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BCRA Cave Technology Symposium - 19 April 2008 - Mendip Region
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This is just a reminder that the BCRA Cave Technology Symposium -
organised by BCRA's Cave Surveying Group and Cave Radio & Electronics
Group will take place on 19 April.

The Location is the Hunters Lodge Inn, Priddy, WELLS, BA5 3AR. Grid ref:
ST 549 501, starting at 10 am.

If you wish to give a talk, or make any sort of presentation at the
symposium, it would be extremely helpful if you could send an abstract
to David Gibson by 5 April. 

If you are intending to attend the symposium you do not need to book in
advance, but - if you want to know details of the programme - then you
might want to check bcra.org.uk/#techsym a day or two before the
event.

If you need accommodation, please contact Allan Richardson, who is
handling bookings for accommodation at the Wessex Cave Club.

The programme
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As seems to be the pattern, these days, everyone is very "last minute".
Arms are still being twisted, and the programme below is likely to be
augmented by a couple of additional talks on surveying and exploration
topics. 

The programme so far (not the running order; and assuming everybody
turns up :-) looks like this...

* Kevin Dixon: Laser technology in underground surveying  (Laser 
  scanning, 3D map generation, borehole scanning systems, results for 
  man-made and natural cavities from around the world. Use of other 
  sensor technology, including inertial, gravity etc.).

* David Mattey: CO2 logging in caves (a multichannel CO2 logging system 
  has been collecting data in the St Michaels system in Gibraltar for 
  nearly 2 years, featuring simultaneous CO2 logging at 7 sites in the 
  cave and outside air at hourly intervals).

* David Mattey: Water drip sensors for water discharge measurement in 
  caves.

* Wookey: Review of LED caving lights

* David Gibson: Batteries for the 21st Century. (New developments in 
  NiMH technology has resulted in so-called "hybrid" batteries that 
  present all of the advantages of rechargeables and none of the 
  disadvantages).

* David Gibson: Communications through coal seams. (Coal seam 
  communication relies on geophysical properties that may be shared with 
  other types of tunnel and also with limestone bedding planes).

* Mike Bedford and Rob Gill:  Speech Intelligibility over Noisy Radio 
  Links. (We have assessed the functionality of commercial "noise 
  filters" by scoring the intelligibility of speech using a formal ANSI-
  defined method and found that whilst noise filters do reduce the noise 
  they can also reduce the intelligibility of speech).

* In addition to these and a couple of possible "late additions", there 
  will be various "discussion forums"  on offer, depending on who is 
  present and what the audience requests (home-made CO2 sensors, 
  flashgun slave units ... whatever).

* ... and we hope to show a few videos too.

-- 
David Gibson