clinometer - compass/clinometer

[garry kidd]

was thinking of buying a clinometer but seen the prices of them lol then spotted compass/clinometers has any one used one of these devices are they used in the same way as normal clinometers and what are they like on accuracy

 

any help advice much appreciated

[Nat]

What for?

[garry kidd]

measuring tree heights

[AlexB]

Save your pennies and buy a vertex, sooo handy, no maths though very expensive. Can do a fair bit more!

[WeeDee]

Hi Gary, I'm not sure which compass you mean.

 

I have a Silva 15 compass that I use when mountaineering, it's got a clinometer on it but it wouldn't be great for your purposes.

 

To use this type, you hold the baseplate on its side, sight along the top edge, and then move your head to look a the 'angle from horizontal' reading on the compass' housing. This is OK when the compass is held against a ranging rod but as you move your head away from the compass, there is opportunity for the compass to move.

To take a reading - a small 'pendulum' falls to plumb inside the compass housing and you then read off the angle from plumb/horizontal on the side of the housing.

 

I'm not sure if this is of any use - but my compass wouldn't be suitable for accurate measurements in the field - especially when there are better alternatives.

[morten]

Consider getting a clinometer app for your smartphone. It's a LOT cheaper (some are free) and virtually as accurate (at least on the iPhone).

 

Search the appstore for "Clinometer".

 

For measuring heights and distances, I can specifically recommend:

 

How High or Far for iPhone, iPod touch (4th generation), iPad 2

 

 

App Store - seeLevel - visual clinometer