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Subject: Re: Digital Sextant
From: Dan Allen (danallen46@XXX.XXX)
Date: Mon Apr 01 2002 - 19:13:51 EST
In the C. Plath history book, page 133, there is a great color photo
of a prototype Plath sextant that contained an integrated celestial
navigation calculator. It has always intrigued me.
I have put a copy of the photo on my web site here:
http://home.attbi.com/~danallen46/Sextants.htm
(About 2/3rd of the way down the page)
It has always seemed to me that if one could gather in a small device:
a) a twin-quartz clock good to 1 second of accuracy per year like my
Omega watch
b) a nice Plath-like angle measurement device with a digital sensor to
help measure angles
c) another digial sensor (what kind?) to serve as an artificial horizon
d) a small computer with software containing the equivalent of the
nautical almanac for many years
then with these elements in place one could imagine a navigation device
that would be almost as simple to use as a GPS, but which was totally
stand-alone and required no signals from radio or satellites. If the
electronics were low power enough the device could perhaps even be
solar powered for the ultimate in self-sufficiency.
A press of a button would measure the angle, note the exact time, and
would check the current attitude of the sextant, and then proceed with
the calculations yielding the same output as with normal sextants. A
memory could remember these sights and then after several had been taken
a running fix could be achieved.
I would certainly buy such a device if one existed at a price less than
$1,000.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: Navigation Mailing List
[mailto:NAVIGATION-L@XXX.XXX]On Behalf Of Vic Fraenckel
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 5:24 AM
To: NAVIGATION-L@XXX.XXX
Subject: Digital Sextant
I would like to ask if anyone has heard of, tried to build or was successful
in building a all digital sextant. I have thought about this for many years
but the technology for measuring angles to the necessary precision was way
too expensive for my taste. I think perhaps it might be possible to do this
today with a reasonable cost. Altitudes could be measured with optical
encoders and the data could be transmitted to a computer at will along with
the time of the sight and processed. Any thoughts?
Any enlightenment would be appreciated.
Vic
________________________________________________________
Victor Fraenckel - The Windman vfraenc1@XXX.XXX
KC2GUI www.windsway.com
Home of the WindReader Electronic Theodolite
Read the WIND
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