Cave-Proofing
According to public perception, caves are pretty hazardous to people, but it’s probably fair to say that electronic equipment fares much worse in the underground environment. First, caves are wet while electricity and water don’t mix. Second, they’re muddy with the potential for sockets and pushbuttons to get clogged up with dirt and grit, and third, caves are frequented by cavers. As electronics enthusiasts, many of the people illustrated in this article have taken laptops, amateur radio rigs, smartphones and test equipment into caves without mishap, other than the odd muddy fingerprint or two. But if you’re designing equipment that’s going to be used by ordinary cavers, things are quite different. After all, if you’re abseiling down a vertical shaft, crawling through a tight passage, or traversing along a narrow ledge, the welfare of any kit you’re carrying is likely to be well down your list of priorities. The bottom line, therefore, is that knocks, scrapes and drops are to be expected.
So, while recommending that any equipment is always carried into a cave in a protective case such as a Pelicase, and suggesting that it’s always put away before moving on, it has to be built to take some punishment. And however much effort you put into this aspect of the design, you have to face the inevitable fact that caving equipment will have a shorter lifetime than equipment that’s going to be used in a more benign environment.