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Subject: Re: RIP the [Fluxgate compass /benefits of 3 axis] ?
From: Dan Allen (danallen46@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sun Feb 03 2002 - 20:22:53 EST
A good reason to mess around with geomagnetic solutions is that they are independent of the US government and the GPS system, the
same reason that most of us on this list are interested in celestial navigation with a sextant. I have had one of my trusty Garmin
GPSes die on me and fortunately I was just playing with it on the highway -- it wasn't crucial to my navigation. What if I had been
on a boat in mid-ocean with only it and no backup? Then I would have felt quite stupid.
The feeling of dread when the GPS died -- it was sitting on the dash of my car updating its own location every second and then just
completely froze without anyone touching it or any apparent cause -- is something that I hope everyone that trusts in GPS will get
to experience! It would boost sextant sales, but more likely just boost GPS backup unit sales.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: Navigation Mailing List
[mailto:NAVIGATION-L@XXX.XXX]On Behalf Of Jared Sherman
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2002 10:10 AM
To: NAVIGATION-L@XXX.XXX
Subject: RIP the [Fluxgate compass /benefits of 3 axis] ?
George, with all this talk about the uncorrectable problems inherent in fluxgate compasses it seems that there is a point going
unspoken.
Perhaps if these errors are all so damaging, the fluxgate compass is an obsolete artifact that should be abandoned along with the
sunstone and the astrolabe.
Why spend the time trying to correct an inherently unreliable technological deadend, when a cheap and simple 3-dimensional WAAS GPS
system can tell you the speed, position and attitude of your vessel? Employ several high accuracy WAAS GPS devices on board (one at
bow, one at stern, one to each midships beam) and you should be able to generate some interesting real-time information on vessel
position in all three axes as well as the true heading of the vessel.
Why mess around with geomagnetic solutions at all if there is a cheaper and more reliable way to get the information?
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