Right - this is starting to do my nut in now.

Installed pocket topo (v1.2 I think) on my Laptop (Vista  & .net compact framework 2.0 installed)

All seemed to work OK with the Calibration.

I take some survey shots on the DistoX, These get Bluetoothed over to pocket topo absolutely fine.

All I want to do is get these into a text file, so I can use them in survex.

I tried the obvious Menu>Export>Text...  but nothing happens (no 'save as' dialogue box), twiddle thumbs for a minute, nothing.
Then as soon as you click anywhere - you get PocketTopo(not responding) cue endless eggtimer > Taskmanager > end program > data lost > swearing.

I've tried highlighting the rows in pocket topo and using cntl C to copy , but get the same kind of error.



Tried looking around the web for hints/tips/documentation with no joy (I have the manual which doesn't offer any kind of worked examples or walkthroughs).
What am I doing wrong 

I thought the whole point of the disto X was prevent me having to use a pencil and notebook and then transcribe onto the computer.
I've taken to writing all the readings on a notepad in the cave, old school stylee, at least a note book doesn't 'crash' 

SamT said:

I take some survey shots on the DistoX, These get Bluetoothed over to pocket topo absolutely fine.
All I want to do is get these into a text file, so I can use them in survex.

Click to expand...

Have you save you "new cave" first? You should find it somewhere on your PocketPC and open it.

Just tried..

1 took some survey legs.
2 start pocket topo up on laptop.
3 these get bluetoothed over ok.
4 Menu>File>New Cave
5 "Save Changes?" ... click yes
6"PocketTopo(not responding) 

You say 'started PocketTopo on a laptop'. Did you really mean a laptop, or a PDA? Although PocketTopo appears to start up on a Windows computer, I have not managed to get it to work. But on a Windows Mobile PDA it does run fine?

The process you described sounds like it is the right one. The data appears on the data screen in PocketTopo, and then you can save it to a text file. You really need a PDA with use with the DistoX, because the real benefit of the system is sorting out the data underground on site as you go. So duff shots can be deleted (on the PDA) and repeated when errors taking readings occur. You can correctly join in branches for side passages too. If you wait until you get out of the cave and then try to download all the numbers it will be a real job to try and make sense of them all unless you took paper notes of all the numbers too, which defeats half the point.

That said, you can still survey the traditional paper and pencil way, noting down all readings underground in the notebook as you go. The DistoX still makes a great all in one tape/compass/clino. But the real magic is the automatic transfer of data to a computer and drawing the sketches as you go.

Righto.. so the problem is I'm using a laptop, not actually a PDA. 

Didn't realise that you actually had to fork out fork out for a PDA too. Doh.

I do have an old Palm kicking around upstairs - so msy play with Aguilara or what ever its called. All I'm interested in doing is getting the data from DistoX into survex (.svx file) without having to manually type it in.

I am certainly going to be using a notepad and pencil underground to write the shots down.

(note - the work I am doing is re-survey work and loop closures so no sketching needs to be done, I just need accurate readings between known stations to try and eliminate some errors that must have occured over the years).

Thanks Footleg  :bow:

Hi Sam,

Is there not an emulator program somewhere that will allow your pc to pretend to be a palm?

just a thought

Edit: Yes there is

Just found one here http://www.tucows.com/preview/261443 there are plenty more out there

Doesn't pocket topo only run under Windows CE, not on a palm?

SamT said:

I do have an old Palm kicking around upstairs - so msy play with Aguilara or what ever its called. All I'm interested in doing is getting the data from DistoX into survex (.svx file) without having to manually type it in.

Click to expand...

That should work fine for your needs. It is possibly even better, as Auriga (http://www.speleo.qc.ca/auriga/) does loop closure calculations in cave, so you immediately find out how good your loops are.

Auriga only runs on the Palm (PocketTopo only runs on Windows mobile). The DistoX is supported in the latest version of Auriga, provided your Palm has bluetooth. Otherwise you need to enter the data into Auriga manually, reading it off the DistoX screen.

To get the data out of Auriga, I export it as Compass format using the conduit software (link on Auriga site). This gives me a plain text file (but annoyingly converts all lengths to feet). I reformat this in Excel to convert back to metres and then cut and paste the data from my spreadsheet into Notepad and format it up as a Survex file.

The Auriga conduit does offer an export to vtopo (or something like that) which is a French program and should give plain text files with lengths in metres. But I have never managed to get that format to export for some reason.

Sam, my offer of help still stands. I'll be in the Wanted Inn on Wednesday evening. I'll take my Disto X and PDA with me. If you want to meet me and have a play feel free.

Had the same problem a couple of days ago on a laptop running Vista.

Got round it by copying the backup file created when PocketTopo crashed across to a machine running XP and then exported data to text file.  Haven't been able to fully test program in XP as that machine doesn't have bluetooth connection but the file export functions seem to work Ok.

Program works Ok on my ipaq, though I think the ability to configure PocketTopo so that the memory erase is turned off would be a plus in certain cases.  Either that or a seperate utility that simply drops the stored data onto the PDA/PC in a simple text format leaving the data stored in the DistoX memory.

Forgot to mention.  I did get PocketTopo to work in Vista by setting it to run in Windows 2000 compatibility mode.

Have just had our first training session with Pocket Topo on a PDA and a DistoX

All went swimmingly & the data is now sat on this PC ready for me to draw the maps in Therion.

Ok, it's my turn now!

I've gone through the process so far with no problems, however I'm having problems with the calibration aspect of pocket topo.

Bluetooth connection with PDA fine (com1)
Disto in CAL mode
Problem comes when I go Calibration/Menu/Start
Pocket topo tells me that the 'connection failed' even though the bluetooth manager is telling me that the connection is still ok. Bluetooth symbol is still flashing etc.

I've tried most things but failed so far...... any ideas?

How did you get the DistoX into CAL mode? I set my DistoX to CAL mode by selecting Start on the PDA calibration menu. Maybe if your DistoX is already in CAL mode it confuses the software?

I got the Disto into CAL mode by pressing the memory button ten times then go to units.

It couldn't be done via calibration start as it has 'apparently' got a connection?

my connection flips in and out.

One thing is to not have the disto too close to you pda, I know it sounds daft - but separating them by about 2 feet or more (rather than 1 inch) seems to make the blue tooth happier.

Also - I disabled the autoconnect in pocket topo, and just connect manually . Seems a bit more reliable.

What model of PDA are you using ??

Just to update for others who might encounter problems, it does appear that the PDA needs to use COM7 or COM8 to work. Moose had no joy with COM1 but has got it sorted now.

Further to footlegs comment above,

I spent about 3 hours last night trying to get Simon Brooks X to talk to his PDA. Went through the whole rigmarole. 

In the end it was by trial and error of working through all the COM ports within Pocket topo, that we hit on the fact that his PDA wanted COM6,

So - if your having trouble - work through the COM ports within Pocket Topo one at a time, (I suggest starting at 8 and working down).

The key thing is that you select the same COM port number in Pocket Topo as you specified in the Windows Mobile bluetooth settings when you associated your PDA with the DistoX. The other part of the puzzle is then 'which COM ports will work on your particular PDA?'

Ahh - but every time I've ever associated an X with a PDA (twice) you dont get to choose the COM port, you just search for device, punch in the PIN (0000) and save it. It has always then labelled it as DISTOX(COM1).
However, selecting COM1 in pocket topo then doesn't work. It was COM8 on my PDA, and COM6 on Simons.

Doesn't seem to be an option to choose a COM port, hence the trial and error approach.

Oh well, so long as folks know that if all else fails, just use trial and error and you should get there.