Belfry Bulletin Number 132

No. 132

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Editorial After the Christmas number, we are back in our usual goal for another year. As you will no doubt notice, this consists of exactly the same cover and general arrangements as last year. Nevertheless, during the course of the coming year, we are going to (we hope!) a fair amount of work - mostly behind the scenes – with a view to further improving the B.B. The main item for which we feel there is plenty of room for improvement is the legibility of the printing.

This is partly due to the machine, but could be improved by the use of a thicker paper which would permit heavier inking. We may try out a specimen page of this soon. We could recover the money by the use of smaller type and hence less pages for the same amount of writing. Again, we may serve up a sample.

A “fancy” cover has also been suggested by several members. If we go to this in 1960 - which is the earliest we can – we shall be stuck with it for some time, so during the course of this year, we should like to hear all your suggestions, so that the club may enter its silver jubilee year in 1960 with the best possible magazine.

“Alfie” _______________________________________________________________________________________

WE WISH ALL CLUB MEMBERS A HAPPY & SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR _______________________________________________________________________________________

Notice

THE NEW STONE BELFRY will take an awful lot of man hours before it is finished. Anyone with a few moments to spare when at the Belfry can help by carting stones from the pile and stacking then round the building about three feet away from the outside of the walls. This will save the builder’s time when laying masonry. Also concrete blocks can be usefully piled up inside the building. Even a few minutes work on this will be useful. _______________________________________________________________________________________

Committee Meeting The December meeting of the committee discussed progress being made on the new hut and the kitchen improvements. It was agreed to buy a new projector for slides at £3. A long discussion on ladders and tethers followed, after the recent failure of a club ladder down a cave. I was agreed to leave the purchase of a suitable club tent to Frank Darbon. It was agreed to buy a copy of “Man’s Journey Through Time” by Prof. Palmer. Mo was authorized to buy a stock of carbide lamp spares. Bob Kitchen was elected a member of the club. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Congratulations to Roger and Daphne Stenner on the birth of their son, Edwin. Roger tells us that his son has no beard as yet!

Angus and Maggie are back! Older members will remember these two who set out on the twenty first of June, 1956 to travel round the world on a motorbike. The bike in question - a triumph twin and box sidecar was to be seen outside the Belfry the weekend before they left for furrin parts. They arrived back in Liverpool two days after Christmas having covered some 55,000 miles and after visiting Norway, Central Europe, Greece, 'Turkey, Egypt, Kenya (where they worked packing oranges to save up enough for the next stage) Australia, New Zealand, U.S.A. and Canada. Intending travellers please note that they are quoted as saying that they found Turkey the most hospitable and the U.S.A. the least.

We understand that John Lamb will soon be with us again as the latest rumours say that he will be back from New Zealand in March. Tony Rich still keeps in contact with club members and is still in Canada.

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No. 132

CAVING LOG Cuthbert’s. Trip by King and Etough to High Chamber and September Series for photography.

Cuthbert’s. Bryan Ellis and Mike Thompson. Trip to Upper Traverse Chamber.

8th Nov. Cuthbert’s. Chris Falshaw and Etough. Removal of obstruction which occurred at the top of the entrance pitch on a recent trip. Rock now jammed in the entrance rift.

Swildon's. To the bottom of the 40. Keith Robins and Jerry Gower.

9th Nov. Cuthbert's. Etough. Tourist trip to Cascade and Curtain Chambers.

Aggy Aggy. Ian Dear took part in a W.S.G. trip.

Swildon's. Detackling party after diving. Dave Lane; Mike Palmer; Dennis Clague and Roger Stenner.

17th Nov. Aggy Aggy. A B.E.C. trip including Norman Petty, Chris Falshaw, Tony Johnson, Mo, Tony O'Flaherty, Prew, Roger Stenner, Mike Wheadon, Mike Palmer, Totty and Alan Sandall.

Arrived at the cave by various routes at 3 pm. Mike Hooper was supposed to lead the party but Nigel Clarke led in the end. Trip through the first part of the cave was very tight. The total cave covers about five miles. Norman entertained the party with a very fine display of fireworks in the Main Chamber.

23rd Nov. Eastwater. Roger Burky with Ian, Mo, Gaff, Tony O'Flaherty, Alan Coase (Don's brother) and Mike from Leicester University, descended the cave with the intention of doing the Beecham Series. However, when Roger Burky was climbing the Dolphin Pitch, one of the splices of the lower ladder parted company with the rest of the ladder and the pitch was descended on half a ladder. Mo then climbed down the pitch just for the hell of it and after a consultation between those ‘down below’ and those ‘up above’ it was decided to postpone the trip. Mo and Roger then climbed the pitch, greatly assisted (!*+!!) by the rest. The others then left for Primrose path and Baker's Chimney except one who was of too great a girth to get through!

Swildon's IV. Frank Darbon, Dave Hoskyns and Stuart Cannell assisted M.R.O. in a practice rescue from IV. The victim was Gerry Wright. Personal Opinion from Frank – quite impossible to get anyone out • 30th Nov. G. B. Down Gorge and White Passage. Leader Prew.

