Theodolite

thingiverse

I need to accurately measure tree elevations around my backyard. I occasionally observe or photograph the night sky, and some planning programs like Stellarium, SkyTools4Imaging, and AstroPlanner allow me to configure the local horizon. I discovered a theodolite online (www.thingiverse.com/thing:2659331) and printed it, but there were some issues: The diameter of the azimuth disk was too close to my printer's limit, so the disk became misshapen, I wanted to mount the theodolite on a tripod, and I needed the azimuth direction to be given in degrees counting from north (0°) clockwise to the east direction (east is 90°, south 180°, and west 270°). Since I didn't have access to Blender, I had to redesign most parts of the theodolite, but I kept the original Theodolit-03-ohne-Support. This FreeCAD project is the result. You won't find the original part here; look for it at the original posting: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2659331. Some assembly is required, and some joins may need sanding or glue. Remember that the azimuth plates and elevation pivot must rotate. Adding a red-dot finder was an afterthought and isn't crucial to the project's purpose. You can omit the cradle and bearings and use only the upper structure and tube of the original design if you prefer. My finder has a mirror bracket attached: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3714851