NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Backlash
From: Robert Eno
Date: 2005 May 25, 08:24 -0400
From: Robert Eno
Date: 2005 May 25, 08:24 -0400
I have one of those Freiberger artificial horizons and I must say that it is an excellent device and very well-constructed. I use it regularly from my own deck and with deadly accurate results. They are fast and easy to set up. Certainly vibrations will throw it off but unless you live next to heavy equipment rental shop or a freeway, vibrations should not pose a difficulty. True, it is best situated on a rock or concrete for steadiness, but this is not absolutely necessary. C.Plath used to make a similar unit but I have only seen photographs. I would love to get a hold of one for my collection but have never heard of anyone who actually owns one. Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alexandre Eremenko"To: Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 3:51 AM Subject: Re: Backlash > On Wed, 25 May 2005, Bill wrote: > >> Do you or other list contributors know what systems other sextants use to >> control slop along the axis? > > My SNO-T manual has a picture which shows the drum blown up. > But I could not understand from this picture how it really works > and even what is the purpose of this drum. In particular what this screw > mentioned above really does. > > In Freiberg, they had one Freiberger cut with its trommel open > on display. But I had no time to examine it carefully, > busy with trying their art horizon:-) > > The art horizon I decided not to buy (it was quite expensive, > even after the negotiations), but the main reason was that it is > very hard to install/adjust. > It is adjusted with two 30" levels (which also need their own adjustment, > but maybe not every time). We failed to install it horizontally on > their table, apparently because the table was shaking. > Anyway, my conclusion was that this beautiful device is usable only from > a big and heavy rock. And certainly not from my "shaking balcony". > > Alex.