INSTRUMENTS

FOR
MEASURING DISTANCES
Chain
The chain is composed of 100 or 150 pieces of steel /iron

which are also called links. The ends of each link are bent

into a loop and connected together by means of three oval

rings which give flexibility to the chain. The joints of the

links are usually open, but in the best chains they are

mostly welded.
 The ends of the chain are provided with brass
handless for dragging the chain on the ground, so
that the chain can be turned round without
twisting. The out side of the handle is the zero
point or the end point of the chain and the length
of the chain is measured from the out side of the
one handle to the out side of the other. The length
of the link is the distance between the centers of
the two consecutive / continuous middle rings.
 To facilitate reading of chain, every tenth

link from each end of the chain is marked

by a brass tag. The centre of the chain or

50th link is marked by circular tag.

 KINDS OF CHAIN
(1) Gunter’s chain:
It is 22 yards or 66 feet long and is divided into 100 links; the
length of each link is 0.66 feet or 7.92 inches. Formerly it was
mainly used in land surveying. It is very convenient for
measuring distances in miles and furlongs and for measuring
land when the unit of area is an acre on account of its simple
relation to the mile and acre.
10 Gunter’s chain = 01 furlong
80 Gunter’s chain = 01 mile
10 Square Gunter’s chain = 01 acre
(2) Revenue Chain:

• This chain is commonly used for

measuring fields in cadastral survey. It is 33

feet long and is divided into 16 links and

each link is 2.0625 feet long.

(3) Engineering or Engineer’s Chain:

The engineering chain is 100 feet long and is

divided into 100 links; each link is 01 feet long.
It is used in all engineering surveys. When long
links are measured, it is more accurate than the
Gunter’s chain, because of its greater length.
The distances measured with the engineer’s
chain are recorded in feet and decimals.
(4) Meter Chain:
Those countries in which the meter is the
unit of length, chains of 10, 20 and 25
meters are commonly used. The 20-meter
chain which is in most common chain use is
divided into 100 links, each 2 decimeters in
length and the brass tags are attached at
every two meters from each end.