NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: David C
Date: 2023 Nov 26, 23:36 -0800
Frank wrote.
Advertising tends to reflect something approaching reality on the ground and on the sea, because new compasses cost money.
A couple of thoughts of mine that may or may not be relevant.
Steamships could travel in any direction they wanted so degree notation made sense. In contrast sailing ships could continude to use the point system.
Gyro compassses probably used the degree system. Being new technology they were expensive. The ADMN 1914 has a detailed chapter on gyro compasses. HM ships, being taxpayer funded, probably switched to gyros and the degree system quickly. North sea trawlers on the other hand could continue to use the point system until the 1960s as in the example quoted.
New technology such as RDF made more sense with degrees rather than points. Imagine setting your VOR to E by NE. Or decades earlier flying by a four-course system that used the point systen to designate the four courses.
From Martin's Air Navigation (1930s?) "bearings given by British aeronautical DF stations are usually accurate to within two degrees" . How do you indicate two degrees precision with the point system?
