In surveyor 2 I can’t find where to change units from metric to imperial.

[radionut44]

I have selected the brush tool, selected Ground Height and Set Height, and found where to select z Use height for brush, but unit is meters and I want inches. At z I found the drop down for Use Height for brush, but I can’t change it from 0, so I couldn't even set 1.37m in lieu of 54”.

 

[rhban]

Have you added the Quick Drive Rule to your session? You can make your game fixed metric there. Otherwise, in game, in drive, press G which will toggle between ancient and metric.

 

[rhban]

Have you added the Quick Drive Rule to your session? You can make your game fixed metric there. Otherwise, in game, in drive, press G which will toggle between ancient and metric.

Sorry, I misread: the Quck Drive Rule will also set old fashioned measures too. But I think you just need the G key,

 

[pware]

I have selected the brush tool, selected Ground Height and Set Height, and found where to select z Use height for brush, but unit is meters and I want inches. At z I found the drop down for Use Height for brush, but I can’t change it from 0, so I couldn't even set 1.37m in lieu of 54”.

Heights in Surveyor (both versions) are always metric.

Horizontal distances are also in metric as are all the tools (brush radius, height, x, y, z, etc) but you can use Imperial or Metric for rulers, speed signs (you have to use the metric speed signs for metric and the imperial speed signs for imperial), etc.

To change to Imperial, open the Surveyor Edit Menu (2nd from the left), select the Edit Route ... option and click the Imperial button. But, as stated above, this will NOT change tool measurements from metres to feet/yards.

In Surveyor 2.0 there is an Imperial Ruler as a spline object.

 

[Geedee55]

Hi Guys,
Further to this thread, if I am designing in HO scale, are these z value metre measurements in real scale?
For instance, if I grade a 100 inch section of track at a grade of 1% (1 in 100), the end of the track should finish at a z value of 1 inch in HO scale which should be 7.3 feet or 2.21 metres in real scale - correct?
Cheers Geoff

 

[pware]

Changing the Working Scale (e.g. from Real to HO) will only affect horizontal ruler measurement and the grid sizes.

The yellow grid lines in HO will be 0.1m apart instead of 10m in real scale.

The "z value" is the height and heights are always measured in metres.

With grades the units used (metric or imperial) and the working scale (real, HO, etc) are not important as all grades are expressed as a ratio percentage - 1% will be a 1m rise over a 100m, or a 1 inch rise over a 100 inch run regardless of whether you are using real or HO scale.

In HO scale a track that runs from one yellow grid line directly to the next will be 0.4 ft or 4.8 inches long. To give it a 1% grade its height would need to increase by 0.048 inches or about 0.1m (10cm). In metric real scale a 1% grade over 10m (one grid square) would also need a rise of 0.1m (10cm).

So as a rule of thumb, a rise of 0.1m (10cm) per grid square (assuming the shortest distance between the grid lines) regardless of the working scale is about a 1% grade.

PS: I just confirmed this by experimenting with a new HO working scale baseboard and

1. setting the Tool Options Grade value to 1%
2. selecting the Track object in the Placement Tool
3. laying a track from one yellow grid line to the next

The height of the endpoint on the end of the grade was 0.1m

The tip is to not worry about measuring height changes over set horizontal distances but to set the desired Grade in the Tool Options Palette regardless of whether you are using metric or imperial, or what working scale (real, HO, etc) you are using..