Trimble Surveying Prism Constants

by George Mylne // Last edited October 2, 2022
Trimble traverse prism at iron ore offloading facility 211204

The prism constant of Trimble’s range of prisms, when used with Trimble surveying equipment are:

Prism TypePrism Constant
Trimble Traverse Prism-35mm
Trimble 360° VS&S Series Prism+2mm
MultiTrack Target 360° Prism+10mm
Active Track 360° Target+22mm
Reflective Tape0mm
Table of Trimble prism constants

An image of the above table can be downloaded here.

What Is the Accuracy of A Trimble Traverse Prism?

The centre point accuracy of the Trimble Traverse prism is +/-0.3mm (0.01 inch) [source].

Trimble doesn’t have information or any datasheet related to the accuracy of any of their other prisms.

Trimble Prism Constant When Used With A Leica Instrument

To calculate the prism constant to use for Trimble prisms with a Leica surveying instrument you add 34.4mm to the value of the Trimble prism constant.

Trimble prism constant + 34.4 = Leica prism constant

Using the Trimble traverse prism as an example:

-35.0mm + 34.4mm = -0.6mm

When using a Trimble prism with a Leica survey instrument, the prism constant for the Trimble prism is:

Prism TypePrism Constant
(In Leica Instruments)
Trimble Traverse Prism-0.6mm
Trimble 360° VS&S Series Prism+36.4mm
MultiTrack Target 360° Prism+44.4mm
Active Track 360° Target+56.4mm
Reflective Tape34.4mm
Table of Trimble prism constants when used with a Leica surveying instrument

Download an image of the Trimble prism constants when using a Leica surveying instrument here.

About the author George Mylne

George has been a surveyor for over 13 years, working across a wide range of projects and industries. In this blog, he shares his experiences and information gathered from his time on mining, civil and surveying projects.

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