging a normal and a reversed reading, 68%
of his results lay within ±2.45cc of the mean (one sigma standard deviation), which
at that time would have met the first-order criterion of most national surveys. With
practice, I have been able to read the horizontal circle with a 1ϭ standard deviation
of close to 1cc. To me it appears that this Theo 010 can in any case measure direc-
tions with a standard deviation close to its nominal accuracy of 4 cc (1.3”), and if
you obtain deviations larger than about 4.5cc (1.5”) with good targets at short dis-
tances, you should check the instrument’s adjustment and your procedures. Read-
justment by a skilled technician with good vision would undoubtedly bring further
improvement, so that by evaluating successive measurements statistically, you
could get accuracies from this Theo 010 close to the attainable limits for optical
surveying methods, although about twice as many measurements would be re-
quired as with an equally well-adjusted T3 or DKM-3. It is, however, hard to find
technicians who still know the optical instruments well, and the cost of a good pro-
fessional adjustment could easily approach $1000 at 1996 prices.
The nominal mean uncertainty of ±4cc for the Theo 010 is specified for the aver-
age of one normal and one reversed direction measurement. For a single pointing
of the telescope, this allows an uncertainty of 4 cc X √2 or 5.64cc. This value in turn
comprises a pointing uncertainty, a coincidence uncertainty in reading the circle,
and a circle division error. Assuming these are all roughly equal and that there are
no other sources of error, the circle division errors must not exceed ±3.17 cc; for
readings of a given direction, the telescope must be pointed to within ±3.17 cc; and
coincidence on a circle must be found to within ±3.17 cc, since statistically
5.64 = √(3.172 + 3.172 + 3.172).
As we shall see, the Theo 010 greatly exceeds these requirements, but the accu-
racy obtainable in the field is compromised by a number of other, less easily quan-
tified influences. In measuring angles, wobble in the vertical and trunnion axes can
add small errors. The micrometer can also contribute a ‘run’ error of 3cc or more if
the two direction readings are from opposite ends of the scale.
-39-
Thermal effects of light and wind, slippage in the leveling screws, as well as me-
chanical distortions in the frame from reversing the telescope, operating the
clamps, fine motion screws, etc. appear to contribute additional errors.
As for pointing uncertainty, the telescope’s ring-shaped aperture of 53mm
makes it theoretically able to produce distinguishable points of light in the real im-
age for objects no closer than 6 or 7 cc apart. (Bahnert found he could perceive the
texture of stripes only 1.8cc apart with the Theo 010, a result that is theoretically
plausible according to Kovalevsky, op. cit., but one that I have not been able to
replicate.) Since the average viewer’s unaided eye can resolve about 1’ or 185 cc,
the conventionally appropriate telescope magnification for the Theo 010 is 185 cc /
6cc = 31X. In fact, many authors seem to agree that even with a larger aperture,
more than 40X brings no further improvement in pointing accuracy for most ter-
restrial sightings, while some claim that under less optimal viewing conditions
lower magnifications, e.g., 24X, actually give the highest accuracy, although astro-
nomical theodolites often provide 60X or 80X.
The crosshairs appear to cover an angle of about 7cc, i.e., approximately the
smallest visible separation. The pointing precision of a telescope is, however, gen-
erally considerably higher than its resolution. The crosshair can be used, for exam-
ple, to bisect a target such as a brightly lit white line or triangle about 15 cc wide
on a black background. By comparing the relative brightness on both sides of the
crosshair, the viewer can center the crosshair on a point that would not be directly
discernable. Studies cited by Deumlich, op. cit. indicate that for a viewer with good
visual acuity and with an optimal target of this form, it should be possible to cen-
ter the crosshair of the Theo 010 correctly to within ±1 or 2 cc. Bahnert’s student
assistant obtained ±1.14cc in the laboratory in 1956, and in a later study his stu-
dents reported pointing accuracies between ±1.2 and ±2.0 cc. A Zeiss study found
that with electronic detectors, in the outdoors the Theo 010 could be pointed up to
1.5 times more accurately than with a human observer (and up to 7 times more
accurately in the laboratory), suggesting that at 31X more detail is present in the
telescope image than most human observers can see.
In aligning the crosshair to a target, it is important to test for parallax between
the image and the crosshair. Focus the crosshair starting from the “+” end of the
diopter scale on the eyepiece. Then focus the target image very carefully, making
sure that both it and the crosshair are sharp. Pull your head back a little from the
telescope and view the crosshair from various angles. Its position relative to the
target image should be absolutely stable. As noted earlier, the telescope construc-
tion in the Theo 010 makes higher demands on the user’s eye than does a conven-
tional telescope, and it is possible that only young observers with high uncorrected
visual acuity will be able to obtain the best of Bahnert’s impressive results. A reli-
able test of the pointing precision must be carried out with the theodolite mounted
on a stone wall or pillar (not on a tripod).
 -40- -41-

Sightings closer than 50 m can introduce special problems. Because the focus-
ing lens cannot be centered exactly on the telescope’s optical axis, it can shift the
position of a target relative to the crosshairs over a range of many arc seconds; in
focusing between 5 and 40 m, Bahnert’s instrument shifted the image by 30 cc.
This error, however, is eliminated by taking the average of the normal and re-
versed readings for each direction measurement. Bahnert also found that changes
cc
in termperature can shift the image as much as 1 per degree C. Always shade
the theodolite from the sun. For very exact work keep a thermometer next to it,
and watch out for temperature changes during a set of direction measurements.
Despite the small size and weight of the Theo 010, these data compare remark-
ably well to data for some of the larger, first-order theodolites most frequently dis-
cussed in the literature of the 1960s and 1970s, as shown in the table below. The
sources of the data are Bahnert, Cooper, Deumlich, Gossett, op. cit. and the Jor-
dan/Eggert/Kneissl Handbuch, vol IIa, 10th ed., 1970. The Handbuch reports a
mean pointing error for the Wild T4 of 1.0 cc under optimal viewing conditions. This
is a measured value obtained at the University of Stuttgart. The test evidently was
conducted at a single position on the circle, which would exclude errors in the cir-
cle division. From a test that included the circle division error, one would expect

