My group is potentially interested in buying a new digital survey device. What is the general consensus on the SAP6? Better/worse than a disto? Better worse than a BRIC5?
The BRIC is a superb bit of kit. Easy to use and calibrate, robust, and long battery life. I find it more user friendly than a converted Disto, but it is larger. It does cost an absolute fortune too...
The SAP devices are less robust and less finessed, but good considering they're a one-man design, development, and manufacturing setup. They're also about a quarter of the price!
The BRIC is a superb bit of kit. Easy to use and calibrate, robust, and long battery life. I find it more user friendly than a converted Disto, but it is larger. It does cost an absolute fortune too...
The SAP devices are less robust and less finessed, but good considering they're a one-man design, development, and manufacturing setup. They're also about a quarter of the price!
i would def say it’s not waterproof, water resistant, sure. The buttons on the top of the device are sealed from water using silicone grease only, so any prolonged water exposure would cause it to seep in. Same for the acrylic screen on the front.
I don't have any experience with either the BRIC or SAP, but I have a lot of experience with making, repairing and using the Distox2.
These are technical bits of kit and no matter how much you look after them, they are very likely to go wrong at some point. My suggestion would be to buy a product that has reasonably local support, so that it can be repaired easily.
So if you're over in the US, that would be the BRIC.
Got started Sunday with a BRIC4, around 400 meters of survey on a 5 hour trip. I like the style of the device, so I think I'll push for that. Thanks everybody!
I've tested it with an overnight immersion in a bucket - no water ingress, even when pressing the buttons. But I'd agree it's not waterproof, but water-resistant definitely. Would likely not survive going to any depth as the water pressure will likely overcome the grease. But should be fine with brief shallow immersions.