NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: More Nc History
From: Joel Jacobs
Date: 2004 Jan 30, 21:30 -0500
From: Joel Jacobs
Date: 2004 Jan 30, 21:30 -0500
TO: ALCON Here's some internet history on the NC - line of navigation calculators and computers. For the NC-2. Check this link: http://www.datamath.org/Related/Tamaya/NC-2.htm I have no recollection of the NC - 88 or NC - 99. We were probably off cruising. More on NC -2. Check this link because that would be the introductory date with which I would agree. http://www.dotpoint.com/xnumber/photo_tamaya_nc2.htm Check this site for a picture of the first version of the NC - 77. Pay particular attention to the picture. Nautech had little to do with the NC- 77 other than to agree in the concept, test the prototype, and say something about which World Geodetic Survey would be most appropriate. A professor at the University of Tokyo did all the engineering and systems work. http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/tamaya_nc-77.html Personally, I wouldn't put a lot of stock in the Vintage Calculator write-up. Then look at this link. http://www.captainsnautical.com/product.asp?pf_id=1_2684 This must be a picture of the second NC - 77. I never saw this version. It is not what the device looked like when introduced. As pictured by Vintage Calculator's it was housed in a brushed aluminium shell and was made by Sharp to Tamaya's specifications. This then must be version 2. I wasn't around by then. Some other places to view: http://spyropoulos.ws/calcs-aviation/aviationcalcs.htm Enough! Joel Jacobs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joel Jacobs"To: "Navigation Mailing List" Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 8:51 PM Subject: Re: Re: Silicon Sea Leg 88 questions > Lee, let me add something. > > I have a copy of Nautech Maritime's 1978 catalog. It prominently features > the NC -2, and there is no mention of the NC-77. This tells me that if the > NC- 77 was introduced in 1978, that it was so late in the year that it > wasn't even previewed in this catalog. Unfortunately, I don't remember when > the galley's were frozen or when it hit the mail. > > I do remember that I had an NC-77 when we went off in Bagheera which we > commissioned new in Seabrook, TX, late in 1979. The boat we started with in > 1978 was Nereus, a 41 foot ketch. > > Joel Jacobs > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Joel Jacobs" > To: "Navigation Mailing List" > Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 8:41 PM > Subject: Re: Re: Silicon Sea Leg 88 questions > > > > Hi Lee, > > > > The NC-2 never had an internal almanac. Based on my memory which at my > > present age I recognize as not being infallible, the NC-2 had to be > > introduced before 1976 because we then would have done an awful lot in a > > very short period of time, and that's not how things work when dealing > with > > the government. I do remember that Tony Gibbs was then Editor of Yachting. > > He did a full page write-up on the one I demonstrated to him in NYC. > That's > > one way to date it for anyone who has Yachting's that old. > > > > The almanac was first introduced in the NC 77, and I think had a life > until > > 1977, hence its name. Regardless of when the almanac expired, there is a > way > > to fake the system into giving useable results until some time quite > > recently. It is on Tamaya Nautics web site. The NC 2000, I received as a > > gift from the president of Tamaya, I never really used, so I can't give > you > > an answer as to how long its internal almanac was good. If I still have > it, > > its in storage with most of our things. > > > > Joel Jacobs' > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Lee Martin" > > To: > > Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 8:13 PM > > Subject: Re: Silicon Sea Leg 88 questions > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Joel Jacobs" > > > To: > > > Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 10:59 AM > > > Subject: Re: Silicon Sea Leg 88 questions > > > > > > > > > > Hi Peter, > > > > > > > > I used a 30+ year old NC-2 hardwired navigation calculator which was > > > jointly > > > . > > > > > > > > BTW, I haven't used it in years, but it still does what it was > designed > > to > > > > do. > > > > > > > > Joel Jacobs > > > > > > Joel, > > > > > > I wonder about your statement that the NC-2 still does what it was > > designed > > > to do. > > > > > > The NC-2 was sold 1976 and 1977. Replaced by the NC-77 in 1978...a > classic > > > calculator which continued in production until 1991. It was replaced by > > the > > > NC-2000 (mainly?) because the almanac in the NC-77 falls over post 2000, > > > see: > > > http://www.tamaya-technics.com/nc77user.htm > > > for a fix to keep it going until June 23, 2007. > > > > > > I have a vague recollection that the almanac in the NC-2 falls over > > sometime > > > in the mid 90's...can't be sure. > > > > > > Lee Martin > > >