Been meaning to take a moment and do this for some time as it seems to come up in discussion now n then…Is the sensor in a cell phone accurate enough to use for taking angle measurements with the wicked edge???
The angle cube tested is the AccuRemote digital angle gauge, and it came with my older model WE system when I bought it 2nd hand. The data sheet lists the following:
Resolution: .05 degrees
Accuracy: +/- .2 degrees
Repeatability: .1 degree
I do have a science/engineering background but always find I will lean more to what I see n feel and these specs do seem to be in alignment with real world results Ive experienced with the angle cube.
For example I can have a set angle measured with the cube attached to a paddle, tilt or lift the paddle off the blade then replace it in the same position, and it will give a measurement usually within .05 degrees of the original measurement. Good enough for Government work!
I think the resolution being finer then the repeatability may be just confusing the matter as you can watch the number move when no variables have changed. Regardless the cube is accurate enough for me as Im not building a space shuttle. 😉
On to the totally not up to laboratory standards testing….First I placed the angle cube and the Galaxy S6 on the base and zero’d them both.
Then I attached the angle cube to the paddle and set the phone on top. Totally scientific…
Repeated same exact process with the Iphone 6. Zero’d them both…
Then repeated same as before.
Both the android and the iphone had a shown resolution of .1 degree and in the limited testing I did, they both gave repeatable results with minimal variations when returned to same set positions. The S6 seemed to track better value for value as I moved the rod around, but with a stated angle cube accuracy of +/- .2 degrees who can tell which is being more precise, the cube or the phone(kinda guessing phone)?
As far as display? There was no comparison, just download an inclinometer app n see for yourself the smooth scrolling color display. Whats not to love? The Angle cube seems like a 80’s throwback with its dark unlit LCD display and erratic .05 jumps.
As far as mounting? Thats where the cube wins, hands down(for me)….The magnets clamp it firmly to the paddle while both phones had buttons sticking out on the sides that made even placing them flush against a paddle, while balancing against a knife edge, while adjusting the angle almost impossible!
So can you use a phone instead of an angle cube? U bet. Is it easier to use a magnetic mounted angle cube? Totally. Which had a better and more readable display? The phones ofcourse. Would I love to see an Angle Cube with a color display like the phone? Id buy it in a heartbeat!
One last thing worth mentioning….Phones and diamond encrusted paddles dont play well together. I was using my Galaxy sIII to take pictures one day with a paddle swung down and landed on it, chipping the glass bezel and in short order the screen shattered. Using a $600 phone to do a $40 job can have its own price…. :S
Aloha,
Cliff
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