Inclination Units

Inclination units are used to measure the slope or inclination of a shot.

1. Degrees. This is the most common unit of measure for the inclination angle. Each circle is divided into 360 degree units, however, the normal range of inclination values is between -90 and +90. Values beyond this range are illogical because inclinometers aren’t designed to measure beyond 90 degrees. Degrees may be entered as a whole integer and a decimal fraction.

2. Degrees and Minutes. Some inclinometers are calibrated in degrees and minutes. In this unit, each degree is divided into 60 smaller units called “minutes.” When entering degrees and minutes, you simply enter two numbers separated by a space, comma or any non-numerical value. Degrees should be entered as a whole integer between -90 and +90, with no fraction. Minutes should be entered as a whole integer with a decimal fraction between 0 and 59.99 minutes.

3. Percent Grade. This is a common unit of inclination for civil engineering, mining and construction. Some inclinometers (Suntos) have a scale calibrated in Percent Grade. Percent Grade is actually a measure of "Rise over Run." In other words, it measures how much "rise" there is in every unit of horizontal movement ("run"). For example if you go up one meter for every meter of horizontal distance, you get 100% rise for every meter of run. As a result, 45 degrees of inclination is equal to 100% Grade. At 90 degrees inclination, the percent grade is infinite. This causes a problem with vertical shots because there is no way of entering infinity. The Editor solves this problem by converting any value over 10000% to 90%. You can also enter the letter “V” to specify a 90 degree shot.

4. Depth Gauge. When you are survey underwater, depth gauge readings replace the inclinometer measurements. See, the Depth Gauge section for more information.