Tony Rooke entering data

CUCC Expo Surveying Handbook

Base Camp: from muddy book to Survex plot

The original notes and sketches should be filed in a clearly marked envelope - don't take them caving again and don't leave them lying around to be "Gössered"!

The notes (all of them, including dates, personnel, calibration, LRUD, station details, etc.) should be filed away in a numbered wallet in the current surveys file. You might have to include a transcription if they are illegible (to other people; if you can't read them yourself, go back and do the survey again!). Even if you do this, never throw away the original notes.

The data should be typed into whichever computer is being used for the survey, again including all the notes, including station details and passage names (and make a backup copy to a floppy or another machine). It is absolutely essential that you also fill in details of which survey folder the notes are in, with index numbers.

Survex has its own documentation for the format of the data, though the template file and a look at someone else's data will quickly make this fairly clear. Survex has some very flexible data entry options, so there are a few extra guidelines to try to get some consistency in the way everyone uses it within this project.

• It will be easiest if you start from one of the existing template files, as these have lines to remind you to add various details - make sure you don't leave any blanks! Copy this to where you want to put your data before editing it (with any luck, the template should be on CD-ROM, so you can't trash it :-).

• Where to put your data: If in doubt, ASK! If it is a surface survey, it goes in the "surface" directory; if it is a file of fixed points (like GPS fixes, or map coordinates), it goes in the "fixedpts" directory; if it is a new cave on the plateau, put it in a new directory under "caves". Underground data for Steinbrückenhöhle goes in one of the subdirectories under caves/204; it may well be clear which one from what it links to, but if not, ask.

• What to call your survey: all your data should be inside a begin/end pair with a meaningful name. This need not be the same name as the file, but as a general rule it should be so unless there is a really good reason not to. On the other hand, if you have made two or three trips to the same cave, it can be a good idea to nest surveys in one file:

  File 2050-01.svx
  *begin 2050-01
      *export pt1.1 pt2.5 [...]
      *begin pt1
          [survey data from first trip]
      *end pt1
      *begin pt2
          [survey data from second trip]
      *end pt2
  *end 2050-01
  

  There is no restriction on the length of these names, but as they can be displayed in Aven, Tunnel and other such programs, it helps not to have anything too elaborate. Older versions of Survex required each prefix to be unique in its first eight characters, and this is not a bad guideline to follow.

• Every station should have a number within your survey even if it is an existing station to which you have connected. Any survey stations which you think can reliably be found again should be listed at the start of your survey file. This includes the name (within your survey) of any existing points you linked into. I have used lines like ;*export mysurvey.pt1.0 ; 2nd bolt at head of new pitch – this may or may not catch on as a standard.

At this stage, you have done enough to get a centre line for drawing up. If you aren't completely confident about the structure of the Austria data, or the Survex syntax of *equate and *export which can be rather cryptic for the uninitiated, it may be best not to try to link your survey to everything else so skip the next bit and read on from here.

However, if you need to see your survey in relation to the rest of the dataset:

• Don't put any *equate directives to other surveys into your file (or any survey legs which quote station names from other survey files). Instead, go to the file which *includes the other files in the same area. For example, if you have created a file Trivial.svx in the caves/204/deepsouth directory, go to the file deepsouth/deepsouth.svx, where you will find *include lines for each of the files, together with the *equate lines to connect them together. Add an include for your file, and *equate lines for each of your survey stations which is the same as one in another survey. If your survey connects to points in surveys in files in more than one directory then the *equates should go in the 204/204.svx file, but at this stage it is probably worth enlisting the help of someone who knows the structure of the data inside-out!
• You should now find that if you run Survex on one of the master files (all.svx, 204.svx, smk-system.svx, etc.) which includes the area of your new survey, it is linked in and will show up when you use the resultant .3d file in Aven. Using 204.svx should give info on how long and how deep the cave is now.
• Now you need to tell CVS to add your file to the master repository. This is very deep magic, and you should probably ask someone to show you how if you are not already familiar with CVS.

To make that all a bit more concrete, here is a fictitious example of a survey off Swings & Roundabouts in 204. Let's say that you went to explore a lead from the QM list numbered 2002-99, that the nearest survey station was listed as 204.allswings.swings5.2 and you found it successfully, and numbered it within your own survey as station 0. Then you might create the following file:

File wibble.svx
*begin wibble

; Locn:	Totes Gebirge, Austria - Loser/Augst-Eck Plateau (kataster group 1623)
; Cave:	Steinbruckenhöhle
*title "Wibbled by Goesser"
*date 2004.08.32 ;date the survey was done
*team Insts John Doe
*team Notes Jane Doe
*team Tape Jane Doe
 
; ref.:	2004 #999 ; the #number is on the clear pocket containing the original notes.

; ====== stations refindable to link to other surveys: ======

*export 0 ; list all exported survey points.

*calibrate tape 0	; +ve if tape was too short, -ve if too long
;calibration data 148,+23,147,+23.5,148,+23,329,-23,328,-23.5,328.5,-23

;from	to	tape	compass	clino	; remarks
1	p5	5.48	181	-27
[and the rest of your survey data]
6	5	5.66	-	DOWN

;stn	L	R	U	D	Desc
;1	0.7	0.4	0.3	0.5	RP top of boulder
[and the rest of the station details]
*end wibble

That lot would be typed by copying caves/204/template.svx to caves/204/swings/wibble.svx and then filling in the blanks and adding your data. If you are linking to the rest of the survey then in the file caves/204/swings/allswings.svx add the lines:

*include wibble
*equate wibble.0 swings5.2

Remember not to put surface data and underground data in the same file, even if they are part of one continuous survey. You need to create two files, with a defined station for the entrance, and a suitable equate in the file which includes both surface stuff and underground stuff.

Once you have your data typed in and checked, it must be run through the survey software (which on expo will be Survex) and a centre line printed, both for plan and for extended elevation. Measure the print out to check that it really has printed at the scale you wanted (typically 1:500), as this has sometimes caused problems in the past.

Now see the "Drawing it up" page.

• Expedition Handbook:
  • Expo Handbook Introduction
  • Surveying:
    • Surveying Overview and index of topics
    • What is a cave survey?
    • Why am I doing this?
    • Methods: underground
    • Pitfalls to avoid, hints'n'tips to make life easier
    • Methods: surface
    • Base Camp: getting it in to the computer
    • Base Camp: drawing it up, writing the description
  • Prospecting guide
  • Rescue guide
  • Rigging guide
  • Photography guide
• Index to info/topics pages
• Full Index to area 1623
  • Area/subarea descriptions
• Back to Expedition Intro page
• Back to CUCC Home page