Does anyone have a recommendation for an inclinometer, or similar such device for measuring the angle to the top of a distant building. I live in a hilly area with a lot of trees. Knowing the height to the ground at the base of the building isn’t very useful. Thanks in advance.
I’ve been reliably told that the instrument of choice for manual inclinometer readings amongst film location scouts is the Suunto Tandem: Suunto Tandem/360PC/360R G Clino/Compass - Precision instrument for professionals
It will give you the angle, which can be compared directly against other celestial target altitudes (e.g. Sun, Moon, Galactic Center etc.). You’ll need to read the distance off a map and then you generally infer the height from the relation height = distance × tan(angle of elevation).
Thank you.
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I fly drones quite a bit and need to know the height of buildings, trees and power lines. I use a Laser Tech TruPulse 200i laser rangefinder. It’s been amazing and works at both short and very long distances. You get angles to less than 0.2 degrees. It may be overkill but when you need solid information it provides it. Here’s a link to the manufacturer’s site. There are many retailer’s online selling them. TruPulse® 200i Laser Rangefinder | Laser Tech
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While not inexpensive (I think the LaserTech 200i is about $2000, and the 300i is $2200, the 300i adds azimuth (compass) readings. These i-models also add Bluetooth connectivity and HUD brightness controls.
In my utility life, these were the best general-purpose measurement tools I could find for my field engineers.
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