Although the resolution of the Theo 010’s telescope was virtually the same as the total mean error for the T4 to be closer to 1.41 cc, as given in the table. The
that of its larger competitors, its micrometer precision suffered from the small size other values for estimated total error of a single measurement (one telescope po-

of its circles. Obtaining coincidence uncertainty of less than ±2cc is somewhat sition only) are calculated using an assumed pointing error of ±1 cc (1.2cc for the

difficult. Bear in mind that 1cc on the horizontal circle is .07 micron, a tenth of a Theo 010). 1cc is a rather hypothetical value, since according to Deumlich and oth-
wavelength of red light. However, just as the crosshair can be centered to a de- ers, estimates of pointing error are not reliably reproducible; Bahnert and his stu-
gree of precision well under the telescope’s optical resolution, coincidence can be dents in fact got results for the Theo 010 ranging from ±1.14 to ±2.0 cc in the labo-
repeated to within a displacement of 0.1 micron, even though the microscopes ratory, depending mainly on the observer. The error of 1.48 cc for a single coinci-
could never resolve features this small. The adjustment of the microscopes and dence with the Askania Tpr derives from a value of 1.05 for a double coincidence
micrometer, however, must be absolutely correct (see below), the microscope eye- (mean of one coincidence from each direction on the micrometer), reported in the
piece must be focused to give maximally sharp edges to the division marks, and Handbuch 1970. Not listed are the Zeiss-Jena Theo 003 (Fig. A.5) and Theo 002,
the circle must be evenly and well lit. Even so, obtaining coincidence to this de- which may have been the most precise theodolite ever built, having special com-
gree of precision is more a matter of feeling than seeing, and it requires consider- pensators to exclude the effects of axis wobble and instability, but for which I have
able practice. Rested and relaxed, with good, even lighting of the circles, I can ob- seen no published accuracy data. The Zeiss-Oberkochen Th 2 is not included be-
tain mean deviations of about 1.5cc on the horizontal circle, the same value found cause it was introduced at a time (early 1970s) when electronic technologies were
by Bahnert. Try to align not just the edges of the individual marks, but also the already on the horizon.
pair, making it symmetrical around the white path through the middle. Some peo-
ple tend to under or overshoot coincidence, so it is advisable to alternate the di-
rection of approach; Bahnert recommends taking micrometer readings in pairs,
with one coincidence approached from above and one from below. Results depend
greatly on practice and native skill, but using this technique, one student in Bahn-
ert’s institut obtained a mean deviation of 1.04 cc for double readings (average Type Division Coincidence Est.Total Weight
from one such pair). Changing the focus of the microscope will change the point of Error Error Error
coincidence, so focus first, then measure. If an angle measurement forces you to Zeiss Theo 010 ±1.0cc ±1.5cc ±2.2cc 5.3kg
read from both ends of the micrometer scale, avoid run errors by repositioning the Wild T3 ±1.5cc ±0.75cc ±1.9cc 11kg
circle so that the micrometer readings for both directions fall in the same half of Kern DKM-3 ±1.65cc ±0.9cc ±2.1cc 12kg
the scale. Askania Tpr ±1.44cc ±1.48cc ±2.3cc 20kg?
Adding in a small value for short period random errors, Fig. B.4 suggests a mean Wild T4 ±0.7cc ±0.7cc ±1.4cc 60kg
circle division error for the Theo 010 of about 1.0cc, of which one study reported
0.5cc as random variation. Taking this together with Bahnert’s pointing error
(1.14cc) and the coincidence error (1.5cc), a minimum mean error for a single di-
rection measurement (one telescope sighting) with the Theo 010 of around 2.2 cc
can be predicted, a little more than the 2 cc (0.67”) Bahnert measured in the labo-
ratory.
 -42- -43-

