- Therion - speleo.sk

DistoX2 zero distance reference points and end piece extension
by Bruce Mutton 28 Oct '18

28 Oct '18

OK, I figured it out. My mistake, to set the end piece extension, two actions are required. 1. Set the end piece zero offset using the FUNC button. 2. Toggle the 'back' reference from 'back of case' to 'back of end piece offset', using REF + FUNC (hold 2 seconds) The new distoX2 now works as expected, although I still need to calibrate it. This IS mentioned in the user manual. Bruce From: Therion <therion-bounces(a)speleo.sk> On Behalf Of Bruce Mutton via Therion Sent: Sunday, 28 October 2018 10:19 To: 'List for Therion users' <therion(a)speleo.sk> Cc: Bruce Mutton <bruce(a)tomo.co.nz> Subject: [Therion] DistoX2 zero distance reference points and end piece extension I have an older distoX2 and a new distoX2, and came to thinking about building a protective case. Naturally the topics of zero reference points and end piece extensions has come to mind. Rather belatedly I thought I would run a rudimentary test over a short ~250mm distance that I could measure with a steel ruler, just to check my understanding of the behaviour. It was not as I expected, and I have not found an explanation in any of the documentation. Maybe someone has similar experiences. The newer distoX2 is not yet calibrated, and they both have differing hardware and firmware versions, so either or both may be the cause of the differences. Perhaps a table is the best way to document what I have found. Disto Old New Hardware 1.0 1.1 Firmware 2.4 2.5 ID 2973 4036 End piece setting 0.012 m 0.060 m Reference toggle cycle End piece-front-tripod Back-front-tripod Comment End piece extension reference option is available End piece extension reference option is NOT available End piece disto - ruler comparison 267 - 265 mm works as expected N/A Back disto - ruler comparison N/A 253 - 312 mm end piece setting ignored, does not work as expected Front disto - ruler comparison 132 - 131 mm 131 - 131 mm Tripod disto - ruler comparison 245 - 243 mm 244 - 243 mm Calibrated Yes Not yet Apparent accuracy 1-2 mm 1 mm except with end piece One explanation could be that the end piece zero reference is not available and any end piece setting will be ignored until the distoX2 has been calibrated. I am hoping that is what the situation is, and it will be easy enough to test, once I get around to it. It does seem a bit odd however, as I assume the calibration is all about directions, and not distances. Thoughts? Bruce

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DistoX2 zero distance reference points and end piece extension
by Bruce Mutton 27 Oct '18

27 Oct '18

I have an older distoX2 and a new distoX2, and came to thinking about building a protective case. Naturally the topics of zero reference points and end piece extensions has come to mind. Rather belatedly I thought I would run a rudimentary test over a short ~250mm distance that I could measure with a steel ruler, just to check my understanding of the behaviour. It was not as I expected, and I have not found an explanation in any of the documentation. Maybe someone has similar experiences. The newer distoX2 is not yet calibrated, and they both have differing hardware and firmware versions, so either or both may be the cause of the differences. Perhaps a table is the best way to document what I have found. Disto Old New Hardware 1.0 1.1 Firmware 2.4 2.5 ID 2973 4036 End piece setting 0.012 m 0.060 m Reference toggle cycle End piece-front-tripod Back-front-tripod Comment End piece extension reference option is available End piece extension reference option is NOT available End piece disto - ruler comparison 267 - 265 mm works as expected N/A Back disto - ruler comparison N/A 253 - 312 mm end piece setting ignored, does not work as expected Front disto - ruler comparison 132 - 131 mm 131 - 131 mm Tripod disto - ruler comparison 245 - 243 mm 244 - 243 mm Calibrated Yes Not yet Apparent accuracy 1-2 mm 1 mm except with end piece One explanation could be that the end piece zero reference is not available and any end piece setting will be ignored until the distoX2 has been calibrated. I am hoping that is what the situation is, and it will be easy enough to test, once I get around to it. It does seem a bit odd however, as I assume the calibration is all about directions, and not distances. Thoughts? Bruce

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How to create Compass files
by Bill Gee 14 Oct '18

14 Oct '18

Hello everyone - Suggestions please! As a Linux user I have never tried using Compass. A week ago I discovered that Therion can create output files in Compass "PLT" format. I created a file and sent it to a friend who is a big Compass user. He reports that it will not import. To test, I created a Windows computer in VirtualBox and then installed Compass (version 5.10.1.23.267) on it. I confirmed my friend's observation. When I try to open the PLT file in the Compass viewer, it gives an error: "Invalid numeric input" When I try to open the file in the Compass editor, it give a different error: "1916543.04 is not a valid integer value" Looking at the PLT file with a Linux text editor shows no obvious problems. It appears to be a collection of GPS coordinates associated with survey stations. It is not a large file - about 36K bytes, which seems a bit small for a cave with almost 800 survey stations and about 15,000 feet (4.5 km) of passage. The line I used to generate the file is: export model -fmt compass -o BigCavernRanch.plt I tried adding "-enable all -wall-source all" to the compile line, but it made no difference. It did not even change the size of the file. I am using Therion version 5.4.1 on 64-bit Fedora 28. Thanks! -- Bill Gee

