:good:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 20'; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 40'........
That cadence has set up permanent residence in my head.
:good: That's how I've always done it also.
Way back when I was working on my geology degree, we were taught the "two step" pace method. It was easier to keep count and not mess up, especially when we were pacing out the hog backs in central Wyoming.
Every other step is 5'. In my head, I count "and 5, and 10, etc.." Once I get to 100', it goes "1-5, 1-10, or 2-5, 2-10, etc.."
What I can't stand is if a client or someone else tries to talk to me while I'm pacing. It usually throws me off.
I laid a chain out and got my steps to be 33/100'. Each step is a pace for me.
I unbutton a pearl snap on my shirt per count like your finger curl. If it's a long way, then I start buttoning them up. Helps if I have to swat for wasps. 🙂
OK I'll bite.
I'm a short dago so I'm 20 easy paces per 50'
That's my method also.
Very few mistakes that way and you all ways know how far you are.
Must be a Scott pace. That is my name too ?. Same type of counting for me,
But how tall are you?
Interesting reading all the replies. It seems that those whose pace equals nearly 5 feet count paces while us tall blokes in the 32-33 steps per hundred count strides.
In college we were taught (and tested) on our pacing. Back then a pace was two steps. As I lead with my left foot one pace is every time my right foot comes down.
They never told us the length of a pace. As some of the others have pointed out, that will depend on the length your stride. I tend to take long strides so for me 18 and a smidge is 100 feet.
I wouldn't say you are doing it wrong. If your method works, keep using it. It is sort of like baseball players. There isn't one swing that will work for everyone. If you find one that fits you and you get good results, do it any way you wish. The key is the result, not the method used to get the result.
See you next month at the WV Convention.
Larry P
5, 10, 15, 20 ..... altho I start with my right foot, counting the 5's with my left foot. usually within a couple feet per hundred.
I didn't think I was wrong, just different. Nothing about that is unusual for a surveyor.
I think I might try the two step method, just for a change of pace. 😉
I convert the distance to varas and that is how many steps I take to get close and vice versa to see how far I've stepped.
pacing in the 19th century ...
“For a long period of time in the Austro-Hungarian Army the pace (1 pace = 0.75 meters) was used as the unit of length measurement. The range of the guns and rifles was determined in paces. This was the main reason that the 1:75,000 scale was adopted in 1872”
(Mapping of the Countries in Danubian and Adriatic Basins, Andrew M. Glusic, Army Map Service Technical Report No. 25, June 1959)
I have "pacing step" which 3 feet, a little longer than my normal stride.
Post jogged a memory. My first real surveying job during college, the surveyor I was working for had me learn to pace. I use it all the time to this day.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
pacing 2.5 ft step
So those of you who use a 2.5 foot step, how much did you have to alter your natural step and do you have any tricks to maintaining consistency, other than vaguely "by feel" ?
The books always say find your natural step, regardless of its length, and work with it. I am glad to know that I'm not the only one who "cheats" and goes for a more convenient number to calculate with.
Let's see, you want 73.6 feet and you get 34 steps to 100 ft. Darn, I left my slide rule in the truck.:pissed: That's a good argument for 2.5 ft steps and counting directly in feet if you can learn it.
I haven't practiced enough, though, to get the 1% accuracy that is supposedly the standard of skill.
pacing 2.5 ft step
>
> Let's see, you want 73.6 feet and you get 34 steps to 100 ft. Darn, I left my slide rule in the truck.:pissed: That's a good argument for 2.5 ft steps and counting directly in feet if you can learn it.
I don't have much problem pacing anything under 300 feet. [sarcasm]It's tough nailing down those tenths after about 500 feet though.[/sarcasm]B-)