NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Accurate angle measurement of star altitudes
From: Noell Wilson
Date: 2022 Jan 19, 12:27 -0800
From: Noell Wilson
Date: 2022 Jan 19, 12:27 -0800
Hi RJ,
1. I've never touched one but I looked up that inclinometer and it has a stated accuracy of +/- 0.1 degree or 6 minutes that's not very precise.
Their electrolytic sensors are slightly better at 0.1 degree to 0.05 degrees but that's still 6 minutes to possibly 3 minutes. Not good in the navigation world. A basic sextant at sea was capable of 1 minute in the late 1700's.
2& 3. With just your stated plumb and tape measures, you are back in the beginning with naked eye sights and measuring height vs distance to get an angle. Accuracy would increase with size.
Regards, Noell