6th Dec. Swildon's. Trip to St. Pauls.

13th Dec. Cuthbert's. Photographic trip to September Series. Leader Kangy. He warns leaders of the roof in Trafalgar Chamber which is probably the worst in the cave. The boulder jammed in the entrance examined. It spoils the continuity of the pitch but seems fairly negotiable. _______________________________________________________________________________________ 1st Nov.

(Continued from the Christmas B.B. with additions and revisions) 284 379 409 74 80 326 382 79 397 399 175 341

A. Thomas D. Thomas G.E. Todd J. Tompsett Mrs. D. Tompsett E. Towler S. Tuck R.M. Wallis M. Wheadon P.C. Wilson J. Waddon R.A. Woodford

Sandhill Special Residential School, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, Somerset 23585478, 58/18 Troop, 5th Royal Tank Regiment, Catterick Camp, Yorks 86 Kingsholme Road, Kingswood, Bristol 51 Rothmans Avenue, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex 51 Rothmans Avenue, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex 11 St. Phillips Road, London E8 Gently, East Knoyle, Salisbury, Wiltshire Swildons, 343 Upton Lane, Widnes, Lancs 2 Hulbert Place, St. Thomas Street, wells, Somerset Woodland Cottage, Wrington, Somerset 7 Haydon Road, Taunton, Somerset 80 Torrington Road, Ruislip, Middlesex

The following new member has joined the club since the list was published: 413 R.F. Kitchen

1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, Watchet, Somerset

And the following have changed their address since the list was published: A.C.L. Rice is now at 13 Wades Road, Filton, Bristol Mr and Mrs R. Stenner are now at Ivy Cottage, 5 Beach Hill, Clevedon, Somerset

No. 132

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ELECTROMAGNETIC SURVEYING

By Norman Brooks In was interested to notice the mention in the September B.B. last year of the possibility of using a radio type service for cave surveying and noted the editor’s reference to my equipment so an article on what it was; what was accomplished with it, and how it came into the existence would evidently be quite useful.

Whenever a cave system bends round and comes close to another part or rises and comes close to the surface, surveyors have been baffled by the fact that light will not penetrate the intervening rock, and thus a closed loop cannot be obtained. Apart from digging through, there are three possibilities of overcoming this difficulty based on the use of radio waves; electrostatic fields; or electromagnetic fields. The method least affected by the nature of the rock is the magnetic one, using the field produced by the passage of an audio frequency alternating current through a large cell. A radio method could be used providing that a low enough frequency was used - 20 to 100 Kc/s would be suitable - and would result in little loss of accuracy.

The radio method has one advantage in that the signal falls off as the inverse square instead of the inverse cube in the case of the electromagnetic field.

For overall simplicity of circuitry, however, a frequency of between 300 and 500 c/s is desirable, and simplicity of circuits is a most useful asset, considering that the amplifiers are likely to get hard treatment.

The position of the electronics in a device of this nature should be understood, for the transmitter is no more than a surveyor’s assistant’s lamp and the receiver no more than the surveyor's eye. The accuracy and usefulness of the whole system depends on the mechanical side of the equipment - that is, the accuracy with which the transmitting coil and the direction finding coil can be set up and read. On the whole, the electronic side of the equipment is quite straightforward.

My work started about five years ago, when I decided it was about time that someone found the easy way into August Hole as indicated by the survey. I do know whether anyone else but me has noticed the similarity between August Hole and the river Mississippi. Mark Twain says in ‘Life on the Mississippi’ that ‘measurements indicated that the river was lengthening by a certain number of miles each year’. From that data he was able to calculate the distance that it would, after a few years, stick cut into the Atlantic ‘like a rod’. Measurements on the published survey indicate that August hole sticks out of the ground ‘like a rod’, and both calculations have about the same degree of accuracy!

The first experiments showed the difficulties in making a suitable piece if equipment were greater than had been anticipated, but after two months a device consisting of a transmitter feeding a large flat transmitting coil, and a receiver fed by a similar receiving coil, which could be rotated about any axis, came into being. It was tried out in a 60 foot deep chalk mine at Northwood, Middlesex. The test was not so very successful, but it did serve to establish the design criteria and to point the way ahead.

One of the early experiments showed a fairly obvious snag with an apparatus using an electromagnetic field. The transmitter had been set up near the local high street and the receiver taken further away in order to establish the range of the device. The range should have been fifty yards, but this distance was reached and reception was still good. Further and further the receiver was taken - into a minor road and on to a main road. The local inhabitants must have been startled to see someone carrying a square board and wearing earphones and an intent expression walking down the street! The long range was due to the presence of an under ground pipe, which the apparatus had detected with singular accuracy.

