NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Mixter's and my radar course approval
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2005 Mar 9, 11:47 -0800
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2005 Mar 9, 11:47 -0800
It's been kind of dead on the list lately so I'll just post a few thoughts. Mike Burkes and I have been having a nice off line discussion the past 2 weeks on the merits/pitfalls of differant LOP methods(paper vs software)useing data I recorded during an actual overland trek.Some interesting observations by Mike in all of this. I thoroughly looked through the copy of Mixter's "Primer of Navigation" I got these last weeks. I can't say enough about the thoroughness of this book. I especially like the tables on the last few pages. Those alone would make this book a valuable asset for anyone to have. I just received word from the USCG(rec) that the written course outlines of all my radar courses(ovp thru unlimited)have been accepted by them. The courses were pending this approval even though they tentively approved each course after observing each. I'm really excited that these have been approved because I placed a great emphysis on useing an actual radar type screen and program for the students to navigate useing radar in "real" time as the last segment to be passed in each course. Of course the higher the tonnage paper sought the more challenging the final segment is to pass. Relative motion plots must still be passed on both paper and screen but this final segment deals with real radar navigation problems useing a simulator. It's set up much as a bridge of a vessel is and 2 students at a time must use the radar(simulator)and work together as a team.They must plot radar bearings and ranges to fix their positions, keep a dr and navigate the vessel on a full scale chart of the area while interpreting what the radar screen is showing them. This kind of hands on type training/testing is worth more than it's weight in gold and from the feedback of students/observers received it is also important to them. That is all.