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.
