6 Tips to Improve Your Distance Measurement

 

Here are 6 ways to get maximum accuracy with your HipChain 2.0:

  1. Try not to wander off your line as you proceed along your bearing. The thread tends to average out deviations side to side and up and down, but it helps to be careful. 
  2. Watch out for wind effects. Crosswinds can pull out more thread than usual and a higher tension setting may be needed. Working upwind may have the same effect, while downwind the thread is carried along with you and it may lengthen the measure slightly. In these conditions, the more the thread is anchored by snagging on the trees you pass, the better.
  3. If you are working on a slope, your distances will have to be adjusted to plot them accurately on a map. 
  4. Tie the thread on somewhere ahead of where you start your measurement so that the thread is running well when you reset to zero to begin measuring.
  5. Check your thread tension regularly. Some substandard thread types produce a great deal of lint and this can build up in the tensioner. Waxed threads are also not recommended. When re-loading, check that the tensioner is free of lint buildups and is applying sufficient pressure on the thread so that the measuring wheel is gripped. 
  6. Do not wrap the measuring wheel with more than four passes of thread. This can cause a jerking as the thread pulls out and it will reduce accuracy.

Check that the roll is positioned properly. The base rim should be sitting properly in the grove in the lower cas and the narrow end of the cone should point towards the first eyelet when the case is closed. If it is out of alignment, the thread will jerk near the end of the roll from catching on the cone tip.

 

Hipchain 2.0 is designed from top to the bottom for distance measuring work in rough country. Hipchain measurement cannot be as precise as optical techniques, but it is much better suited to certain types of work, such as where line-of-sight is not possible. Also, the use of good quality, un-waxed thread is very important to the accuracy of this type of measuring.

Warranty and Service

These Fremaco products carry a 1 year warranty against defects in materials or workmanship. If you are returning a product to us for servicing, please read this page carefully.