Compass Rule Adjustment Calculator

Formula

The formula to calculate the Compass Rule Adjustment is:

\[ \text{Adjusted Measurement} = \text{Original Measurement} + (\text{Total Error} \cdot \frac{\text{Original Measurement}}{\text{Total of All Measurements}}) \]

Where:

Adjusted Measurement is the corrected measurement after applying the Compass Rule Adjustment (units of measurement)
Original Measurement is the initial recorded measurement before the adjustment (units of measurement)
Total Error is the sum of the discrepancies in the latitudes and departures, which should ideally be zero for a closed traverse (units of measurement)
Total of All Measurements is the sum of all original measurements in the traverse (units of measurement)

What is a Compass Rule Adjustment?

A Compass Rule Adjustment is a method used in surveying to correct linear measurements for errors due to inaccuracies in the measurement process. It is based on the principle that the sum of the latitudes (north-south measurements) and departures (east-west measurements) should be equal to zero for a closed traverse (a looped path that begins and ends at the same point). If these sums are not zero, it indicates an error in the measurements, which is then distributed proportionally across all the measurements to minimize the overall error. This adjustment helps to improve the accuracy of the survey data.