The values in the table refer to measurements on the horizontal circle only and racy of the Theo 010 in triangulation surveys as ±4cc for a single direction on both
must be taken with a grain of salt, given the difficulty of obtaining reproducible re- faces, as against ±3cc for the T3 under comparable conditions (Zur Leistungs-
sults of this sort. Moreover, they do not predict what accuracy can be obtained fähigkeit des Theo 010 des VEB Carl Zeiss Jena, Vermessungstechnik 11:5, 1963).
when pairs of directions, i.e., angles, are measured in the outdoors, under less This matches data from a similar comparison reported later by the GDR geodetic
than optimal working conditions, because they leave out the many further sources service on the basis of third order triangulations (O. Schiller, Zur Leistung von In-
of error mentioned above, e. g. errors in the micrometer, thermal and mechanical strumenten u. Beobachtern bei der Triangulation III. Ordnung, Vermessungstechnik
distortions, and wobble. 12:8 (1964), as well as later studies. Fig. C.1, from this study, shows how the accu-
When the telescope is pointed sharply upwards or downwards, a slight tilt of the racy of obervers’ results improved with experience in using both the Theo 010 and
vertical axis can introduce a large error in the measured horizontal direction. This a larger Russian first-order theodolite, the OT-02. The graph is based on mean er-
wobble of the vertical axis is the final commonly quantifed parameter for high-ac- rors in groups of measurements taken by the same observers at successive points
curacy theodolites, and probably the most difficult to measure. Cooper cites tests in time. The upper line for the Theo 010 shows graphically what many users re-
giving the maximum vertical axis wobble of an early Theo 010 as ±7.5 cc. For the ported from experience: that the Theo 010 could give excellent results, but that it
Theo 010A, Zeiss-Jena changed to a vertical axis centered by ball-bearings at the took some getting used to. That much of the field work with the Theo 010 was
upper end, as in the Wild T3. Deumlich shows a typical mean wobble of ±2.5 cc for done by inexperienced students may have worked to the detriment of its reputa-
the Wild T3 and ±3.1cc for the Zeiss-Jena Theo 020, which had an axis similar to tion.
that of the Theo 010A. Cooper cites a wobble measurement for the DKM-3 of ±1 cc, The Theo 010 was continously improved over the years, and as the present in-
although other authors do not give this number credence; the Kern specification strument is from one of the last production runs, its data may have be slightly bet-
was a maximum wobble of under ±3cc. One finds in the literature, however, a con- ter than those reported in the literature.
sensus that the ball-bearing constructions introduced by Askania, Kern, MOM, Wild Precise optical distance measurement (subtense tacheometry) with the Theo
and others had a significant advantage over the construction with axle and bush- 010 was carried out with a subtense bar (see Figs. 6 and 7 in the manual) contain-
ings used in the Theo 010, where the axle must float in a poorly defined position in ing an Invar wire to hold two targets exactly 2 m ±0.05 mm apart. Until the intro-
a surrounding film of oil. The difficulty of manufacturing such ball bearings, how- duction of laser ranging devices, subtense measurement was the quickest and
ever, is witnessed by Hewlett-Packard’s venture into the theodolite market in the most accurate way of obtaining
1970’s – the HP Total Station had a wobble error of around ±7 cc. The importance of
a well-balanced alidade is often mentioned, and for high-accuracy measurements
it is a good idea to avoid loading the Theo 010 in any way that could shift the ali-
dade’s center of gravity away from the vertical axis. Slight shifts in the leveling
plate and screws were also held responsible for errors, and it is a good idea to
avoid placing any kind of pressure on the theodolite between position readings.
Grasp the fine motion knobs lightly, and when setting or releasing the fine motion
clamps, press your thumb against the pivot to counteract the pressure of your fin-
ger on the lever. For measuring angles with the Theo 010A under typical construc-
tion conditions, Hennecke & Werner recommend assuming a mean direction error
of at least ±3cc for the average of a normal and a reversed measurement. Evaluat-
ing a survey of a large dam, P. Köhler found a mean direction error of 3.6 cc in mea-
surements that had been taken with a Theo 010 and 2.5 cc for those with a T3,
some portion of which he attributed to turbulent air and unstable instrument
mountings (Beitrag zur trigonometrischen Bestimmung horizontaler Staumauerbe-
wegungen. Diss. TU Dresden, 1967; cited in Hennecke & Werner). This confirms
many impressions reported elsewhere that under field conditions the mean error Fig. C.1 Mean Error of Theo 010 and OT-02 in Third-Order Surveys as a Function of
of the Theo 010 was 30 to 50 percent greater than that of the T3, despite the re- Observer’s Experience, ca. 1962.
markably small coincidence, pointing, and circle division uncertainties of the Theo
010. While Bahnert’s 1956 results were probably generous, in a survey of studies
and field data that had accumulated by 1963, Bahnert could give the mean accu-
 -44-
distance measurements in the range of ten to a few hundred meters. With this
method, one could use the Theo 010 to measure short distances (100 m) to an ac-
curacy of one part in six thousand. In fact, at shorter distances (50 m), subtense
accuracy could exceed that obtainable with steel measuring tapes. Using special
procedures and a carefully calibrated subtense bar, Hennecke & Werner claim that
1 in 62,000 over a distance of 100 m is attainable. The tripod must be extremely
stable, however, since a lateral movement of 0.02 mm (20 microns!) between di-
rection measurements would exceed the tolerance allowed for the subtense bar.
Conventional stadia tacheometry is described in the manual, section 3.7; subtense
tacheometry in section 3.10. See also any textbook on plane surveying prior to
about 1980.
With the Horrebow level, a clock and a shortwave radio, the Theo 010 can be
used to determine astronomic position (latitude and longitude) by star sightings.
By recording two successive coincidences on the double crosshair and taking the
mean, you may be able to measure a single time of a star transit to an accuracy of
around ±0.2 or ±0.3 second, although I have not been able to get this precision
myself. Using a special stopwatch and the special astronomic reticle mentioned in
the manual, having seven or eight parallel equi-distant lines, time of coincidence
for a star could reportedly be measured to an accuracy of about 0.07 seconds.
Since in one second of time a star moves 15” in right ascension, this resolution
equals 1 arc second of longitude or 30 m at the equator. And in fact, in two or
three nights of observation, ±40 m was regularly obtained in the 1950s, using in-
struments like the T3, suggesting that ±50 or ±60 m should be possible with the
Theo 010. For how it’s done, see Clair Ewing & Michael Mitchel, Introduction to
Geodesy, NY: Amer. Elsevier, 1970. These authors report that ±20 meters is about
the practical limit for portable instruments, regardless of nominal accuracy. The
procedures are complex, requiring a list of appropriate stars with their apparent
positions on the date of the observation. Using a Theo 010 the astronomical coor-
dinates of an observatory in Cracow, Poland, were reportedly found to within 0.3“
in latitude and latitude (Acta Astronomica (17:3, 1967, p. 354), or ±10m – a result
that one can believe or not.
As noted above, astronomic position can differ from the geodetic coordinates
shown on maps by several hundred meters, and its main use was as a rough check
against leveling and triangulation measurements and as a source of information
about the geoid, or true shape of the earth. Current information about geodetic
time and coordinates is at the internet site ftp://hpvlbi.obspm.fr/iers/ierscb.html, of
the Earth Rotation Services, Paris Observatory and at the U.S. Naval Observatory,
http://www.usno.navy.mil/home.html. The Naval Observatory publishes a Bright
Star List each year with coordinates to one arc second. Other star catalogs are at
http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/CDS.html.
-45-
Because it is impossible to keep the trunnion (horizontal) axis of the theodolite
absolutely horizontal, astronomical procedures sometimes call for a measurement
of its inclination, ideally by reading a striding level at the same moment as a star
transit is observed (cf. section 3.11 of the manual). The error angle (usually not
more than a few arc seconds) enters into the total calculation as a correction fac-
tor. However, various data reported in the Jordan/Eggert/Kneissl Handbuch, vol IIa,
10th ed., 1970, suggest that small striding levels often had uncertainties as large
as the errors they were meant to measure; Mueller op. cit. reports that even the
striding level of the Wild T4 gave variations of up to ±15 percent with tempera-
ture. Hr. Guske was not able to find a striding level for the Theo 010. Hennecke &
Werner report that no striding level was sold for the models 010A and 010B. For
these instruments the inclination of the trunnion axis was to be determined by the
following procedure: as soon as possible after a star transit, clamp the trunnion
axis, turn the alidade to the left by a right angle and read the vertical angle, either
against the Horrebow or against the vertical index level (or an average of the two).
Turn 180° further and read it again. The difference divided by two gives the ap-
proximate inclination of the trunnion axis, not accounting for random wobble in
the vertical axis. For high accuracy work, the Horrebow level should be calibrated
at a number of temperatures.
The Theo 010 manual stipulates that the instrument should be placed in its car-
rying case before being moved to an area of greatly different temperature (Chapt.
5), owing to the fine tolerances of some internal fittings. Expansion or contraction
of a tightly fitted part relative to another can damage – in the worst case fracture –
the part. Avoid placing the Theo 010 in direct sunlight or in contact with snow. A
half-hour to an hour of accommodation in the case should suffice in most circum-
stances to protect the instrument and to eliminate errors, but during a long series
of measurements the air temperature should be monitored. A study reported in
Gossett op. cit. found that some systematic errors in first-order surveys had proba-
bly resulted from uneven temperatures in the theodolite caused by warming on
the side toward the sun (even under a shielding umbrella).
The Theo 010 is of the type known as a direction (as opposed to repeating)
theodolite. While a repeating theodolite provides clamps that allow successive an-
gle measurements to be summed on the circle in order to overcome imprecision in
its simpler (but more stable) circle-reading optics, a direction instrument’s elabo-
rate microscopes and micrometer already provide about as much precision as its
telescope and thus represent the best obtainable trade-off among the many de-
sign dimensions of a theodolite. The random errors that both circle and telescope
contribute to a measurement can be further reduced only by taking many mea-
surements and averaging them according to principles of statistical measurement
theory. In addition, atmospheric and topographical influences, temperature effects,
and the like must be taken into account for measurements over larger distances.
Statistical studies of first-order surveys carried out in Germany and Switzerland
over several decades suggest that there is an irreducible uncertainty of about
±0.3” (1cc) in long distance angle measurement; this value sets a final limit on the
accuracy attainable with purely optical surveying methods, regardless of the in-
 -46-
strument used and number of measurements taken. It is a limit that is not easily
reached, however. In first-order surveying it was in fact usual to measure all an-
gles from a given observing station repeatedly for at least two weeks, often a
month, both by day and by night. The final values assigned to angles and dis-
tances in a first-order network were weighted averages obtained by complex sta-
tistical procedures involving all measurements in the network. C. F. Gauss in fact
developed the theory behind the famous bell-shaped curve while carrying out such
calculations as chief land-surveyor in the kingdom of Hannover (now commemo-
rated on the German 10 mark bank note).
D. Tripod
While it was usual to supply even first-order theodolites with a wooden tripod, sur-
veyors thought it difficult to make measurements of the highest accuracy with this
type of mounting. The feet of a tripod settle into the soil and are disturbed by ev-
ery motion of the observer; in addition, the wooden legs can twist and change in
length. Wherever possible, the best mounting for high accuracy measurements is
a large stone block or masonry pillar resting on a firm foundation (cf. Fig. A.4).
Nevertheless, it is usually necessary to center the theodolite over a triangulation
point on or under the ground surface, which requires some sort of hollow support,
offering a clear view from the theodolite’s optical plumb to the ground. The Man-
ual of Geodetic Triangulation op. cit. contains illustrations of rigid, squat wooden
tripod-shaped frames, constructed of two-by-fours, and loaded down with large
stones. The legs were anchored in shallow holes to isolate the tripod from pres-
sures at the ground surface and from the weight of the observer, who stood on
planks supported on stakes driven into the ground as far away from the tripod legs
as feasible. For long sights over flat terrain or forests, the Coast and Geodetic Sur-
vey used concentric metal towers in which an inner, narrow tripod supported the
theodolite, isolating it from vibrations and distortions of an outer tower on which
the observer stood. Measurements carried out on towers usually employed addi-
tional steps to measure and cancel out slow rotations of the inner tower resulting
from sunlight, wind and from changes in air temperature.
A study of the accuracy of the Kern DKM-3A in geodetic astronomy found,how-
ever, that measurements with this instrument on a tripod were not significantly
worse than those carried on on a stone pillar (Wolfgang Zick, Geodätisch-as-
tronomische Feldbeobachtung hoher Genauigkeit, Munich: Deutsch Geodätsiche
Kommission, Series C, Vol. 230, im Verlag C.H. Beck, 1977).
-47-
E. General Maintenance and Adjustments
General Advice. The performance of a high-accuracy optical theodolite like the
Theo 010 depends crucially on the quality of its adjustment. With time, and espe-
cially with vibration and repeated heating and cooling, the positions of critical ele-
ments in the optical system can shift, and theodolites of this calibre had to be re-
turned periodically for maintenance by an expert technician. Some of the adjust-
ments (E.3 to E.8) can be carried out fairly easily if you work slowly and with care
and have the theodolite mounted on a stable support, like a stone pillar. Others
(E.9 to E.12) are very delicate, can be very tedious, and can take many hours be-
fore a noticeable improvement is achieved; if performed inadequately they can
also lower the accuracy of the Theo 010.
Despite the robust external appearance of the Theo 010, its internal construc-
tion is like that of a camera, with myriad small screws, springs and optical ele-
ments. Whenever the case is opened, beware of letting dust or small particles get
into the internal spaces. Replace screws immediately, and never use force.
E.1. Lenses.
NEVER leave fingerprints on the lenses or prisms. Sweat contains acids that can
attack the anti-reflective lens coating. Clean optical surfaces with a mixture con-
taining 60% ethanol and 40% ether, applied to a Q-tip or soft optical cloth. For
cleaning internal lenses, prisms and circles, refer to the sections on micrometer,
horizontal and vertical circles below.
E.2. Telescope. Dr. Feist of Zeiss in Jena said that it is now impossible to carry out
any adjustments or repairs on this telescope because reassembly requires special
jigs to realign the mirror, which even Zeiss no longer has available. Without these
the image would be impaired. The stadia line multiplication factor of 100 was set
by placing a separator ring of a selected thickness in the correction lens of the
telescope to adjust the telescope magnification. The defocused image of a point of
light should appear as a ring, with the dark spot exactly centered.
E.3. Clamps.
Each circle clamp is tightened by pressing a lever attached to a knob by a set-
screw. In the raised postion the movement of the alidade or telescope should be
free; in the lowered position it should be braked so that moderate pressure pro-
duces no movement. Adjust a clamp by loosening the set-screw. With a large
screwdriver, tighten the clamp shaft firmly so that the telescope or alidade cannot
be turned. Depress the lever and tighten the set-screw. Refer to Section 4.6 of the
manual.
 -48- -49-

