NavList:

Paul:

I'll ask the question which I am sure a few others are pondering: Why do you want a Celesticomp V?? In your original post, you said that you're just starting to learn celestial navigation... So why have you decided that the Celesticomp V is the thing you need? There are lots of pencil and paper techniques for determining latitude and longitude with a sextant that bypass even a basic calculator. And there are easy methods that work on much more widely available calculators.

On a more general note, I think it's important to say something here about modern smartphones. You wrote, "I live very remote in the mountains where there is No cell coverage, thus I dont even own a cell phone."

Sounds nice... :) But...

You're missing out! A modern smartphone is barely a phone. It is a dozen other things: a fantastic camera, a video recorder, a near-perfect clock, a stopwatch, an alarm clock, a GPS receiver (no internet required), a video player, a digital level, a WiFi internet device (do you have home WiFi? ...you clearly have internet since you're posting messages here :) ), and, above all, a smartphone is a pocket supercomputer, more capable a dozen to a hundred times over compared to, for example, desktop computers from 25 years ago. Oh, and if you have WiFi, it is also, yes, a telephone with no extra charge using various apps, but you do need WiFi for that). Smartphones are marketed primarily by mobile phone companies, and (in the US) they usually try to sign up new users with a deal on a fancy new phone. But you don't need phone service in your mountain location, so don't do that! You can buy a truly excellent smartphone five to ten years back from the most recent models that will astonish you with its capabilities. Try ebay to get started. Or maybe you know a "local" second-hand shop. For a specific phone (one among dozens and dozens of models that would work), try to find a new or refurbished "Samsung Galaxy S8" (about $85 should do it). I have one myself that I keep continually charged to serve as a secondary internet device and as an alarm clock in a convenient spot in my apartment. It does not have cell phone service! It does run hundreds of useful apps including amazing tools for astronomy, celestial navigation, and more.

Finally, your mountain life, "off the grid" and free of cell phones will soon be "on the grid". Already it is possible to send text messages by smartphone via the Starlink satellite network (service covered for a small fee by the mobile service, no additional hardware required) from the middle of wilderness. And yet more companies are entering this market. Within as little as two years (I would place a bet on that!) it will be possible to make an ordinary phone call by satellite using a standard smartphone from the top of a mountain in the Himalayas to a sailboat in the empty South Pacific as far from land as geographically possible. I don't count this as a good thing... but it is coming... and soon.

Frank Reed
Clockwork Mapping / ReedNavigation.com
Conanicut Island USA