Historical information

These four photographs of SPR Santina (Argetto) Straube capturing topographic features – plotting with a Wild B8 stereo plotter were most likely taken in c1980. Introduced in 1966, the Wild B8 stereo plotter was used for plotting topographic detail and contours. These analogue machines were manually controlled by adjusting the control knobs for the orientation of the 3D image. The B8s used a nine-inch square photo image on a film or glass diapositive which allowed highly accurate extraction of map features. At first, plotting by B8 and B9 equipment was undertaken at the aerial photography scale of 1:80,000 in pencil onto a controlled plotting sheet. Sheets were then inked up and reduced photographically to the 1: 100,000 publication scale for scribe impression production. In these photos SPR Santina (Argetto) Straube was plotting with a pencil or ink pen mounted at the far end of the pantograph arm. The plotting procedure was upgraded to direct plotting in ink with photographic reduction to publication scale. In 1975 four B8s were upgraded with tri-axis locaters as part of the Input Sub-system to enable digital extraction to AUTOMAP 1’s topographic database. When AUTOMAP 2 was introduced in 1982 these B8s were upgraded, and additional machines added to expand the Army Survey Regiment’s digital capture capability.

Physical description

This is a set of four photographs of a technician capturing topographic Features with a Wild B8 stereo plotter in Air Survey Squadron – Army Survey Regiment, Fortuna, Bendigo. 1980.
The photographs were on 35mm negative film and were scanned at 96 dpi. They are part of the Army Survey Regiment’s Collection.
.1) to .4) Photo, black & white, c1980. SPR Santina (Argetto) Straube operating a Wild B8 stereo plotter.

Inscriptions & markings

.1P to .4P – no annotations.