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When you start
NavPak, the main menu is presented.
This initial
release is a minimum tool kit of essentials for celestial
navigation. Future releases will add more features.
Standard terminology, acronyms,
abbreviations, and numerical formats are used through out the
program, so that the experienced navigator can pick it up and
start using it immediately.
A good way to
start is to enter your Assumed Position and magnetic variation.
These are
important for the navigator and casual star gazer. They are
stored in the initialization file, along with the Destination and
Dip.
NavPak gets GMT time
from the computer clock, so be sure that your device is set to
the correct time zone. To verify that NavPak is getting the
correct GMT, go to the GMT Time panel in NavPak and press the
button [Set to Clock]. This will show the GMT in the panel.
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This is the
Almanac Panel. From here, you can set the Assumed Position and
time, then hit the [Calculate] button and it will calculate the
GP of all the navigational stars (58), planets (5), Sun and Moon
at the given time (GMT). For the Sun and the Moon, it will
calculate the SD, and for the Moon, it will calculate the HP.
It also calculates
the Altitude, and Azimuth of the body. This can be used to check
your compass and as a star and planet identifier.
You can scroll
through the list using the [Up] and [Down] buttons in this panel,
or hit the [LIST] button and select the body of interest from the
list (shown below).
The [T] button takes you to the top of the
list. From there the [Up] arrow will lead to the Sun, Moon and
planets, and the [Down] arrow will go through the list of stars.
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If your Assumed
Position is within a few hundred miles, that will work, but
closer is better. If it is way off, then you will see it with
excessive Intercepts, and when you do your plotting.
When you tap the number and decimal point
keys, they will show in the scratch pad area above the panel. use
the [Back Arrow] key to edit your entry as required. Enter the
number in the scratch pad area and then hit a category key to
enter the number in the panel.
In the example above,
enter 45.67 on the key board, then hit the [Latitude Min] button
to register it on the panel.
All the numbers you enter will be whole
numbers, except minutes of arc and distance values which are
decimals. Minutes of time are whole numbers.
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Plotting Sheet
Screen
This is a Mercator plotting sheet for your
celestial sights. The white cross shows the average of the
intersections of the LOPs, and the position of the cross is shown
in the upper left corner of the screen. To fine tune your
position, you can delete and add sights, and a new average is
calculated each time. For example, LOP 5 should be thrown out
because it is pulling the average to the North West.
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This is the Sky View based on your Assumed
Position. Shown here is the Free Axis mode. There are also preset
views for Top View, North, South, East, and West views. Every
time you tap on REFRESH, it calculates all the planetary
positions and updates the model.
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The Globe View
shows the GP of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars.
This can be used as a tide predictor, lunch
clock, and for Zenith Star Navigation without instruments.
The Globe View has 2 textures. Shown here is the NASA Blue
Marble. The other texture is a NOAA map which is colored to show
elevation and has a grid.
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You can set your
GMT from the phone's clock, or enter it in this panel. The button
to set the clock makes it easy to mark the time of your sights.
If you are
casually star gazing and you want to know the GHA and LHA of
Aries, then you can get it with 3 taps on the screen. 1. Select
[GMT Time] from the menu. 2. Hit the button [Set to Clock] then
hit the [Aries] key, and there it is.
The LHA is based on the Assumed Position that
you entered before.
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This panel does
the sight reduction.
The HS and Dip are
entered here. The GHA, Dec, SD, and HP are carried over from the
Almanac panel, or you can enter them here.
The Dip (height of
eye) is stored in the initialization file.
The sight is also corrected for Atmospheric
Refraction, based on the HS, and normal atmospheric conditions.
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The Great Circle
function uses your Assumed Position as the start point, and your
Destination as the end point, which is entered in this panel.
The Assumed
Position and your Destination are stored in the initialization
file, and they are shown as flags on the Globe View.
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Star and Planet
Identifier
This feature uses
your HS and compass bearing to identify stars and planets.
The function searches the internal list of 5
planets and 128 stars. Also it gives you the SHA and Dec of the
body to use with the Almanac.
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Star List Panel 1
The Star List
Panels are accessible from the Almanac Panel
When you select a body from the lists, it
will go back to the Almanac Panel, showing the body.
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Star List Panel 2
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Deduced Reckoning
This function
makes it easy to keep your Assumed Position updated, and can be
used as a traditional Maneuvering Board. It is based on Great
Circle formulas for accuracy at high latitudes.
Enter the estimated distance and direction
traveled from your Assumed Position then hit the [CALC] button.
To save the Relative Position as your new Assumed Position, hit
the button [Save as AP].
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Time, Speed,
Distance Calculator
Enter 2 of 3 parameters (Time, Speed,
Distance) then calculate the third.
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Advance LOP
This is useful for a Running Fix and to check
your time piece.
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