How to Use and Read Survey Compass?
A survey compass should read accurate to one degree. The compass must have one mark per degree and a bubble level for horizontal use. The user should be able to move eyes from the level to the alignment indicators and then to the direction reading with no body movement. For this, the compass has to be aligned using cyclical process. Select the datum point and then level the compass. This process should be repeated till the compass is leveled and pointed at the datum point. When this is done then eyes should be moved over to take the reading without moving the compass. There are two ends to the compass. Read the direction “from” the datum point to have consistency. It also gives the same direction as if a transit were set up at the datum point. However, if the wrong end is read, the calculations to create Cartesian coordinates still work.
