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by Peter Brett - December 2005
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I am sure that there are many of us who have seen the Trumeter being used without realizing quite what it is. Certainly at school I remember using trundle wheels to measure distances and not being terribly impressed with the results. That, I admit, probably had a lot more to do with our inept handling of the wheels..
But this is a real staple of a product. It does a simple job and it does it well. It has more than enough sophistication to make that job easy to do, and yet there is a real satisfaction in accomplishing the task so easily and so well. That is indeed a tribute to the Trumeter.
The tool is made basically of light orange ABS and aluminium. It consists of a wheel with a rubberized rim that is exactly 1 metre in circumference. Holding it by the handle, the user guides it forward along the path to be measured and a digital electronic counter measures the distance covered, to the last centimetre if necessary. What is more, if you need to go back a bit the tool “uncounts” the distance back. Clever or what? In order to avoid gross inaccuracies creeping into the measurements if you use it on muddy soil, the Trumeter has a built-in mudscraper that clears the wheel of debris as it rotates. A pointer facing directly to the ground can be set at a particular spot on the circumference of the wheel so that you can find your starting point should it be necessary.
A lightweight aluminium handle shaft is cleverly concealed in the body of the tool for compactness when stored, and can be extended to one of three stopped positions so that the user can choose an ideal height at which to work.
I liked the handy little stand under the Trumeter, it allows you to stop and take a reading and presents the handle so that you can easily take off to do your next set of measurements.
Even for my dwindling eyesight, the digital display was easy to read as you walked along. The pushbuttons for operating the readout are simplicity itself. There are a number of failsafes built in. For example, if you wanted to lock in your reading to guard against the wheel moving in any way, you simply press the Start/stop button. Then when you want to go further you press the button again and it reads from where you left off. You have to hold the reset button on for three seconds if you want to return to the counter to zero, so it is unlikely that you will lose a measurement accidentally. For working in wonderful dark winter conditions such as we have at the moment, an effective backlight enables readings to be made.
Just like your car, you also have a “trip”&Mac226; facility that enables you to take individual distance readings as part of a whole, and then you can record your total distance at the end by pressing the button again.
It seemed as though any of the objections I might have had about the Trumeter as a measuring instrument had been taken care of by the experience and savvy of the makers. For example, the leftover distance should the measuring wheel butt up against a wall at the end of a run is marked exactly on the body as 61/4 inches or 16cms. So you can’t even complain about that!
The particular model I was sent had only metric measurements on the display, but a counter is available that will convert between Metric and Imperial measurements at the touch of a button.
To underline the Trumeter’s practicality, it has a number of features that make it a tool fit for purpose. It is sold as being weather and moisture proof and the battery is guaranteed to last for a minimum of five years. Being made of plastic and aluminium, rust is not a problem either.
OK, so its not a complicated power tool, but the Trumeter comes with a three year guarantee against defects. Since it could expect to be given a hard working life, this is not ungenerous.
So that it doesn’t have to be flung unprotected into the back of a van or in a boot, the Trumeter is supplied with a zipped nylon case in which it can be
stored. The case has a shoulder strap for ease of carrying. All this seems to prove my point that everything that could have been thought of to make this tool practical and accurate has been done. It is complete. ((No doubt, as I write this, some R and D person is busy adding further features to it) Nevertheless, for surveyors, builders, estimators and even ambitious maths teachers, the Trumeter is a very good way of getting your distances measured accurately and easily. A very useful addition to a toolkit.
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Airstream Communications