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Odd hobbies and the toys they require

 
 
charrellz
04:36 / 27.05.05
I've recently gotten into urban exploration, and my buddy and I do quite a bit of draining now. We're attempting to properly map the areas we explore, but we're not that great at judging distance, etc. What we need, is a GPS thingie, but we don't know if they work underground (no open view to sky, no radio signals, no nothin'). Any ideas?

Feel free to spin off into more random device questions.
 
 
lord henry strikes back
08:11 / 27.05.05
Well I know nothing about urban exploration, but here's my two pennies worth anyway. I don't know how well GPS works underground, from what I've read it can be unreliable for all sorts of reasons, so maybe another solution would be a rangefinder. They won't tell you where you are on the planet in a absolute sense but they can give you an accurate distance between points A and B (and to a much higher degree of accuracy than GPS as far as I know). You can pick them up for around £200 ($350ish, I'm not sure where you're posting from). They are mostly used by photographers and golfers, but they should do the job. Maybe you could combine this with GPS, finding your location when you can get a GPS signal and then using this as the basis for you range measurements. Anyway, that's the first thing that popped into my head.
 
 
charrellz
14:10 / 27.05.05
Sounds like a good plan. Also sounds like I need a better paying job. Thanks for the advice.
 
 
JOY NO WRY
16:51 / 27.05.05
Sounds like a good idea, but from personal experience I'd say the best peice of EQ for UE is a crash helmet. Somehow, someway, in every abandoned asylum, trainshed, quarry, factory and chapel, there is a big lump of something planning to try and fall on your head.
 
 
Dances with Gophers
18:52 / 27.05.05
I'd doubt you would get a GPS fix underground as you need a clear view of the sky. The signal does not penetrate very well through hard substances.
 
 
Grey Area
20:29 / 27.05.05
You might also want to consider the low-tech, cheap and cheerful option of a ball of string with ribbon markers every metre or so. Works for archeology digs, so it should work underground.
 
 
charrellz
04:23 / 30.05.05
I like the yarn, expect we tend to go to drains. Drains are full of (unclean) water. I don't feel up to winding that ball or yarn up after it has been through the water for an hour. Maybe I should just go ahead and get those damn gloves I saw at the army navy store.
 
  
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