How Often Should a Total Station Be Calibrated?
Get your total station professionally calibrated at least once a year, and again right away after it's been dropped, knocked over or damaged. Between those shop visits, do a field check and adjust more often: before the first use, before high-precision work, after rough or long transport, and whenever the temperature has changed a lot. Good total station calibration takes both: annual service catches what field checks can't, and field checks catch the drift that builds up between visits.
Below you'll see how those two kinds of total station calibration differ, what Leica's own documentation recommends, and the warning signs that mean you shouldn't wait for the yearly visit. If you're due now, Datum's total station calibration service starts at $795 and includes a calibration certificate.
Two kinds of total station calibration
People use "calibration" for two different things, and you need both.
| Field check and adjust | Professional calibration and service | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does it | The operator, on site | An authorized service center |
| How often | Often, triggered by conditions | Annually, and after a drop or damage |
| What it covers | Electronic instrument errors and a few mechanical items like the circular level | The whole instrument, including motorization, optics, mechanics and the electronic errors |
| What you get | Updated correction values stored in the instrument | A calibration certificate and a service record |
What Leica recommends
Leica's iCON robot 80 user manual says the instrument leaves the factory with its errors measured and set to zero. It also says that quick temperature changes, shocks and stress can shift those errors over time. For motorized instruments, Leica recommends an inspection at an authorized service center every 12 months, and a shorter cycle for instruments in heavy or continuous use, such as tunneling or monitoring. The same manual also tells you to recheck the instrument errors in the field:
- Before the first use.
- Before every high-precision survey.
- After rough or long transportation.
- After long working periods.
- After long storage.
- When the temperature is more than 20 °C (about 36 °F) different from the last calibration.
That last point matters if your instrument moves from a heated truck to a winter deck, or from a cool shop to a summer roof.
What a field check and adjust actually corrects
On an iCON robotic total station, the guided check and adjust routine measures and stores corrections for several instrument errors:
- Compensator index errors (l, t): the longitudinal and transverse offsets of the tilt sensor.
- Vertical index error (i): the zero error of the vertical circle.
- Horizontal collimation error (c): the line of sight not being perfectly square to the tilting axis.
- Tilting axis error (a): the tilting axis not being perfectly square to the standing axis.
- ATR or ATRplus zero point error: the offset between automatic aiming and the crosshairs on robotic instruments.
Measuring in both faces averages out most of these errors. Automatic aiming errors are different, because two-face measurement doesn't remove them, so the field adjustment matters even more on a robot that's doing layout in one face all day.
How to get a good result
- Let the instrument acclimatize first. Leica suggests at least 15 minutes, or about 2 minutes for every degree Celsius of difference between storage and site.
- Level it carefully on a stable tripod and tribrach, away from vibration.
- Shade it from direct sun. Early morning or an overcast day gives the best conditions.
- Use a clean circular prism, not a 360° prism. Put the first target about 100 m away near the horizontal, and the second one steeply above or below the instrument, as the wizard asks.
Leica's own guidance on checking angular errors follows a simple order. First check the instrument to see where it stands. Then run the check and adjust. In day-to-day work, you don't need to check again afterward. It's mostly useful when you want to see how much the adjustment changed.
What field checks can't fix
A field routine updates correction values. It can't repair a bent tribrach, a worn motor, a damaged EDM, a loose optical assembly or a plummet that's out of adjustment. A circular level that won't stay centered after you adjust it is a sign that something mechanical needs attention. That's what the annual service is for.
Signs your total station needs calibration now
- It was dropped, blown over or hit, even if it looks fine.
- Back-sights or check shots on known control don't close the way they used to.
- Face I and face II readings disagree more than they normally do.
- Automatic aiming lands noticeably off the prism center, or locking has become unreliable.
- The field check and adjust gives results that change a lot from one run to the next.
- More than a year has passed since the last certificate, or a client or spec requires a current one.
For care habits that keep you out of trouble between visits, see maintaining your total station and Leica total station care: setup, calibration, service.
What Datum's calibration includes
Datum is a Leica Authorized Service and Distribution Partner. Our Boise service center calibrates and repairs total stations, GPS receivers, lasers and levels. Total station calibration starts at $795 and includes a calibration certificate. We recommend it once a year and after any drop or damage. GPS receivers and RTC360 scanners have their own calibration services. If your instrument needs more than calibration, our Leica repair and calibration team will look at it and tell you what we find. You can read more about the shop in total station calibration and repair at our Boise service center.
If your crew needs an instrument while yours is in for service, Datum's rental robotic total stations are calibrated before they ship.
FAQ
Is a field check and adjust the same as a calibration?
No. A field check and adjust updates the instrument's correction values on site. A professional calibration is a full service at an authorized center, and it comes with a certificate.
My total station looks fine after a fall. Do I still need it checked?
Yes. Impacts can shift internal components without leaving a mark. Get it calibrated before you trust it on layout.
How often should a robotic total station used every day be calibrated?
Plan on a yearly service at the very least. Leica says instruments in heavy or continuous use may need a shorter cycle. Run the field check and adjust often, especially after transport and big temperature swings.
Schedule your calibration
If it's been a year, or your instrument has taken a hit, book it in on the total station calibration page. For repairs or other instruments, go to Leica repair and calibration.