Cavechat.org

Looking to find used DUSIs for sale.
Also, realizing there are amazing (amazingly expensive) all-in one versions such as the DISTOX, wondering if someone is working on a new version of the DUSI ?
The Digital Underground Survey Instrument design and software are all Open Source, and anyone could do what they wanted with it, so it is curious why nobody is trying to build and /or upgrade the design. When Shawn built these a few years back, he bought the parts in quantities of 50, and at $200/unit, he wasn't making much, if any, profit. It would be nice if the NSS or some large organization would buy-in to the project again.

Wvcaver2011 has one that at one time he wanted to sell. Don't know if he still does, since it's taking the new DistoX so long to come out. Give him a shout.

Why doesn't Shawn fix the broken stuff he sold?

The two most likely answers are:

A. Shawn is an irresponsible flake.

B. They can't be fixed.

I choose A...and B.

Do you have a broken DUSI that Shawn won't fix?
I can't say why he didn't, or doesn't. I can only imagine that it is not in his own best interest to do it, since he has no intention to continue to sell them.
Consider this, he did this for the benefit of the cavers- designing, programming, testing, and selling. I doubt he made all of his money back on the parts he bought, and I'm SURE he didn't pay himself back for the time he spent. Try this, go price all the parts online then tell me what figure you come back with. I'm sure it is more than $200 even though the prices have fallen since he did this. If not, I'm sure one can't make anything close to the same thing without busting out a few hundred hours of actual dedicated time. How much money is YOUR time worth?

I do agree that his design isn't cave-worthy. Even with the vinyl surround, the case is too fragile, not to mention the screen, it is impossible to water-proof without encasing it something else, it is too large, etc. All these design flaws are easy to fix if someone wanted to re-design it. This would be much easier than starting from scratch.

Also worth noting.
Shawn sold me his last DUSI V.1 unit, and at the time, he was in San Fransisco sailing. I asked him to add-in the cost of an extra large battery, and he didn't charge me for it. When it arrived, there was some minor damage from poor packaging/shipping, and I asked him if he could fix it. He offered to send me a replacement (the one unit he was going to keep for himself) because all his parts and tools were in storage in Colorado, and he didn't think he'd get back there for quite a while. I think it was an even trade, and I let it go (free big battery for one small blemish).
He seems to be a very, VERY fair person.

Both Luc La Blanc and Beat Heeb are actively involved and available. They are good examples of cavers making a valuable personal contribution to electronic cave survey. Auriga added on screen sketching in July 2011. PocketTopo was updated in August 2011.

Here is a link to the Auriga freeware page (Luc La Blanc):
http://www.speleo.qc.ca/auriga/

Here is a link to the Paperless Cave Survey page featuring PocketTopo free software (Beat Heeb):
http://paperless.bheeb.ch/

If the DUSI is an open project where are the manuals, design details, parts lists, and software? Can you host them and post a link?

I'm going to rig an external battery pack for the DUSI and see if it will work. The way things are going for me this will not happen until October or November so don't hold your breath for the results. Feel free to try it. The DUSI presents a 9 to 11 degree difference in azimuth between front and back shots and has a lot of sensitivity to yaw on inclination. These problems make it unusable. Maybe pulling the batteries outside the case, 3-4 feet away on a cord, will make a difference.

Crockett wrote:I'm going to rig an external battery pack for the DUSI and see if it will work. The way things are going for me this will not happen until October or November so don't hold your breath for the results. Feel free to try it. The DUSI presents a 9 to 11 degree difference in azimuth between front and back shots and has a lot of sensitivity to yaw on inclination. These problems make it unusable. Maybe pulling the batteries outside the case, 3-4 feet away on a cord, will make a difference.

Are you sure you need to do this? I have an extra large battery in my DUSI and it is calibrated well enough to only give a 0.5 degree difference in backsights. The battery is about the size of one used in a cell phone, and it is inside the case.
I would suggest you update the DUSI software and calibrate it according to the directions before building an external battery.

Here is a link to a website that sold the DUSI. It still has all the downloadable information that Shawn once posted on his website.

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8939

Thanks for the link. I had most of this information but it was scattered around.

Calibration is covered in the manuals (and videos) and that was done repeatedly when evaluating the DUSI. I haven't picked one up in over a year so I will need to refresh.

Can you provide any more information about updating the software? That may be the root of my problem.

Lynn Brucker is likely following this thread. I am wondering if she can add anything.

Some "used" DUSIs that were never actually used may come on the market but I am uncomfortable passing on a device that doesn't serve the intended purpose.

As for removing the battery the schematic seems to indicate that the device will run straight off USB power if the battery is not present. Even Walmart sells an external USB battery pack for cellphones that should work. I will ask an associate who builds boards professionally to take the battery out...but I will put this on hold pending software update and recalibration.

Thanks for the information and help with this. Since no devices like this are made in the US, and in fact not even in Switzerland now that the DistoX is out of production, maybe somebody should get in the business but I'm not sure it should be the NSS. There are several groups that might give a startup grant. I don't think anybody is going to make much money so your proposal for an open project may have the best chance. I would support such a project.

I have taken DUSIs apart and I have a couple that are working. I never got good results with the v2. Did get great results with the beta software under development for v2 installed in v1 (but the memory was smaller, so many functions were disabled to get it to fit). Sean says that algorithm is in the v2, so perhaps I'm just not getting it calibrated correctly. I have not revisited it in some time.

I emailed Sean a few weeks ago and got a reply - he was in Pago Pago on his sailboat. He is not able to work with magnetometers while on the boat - too much magnetic interference.

Sean started working on the DUSI after a friend took him cave surveying and he felt there was a better way. He was 19 years old when he developed the DUSI and living in the mountains near Boulder Colorado. He is something of a free spirit, who has learned to survive on not much. He then got a sailboat that needed a lot of work and he spent a lot of time getting it seaworthy (I hope). He is fair and generous, but he is easily distracted by new projects. I doubt he will ever get back to the DUSI - and would be happy to see someone take over what he started. The software is all archived on some site.

If Beat can resolve the issues with the new Leica Disto, that will be the way to go. It is waterproof and somewhat shockproof and has some nice advantages over the A3.

rlboyce wrote:Wvcaver2011 has one that at one time he wanted to sell. Don't know if he still does, since it's taking the new DistoX so long to come out. Give him a shout.

Haha, I love my DUSI!! It's not going anywhere but in the caves I survey. So much faster than Suuntos!! It throws fits sometimes but all in all, it works out well. I surveyed 730 feet of crawlway in about 9 hours. Most of the crawlway was belly crawl while some a couple hundred feet was breath out to go through crawlway. Not too bad of a trip. I've never had bad loop closures with the DUSI but perhaps that's all in the calibration.... I always calibrate within a cave and NEVER outside!! I've always had BAD errors outside. The DUSI is so sensitive that even the smallest magnetic anomally can throw it off. If you have a digital laser finder along on the trip, you must turn it off in order to get a good reading. The best part about the DUSI is that it tells you when there's a magnetic anomally. Digital really speeds things up... Now, if Beat Heeb would ever get the Disto X V2 up and running we would have a really good system going.