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Units of measurement – Angles
Posted by alexandert on September 18, 2022 at 9:30 amI’m interested into to what most of you (from different countries) use as your main unit of measurement for angles?
I generally use DMS for most things but thinking of making the to switch to gradians.
I assume those in the USA use DMS or DD, most EU uses GON, but no idea for the countries outside of that.
RADAR replied 1 year, 7 months ago 18 Members · 40 Replies- 40 Replies
In the field the data collector is set to degrees, but in the office it all gets converted to grads. I could also collect in grads, but it really doesn’t matter since the first step in the office of reading the data into a database it gets converted.
In Greece we use Grads/Gons from the University to later at work. Maybe the decimal logic helps a lot to add or to substract . In school we used Degrees .
DMS of course in the US but I worked with an immigrant surveyor (not a term you hear every day) from Romania and he was used to gons. He was very bright and was able to make the switch to DMS. This was in the days of hand calculating things in the field and pulling tapes.
We really should be using radians ???? (only half kidding).
One thing that American surveyors should adopt from many other parts of the world is the use of azimuths instead of quadrants. One less thing to screw up.
- Posted by: @aliquot
One less thing to screw up.
And meters! Don’t forget meters!
@michigan-left please! Enough dividing by 3 and five thousand two hundred something. And what kind of modern society measures with fractions?
I??ve said it before. Metric is easy. Flipping back and forth between feet and metric day to day is a PITA.
Here in NZ we are DMS for angles and metric for distance but wish we were Gradians for angles, make flipping bearings so much easier!
- Posted by: @mark-mayer
Flipping back and forth between feet and metric day to day is a PITA.
Yeah, our DOT did metric for a stint.
Switching between International Meters and US Survey Meters was frustrating as $#@!
Surveying in metric was easy peasy. I hear the contractors had a rough time building the bridges in metric.
My favorite meters are US Survey Meters.
- Posted by: @michigan-leftPosted by: @aliquot
One less thing to screw up.
And meters! Don’t forget meters!
Meters are what you put money in! UK uses metres (and DMS) unless very old documents in chains and rods.
- Posted by: @chris-mills
Meters are what you put money in! UK uses metres
Maybe that’s why the UK had Brexit?
In the US, we put our $ in banks.
Banks seemed reasonable, but we’ll probably end up in the same boat.
Why do you keep your (very old) documents wrapped in chains?
Sounds barbaric…?
- Posted by: @chris-millsPosted by: @michigan-leftPosted by: @aliquot
One less thing to screw up.
And meters! Don’t forget meters!
Meters are what you put money in! UK uses metres (and DMS) unless very old documents in chains and rods.
Canada too, but in both there was a period where feet were used.
- Posted by: @michigan-left
My favorite meters are US Survey Meters.
Better then those pesky Albanian meters.
Before Canada went metric we had the infuriating use of differnt gallons, and all the volume measures defined as a part of a gallon across the border.
- Posted by: @michigan-left
Switching between International Meters and US Survey Meters was frustrating as $#@!
I can imagine, considering that there’s no such thing as US Survey Meters….out of curiosity, how did they come up with a conversion?
Personally, I have run with grads for angles when I get the chance – usually when I am in the field by myself. My brain works well with the 100-grad split between quadrants.
In my experience USA surveyors aren’t too keen on grads.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil Postman The foot is superior as a measurement tool. Especially for engineering and surveying.
I was a big advocate of changing till the DOT projects started rolling in. So glad that’s over with, hopefully never to return.
What was really illustrative was sitting in a big meeting with a room full of engineers from a number of companies and the relief they all expressed that the metric era was finally over. I figured they might have a different opinion than I did,,,,,,everyone was on the same page.
The change over didn’t go as planned.
- Posted by: @rover83
considering that there’s no such thing as US Survey Meters
$#@!, is it Monday, or are people just dense?
There most certainly is such a thing as International/US Survey Meters.
Everything you need to know is here: https://babylonbee.com/app-search
Or, for those less willing to work for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djTNUp4XIRo
BTW, “GET OFF MY LAWN!”
- Posted by: @mightymoe
The foot is superior as a measurement tool. Especially for engineering and surveying.
That makes no sense. Are surveyors in “metric countries” worse at measuring? Are their engineering projects more likely to have structural deficiencies?
Posted by: @mightymoeWhat was really illustrative was sitting in a big meeting with a room full of engineers from a number of companies and the relief they all expressed that the metric era was finally over. I figured they might have a different opinion than I did,,,,,,everyone was on the same page.
The change over didn’t go as planned.
That’s anecdotal, and not due to any inherent superiority in one measurement unit or another. That’s stubbornness, laziness and lack of adaptability. Which really doesn’t surprise me after nearly 20 years in this profession.
If an engineer or surveyor (or contractor for that matter) can’t work in metric, they’re in the wrong profession.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil Postman - Posted by: @mightymoe
The foot is superior as a measurement tool.
Apparently the NGS doesn’t agree.
Posted by: @mightymoeI figured they might have a different opinion than I did,,,,,,everyone was on the same page.
The change over didn’t go as planned.
This seemed to be the general consensus here too.
I still maintain that metric was the way to go.
Let’s be honest… How much control, corridor, aerial, gis, etc. work is FUBAR because people don’t understand metadata, can’t convert between metric and International/US Survey Feet, let alone get the correct “foot” for their state, or NAD27, or NAD83, etc.
Sometimes, the old ways were not always the wisest ways.
Belgium:
gons in our instruments
degrees on plans if needed but almost all is givenin coordinates so not much use for degrees.
DMS is only used to navigate on google earth and others.
Don’t know a use for radians
- Posted by: @beuckie
Don’t know a use for radians
“Maths”, as the Europeans say.
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