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Re: 3 Lop's
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2004 Nov 15, 01:29 EST
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2004 Nov 15, 01:29 EST
Alex E asked:
"Can anyone explain, under what circumstances one could
possibly want to determine her position from 3 LOP's?"
Fred H already gave a nice account of the issue of dip variability. The "triangle fix" also helps to uncover any other fixed systematic error in clearing altitudes. For example, suppose my index correction is -1.5 minutes. I plot my three lines and discover a triangle that's almost 6 minutes across. That's such a large error that it would lead you to take a closer look at your calculations. In the case I'm imagining, you might discover that you applied the index correction with the wrong sign, adding instead of subtracting it. That would push each LOP 3 miles away from the vessel's real position. By contrast clearing three sights each of two objects would not reveal this sort of error.
Frank R
[ ] Mystic, Connecticut
[X] Chicago, Illinois
"Can anyone explain, under what circumstances one could
possibly want to determine her position from 3 LOP's?"
Fred H already gave a nice account of the issue of dip variability. The "triangle fix" also helps to uncover any other fixed systematic error in clearing altitudes. For example, suppose my index correction is -1.5 minutes. I plot my three lines and discover a triangle that's almost 6 minutes across. That's such a large error that it would lead you to take a closer look at your calculations. In the case I'm imagining, you might discover that you applied the index correction with the wrong sign, adding instead of subtracting it. That would push each LOP 3 miles away from the vessel's real position. By contrast clearing three sights each of two objects would not reveal this sort of error.
Frank R
[ ] Mystic, Connecticut
[X] Chicago, Illinois