Convert US Survey Foot to Cable
Convert us survey feet to cables instantly. 1 us survey foot = 0.0016457916 cable — use the live calculator, the exact formula, a conversion table and worked examples. Also check the Cable to US Survey Foot converter for the reverse conversion.
Units explained
US Survey Foot
The US Survey Foot is a legacy unit of length defined as exactly 1200/3937 meters (approximately 0.3048006 m). It differs from the modern international foot by about 2 parts per million.
Established in the United States by the Mendenhall Order of 1893, which defined the foot in terms of the meter as 1200/3937 m. The US continued using this value for surveying even after the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement standardized the international foot at exactly 0.3048 m.
Used in US land surveying, geodetic measurements, state plane coordinate systems, and legal land descriptions. The US Survey Foot was officially deprecated by NIST and NOAA effective December 31, 2022, with the international foot becoming the sole US standard. Legacy data and recorded land surveys still reference it.
Mendenhall Order of 1893 defined the foot as 1200/3937 m; persisted in US surveying after 1959; officially deprecated by NIST/NOAA as of December 31, 2022.
Cable
A cable is a nautical unit of length equal to one tenth of a nautical mile (exactly 185.2 m). It is used in maritime navigation for short-distance descriptions.
The cable derives from the historical length of a ship's anchor cable. Standardised at one tenth of an international nautical mile in 1929.
Cables are used in modern maritime navigation when describing short distances between vessels, anchoring depths, and harbor manoeuvres. Common in naval and yachting contexts.
Standardised at 1/10 nautical mile by the International Hydrographic Organization in 1929.
US Survey Foot to Cable conversion formula
Note: this conversion uses a generally accepted modern value. Historical and regional definitions of this unit varied across times and places.
The relationship between us survey feet and cables:
To convert us survey feet to cables, multiply the value in us survey feet by 0.0016457916. To reverse, multiply cables by 607.6103333333.
How to use this converter
Type a value into the calculator. The result in cables updates as you type. Tap a quick value, copy the result with one click, or use the swap arrow to jump straight to the Cable to US Survey Foot converter for the reverse direction.
Step-by-step: convert us survey feet to cables
- Write down the value in us survey feet (sft).
- Multiply that value by the factor 0.0016457916.
- The product is the equivalent value in cables (cable).
- To reverse, multiply the cable value by 607.6103333333.
Worked examples
Example 1 — Convert 1 sft to cable:
1 × 0.0016457916 = 0.0016457916 cable
Example 2 — Convert 100 sft to cable:
100 × 0.0016457916 = 0.1645791629 cable
Real-world example — Maritime depth conversion
A 10-us survey foot sounding depth converts cleanly into cables. Recreational divers and sailors translate between the two units whenever they read legacy charts against modern depth-sounder displays.
10 sft × 0.0016457916 = 0.0164579163 cable
Real-world example — Reference scenario in case of fallback
Conversion between human-scale length units is the everyday workflow of architecture, athletics, and apparel design — three of the most common contexts that span metric and imperial systems.
1 sft × 0.0016457916 = 0.0016457916 cable
Real-world example — Adult height conversion
A 1.8-us survey foot-tall person measures a value in cables that converts the height to the unit favoured by American forms, schools, or driver's licences. This is daily routine for anyone living between metric and imperial systems.
1.8 sft × 0.0016457916 = 0.0029624249 cable
US Survey Foot to Cable conversion table
Standard reference values for converting us survey feet to cables:
| US Survey Foot [sft] | Cable [cable] |
|---|---|
| 0.01 | 1.645792e-5 |
| 0.1 | 0.0001645792 |
| 1 | 0.0016457916 |
| 2 | 0.0032915833 |
| 3 | 0.0049373749 |
| 4 | 0.0065831665 |
| 5 | 0.0082289581 |
| 10 | 0.0164579163 |
| 20 | 0.0329158326 |
| 30 | 0.0493737489 |
| 40 | 0.0658316651 |
| 50 | 0.0822895814 |
| 100 | 0.1645791629 |
| 500 | 0.8228958143 |
| 1000 | 1.6457916285 |
Frequently asked questions
How many cables is 1 us survey foot?
How do I convert us survey feet to cables?
How do I convert cables back to us survey feet?
How many cables is 100 us survey feet?
Popular length unit conversions
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Metric / SI (7 units)
Imperial / US Customary (26 units)
Nautical (1 units)
Sources & references
Conversion factor (1 sft = 0.0016457916 cable) verified against the following authoritative sources:
- BIPM — The International System of Units (SI Brochure 9th ed.)
Official BIPM publication defining the seven SI base units (including the meter) and the rules for their use. The global authority on units of measurement.
- NIST — Guide to the SI
US National Institute of Standards and Technology reference covering the SI base and derived units with definitions and usage rules for US technical practice.
- NIST Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units
Detailed NIST guide covering exact conversion factors between SI and US customary units along with formatting and rounding conventions.
- NIST — Refinement of values for the yard and pound (Federal Register 1959)
The treaty (signed by US
- International Hydrographic Organization — Resolution on the Nautical Mile
International authority that standardised the nautical mile at exactly 1852 m in 1929 — the value adopted worldwide for sea and air navigation.