Optical Overview. Although Hr. Guske thought that an instrument as old as this
E.4. Crosshair Adjustment. Theo 010 would prove to be more stable than a new one, you may find that it still
needs readjustment from time to time. Before attempting this you should have a
The ring-shaped plate between the large focusing knob and the smaller eypiece
good understanding of Fig. E.1, which shows the internal optical pathways. These
focusing ring covers the crosshair adjustment screws. To gain access to these, re-
fall into three systems: optical plumb, telescope and circle reading optics. The cir-
move the eyepiece by inserting an adjustment pin into one of the four small holes
cle reading system comprises the vertical circle, the horizontal circle and the coin-
of the ring on the eyepiece tube. Remove the covering plate and replace the eye-
cidence micrometer, all of which are interconnected by optical pathways within
piece. The reticle is adjusted by turning the adjustment screws in pairs(!), using a
the case.
pair of alignment pins. Small pointing errors should first be removed by adjusting
the crosshairs, before touching the vertical circle vial. Refer to section 4.2 of the
manual. Consult any older book on surveying for additional prodedures.

E.5. Plate Level and Circular Level Vials.

Both vials are mounted in rockers that are adjusted by capstan screws at the
ends of the vial or around the periphery. Screws must be turned oppositely, using
the supplied adjustment pins. Refer to section 4.1 of the manual.

E.6. Vertical Index.

The adjustment for the vertical index vial consists of two cylindrical nuts within
the standard that are adjusted using the supplied adjustment pins. To gain access
to these, you must first remove the screw-in covering plate (V in Fig. E.7) on the
side of the vertical circle housing. For the general procedure refer to the manual,
section 4.3.

E.7. Vertical Pivot.

