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    Re: Navy MK 5 Octant Using Natural Horizon
    From: Greg Rudzinski
    Date: 2012 May 2, 10:51 -0700

    Alex,

    I thought you might be interested in the last 32 bubble horizon observations (without averager) using the Navy MK 5 in perfect conditions from the stability of my boat dock. I'll let you crunch the numbers. Various bodies Sun, Moon, Planet, Stars observed over the last few weeks.

    0.6T 0.8A 2.1A 0.1T 0.8A 4.6A 1.6A 0.1A 0.5A 1.7T 1.2A 0.5T 0.1T 0.5A 2.7T 2.9A 0.2A 0.3T 2.2A
    2.1A 2.0T 2.7A 1.7T 2.6T 3.4A 2.4T 1.7T 2.3T 1.0T 2.0T 3.2A 3.7A

    Did I use the correct index correction ;-) +2 moa I.C. for the bubble horizon.

    Greg Rudzinski

    NavList] Re: Navy MK 5 Octant Using Natural Horizon
    From: Alexandre Eremenko
    Date: 1 May 2012 18:17
    Greg,

    > The results are not extraordinary in that any data set from
    > any sextant can be made to look good by adjusting the index error.

    Does your octant have adjustment for the index error?
    I understand that with ordinary sextants the index error can be
    adjusted. The problem is to determine it with 0.2 accuracy:-)

    Besides, we know that even good ordinary sextants can have substantial
    arc error, etc. Which is again hard to find.

    Now, the 0.2 average error in your 30 observations shows that the
    index error as you determined it is very close to the truth.
    Did you adjust it? I supose not, (otherwise why would you adjust
    it to 6')

    > is why I look at the maximum and minimum values of a set
    > of data to judge a sextant and or navigator performance.

    The maximum spread of 2.7 shows that the errors are all less then
    1.2 or 1.4 in magnitude.

    But you did not answer my question: how did you choose the preset values?
    And why they were such as we see them.

    Alex.

    > Keep an eye open on ebay for U.S. Navy MK 5's which can be
    > had for under $100 but use caution on the buy.

    I don't know how can one "use caution" with a sextant on e-bay,
    especially with an air sextant:-)
    You can only take the risk.
    99.9% of e-bay sellers would say in advance that they know nothing about
    sextants, which is true, about half of them photograph a normal sextant
    upside down. Once I asked a seller what is the radius of the arc, and his
    reply was that he is not sure what the "radius" is :-)
    So I do not expect them to answer such questions as whether the bubble is
    present or not. I simply thought that $100 or $140 that I payed is a sum
    I can afford to risk:-)

    I was lucky: the only thing which did not work was the light,
    and I found how to fix it and fixed in few hours.
    But repairing a bubble is definitely beyond my possibilities:-(

    Alex.
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