Shetland Attack Pony 5 now available

furbrain

New member
Hi All,

Just to let you know that I am now selling the Shetland Attack Pony v5 at www.shetlandattackpony.co.uk This comes with a laser range finder, and optional bluetooth module.

Compass and clino accuracy are < 1 degree, 1mm accuracy on distance reading.

The bluetooth module is supported by SexyTopo (and should be fairly simple for other paperless surveying systems to use)

Calibration can be done in about 2-3 minutes in the cave - no other equipment is needed.

Happy to answer any questions.

Phil
 

Cavematt

Well-known member
I remember when we started surveying Excalibur Pot in 2007, lying in all those sharp, wet beddings with standard sighting instruments, and the thought of nearly 2km (at the time) more to do! Then we heard about the conveniently timed first-generation Shetland Attack Pony which saved us many hours of misery. The device was pioneering and did the job excellently (this was before DistoX became a thing). Great to see the distance measurement now integrated in this latest version.

A very nice alternative to the DistoX! Great stuff.

What?s the waterproofness like? I guess not waterproof, but reasonably splash-resistant?
 

furbrain

New member
Yes, it is pretty Splashproof, but will likely not survive prolonged immersion. The button and usb connector are both waterproof.
 

Badlad

Administrator
Staff member
I loved my first SAP until it went out of calibration.  I certainly couldn't understand how the calibration procedure worked, none of the survey geeks I gave it to could do it either so it never got used again.  I hope the V5 has a simple procedure that we can all understand. 

Well done for producing a new version though
 
(and should be fairly simple for other paperless surveying systems to use)

Can you expand on "simple" will it work with PocketTopo and TopoDroid.

Looks good and well done for producing this at what seems a reasonable cost. I shall place an order ASAP.
 

furbrain

New member
"Simple" as in should be fairly easy for the programmer to change the program to recognise and talk to the SAP. It uses the same protocol as the distox, so should be fairly straightforwards. But not simple if you don't have access to the source code!

I'm in discussion with marco corvi re TopoDroid. I'll give Beat Heeb a ping for PocketTopo, but given the SAP is a competitor to his device, not sure whether he'd want to change his software...

Phil
 

Duncan Price

Active member
All I need now is a non-magnetic underwater housing so I can use it for cave diving surveys like we did with the DistoX.
 

furbrain

New member
Silly question here, but would a ziplock bag work? Or would the pressure be too high? The case is pretty tough, but you might have problems with the button getting pressed by the pressure.
 

Duncan Price

Active member
furbrain said:
Silly question here, but would a ziplock bag work? Or would the pressure be too high? The case is pretty tough, but you might have problems with the button getting pressed by the pressure.

Gavin Newman machined a housing out of aluminium that had been pressure tested equivalent to some ridiculous depth with windows for the display and rangefinder and a single spring loaded button to operate the DistoX.  We used it to survey underwater in Wookey Hole as part of the tunnel to 20 project.  In good visibility the rangefinder worked as well though you need to take into account the refractive index of water and adjust the indicated distance.

I started off with the original Shetland Attack Pony and did a lot of stuff with it until moving to the DistoX.  Will see how the new SAP performs.
 

furbrain

New member
30-50m depending on conditions, occasionally shorter if very dark rock - can use a surveying book sometimes to provide a more reflective surface

Phil
 

mrodoc

Well-known member
I've decided to get one. Provided you choose the right cave just the kind of activity for an OAP like me to take up.
 

furbrain

New member
Aaand - they're all gone. Bloody hell. Sorry folks, I only got 10 made up with this batch, and I wasn't expecting this much demand. Next lot of parts has been ordered (20 this time), and I'm hopeful that I should be able to sell more in the new year, possibly sooner. You can use the website www.shetlandattackpony.co.uk to pre-order for the next batch.

Phil
 
furbrain said:
Aaand - they're all gone. Bloody hell. Sorry folks, I only got 10 made up with this batch, and I wasn't expecting this much demand. Next lot of parts has been ordered (20 this time), and I'm hopeful that I should be able to sell more in the new year, possibly sooner.

Phil

That would explain why the website suddenly stopped playing halfway though ordering. I knew I should have done it earlier!  o_O Can we pre order from the next batch, that might give you some idea how many to make. I suspect they will be popular.

Edit: Website working again and order placed.
 

furbrain

New member
Argh, crossed posts - I'd just edited the previous one to explain, yes you can pre-order from the website.

Phil
 

Fishes

New member
Great to hear that they are in production, even if I missed the first batch. I have one on order.

Can anyone suggest a suitable Bluetooth device to use. I prefer something with a larger screen as it makes sketching easier.
 

Rob

Well-known member
Fishes said:
...Can anyone suggest a suitable Bluetooth device to use. I prefer something with a larger screen as it makes sketching easier.
Samsung Note range is excellent IMO as it's still small enough to fit in a pocket, but comes with the S Pen which is needed for accurate drawing. You can also get pretty rugged cases for them for about ?15.

Obvs you don't want to buy a new one(!), the Note 4 is often a good price on eBay (one's on there currently for ?59).
 
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