Formerly, an acid-free, light oil was used (sometimes described as watch-
maker’s oil) to lubricate the pivots, after cleaning them with cleaning gasoline
(“Reinigungsbenzin”). According to Hr. Guske, current practice is to use a relatively
fluid mixture of lithium grease and oil (he called it “vaseline-lithium grease”),
which is what the Theo 010 now has in it. The grease that Hr. Guske showed me
looked more like a dark oil than like lithium grease, and was as fluid as a heavy
motor oil. Hr. Guske said this grease should be more stable than oil and not need
to be changed. It is essential that the grease used be absolutely free of micro-
scopic dust particles (which is not normally the case with e.g. ball-bearing lithium
grease) as these particles can damage the bearing surfaces and introduce wobble
in the verical axis. Dr. Feist said that Zeiss now sometimes uses Linöl 5.
Fig. E.1. Internal Optics of the Theo 010.
Take care that the vertical pivot is taken apart only in a dust-free atmosphere.
Slight damage to the axle or its sleeve can irreparably introduce wobble in the ver-
tical axis. Refer to the manual sections 4.8 and chapter 7, NOTES FOR FIGURES,
Figs. 17 to 22.
 -50- -51-

The optical plumb is a small telescope whose object lens is built into the verti- of the combined image is set by the prism below and half way between 4 and 7. At
cal axis. This lens can be seen when you look at the mounting stub of the theodo- 8, fixed wedge prisms in the optical micrometer cause the two images to di-
lite from below. A prism bends the image from this lens to the horizontally verge until they pass though a movable, second set of wedges; how much the im-
mounted eyepiece, which can be pulled out from the base. ages of the graduations diverge depends on the distance between the two sets of
The telescope is built on the pattern of a Cassegrain reflector; its main optical prisms and is set by a rack-and-pinion mechanism attached to the micrometer
elements are the ring-shaped primary mirror and a secondary mirror deposited on knob above 10.
the inside surface of the second miniscus (see also Fig. B.5). The two miniscus do The Fig E.2 shows the principle of the optical micrometer more clearly. The circle
not contribute significantly to the light-gathering function; instead, they correct reading optics (3-4-5 in Fig. E.1) create the illusion of two abbutting circles in the
the spherical aberration of the primary mirror. Nevertheless, the magnification of focal plane of the microscope. As the wedge prisms at 1 are shifted closer or far-
the telescope can be adjusted slightly by changing the separation between the ther (a vs. b) from the microscope objective, they shift the apparent position of the
miniscus. The thickness of the washer was chosen to give a multiplication of ex- circle divisions by a much smaller amount. The prisms are inverted relative to
actly 100 relative to the stadia lines of the reticle. Light to the telescope enters the each other, so that they shift the two halves of the image in opposite directions.
miniscus lenses at the left in Fig. B.5 and is reflected from the ring at the rear to The shifted real images at the prisms (Fig. E.1, 10) are viewed through the micro-
the Cassegrain mirror, from there through the negative focusing lens to the cross- scope eyepiece, with an image of a linear scale attached to the rack appearing
hair reticle and eyepiece. To make the crosshairs visible at night, Illumination for next to them. How much the marks must be displaced in order to bring them into
the telescope crosshairs is captured by a small prism in the rectangular window coincidence is a function of the distance separating the two sets of prisms, and
above the mirror 1, and is led by a further prism to a tiny mirror just ahead of the this can be read from the scale.
focusing lens. When turned 45° to the telescope axis by the knob on top of the
telescope, this mirror directs diffuse light toward the eypiece. Illumination for the
circles enters the round window next to the mirror. The telescope image is viewed
through the central eyepiece, and the circles are viewed through the smaller eye-
piece next to it.
The graduated circles are viewed over long optical paths extending from the
mirror 1 of Fig. E.1 to the microscope eyepiece at the right of the telescope eye-
piece. One path leads through the vertical circle (to the left of the telescope), and
the other leads throught the horizontal circle beneath the telescope. For viewing
the vertical circle, the switch knob “V” / “Hz” on the right standard moves prism
11 into the optical pathway, blocking the view of the horizontal circle and deflect-
ing light from the vertical circle into the coincidence micrometer. The principal dif-
ference between the horizontal and vertical circles is that the vertical circle is fixed
to the telescope, and its readings are absolute values (azimuth distances);
whereas the horizontal readings are entirely relative, as the horizontal circle can
be rotated relative to the leveling base.
The microscope in the left standard gives a total magnification of 60X for the
vertical circle, and the microscope in the right standard gives 43X for the larger
horizontal circle. Otherwise, both circles are read in the same way. For the horizon-
tal circle, diffused light from the round window passes through prisms 2 and 3 to il-
luminate the graduation from below, at 4. The pair of comparison lenses 5
project a one-to-one real image of the left-hand graduation at 4 on the opposite
side of the circle at 6; the position of this projected image is set by the prisms 4,
and its size by the lenses 5. Thus, an image of the division scale on the left-hand Fig. E.2. Optical Micrometer
side of the circle is superimposed on the scale on the right-hand side. This pro-
duces the illusion of two sets of graduation marks, moving in opposite directions
as the alidade is turned. The physical and superimposed images of the horizontal
circle are captured by the microscope objective at 7. The position and orientation
 -52- -53-

Reading the circles by displacing two images from opposite sides of a circle to
obtain coincidence demands that these images be of exactly the same size, and
that their scale be exactly matched to that of the micrometer. For each circle there
are thus two critical magnification adjustments: one for the size of the first image
relative to the second (set by the comparison lenses 5), and one for the size of
both relative to the micrometer scale (set by the microscope objective 7). If the
relative sizes of the upper and lower images are not the same, all marks will not
coincide at once, and errors can be introduced by reading coincidences at different
places within the circle viewing window. An error in the size of the circle image rel-
ative to the micrometer causes the micrometer to overrun or undershoot the next
coincidence, giving readings that are too small or too large. These are called ‘run’
errors. The lens pairs 5 and 7 of the horizontal circle are duplicated in the vertical
circle optics but are not called out in the figure. There are no index marks for read-
ing the circles, but the position of the microscopes relative to the circles estab-
lishes for each a virtual index. For the horizontal circle this has no significance, but
X = covering plate screw A = retaining screw
for the vertical circle 100cc and 300cc must correspond to the telescope’s being at
an exact right angle to the vertical axis. However, instead of positioning the micro-
scope to obtain this adjustment, one positions the prism lying on the optical path Fig. E.3. Optical Plumb Adjustment.
beween the microscope and the circle.
The vertical index is a T-shaped plate that carries a level vial at its top, the E.9. Micrometer.
prisms and lenses for comparing the two sides of the circle, and a lever extending The Zeiss micrometer does not contain any critical adjustments and at most
downward to allow exact leveling via a micrometer screw. The leveling adjustment could require cleaning and oiling. It is accessed by removing the micrometer plate,
moves only the lower image of the circle in the micrometer window, but the dis- as described under E.12. BEWARE: it is quite difficult to put the micrometer plate
placement is still multiplied by two (a 0.1 g rotation shifts the coincidence point to back on; cf. E.12. The glass micrometer scale is thin and delicate.
the next 0.2g mark on the circle, as with a telecope rotation) because the image is
in effect shifted twice, once by each prism.
Circle-Reading Adjustments. Refering to Fig. E.1, you can see that one portion of
the image of a circle — the upper division scale — is viewed directly through the
E.8. Optical Plumb Adjustment. microscope objective formed by the two lenses at 7. The lower scale is a real im-
The optical plumb is a small telescope built into the vertical axis. Its eyepiece is age of the left side of the circle, inverted left-to-right by the roof prism 4 (left), and
in a tube that can be pulled out horizontally from the theodolite base. It must be projected by lenses 5 through prism 4 (right) on the scale division at the right side
so aligned that the optical path through the reticle circle in the eyepiece coincides of the circle. (The inversion causes the images in the microscope to move in oppo-
with the center of the vertical axis. This is done by leveling the theodolite very site directions.) At the ends of the window you will see that the curvature of the
precisely on a tripod with the Horrebow level. Using a plumb bob, place a small circle causes the marks to form a slight angle. The upper and lower images must
mark vertically under the axis. The sighting circle of the optical plumb will then be be combined in such a way that the round edge of the circle is cut off and the two
brought over this mark. images just abut without overlapping; this is accomplished by a baffle in the mi-
crometer. The size of the lower scale must be identical to that of the upper scale,
Remove the covering plate held by screws X in Fig. E.3 and slide it out over the
which means that the magnification of the lenses 5 must be exactly 1. This is the
eyepiece tube far enough to gain access to the two black screws A. Loosen the
relative size adjustment.
screws A just far enough to be able to slide the mounting plate relative to the
frame, without having any play between plate and frame. Check the leveling The micrometer can shift the two scales relative to each other by 1000 cc. The
again, and bring the sighting circle over the mark on the ground by sliding the size of the shift is fixed by the micrometer construction; thus, the circle image
eyepiece mounting plate. Turn the theodolite 90°; take out half the error by adjust- must be sized so that the space from one graduation to the next fits exactly into
ing the mark on the ground and half by adjusting the plate. Repeat until no further this 1000cc displacement. The circle magnification set by lenses 7 therefore consti-
improvement is possible. tutes the run adjustment.
 -54- -55-

