Inclinometer App - Recommendations?

[Ferdinand]

Can anyone recommend an inclinometer app for my phone to help me measure gradients of pathways?

My application is not building as such, but measuring the accessibility of local footpaths, greenways for wheelchair and mobility aid access etc.

Some are diabolical - I came across one recently in the middle of the new Greenways around Salford / RHS Bridgewater which is an 8% slope down to a road, with a grit-over-base skiddy surface that means that progress in eg a wheelchair is difficutlt to control, and any attempt tp stop turns into an instant skid. I was able to measure this one via a photo of the fence rails and counting pixels, as they had a datum on the fenceposts when they built it. 

Accuracy I am after is not that great - I'm thinking +/- a degree or two. I need to be able to tell the difference confidently between say 1 in 8, 1 in 10, 1 in 12, 1 in 15 and 1 in 20.

Since I tend to survey such things using a cycle, I'm not up for a 1m or 2m long sprit level.

Thanks for any suggestions. I'm on Android at present.

Ferdinand

* Photos



 

[Russdl]

iPhones have a level as part of the IOS, I guess Android phones don’t?

 

Looks like ‘bubble level’ may do what you’re after (plus a bit of straight timber strapped to your crossbar to make an instant long-ish level). 
 

[SteamyTea]

1 minute ago, Russdl said:

I guess Android phones don’t

My cheap Android does.

 

Just go to the Play Store and download one 

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=spirit level&c=apps

[Adrian Walker]

You need to use your phone with a straight edge to get it accurate results. This can be anything about a metre long including a walking stick. 

[Gone West]

8 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

Since I tend to survey such things using a cycle, I'm not up for a 1m or 2m long sprit level.

What about 445mm long inclinometer strapped to the crossbar?

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Magnetic-Spirit-Inclinometer-Backlight/dp/B00A2B57AU

 

 

[Post and beam]

1 hour ago, Adrian Walker said:

straight edge to get it accurate results

If you want any kind of accuracy then a straight edge is essential. A phone is too small, regardless of the quality of the app.

[Mike]

The one I use (free of adverts) : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ridgidsoftwaresolutions.digitallevel

[Ferdinand]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I think my Android Phone has a facility (guessing a mercury bubble or something) in the hardware but not the software, but then I am about 4 versions of Android behind, so it may have one by now.

Straight edges are fairly doable tactically - eg lay it on a fence rail since rails are parallel to the ground and posts to the vertical to within a couple of degrees. Alternatively I have things like a lightweight monopod or a walking pole I can take around with me to be a straight edge.

Cheers.

[SimonD]

On 27/02/2024 at 00:03, Ferdinand said:

I need to be able to tell the difference confidently between say 1 in 8, 1 in 10, 1 in 12, 1 in 15 and 1 in 20.

 

If this is the case, I'd recommend getting a cheap green lazer level, a folding rule and a piece of string/rope with 1m and/or 0.5m markings on it. Set up the level, lay the string on the slope, unfold the folding rule and then walk away from the level and take measurements off the folding rule. Much better for distance work as in some case you might need to walk up to 20meters..

[saveasteading]

[Ferdinand]

This is the sort of thing I am out to measure.

This is a 1969 ish vintage footbridge over the M1 where it cuts through communities, which is the only non-motor-vehicle route for several miles. That slope in the middle is about 1 in 12 and 60m long.
 

 

[SteamyTea]

7 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

This is the sort of thing I am out to measure.

A simple app on the phone with measure that.

 

You can use Google Earth to measure distance and elevation.

https://support.google.com/earth/answer/148134?hl=en

[Ferdinand]

On 02/03/2024 at 05:11, SteamyTea said:

A simple app on the phone with measure that.

 

You can use Google Earth to measure distance and elevation.

https://support.google.com/earth/answer/148134?hl=en

 

Not having done that very much, though I regularly measure road corridor widths etc arguing that there is space for mobility tracks, how is this Google Earth technique affected by overhanging trees?

[SteamyTea]

2 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

how is this Google Earth technique affected by overhanging trees?

No idea.

Find a place you know and give it a go.