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Height numbers in square boxes
by Bill Gee 04 Oct '18

04 Oct '18

Hello everyone - A common convention around Missouri cave mapping is to indicate the height change of a floor step by enclosing the value in a square box. This is not the same as ceiling height which is enclosed in a circle or oval. I have been using the object "point height" for this. It works except there is nothing around the value. It just hangs out in space, so to speak. I used the "-d" option to dump all the MetaPost and TeX code. I find no references in any of the files to objects of type height or passage-height, which implies that these two objects are not generated by MetaPost. Is it possible to redefine the "point height" symbol so it draws a square box around the value? Thanks! -- Bill Gee

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boxed label
by Marco Corvi 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

hi bruce, this is a boxed u:label basically it gets the string as picture, its bounding box corners, and define the x and y to draw the box, then draw the string picture point 10 20 u:label -attr val 20 def p_u_label ( expr p,r,s,t ) = picture pic; pic := thelabel( ATTR_val, (0,0)) scaled s; pair q[]; numeric n[], m[], v; path bb; v := defaultscale; qO = ulcorner pic; q1 = lrcorner pic; nO := ypart q0 + 2.5 * v; n1 := ypart q1 - 1.5*v; m0 := xpart q0 - v; m1 := xpart q1 + 1.5*v; bb := (m0,n0) -- (m0,n1) -- (m1,n1) -- (m1,n0) -- cycle; draw bb rotated r shifted p; draw pic rotated r shifted p; enddef

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Re: [Therion] Height numbers in square boxes
by Bruce Mutton 24 Sep '18

24 Sep '18

Every time I have a good idea, I eventually realise why it will not work. Sigh... So I think the way forward may be to understand and build on the general point label definition.... vardef p_label@#(expr txt,pos,rot,mode) = if (mode=1) or (mode=7): interim labeloffset:=(u/8) fi; lab:=thelabel@#(txt, pos); if mode>1: pickup PenD fi; if mode=1: pickup pencircle scaled (u/6); drawdot(pos); process_label(pos,0); elseif mode=2: process_uplabel; elseif mode=3: process_downlabel; elseif mode=4: process_updownlabel; elseif mode=5: process_circledlabel; elseif mode=6: process_boxedlabel; elseif mode=7: process_label(pos,rot); % station name elseif mode=8: process_filledlabel(pos, rot); else: process_label(pos,rot); fi; enddef; Thomas Holder modified it to get custom ‘point altitude’ here https://therion.speleo.sk/wiki/metapost#label_and_text_examples It is interesting as I don’t think there is a ‘point altitude’ definition present in the Therion distribution, but Thomas has created one to use in conjunction with a modification of the p_label definition above. The situation may be similar for ‘point height’. And Stacho Mudrak once proposed another modification to enable any text label to be hidden, based on a user specified attribute. http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gis.therion/933/match=importance+scalin… In principle this approach would allow us to add a box or some other characteristic to any text label. It might be helpful to figure out what the mode settings refer to. Here are my deductions so far. mode = -1 % symbol does not or cannot have a text property mode = 0 % point label mode = 1 % point altitude mode = 2 % point passage-height +ve mode = 3 % point passage-height -ve mode = 4 % point passage-height both +ve and -ve mode = 5 % point passage-height unsigned mode = 6 % ?? (this is the so-called ‘boxed_label’) mode = 7 % point station-name, point height mode = 8 % ?? (this is the so-called ‘filled_label’) Missing entities include ‘remark’, ‘date’ If anyone knows better, please let me know. This bit of code that puts continuation text inside a coloured text box might also provide insight for a one-off solution as well. code metapost def p_continuation(expr pos,theta,sc,al) = %# draw default continuation symbol ie ? p_continuation_UIS(pos,theta,sc,al); %# if text attribute is set if known(ATTR__text) and picture(ATTR__text): %# set labeling color to light orange push_label_fill_color(1.0, 0.9, 0.8); %# draw filled label with text next to symbol ? p_label.urt(ATTR__text,(.5u,-.25u) transformed T,0.0,8); %# restore original labeling color pop_label_fill_color; fi; enddef; endcode Bruce -----Original Message----- From: Therion <therion-bounces(a)speleo.sk <mailto:therion-bounces@speleo.sk> > On Behalf Of Bruce Mutton via Therion Sent: Sunday, 23 September 2018 10:25 To: 'List for Therion users' <therion(a)speleo.sk <mailto:therion@speleo.sk> > Cc: Bruce Mutton <bruce(a)tomo.co.nz <mailto:bruce@tomo.co.nz> > Subject: Re: [Therion] Height numbers in square boxes Maybe we can use an approach that Thomas Holder demonstrated here <https://therion.speleo.sk/wiki/metapost#scale_dependant_visualization_of_sy…> https://therion.speleo.sk/wiki/metapost#scale_dependant_visualization_of_sy… def l_rockborder (expr p) = if abs(llcorner p - urcorner p) > u: l_rockborder_UIS(p); fi; enddef; Simply enclosing an existing metapost definition within a user customised metapost wrapper. In the case above, it is "if the symbol is big enough, draw it". What we want instead is, "draw the symbol, draw a box around it". I expect something like bbox should enable us to put a line around a symbol, regardless of whether it is a text or arbitrary linework. I'll leave it to someone else to explore... Bruce -----Original Message----- From: Therion < <mailto:therion-bounces@speleo.sk> therion-bounces(a)speleo.sk> On Behalf Of Andrew Atkinson via Therion Sent: Friday, 21 September 2018 09:16 To: <mailto:therion@speleo.sk> therion(a)speleo.sk Cc: Andrew Atkinson < <mailto:andrew@wotcc.org.uk> andrew(a)wotcc.org.uk> Subject: Re: [Therion] Height numbers in square boxes ... Yes I'm having similar problems to you defining a box, my skills are generally limited to copying existing definitions and adjusting them slightly. My guess is that it is not a metapost, it is tex as it is a label, in tex you can put a box round text with \fbox{4} but how or if you can use that in therion I do not know. It is a problem that is interesting me, as I think it is something that I might want to use. Andrew _______________________________________________ Therion mailing list <mailto:Therion@speleo.sk> Therion(a)speleo.sk <https://mailman.speleo.sk/listinfo/therion> https://mailman.speleo.sk/listinfo/therion