The general procedure recommended by Hr. Guske for adjusting the circle-read-
Both the microscope objectives and the comparison optics are constructed of ing optics is: 1) adjust circle-reading prisms to get division marks in the lower
lens pairs, as shown in Fig. E.4, so that both magnification and focus can be ad- half of the window equal in length and, in the middle area, exactly parallel to the
justed. The lens pairs work together roughly in the way diagrammed in Fig. E.5. marks in the upper half; 2) adjust the intermediate lenses (5 for the horizontal
The second, “downstream” lens more strongly affects magnification, while the first circle) to get the lower scale exactly as long as the upper scale (relative size) and
lens more strongly affects focus, but they cannot be adjusted independently. Mov- to get both images in focus and in the same plane, so that — as measured with
ing the first lens optically closer to the circle increases magnification, away lowers the micrometer — they do not move relative to one another when you move your
it. The second lens must then be moved a smaller amount to restore sharpness. In eye from one side of the eypiece to the other; 3) focus the eyepiece so that the
the case of the relative-size lenses, the second lens is moved in the same direction micrometer scale is exactly in focus; 4) retaining this eyepiece adjustment, adjust
as the first (as in Fig. E.5); for the microscopes, in the opposite direction. Each the microscope objective (lenses 7 for the horizontal circle) to focus the whole
magnification/focus adjustment must therefore be carried out iteratively, until image and to obtain the correct magnification (i.e., to eliminate run).
both size and sharpness are optimal. Because small displacements of the lenses
have a large effect, these adjustments are difficult and time-consuming. Alto-
gether there are four lens pairs to adjust for magnfication and focus — one pair for
relative size, one for run, for each circle.
Fig. E.5 shows the focusing charactersistics of the comparison lenses. The image
of the circle at T reappears as an inverted real image at S. Its size at S is given by
the magnification . In Fig. E.5  increases for the comparison leses as both are
moved to the left. As the image is only in focus when positions of the lenses fall in
the shaded areas of the diagram, the left lens O1 must be moved only about half
as far as O2. The shaded areas show the depth of field for each lens, i.e., the
range of positions within which the image will still appear sharp. Within this range,
parallax is still possible, and the final check of focus for the relative size adjust-
ment will thus be a check for parallax between the upper and lower circle images.
Parallax is not an issue for microscope focus.

