NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Site reduction assisted by spreadsheet?
From: Peter Hakel
Date: 2013 May 7, 18:37 -0700
From: Samuel <Look@ipadRing.net>
To: pmh099@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 12:09 PM
Subject: [NavList] Site reduction assisted by spreadsheet?
From: Peter Hakel
Date: 2013 May 7, 18:37 -0700
Samuel,
The partitioning of the sight reduction process into many separate spreadsheets and the compound-fraction format for entering angular data reveal the Navigation Spreadsheets' roots as (originally) my private study tool. I would argue that having to go through the individual steps carrying intermediate results between spreadsheets is a worthwhile educational experience. Some of the minutiae (which I found confusing at first) is eliminated (e.g., increments and corrections for almanac data, various interpolations and decision points), while the student still gets to execute all the major steps - you don't get your answer at a single push of a button. As a result, the accompanying PDF worksheet is simpler than most. You can always go for a full non-electronic method or an integrated software option later, once you get the hang of it.
About a year ago I exchanged e-mails with a Czech CelNav instructor who had made his own (highly integrated and sophisticated) single spreadsheet for everything with lots of features. I do believe he has produced an English version. I do not know its current status, though; here is a link with a description and contact info:
http://www.s-consult.cz/thema/english
There was a license fee associated with it. My spreadsheets are much simpler in many ways (and free of charge as of last year), and all formulae are visible to the user who wants to dig deeper into the procedures.
I hope you'll enjoy learning CelNav with whichever approach you choose.
Peter Hakel
The partitioning of the sight reduction process into many separate spreadsheets and the compound-fraction format for entering angular data reveal the Navigation Spreadsheets' roots as (originally) my private study tool. I would argue that having to go through the individual steps carrying intermediate results between spreadsheets is a worthwhile educational experience. Some of the minutiae (which I found confusing at first) is eliminated (e.g., increments and corrections for almanac data, various interpolations and decision points), while the student still gets to execute all the major steps - you don't get your answer at a single push of a button. As a result, the accompanying PDF worksheet is simpler than most. You can always go for a full non-electronic method or an integrated software option later, once you get the hang of it.
About a year ago I exchanged e-mails with a Czech CelNav instructor who had made his own (highly integrated and sophisticated) single spreadsheet for everything with lots of features. I do believe he has produced an English version. I do not know its current status, though; here is a link with a description and contact info:
http://www.s-consult.cz/thema/english
There was a license fee associated with it. My spreadsheets are much simpler in many ways (and free of charge as of last year), and all formulae are visible to the user who wants to dig deeper into the procedures.
I hope you'll enjoy learning CelNav with whichever approach you choose.
Peter Hakel
From: Samuel <Look@ipadRing.net>
To: pmh099@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 12:09 PM
Subject: [NavList] Site reduction assisted by spreadsheet?
I'm new to celestial navigation having recently purchased a Davis Mark 25 sextant and wanting very much to be able to do both a sun sight reduction and a intercept plot.
Presently, I'm experimenting with
spreadsheets obtained from http://www.navigation-spreadsheets.com/ but find that it is necessary to use several spreadsheets to obtain the figures for the intercept plot. (Also, the format for entering angle readings is tedious).
It would be more efficient to use only one spreadsheet for a sight reduction.
Can you direct me toward one such spreadsheet?
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