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DistoX2 waterproof case
by Bruce Mutton 29 Aug '18

29 Aug '18

While we are on the topic of DisoX2. Has anyone here tried these? https://www.facebook.com/DistoX2Case/ Any feedback? I have tried to contact Stanislav via the facebook page, but without any luck. I would like two, and I suspect there would be a market in New Zealand for at least few more. Regards Bruce

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Surface Contours
by kevin dixon 29 Aug '18

29 Aug '18

I have randomly distributed surface points from a Post Processed Kinematic GPS survey (accuracy ~10cm) and wish to calculate surface contours. The reason for doing this is to have detailed data for all the shakeholes. Would like to import the contours into Survex/Therion so these can be seen above the cave. Has anyone else done this and how ? My current thinking is to use the QGIS Contour tool to generate the contours and then import these into Survex/Therion as elevation strings using some intermediate data format yet to be decided. Thanks, Kevin

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extention at the rear of the Distox
by Bruce Mutton 28 Aug '18

28 Aug '18

Markus You might find the attached quick reference sheet helpful. Regarding adjustment of measurements in Therion, if you happen to have uncorrected disto measurements, you can use the calibrate statement to amend all measurements in a particular survey with a single short line. calibrate <quantity list> <zero error> [<scale>] ▷ set the instrument calibration. The measured value is calculated using the following formula: measured value = (read value - zero error) × scale. The supported quantities are the same as sd. ie length, tape, bearing, compass, gradient, clino, counter, depth, x, y, z, position, easting, dx, northing, dy, altitude, dz Bruce From: Therion <therion-bounces(a)speleo.sk> On Behalf Of Martin Sluka via Therion Sent: Wednesday, 29 August 2018 01:16 To: List for Therion users <therion(a)speleo.sk> Cc: Martin Sluka <martinsluka(a)mac.com> Subject: Re: [Therion] extention at the rear of the Distox Device Information The FUNC key can be used to show a sequence of information screens. FUNC key in idle mode shows the first screen. FUNC again navigates from one screen to the next. Use the SMART key to return to the previous screen. Screen 4: Endpiece Offset Shows the actual endpiece offset in mm (-128 - 127). To change the level first press the PLUS and MINUS keys for 2 seconds to allow editing. Then press the PLUS or MINUS key to change the value. Changing the offset is useful for self-made endpieces or other cases where a non-standard reference is used. M. 28. 8. 2018 v 14:48, Markus Boldt via Therion <therion(a)speleo.sk <mailto:therion@speleo.sk> >: Hi, Evaristo and Martin have showed extentions for the Distox. It is a very good Idea. But what is with the so extended length of the distance? Must I change all measurings by hand in the list of Pockettopo or Topodroid or is there a possibility to “say” that to the distox by default? Thanks for the answers. Regards Markus BTW: The meeting at Ebensee was very good and interesting for me as a “only” user. _______________________________________________ Therion mailing list <mailto:Therion@speleo.sk> Therion(a)speleo.sk <https://mailman.speleo.sk/listinfo/therion> https://mailman.speleo.sk/listinfo/therion

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extention at the rear of the Distox
by Markus Boldt 28 Aug '18

28 Aug '18

Hi, Evaristo and Martin have showed extentions for the Distox. It is a very good Idea. But what is with the so extended length of the distance? Must I change all measurings by hand in the list of Pockettopo or Topodroid or is there a possibility to "say" that to the distox by default? Thanks for the answers. Regards Markus BTW: The meeting at Ebensee was very good and interesting for me as a "only" user.

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