Fig. E.4. Comparison Lenses

 -56-
Fig. E.5. Focus Adjustment I / Magnification II
Tools required for the circle-reading adjustments are in the adjustment kit
stowed above the theodolite in the instrument case.
Concerning step 1): This adjustment is carried out with the prism sled, not the
prism mounting. Be sure you know which screws you are loosening.
-57-
Concerning step 2): when you are measuring an angle with the theodolite, you
will usually not find coincidence for the second direction at exactly the same place
in the window as you found the first coincidence. Hence, the relative size adjust-
ment must ensure that a coincidence read anywhere within the central area of the
circle window gives the same value on the micrometer. The difference in coinci-
dence at the two ends of the visible scale should not exceed about 3 cc, in order
that the differences in the central area remain well under 1 cc. The focus adjust-
ment for relative size is also critical. Rough focus can be gauged by comparing the
colors of the upper and lower marks, and by slightly defocusing the eyepiece to
see if both scales go out of focus in the same way. However, the lenses’ depth of
field makes it possible for the two images of the circle to be appear well focused,
yet still to lie in different planes. This will cause parallax errors, making the marks
move slightly relative to one another when you move your eye relative to the eye-
piece (without eyeglasses!), and even if you do not notice the movement, you will
find coincidence at differing positions on the micrometer. Hence the final test for
focus of the comparision lenses must also be made with the micrometer. Check
that a given coincidence is always obtained at the same micrometer reading re-
gardless of the position of your eye at the eyepiece.
Concerning step 4): The microscope lenses are moved in opposite directions. At
minimum magnification (maximum separation of the lenses) the image is too
small by about 10 or 15cc (giving an overrun). At maximum magnification (mini-
mum separation of the lenses), it is too large by perhaps 8 cc (giving an ‘under’run).
Beware that moving one or both of the lenses shifts the circle image. Because the
magnification of the upper and lower scale images can be slightly different, a sep-
arate run error should be measured for each. Deumlich, op. cit., gives the follow-
ing procedure for measuring run. The micrometer is set to 0 cc and the circle read-
ing is set to 0g. Coincidence is obtained at appx. 1000cc between the mark 0g on
the upper scale and 399.8g on the lower scale (for lower scale run) and then for
0.2g on the upper scale and 400g on the lower (for upper scale run). Record the ac-
tual micrometer reading for each coincidence. Repeat the test at 50.2, 100.4,
150.6, and 200.8g. Regularities in the variance of the run values can — theoreti-
cally, at least — reveal division errors of the circle. Deumlich prescribes that you
repeat the test going from top (1000 cc) to bottom on the micrometer, but I do not
believe this has any relevance for a Zeiss-type micrometer. Run error is computed
as the average of all readings for the upper and lower scales.
Obviously the quality of these adjustments will depend strongly on your skill in
judging coincidence, and if you cannot repeat coincidences to within ±1.5cc 70%
of the time, you should not attempt them. Hr. Guske said that the ability to judge
coincidence is best in the morning, when one’s eyes are rested. Coincidence read-
ing is a skill that can take some time to perfect.
 -58-
In a case of severe misadjustment of the circle-reading optics you will need to
work first in the opposite direction. Starting from a focused micrometer scale (eye-
piece adjustment), adjust the focus only of the uppper circle image (microscope
adjustment). The loosen and adjust the prism nearest the microscope (for the hori-
zontal circle, below the microscope at M, in Fig. E.10; above the microscope at P3-
P4 for the vertical circle in Fig. E.8) so that the major division marks are twice as
long as the minor divisions and the circle image shows equal but opposite, slight
inclinations of marks at the ends of the window — see manual illustration 5a. Once
a prism’s mounting screws are loosened the prism is free to move in all directions,
and tightening a screw will shift its position again — all of which makes the prism
adjustments exceedingly difficult.
Then loosen and adjust the comparision prisms. You will not fine-adjust the mark
length, but rather the collimation and tangency; exact length of the marks is ad-
justed with the prism sleds once the prism mountings are tightened again. To
start, make sure that the relative-size lenses give a sharp image of the circle in the
lower half of the window of about the same size as the upper image. There are two
goals in this adjustment: first, to collimate the prisms with the line of sight through
the comparison lenses. You want to have the image pass as nearly as possible
along the optical axis of the lenses (where aberrations are lowest). This means
that the axes of the prisms must lie on the optical axis of the lenses. Second, you
must obtain tangency to the circle in the middle of the viewing window. This
means that the upper and lower marks at the center of the window should be ex-
actly parallel and perpendicular to the dividing line, while at the ends of the win-
dow they should diverge slightly, by equal angles. After tightening the prism
mountings, you can test for tangency by sliding one sled to bring the ends of the
division marks to the border between the upper and lower images and refocusing.
Marks at each end of the window should now just touch the border, as in Fig. E.6.
As you tighten each screw, watch the circle image; tightening often shifts the im-
age, and you may need to alter the adjustment to anticipate the effect of tighten-
ing. Then perform the procedure above to get a final, exact adjustment.
Misadjusted Correct
Fig. E.6 Adustment for Lower-Image Tangency.
-59-
Adjustment of the vertical circle prisms is much easier if their mounting surfaces
are horizontal. To let you place the opened instrument in a horizontal position, cut
support cushions with cutouts for the knobs from stiff, rubbery packing foam (not
styrofoam, which sheds particles that can be nearly impossible to get out of the
optics). For preliminary collimation of the prisms, a miniature light-emitting diode
or “grain-of-wheat” lamp can be placed at various points in the optical path. It is
possible that at the Zeiss factory the microscope adjustments were performed by
projecting the circle images on a small screen, which according to F. Ackerl, op.
cit., can significantly improve the coincidence precision and would have allowed
technicians to watch the circle images while adjusting. Nowadays, a CCD micro-
scope camera connected to a high resolution monitor could aid the adjustment
greatly.
Focus and size adjustments seem to be easiest if you loosen the adjustment
screw only so far as to allow movement with some resistance. Place a handle
(from the tool-box) on the screw-head and move the lens by tapping the handle
lightly from the side. As you tighten each screw, watch the circle image; as with
the prisms, this often shifts the image, and you may need to alter the adjustment
to anticipate the effect of tightening.
The adjustment procedures can take many hours, and they require mechanical
aptitude as well as good eyesight and patience. They were normally performed by
technicians who learned the required skills during several years of apprenticeship.
E.10. Vertical Circle Optics.
The vertical index is pressed against the fine motion screw by a spring. If not
arrested, it will snap to one side when the cover plate (on which the fine motion
screw is mounted) is removed. Hence, before removing the cover screws of the
standard at R, Fig. E.7, you must secure the vertical index. Start by removing the
cover at V for the vertical index adjustment in E.7. Then remove the cover at P
near the coincidence prism cylinder. Screw in the tapered wooden plug that you
will find in the adjustment kit. As you turn the plug, watch the vertical index frame
from the opening at V. When the plug makes contact with the vertical index, it will
raise the frame slightly. At this point it is safe to remove the standard cover. Re-
move the 6 small screws R around the periphery of the cover. The plate should lift
off without resistance.
 -60- -61-

Upper image. If (and only if) necessary, adjust first the length of the upper
marks with the microscope prism at P3, P4 in Fig E.8. This adjustment is difficult!
Note that this prism, in effect, sets the vertical index mark, which must give 100 g
or 300g when the telescope is horizontal. The prism’s nominal position is marked
by a hole in its mounting plate, which should be in rough alignment with a hole be-
low it in the standard. Level the theodolite and point the telescope to a mark, ob-
tained by leveling, at exactly the elevation of the theodolite’s trunnion axis (red
point on the microscope standard). Leave the telescope clamped to this position.
Now turn the wooden plug to obtain a reading of 100g or 300g on the upper scale.
Bring the vertical index to be the middle of its range of movement. (The index
level vial is unimportant at this point; it will be adjusted later — cf. procedure E.6.)
You should have the image of the 100 g mark fall exactly over the 300g mark on the
opposite side of the circle (lower image). The construction apparently does not let
you center exactly in the middle of the range, so some compromise may be neces-
sary. You must also get the upper circle image symmetical, as in the manual illus-
tration 5a, with short marks appearing half as long as the full grade marks, and
with the subdivision marks at both ends of the window having exactly the same
length. This ensures that the circle is tangent to the micrometer masking line
(across the center of the window). When you are satisfied with the adjustment,
tighten the two prism mounting screws P3, P4 in Fig E.8.
Lower image. If the marks in the lower circle image are not of the same length
as in the the upper image, or if the marks at the ends are not of the same length,
you will need to adjust the prisms at P1 and P2. Then adjust size of the whole im-
age relative to the upper image by loosening the lens adjustment screws at C1,
C2. The right-hand screw (C2) corresponds to lens O2 in Fig. E.4. Finally, eliminate
the run by setting the micrometer to 0 and bringing a pair of marks into coinci-
dence. Set the micrometer to 1000cc. The circle should again be exactly in coinci-
dence; if not, the image of the circle is too large or too small, and the magnifica-
tion of the microscope must be adjusted accordingly, via the lens adjustment
screws at M1, M2. Note that this adjustment is very difficult; see the run test de-
scribed above in Circle-Reading Adjustments. Once you have loosened the screws
you will probably require several hours of repeated testing and adjustment to elim-
inate the run. The nominal run tolerance for a Theo 010 is ±3 cc.