A month after the chalk mine experiment, in January 1954, the equipment was tried out in Lamb Leer. It showed the position of the Beehive Chamber relative to the surface, but could not determine its depth, as more work remained to be done on the equipment. There was no cheating about the location of the chamber, for I was surprised to find that the equipment pinpointed a spot not in the least where I should have expected it to be, yet a subsequent check against the survey showed the spot to be correct.

After Lamb Leer things went slowly. Many improvements had to be made before the equipment could be used for cave measurements with any hope of success. Because of a wet summer, it was not convenient to use it in August Hole that year, and it was not until July 1955 that the first serious attempt to use the device was made.

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No. 132

The Wet Gallery of August Hole was tried. The attempt to locate the position relative to the surface and the depth was none too successful for a number of reasons, not, the least being lack of skill in handling the new tool. It was obvious that team work was essential and Bryan Ellis became invaluable as the other member of the team. In November 1955, the device was used successfully for the first tine. I am sorry to say that the results firmly indicated that August Hole did not stick out of the ground like a rod, and that any dig would be a big job.

In December l955, the equipment was used successfully used to locate the position of Pillar Chamber in Ogof Ffynnm Ddu relative to the surface. From then on, it was decided that the best course was to rebuild the equipment completely apart from the receiver and amplifier as, now that the principle had been thoroughly established, a proper instrument was required. So far this has not been done.

A great deal of data has now been obtained which would be invaluable to anyone wishing to build something similar of their own. By using this, they should be able to guarantee success and save themselves three quarters or more of the work I had to do. It is not worth giving a technical description of my device here, but if anyone is interested in building a similar device, I shall be only too pleased to help them.

Norman Brooks.

Editor's Note: There is a lot of work which could be done on Mendip by a device of this kind. The position of the end of the Maypole series in Cuthbert's for instance, or the relation of the end of the Black Hole series in Swildons to the nearest part of Swildons I. I should imagine that there are members of the club who would also help a constructor with advice on the use of transistors and assistance in getting the circuitry "potted" in resin &c. There appears to be a very interesting time ahead of anyone who is prepared to take Norman up on his offer! _______________________________________________________________________________________ More Personal News Congratulations to Sago and Ronnie Rice on the birth of their son on Sunday, December 28th. He weighed in at 7½lbs and is to be named David George. _______________________________________________________________________________________

NOTICES The Southern General Meeting of the Cave Research Group of Great Britain will be held on 2nd May, 1959 at Wells. The hosts this year will be the U.B.S.S. The B.E.C. Club Tent has now been purchased and may be hired out by parties wishing to use it on climbing and other trips at a charge of 10/- per weekend. Charges for longer periods will be based on a rate of 10/- per three nights. Thus a week plus the two weekends will cost 30/-. The tent may be obtained en the Thursday preceding the weekend or period required from the club room at Redcliffe. The tackle officer, Norman Petty, is in charge of the tent and arrangements.

It is proposed to get mains water installed in the Belfry as quickly as possible. Owing to the cost of this, it has been agreed to adopt the same procedure as was adopted to pay for the calor gas installation originally.

Thus, all Belfry charges will go UP BY 3d PER NIGHT from the time of the installation of the water until the cost has been covered. This will take about a year.

The committee have requested that a notice be put up in the Belfry about the use of tackle. This will be done as soon as possible. Meanwhile, all tackle should be cleaned after use and stored in the women’s room.

A tackle log will also be re-started and members are asked to take it seriously.

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SWILDONS There will be a diving operation on the 17th January, in which it is hoped to get five divers into Swildons VI, led by Oliver Wells. Four people will support them in V, and a kitchen will be set up in IV. A sherpa party will be starting down the cave at 9.30 am on the Saturday and the divers will follow at 10.30. A second party of sherpas, led by Oliver Lloyd, will go down at 3.30 pm carrying the remainder of the 35 packs.

There will be a further operation on the 31st of January, in which it is hoped to get 6 divers into VI. ALL ABLE BODIED CAVERS ARE ASKED TO SUPPORT THIS OPERATION. Names should be given to Len Dawes, Ken Daw or Mike Holland. Even people who are only prepared to go to the 40 and back may come in useful. All people collaborating will receive a copy of the official report of the operations in the cave. _______________________________________________________________________________________

THIS MONTH’S SONNET Exposure suits are now the thing to wear.

No self respecting caver would be seen Preparing for a trip on Priddy Green Without one. He’d regard himself as bare!

Long year’s age, the gentlemen would dress Correctly for a cave in bowler hats, Plus fours and Norfolk jackets - maybe spats!, And thus accoutred, downward they would press.

Then cavers, dressed in variegated rags, Would bash through sumps, defying damp and cold.

Now supercavers, scorning ways of old, Float gently through in suits like sleeping bats.

Do you suppose I think it all joke?

Not likely! They'd be just the job in Stoke. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Tailpiece. An excellent barrel of beer was provided at the Hunter's recently by Roger & Daphne, who were celebrating the birth of their son, and by Norman Petty, who was celebrating his tenth anniversary of caving'. Mike Holland also dispensed free cider. The usual time was had by all - and called later by Ben!