Cavechat.org

Has anyone seen or used this device? http://incavedigitalsurvey.com/board/Ya ... 1192707578

Mark Passerby, InCaveDigitalSurvey.com

That looks pretty nice except for the battery life. 6 hours is abysmal for a cave survey instrument, especially considering it uses a non-removeable rechargeable that can only be charged via USB. I'd prefer AA's any day; you can still use rechargeables to avoid consumables, but at least you get more than 6 hours. I'd like to see a zero added after that 6.

chrismc wrote:That looks pretty nice except for the battery life. 6 hours is abysmal for a cave survey instrument, especially considering it uses a non-removeable rechargeable that can only be charged via USB. I'd prefer AA's any day; you can still use rechargeables to avoid consumables, but at least you get more than 6 hours. I'd like to see a zero added after that 6.

You would think that the "6 Hour of Continuous Use" is something akin to how cell phones are rated - so many minutes of actual talk time versus so many minutes of standby time. If that is the case, 6 hours of actual measurment does not sounf too bad, aty least not to me.

one thing is for sure - this device has unquestionably the best name of anything ever devised for caving.


you CANNOT tell me that you wouldn't like to see this on the front of your survey notes:

joe blow - notes / sketch
jane doe - lead tape
john doe - suunto (frontsights)
(your name here) - SHETLAND ATTACK PONY (backsights)

xcathodex wrote:one thing is for sure - this device has unquestionably the best name of anything ever devised for caving.

Brilliant! The Brits have been discussing this thing on their caving forum as well.



(Picture is from http://shetlandattackpony.co.uk)

Here is a photo that Phil Underwood sent me today of the Pony at work surveying.



**Peter Ludwig has ordered one as well so we will be getting a firsthand report soon and I have spoken for one on order for December :)

Mark Passerby, InCaveDigitalSurvey.com

The SAP site is apparently down again.

http://www.shetlandattackpony.co.uk is back up again - I've had to move my servers over to a different provider as 1and1 were seriously messing me around.

chrismc: I agree that 6 hours battery life would be rubbish for a caving instrument - if it needed to be on all the time. However, this device only needs to be turned on for about 30 seconds per reading. When not in use, it consumes a tiny amount of current - I have calculated that it should take about 2 years to fully discharge the battery while in "standby"

One of these was used on a recent expedition to austria, where it was used most days without a recharge for 3 weeks. It came back with about 50% battery life remaining, and about 200 legs recorded.

Phil Underwood
(Shetland Attack Pony designer)
[/url]

Hi Phil - welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering about the "useful battery life" issue, and this new information certainly makes a big difference to the specs. That's a nice looking toy you've come up with... maybe one day I'll get a chance to play with it.

One thing's for sure - it's one of the coolest names ever for any caving gadget!

i think it's safe to say that quite a few American cavers will be watching the exchange rate on this one. twice as much as a Suunto Tandem is difficult. closer to an equivalent price, and that thing starts to look reeeaaal nice.

I should have my SAP(Shetland Attack Pony) in by "fingers crossed" Feb. 3 for use on a Zic trip...participants on that trip will be Jeff Bartlett, myself, Bob Kirk and Keith Sweeney. In addition we will be using the Disto D3 so should have reports on both after that trip.

Mark Passerby, Cavediggers.com

I am a little late for input on this post but since it was revived I will post anyway. If the power supply is inadequate you could always use one of these

it has a USB charging port on it. They only run around $50 I actually picked one up at christmas time for $25 new.

I just received my SAP(Shetland Attack Pony) and have posted some pics below. It is a sweet device and will make the
cave survey SOOOO much more comfortable for the instrument reader.

The fact that you can place the SAP directly on the station and hold at
any angle will also in my opinion give more consistent results over a
broader range of skill levels.
Total cost was about $580 U.S.
http://shetlandattackpony.co.uk/index.html
--
Mark Passerby, InCaveDigitalSurveying.com

Great... that's all I need, a new device that allows the rest of the survey team to sit around bored for twice as long while I finish the sketch!

Re: Shetland Attack Pony--Digital compass/clino for cave survey
by Lava on Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:21 am

Great... that's all I need, a new device that allows the rest of the survey team to sit around bored for twice as long while I finish the sketch!

We could probably start a new thread on this topic, but anyway.

You could always bring some extra books and have the crew draw cross sections at the stations, profile, and record the data. It helps one to stay focused on plan, decreases brain drain caused by switching tasks, and helps introduce other members of the team to keeping book. The survey of Carroll Cave in MO has benifitted greatly from this cross training. The majority of the participants are now capable of filling the bookman role and the crewmen are often picking out stations they would want if they were sketching.