P = wooden plug R = remove screw L = index vial access V = vertical index ad-
just I = crosshair illumination C = circle access F = index range adjust

Fig. E.7. V-Circle Standard with Plug.

 -62- -63-

E.11. Horizontal circle optics.

The procedurce is the same as in E.10, with the one difference that there is no
adjustment for a virtual index.

Upper image. Adjustment screws for the microscope prism (M in Fig. E.10) are
on either side of the fine motion screw, on the bottom surface of the base, inset in
putty. There is unlikely to be any reason to adjust the illumination prism at P.

Lower image. The prism sleds for the superimposed (lower) circle image are ac-
cessed via two screw-in covers on either side of the optical plumb. The comparison
lenses are accessed from behind the circular level vial, which must first be re-
moved by removing its leveling screws. To access the microscope you need merely
remove the circular inset on the micrometer standard, inscribed with “Theo 010”.
You do NOT need to remove the micrometer plate. The optical path is from the ver-
tical circle standard to the micrometer standard, as shown in Fig. E.1.

For cleaning, the upper surface of the circle can be accessed when the standard
cover for the vertical circle optics is removed, but you will need a swab or a brush
on an appropriately bent wire. Avoid pressure on the pointed comparison prism,
which covers the circle in the middle of the opening. The lower surface of the cir-
cle can be accessed from a removable inset on the bottom of the base. The proce-
dure for separating the alidade from the base is described in the manual, chapter
7, NOTES FOR FIGURES, Figs. 17 to 22. E.12. Trunnion Axis Adjustment.
This adjustment is most critical for astromical and other measurements where
the line of sight is at a steep angle to the horizontal plane. Techniques for finding
the true vertical can be found in any older book on plane surveying. One proce-
dure uses a dish filled with mercury or tinted water. Wiehtüchter had a set-up with
a plumb-bob on a long thread hung from the ceiling to give a vertical line. The
plumb-bob hung in a cup of water, half submerged, to dampen oscillations. Use
the Horrebow level to set the vertical axis. Beware of changing the telescope focus
during the adjustment. The exact height of the trunnion axis is marked by a red
P = prism mounting S = prism sled
dot above the micrometer knob.
C = comparison lens
Heinrich Wild wished to have the machining of a theodolite’s telescope support
M = microscope lens so accurate that any adjustment of the trunnion axis would only make things
H = horizontal illumination worse. This ideal was apparently not attainable, and the Theo 010 provides a very
fine adjustment in the form of an eccentric bushing for the trunnion axis in the
telescope standard that contains the micrometer (at 9, 10 in Fig. E.1). This allows
Fig. E.8. V-Circle Standard, Inside.
the bearing on this side to be raised or lowered slightly.
The vertical circle can be cleaned by removing the cover at C in Fig. E.7. The
front side of the circle can be accessed with a swab on an appropriately bent, plas-
tic-insulated wire (to avoid the possibility of scratching the circle). Lens tissue
slightly moistened with ethanol, wrapped around a cotton swab, seems to leave
the least residue.
 -64- -65-

To gain access to the height adjustment, you must remove the micrometer plate
from the standard. This is easily done, but beware — it will be difficult to put the
plate back on! Before removing the plate, you must secure the vertical fine mo-
tion. Like the vertical index plate, the micrometer plate carries a fine motion lever
that opposes a spring on the telescope mounting. Here, however, the construction
does not provide for a way of arresting the telescope against the spring when the
cover plate is removed. To remove the micrometer plate, set the micrometer to
500cc. Turn the vertical fine motion knob to the counter-clockwise end of its travel.
Point the telescope down and clamp it firmly. Remove the six screws around the
periphery. With one hand twist the telescope very slightly clockwise (you are fac-
ing the micrometer plate), so that you feel it pull against a spring; if it slips, you
must readjust the clamp lever (E.3) so that the clamp can be tightened more
firmly. With the other hand lift the micrometer plate gently from the standard. The
plate should lift off without resistance. The micrometer, mounted on the plate, is
delicate, so try to avoid touching it, and place it immediately where dust cannot
get on the optical surfaces.
To adjust the trunnion axis height, you will rotate the eccentric by means of two
opposing, long M3 (3 mm) machine screws, found in the adjustment kit, that must L = adjustment lever
be inserted from the sides of the standard. The screws are inserted by removing A = adjustment screw
the short M3 screws on the sides of the standard, and replacing them with the long R = retaining screw
M3 screws in the adjustment kit; these are called out at A in Fig. E.9. Turning both
Fig. E.9. Trunnion axis adjustment.
screws in the same direction, you can move the lever arm from one side of the
standard to the other, thus slightly raising or lowering the axis bearing. After you
have loosened the eccentric’s retaining screws R, tape a cover over the open stan-
dard for the duration of the adjustment. Fix the new axis height by tightening the E. 13 Fine Motion Screws and Clamps.
retaining screws R. Remove the long M3 screws (A) and replace the originals.
The vertical motion clamp is located behind the micrometer, and its fine motion
Now you must replace the micrometer plate. The vertical clamp has a universal screw is on the mounting plate of the micrometer. The vertical index fine motion is
joint that fits into a slot in the clamp knob. When you remove the micrometer on the cover plate of the opposite standard, below the illumination window. To ad-
plate, the universal joint is pulled out of the slot, but it flops around in a way that just the range of the fine motion, you must remove the cover plate from the verti-
makes it hard to reinsert it in the slot when you put the plate back on. My solution cal index standard. The range of the vertical index motion is set by a screw, acces-
was to take off the small circular retaining plate for the clamp knob, pull the uni- sible from F in Fig. E.7 and fixed by a tiny set screw in the index lever (not shown
versal joint part way out through the hole with two tiny screwdrivers and slip just in Fig. E.8).
the clamp knob over the joint. Then I replaced the retaining plate and lever. This
The horizontal clamp is in the base of the alidade, along with the horizontal fine
took me more than an hour the first time.
motion screw. The grease on the vertical and index fine motion screws was caked
and their operation was uneven; I have cleaned them with gasoline and greased
them with a clear bicycle ball-bearing grease. Fig. E.10 is adapted from Deumlich
op. cit.; it was drawn for the earlier series Theo 010 and is not correct as regards
the construction of the fine motion (which is placed between the clamp C and the
microscope prism M in this model). The disassembly instructions in the manual are
also not entirely correct: the red retaining screws on the base are no longer an-
chored in the case, and I was not able to determine how to remove the circle. Be
extremely careful with the circle and its mouning. The accuracy of horizontal posi-
tion measurements depends crucially on the centering of the circle and on its lying
in a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis.
-66- -67-

C = clamp screw F = fine motion screw

P = illuminator prism M = microscope prism
Fig. E.10. Alidade Base.