Using the America Paulin System Altimeter
Assembled by Devin Kouts, 18SEP03

I cast about one day on the internet for instructions regarding
the use of my newly acquired eBay purchase, a Paulin Systems
altimeter. To my amazement I could not Google up even one byte of
information on the subject. One knowledgeable fellow had posted
useful information to a discussion group however, and an email
to him resulted in the following.

Shared for the benefit of all Paulin altimeter users.

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"Note the little arm that swings between a + and a - on the top.
The large center knob should adjust this to exactly center.
Do it from the plus side. This adjusts the mechanism to whatever
the current barometric pressure is.

Then pull up on the small knob (on the big knob) and set the
elevation where the instrument is at the moment. This you have
to just know or find out from an official benchmark. (note, you
could also set it to zero and use your current location as the
datum, or zero elevation - D. Kouts)

Then you can go up or down with the instrument, and the small arm
will either move to the plus or minus side as you do so.

When you get to the point where you wish to know the elevation,
null out the little arm again to the mid-point (with the large
knob), and then re-adjust the needle with the small knob.
It should point to a new higher or lower elevation (if you went
up or down in hill). The difference in elevations between the original
setting and the new one, is how far you went up or down.

The instrument is only accurate during times of a steady barometer.
That's why two or more instruments are usually used, with one
being a `base' or reference instrument - so you can correct for any
atmospheric changes.

Following are the official Paulin instructions."

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GENERAL PROCEDURES IN READING THE
AMERICAN PAULIN SYSTEM ALTIMETER

The following procedures should be followed when reading the
American Paulin System Altimeter and when recording and computing
data. These procedures are used with each of the different methods
of barometric leveling and so are treated here rather than in the
discussion of each of the methods of leveling.

Procedure at the Base Station

(1) Allow time for the altimeter to adjust to the same
temperature throughout; approximately 10 minutes. (Especially
important where the altimeter has been kept in a heated place
overnight or is transported to base in a heated vehicle.) Use
care in selecting a site where temperatures on the top and
bottom of the altimeter will not vary greatly. For example:
Do not place the altimeter on a frozen surface while the top
is exposed to the direct rays of the sun. Do not place the
altimeter in direct sunlight at any time unless absolutely
necessary.

(2) Place the altimeter on the point of reference that has
been selected as the base station (benchmark or other point where
the elevation has been determined previously).

(3) Level the altimeter by means of the circular level on the
plastic window.

(4) Balance the altimeter by means of the Balance Indicator
needle.

A mirror is provided below the needle so that parallax in
reading can be avoided. The instrument is balanced by turning
the large Pointer Knob at the center of the face of the
altimeter. The following two basic procedures must be
followed to insure consistent results: (1) Always balance the
instrument from the positive (+) side of the window; (2) Make
certain the Balance Indicator needle covers its own image in
the mirror.

(5) After the altimeter has been balanced, the Pointer may be set
at the desired elevation (elevation of the base station) by raising
and turning the Reset Control knob. The knife edge of the Pointer
eliminates parallax when reading. View Pointer from directly
above so that the sides of the knife edge are not visible
when the Pointer is directly above the engraved elevation
mark.

Interpolations between the engraved marks indicating altitude are
made easily with the aid of a magnifying glass.

Make certain that operation of the Reset Control knob has not
disturbed the balance of the altimeter. It is, of course, not
necessary to reset the altimeter if the difference reading is
carried through the survey.

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