Reduction distance meter

The reduction distance meter ( RDS ) is an apparatus used in geodesy .

It is a distance meter for vertical staves . This theodolite was developed in the 1960s by the geodesy company Wild in Heerbrugg / Switzerland (now part of the Leica group). The robust and precise system was the first (still analog) step towards automated measurement , in that arithmetic processes were solved by mechanically controlled glass curves in the field of view of the telescope. The RDS was used by almost every geodesist and therefore sold tens of thousands of times in Western Europe alone. Then around 1990 the digital total stations began their triumphant advance.