KAS Equipment Available for Members

Members might like to know about the various items of technical equipment that the Society owns, which are available for their use.

The Fieldwork Committee is responsible for this equipment and they will set any rules and restrictions on its use. Most of the items are available now, subject to checking on batteries etc:

• Leica TCR 405 total station (recently purchased). This is the instrument in the centre of the photograph. It can measure plan and height positions of points up to 3.5km distant, to 5mm accuracy using a prism reflector on a staff. Direct measurements without the reflector (for example to inaccessible points on a high wall or a church steeple) can be made up to 400m distant to 2mm accuracy. Measurements are made automatically at the press of a button. They are stored in the instrument and can be downloaded into a computer. I am still working up instructions for the Leica. A cash deposit will probably be required for its loan as it is quite an expensive instrument.
• Pentax PX-06D EDM theodolite (purchased). This is the instrument on the right of the photograph. Measurements can be made to points up to 1.4 km distant, to 5 mm accuracy, using a prism reflector on a staff. The operator has to read angles and distances manually and later type them into a computer spreadsheet program (which is provided), for calculation of point positions.
• Sokkisha TM 20D 20 second theodolite (donated). This is the instrument on the left of the photograph. It is smaller, lighter and less precise than the Leica and the Pentax but is intended to meet the needs of anyone who needs a theodolite for simple tasks such as setting out grids, but prefers to avoid the weight and complexity of the bigger instruments.
• Geoscan RM 4 soil resistivity meter (purchased) with equipment for setting out grids. This instrument does not log its own data. This has to be done by the operator(s), who must also subsequently type it into a computer. We supply a copy of the Snuffler program for interpretation of the results.
• Magellan Meridian handheld gps (purchased). This gps is accurate to around 2 to 4 metres on open ground, but does not work well in woodland. The Magellan can record its data and can, if required, download it to a computer via a 9 pin serial port. As serial ports are no longer standard, we will supply a suitable laptop and software. Please be aware that intentional degradation of the satellite signals ended in May 2000.
• Foster-Cambridge Introscope (donated). This is similar to a medical endoscope and is a 22mm-diameter telescope in a tube 2ft 6in long, extendable to 6ft 6in. It was used for inspecting gun barrels and ships’ boilers and has a built-in lighting system. Members may find it useful for looking into inaccessible cavities in old buildings, or possibly underground.

All this equipment is at the moment in my custody at Southfleet, though the usual custodian of the Geoscan will be Brian McNaughton at Hamstreet. For contact address see Arch. Cant. CXXI for 2001. Complex equipment does call for some existing knowledge by its users. Instruction sheets or manuals will be supplied for the Leica, Pentax, Geoscan and Magellan, but we will do what we can to help users completely new to surveying or resistivity. Hopefully we will eventually keep the equipment at a more central location in Kent.

Roger Cockett