Bob-
On the calculator, I guess I'M a bit of a Luddite! I found a Texas Instruments
TI-30X IIS (pretty technical name for a <$20 calculator!) that had a two line
screen that it kept enough of the operation in view to not require additional
memory ON MY PART...;>)
Works fine, hit sine button, enter angle, add a end parenthesis, hit = button,
the sine of the angle reads out, hit the X button and the sine function turns
into "ansr", enter laser rangefinder distance, voila, first half of tree height
follow above steps again for bottom half, add the two, and there before
you lies a potential champion.
Next time you're in the "testing mode", buy a GRS Densitometer and see how far
off you guys's crown spread guesses (:>) have been! My NPS one lasted through
my retirement (still with them, they bought it!), despite rattling around in
glove boxes, ammo cans, truck seats, cruiser vests, etc.and still kept ticking
(well, hard to tick when there's no moving parts!).
-Don
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2009 21:24:32 +0000
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Clinometers FREE!
Don,
Thanks for the excellent input. I think my aging brain recalls Gary Beluzo
telling me about the clinometer capability. Pretty neat. Hey, you've got your
trusty Prostaff 440 and now an iPhone clinometer. There will be no stopping
you. I presume you have a good scientific calculator. Paul Jost is a good one
to know which models are easily programmable. That is probably the way to do
it. Some of the programmable calculators I've seen are good, but very, very
awkward to use. I use a Casio fx-115ES mathematical-scientific calculator. It
isn't programmable in the stored program sense, but is very sophisticated in it
functions and functionality. For example, I can evaluate definite integrals
with it. Way cool.
BTW, I hope our membership realizes that for Alaska, you da man. We're
attracting a pretty prestigious group of state-level champion tree program
coordinators:
BVP for Washington State
Scott Wade for PA
Will Fell for GA
Vic Shelburne for SC
These four come immediately to mind. There may be others who at least lurk
on the list. I think Beth once told me that the Illinois state coordinator is a
member of our list and benefits from our discussions. However, I would have
never thought of Alaska coming within the ENTS sphere. Knowing of your
considerable people skills, I hope you'll be able to attract others to ENTS.
Will and I have always seen ENTS as a behind the scenes player, helping out
state coordinators. If the states improve their individual programs, then
American Forests will be the beneficiary. I would like to see ENTS accepted by
AFs as a source of technical expertise to help sort out difficult measuring
situations and protocals. Colby Rucker and I once held that position as part of
an AF special committee on improving measurement methodology. Colby worked
hard, but became disillusioned when nothing happened. Maybe a new day will dawn
and AFs will insist on tighter standards. Certainly if they push the new Nikon
Forestry 550 and competing models with equivalent functionality, that would be
a big step forward. If coordinators are gencouraaged to use instrument that
measure tree height correctly, the die will be cast.
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: "DON BERTOLETTE" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2009 3:59:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [ENTS] Clinometers FREE!
Bob/ENTS-
Now I know that some of us on the forum are low tech Luddites and proud of it,
but for those who have selected iPhones for their cellular phone use, you may
be interested in a new application for iPhones.
About a month ago I was paging through the hundreds of applications for the
iPhone when I ran across CLINOMETER.
At that time, it cost me ninety-nine cents (and who is the person responsible
for removing the "cent" symbol from our keyboards?!?!) to download the 'app' to
the iPhone, I understand it's now free.
How does it work? Select the Clinometer ikon button from the main menu, and a
view not unlike the clinometer flashes to the screen (if you happened to be
holding it horizontal, say on a table, it turns into a 'bubble level'). There
are two control 'touch spots', one a locking mechanism, the other with an "i"
(information?) that provides controls on display and action.
It's a little awkward to operate the 'touch spot' without having a tactile
texture, but after several uses, the proximity is reasonably easy to locate.
Accuracy? Mine is enclosed in a clear plastic case, and I've carefully filed
two triangular "V's" to serve as "gun sights". This allows for surprisingly
accurate and precise angular measure (currently only offered in degree scale,
but I'd guess that the app designer would be only too happy to create a
'percent scale' for those wishing it).
Intended utility? I'm currently using it for measuring heights of prospective
champion trees for Alaska.
Reviews by other users? My nephew is an Air Force captain serving as a pilot
for C-180 cargo planes in Iraq...they have duct-taped the iPhone to the C-180
dashboard, and found it to have better "action" than the original military
guage, and as accurate.
Bottom line for me, I'd already purchased the iPhone, the application was
certainly worth the 'dollar download'!
-Don
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2009 18:55:21 +0000
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ENTS] More on the 550
ENTS,
This morning I did some tests on the 550's ability to shoot through clutter
relative to the tried and proven Prostaff 440. The table below shows shots
through a little clutter in the first 8 trials and considerable clutter in the
last 7. The R in the last column means I had to repeatedly shoot the target
with the 550 to get the longest return comparable to the 440. The 440 is still
the superior instrument when it comes to cutting through clutter.
In conducting the tests, I used the 550 on single point mode to make the
comparison. The single point mode allows me to repeatedly shoot the target and
test for higher points. The double point mode locks in on what it sees as the
target and requires the user to shoot the bottom of the tree to complete the
full height routine. It then returns you to the point where you can shoot the
crown again. This means you cana just point to the crown and shoot, point to
the base and shoot and be confident that the retured height is based on the
highest point. You have to probe for the highest point when clutter is in the
way.
My judgement is that the 550 is a very good and useful instrument, but in
the hands of novice, lots of trees will be mismeasured. You have to work harder
in clutter to get a reliable result.
440
550
180
181
91.5
91
115.5
115
124.5
127
R
120
120
142.5
144
R
129
128
117
116
130.5
132
R
139
139
R
84
84
R
114
114
R
141
140
R
141
144
R
63
64
R
Bob
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