[NSRCA-discussion] Angular Measurements

[Ed Alt]

That looks like a really great tool Earl!  Gotta get me one.

Ed
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Earl Haury 
  To: General pattern discussion 
  Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 5:34 PM
  Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Angular Measurements


  After reading this thread I checked out the new version of the Aeroperfect meter. I had looked at the original - but there were several drawbacks, mostly the weight. The new version appeared to have the needed improvements, so I ordered one. Very quick delivery - ordered late Friday and it arrived today. Nicely constructed and the software works very well. The clamps provided for mounting to a control surface are a little aggressive for my liking - but they're standard clamps an can be replaced or modified.

  I just took a quick look at the elevator halves on Partners (dual servos). Raising the tail to get the surfaces near level eliminates the need for the clamps for checking "zero matching". Simply place the sensor on an elev half and click "zero" to zero the reading - move the sensor to the other elev half (roughly the same place) and read the offset, if any. Switching the sensor back & forth several times produced the same readings - gotta love it when an instrument actually repeats! (I measured the distance from the elev to the bench top with a digital caliper and confirmed that the elevators were in the same place.) Clamping the sensor to the surface allows one to measure up/down travels, again matching each half. 

  I've been setting elevator halves with a digital level (+- 0.1deg), this thing does +- 0.01deg and I saw an opportunity for a couple of clicks of sub-trim to improve the zero. I usually measure total travel with "Ivan's Magic Gadget", a short pointer and degree scale. The Aeroperfect indicated that I'd gotten the matching right, but indicated a half degree or so more travel than I noted with the pointers (reading between the lines).

  The unit has a built in "level" that can be assigned, as well as a manual zero for comparisons. The software has a couple of nice features, one can switch to large digits - should be great for us old guys or working out doors where a LCD screen can be hard to read. There's also a conversion algorithm for converting degrees to inches - simply input the width of the measured surface.

  So a nice tool that appears, at least, as accurate as other devices for the same purpose and it's very easy to use. Matt, thanks for asking the question.

  Earl



    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: rcmaster199 at aol.com 
    To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org 
    Sent: Friday, October 17, 2008 10:44 AM
    Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Angular Measurements


    Thanks Stuart. Looked pretty good from the magazine article however, as is often the case with such things, one has to account for the author's experience (unknown in this case)

    MattK



    -----Original Message-----
    From: Stuart Chale <schale at optonline.net>
    To: General pattern discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
    Sent: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:02 am
    Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Angular Measurements


    I didn't see any responses. I have the prior version of the aeroperfect meter. Single axis and accurate to .05 degrees I think. I like it a lot. The most accurate meter I have used for incidence and surface deflection. It is not a level. Surfaces can be compared to each other or a table surface but it does not check for being level. Readings are very repeatable. It would be nice if the sensing unit were a little lighter when attaching to movable surfaces. 
    Mine has the display with it. Not sure it can hook up to a laptop as the new one does. 
     
    Stuart 
     
    rcmaster199 at aol.com wrote: 
    > Has anyone used this gadget for measuring the various angles we measure? 
    > 
    > http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=1030 
    > 
    > MattK 
    > 
    > _______________________________________________ 
    > NSRCA-discussion mailing list 
    > NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org 
    > http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion 
    > 
    > 
    >  
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