Yesterday is picked up the message that the X2 module will be no longer available due to components no longer produced. So be carefull with your DistoX2

Hopefully there will be a replacement in the future.

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I just heard from Beat Heeb that his remaining stock of DistoX2 kits has been depleted and he will not be able to make any more kits because the bluetooth module is obsolete and unavailable. The Leica e7400x / x310 base unit has also been discontinued and is becoming somewhat harder to find. This unfortunately means that the DistoX2 has come to the end of its production lifespan. I strongly suggest that surveyors using the X2 platform take special care to prevent the devices from becoming damaged. We will continue to provide repair services, but may not be able to fix every problem. The X2 has been a truly revolutionary device and while this is a sad day, it's not a surprise, and it will be exciting to see what the future holds for the next generation of digital cave survey!"


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Very sad news - this is similar to what I heard from Beat around a month ago, but he was still trying to work out if he could make more. Rubbish that he's confirmed he cant make anymore .

B

Hmm I guess I should have bought one when I had the chance!

I'm sure we'll see an alternative sprout up pretty quickly - in the intervening 10+ years since the DistoX was first developed the world of amateur electronics has become much more accessible. You can now easily get your hands on knock-off laser distance meters (LDMs), Bluetooth LE prototyping boards, accelerometer and magnetometer breakout boards etc, each for less than ?25. And PCB printing is now much cheaper and more accessible than it once was.

I've been fiddling with microcontrollers for a while, and a couple of months ago I decided I'd try and make a DIY DistoX clone using cheap parts. It's never going to come close to the accuracy, robustness, or usefulness of the real thing but I am enjoying making it, and learning loads in the process. I'm not far off having something that I can take underground to test out (using the DistoX communications protocol for compatibility with existing apps). I'm quite sure that a concerted effort from a group/individual that doesn't have to learn everything as they go along can get a working replacement up pretty quickly.

Make it so you can press a different button to mark a 'plan', 'elevation' or 'cross-section' splay

Haha, I want to make it do the surveys itself without me having to leave the bar!

I realised this evening that the microcontroller I picked for this doesn't actually support Bluetooth Classic, only Bluetooth Low Energy, so I'm going to have to buy a new one if I want a compatible communication protocol, which I really do

I've been working on a replacement for the shetland attack pony for the last few years in my spare time. I've created some prototypes which are now working well; I'll be doing some production batches in the next few months. The new shetland attack pony v5 features a laser range finder and so should be equivalent to the DistoX in terms of capabilities. I'm still working on the bluetooth, but that should be available soon.

@aricooperdavis - the bluetooth module I'm looking at using is also BLE, so I'm planning on pushing some patches to sexytopo and topodroid to enable using BLE. Previously I have found that using bluetooth classic pulled so much current it affected the magnetometer readings!

Phil

That's great to hear! I think the long term future of these devices will be BLE rather than Classic, particularly as Apple devices are BLE compatible only. I can see why, at the time of the DistoX2 development, the decision was made to stick with Classic, but now seems like a good opportunity to get the ball rolling.

I have an early version of the Shetland Attack Pony v5 that will hopefully be getting tested extensively in the coming weeks...

Any more news on this alternative DistoX?

That looks very positive, well done Phil and anyone else involved. When will it be available to buy?