Compass surveying has some advantages and disadvantages that one need to know  before choosing the surveying type. Some of them are discussed below.
Advantages of Compass Survey
In compass surveying, the compass needs much less time in setting as it is very light and portable. The mechanism of the instrument is very easy. It is very simple to take bearing with the instrument. An error in the direction of one does not necessarily affect the other lines. To retrace old surveys it is very suitable.
Read more on: Geodetic Surveying Basics
Disadvantages of Compass Survey
The disadvantages of compass surveying includes that it is less precise and very often subject to errors due to the fact that the needle is not perfectly straight or needle is not sensitive. Sometimes the plane of sight is not vertical or the vertical hair being too thick or loose. Errors may also arise due to inaccurate leveling of the compass, imperfect sighting of the ranging rods and mistakes in recording bearings and lengths. There may be errors in compass surveying due to local attraction, variation of magnetic meridian and magnetic changes in the atmosphere.
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