The revolutionary KVH DataScope has won acceptance as one of the most useful optical devices for the marine environment. Now, it can be mated to the marine sextant. And what a marriage it is! The DataScope's time, bearing, and recording capabilities are just what celestial navigators have always wanted.
The DataScope itself functions as a fluxgate compass, rangefinder, chronometer, and 5.3x30 monocular telescope. The transparent digital reticle superimposes these functions as a "heads-up" display onto your field of view. You get all the information you need without taking your eyes off the target. Or, if you want, you can leave the screen blank. The built in memory stores up to 9 bearings and times for later plotting on a chart.
The Mounting Bracket brings the DataScope to the sextant, and provides two major benefits: star finding, and timekeeping. To find a star for an observation, one sets the star's altitude on the sextant, then pans the horizon until the precalculated azimuth is seen in the compass mode. The star will then be seen in the center of the field of view. Then, switching to the chronometer mode with the touch of a button, the time of sight can be recorded. Several options exist here too. By watching the time in the field of view, one can shoot on an even minute, thus simplifying computational procedures, or one can shoot at will and electronically record the time for later analysis.
The mounting bracket gently engages each end of the DataScope without having to alter or make any marks on it. Once done, the ensemble is quickly installed on the sextant in place of the regular telescope. It may be used apart from the sextant for coastal navigation without disengaging the mounting bracket from the DataScope.
The KVH Data Scope fits the
following modern metal sextants: |
| Astra IIIB |
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| C. Plath |
Tamaya (full sized) |
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| To determine the fit on another sextant, the ends of the fork from its regular scope should approximately match the outlines to the right. |
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