Video: 12 New Caves and Over 8000 Feet of New Line!

[RebreatherPro.com]

Brian Kakuk, Marc Laukien and Jill Heinerth have just returned from the Blue Canyons Expedition. Here is a video sample and don't forget that Brian will be at the NSS-CDS conference this weekend with a full report!

Click here for the video.

[phillip1]

very cool video, nothing to say about that other than...wow coool!!!.
I have a question, I noticed you are using a Suunto Vyper as a survey compass, I was always told that was not good enough to survey however I have a really hard time reading small numbers on a compass and if you think it is precise enough then I may start using one too as the numbers are way easier to read. I in no way mean this as a criticism at all just that if this works it would make my life so much easier.

Thanks

[Greenwood_60]

...using a Suunto Vyper as a survey compass, I was always told that was not good enough to survey...

I am sure it all depends on how accurate you need your map to be. Considering that was a first penetration, in a tidally influenced siphon, I can't blame her for doing anything she can to get out quicker!

Awesome video, BTW. I noticed the modified housing on the GoPro... how's that working out?

[phillip1]

Unfortunately that is kind of what I thought, I know I asked this before on another thread but does anyone know of any precise but large or even digital screen compass that could be used for surveying, like a really precise Suunto type thing.

[jlillest]

Unfortunately that is kind of what I thought, I know I asked this before on another thread but does anyone know of any precise but large or even digital screen compass that could be used for surveying, like a really precise Suunto type thing.

Philip,

Check out some of the posts in the James Hurley Survey section of CDF about precision vs. accuracy of dive survey. There's a lot of great cave diver cartographers on this forum and they have contributed a lot of good discussion on the topic.

The short answer to your question is that there's so much going against us as divers in terms of surveying that using a digital compass is more than adequate for the types of maps that we typically make. The large read-out is a great advantage over a standard, oil-filled orienteering compass.

My personal opinion is that the only way we're going to increase the overall accuracy of a dive maps is with an all-digital device (distance, depth, azimuth) similar to the devices that dry cavers are using (eg SAP, DistoX). The Brits (CDG) cobbled together a device that could do this for their deep dives in Pozo Azul although it required them to be moving at a constant speed for it to work correctly.

-Jon

[Ben M]

I've tried the Vyper out and I don't use it for survey as I couldn't trust it. I found it needed to be recalibrated often, but fortunately this is easy to do. I recalibrate it before taking it in the water and then check a few azimuths to make sure it is reading correctly. It is also easy to get an inaccurate reading if there is any metal or a magnet nearby. Hold a orienteering compass or metal object near and watch the readings take off.

[RebreatherPro.com]

Hi guys,
I have actually been using the Vyper Air for comparative surveys for over six months and found the accuracy to be excellent. I have been double checking with a standard survey compass and found it to be easier to read, accurate and much, much faster. My tired old eyes really need the help!
It handles tilt well and I can't even begin to get 1 to 2 degree accuracy on a standard compass. I can on the Suunto computer.
Jill

[underwaterjedi]

Wow great video!

[phillip1]

Hi guys,
I have actually been using the Vyper Air for comparative surveys for over six months and found the accuracy to be excellent. I have been double checking with a standard survey compass and found it to be easier to read, accurate and much, much faster. My tired old eyes really need the help!
It handles tilt well and I can't even begin to get 1 to 2 degree accuracy on a standard compass. I can on the Suunto computer.
Jill

That is really cool, I will use that I really have a hard time reading small numbers.

[matt_w]

Great video. Congratulations on such a fruitful trip.