Charity Shop Bargain

One of these, for 50p

**LINK**

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/dr-dollars-clinometer-ex-british-coal-424773443

An elegant little device !

MichaelG.

when you can have a talking clinometer on your phone why would you waste 50p

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1. Because in the aftermath of nuclear-armageddon ‘phones won't work
2. Because it’s nice
3. Because it’s “mechanical engineering” … do you remember that ?

MichaelG.

That’s a very nice find Michael, I agree with your 1 to 3 list.

I would add that it saves putting expensive phones at risk or having dead batteries in electronic devices at the time of most need.

Edited By V8Eng on 01/03/2023 23:30:35

He was following his inclination!

👍🤙

I hope you were generous and gave more than 50p. You see it on FlogIt etc - bought for little and sold for lots - never heard of anyone going back to the shop and donating any more of their windfall.

Never seen one of those before, what a simple but clever idea, far more interesting than some app on a phone!

Could be handy when staggering home from the pub ?

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1. No likelihood of a ‘windfall’ …this was rescued from oblivion.
2. My relationship with various charities is not for public discussion.

MichaelG.

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P.S. __ Apologies if I gave the wrong impression by linking the WorthPoint page !

It was simply the first decent picture and description that I located.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 02/03/2023 09:21:42

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Thank you, Dave … Very well-put.

I shared it here in the hope that people would appreciate that.

MichaelG.

Can't agree with that! Mobile phones are packed full of amazing technology, and the way they work is as complicated as it gets. In contrast, Michael's inclinometer is the exactly the sort of bygone I buy when I see one, but there's nothing challenging in the way it works - anyone with a basic workshop could make one.

The code that interacts with the phones touch-screen, accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope is difficult to write, the only thing that makes it affordable is software can copied billions of times at almost zero cost.

Unlike the inclinometer, mobile phone technology has changed society world-wide and continues to do so. Surely that's interesting?

Dave

Much better than a smart phone, which I don't have!

Andrew.

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I am happy to see both sides of that ^^^

The ‘debate’ falls dead, because many of us are interested in BOTH how things were done, AND how things are done.

Dave’s pendulum investigation surely exemplifies that.

MichaelG.

I hate that Worthpoint site, they snaffle photo's off the web including Ebay and then want to charge a monthly fee to show you how much things sold for

Because it still works after you've dropped it in a puddle or the batteries have gone flat. Same reason I always took map and compass when out fell walking.

I can only agree that smartphones are amazing things, I use mine as a music tuner , photographic lightmeter, recording device, sat nav, and much more, but I have no idea how it all works, it's beyond me and my understanding, so I'm quite happy to accept it's clever and does what it does. But I do speak from the position of someone who still uses photographic film,a wind up watch and freely admits to being a dinosaur!.

But I did find Michaels device interesting, it's a simple to use, fairly robust,portable device that fits in the pocket and can survive life in a coal mine, not the best working environment for a complicated bit of electronic kit.

You wouldn't be allowed to take electronic kit down a coal mine

One thing that puzzles me about this inclinometer is the Worthpoint description connecting is use to underground coalmine railway systems.

My understanding of railway design is that locomotives can only work over a fairly limited range of gradients (except for rack or cable drawn) so why would a clinometer for mine use need to cover 90 degrees?

Ian P

As founding member of the dinosaur club Dave I invite you to join ! Somewhere on my travels I picked an ex military inclinometer 1917, and a railway starts to struggle at greater than 1:60 incline, even with sand boxes. Noel