Sun and Star shots

Dave Karoly, PLS · Post by **Dave Karoly, PLS** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:06 pm

I found a Wild T1 (and an older T2) under a desk today.

I brought the T1 home so I can do a solar with it. It has a 6" least count and is simple to operate.

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:15 pm

Thanks all and I will go to the recommended sites and figure it out.

Sometime later I will post about a K & E that I have coming in the mail from the Detroit area. Hope it is good?

Just setting up a meridian in the back yard for my information.

Keith

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:16 pm

I might need a meridian to adjust a solar transit??

E_Page · Post by **E_Page** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:45 pm

It appears that the practice remains more common than I imagined. but I do notice that it's all guys who are older than I who still do solars.

I'm not sure that the "not quite a dinosaur" status makes up for forgetting a still useful skill though.

coast · Post by **coast** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:37 am

In late November 1985, John Sands (Senior Land Surveyor with the County of Orange at the time) led a two-day Solar Azimuth Workshop. Using Dr. R.B. Buckner's book "A Manual on Astronomic and Grid Azimuth as a guide, John had prepared several HP41 programs to deal with geodetic azimuths.

What sticks in my mind to this day is the "Find Polaris" program. Sitting at a known point, you enter it's LAT & LONG, date, time, and azimuth to another known point. The program computed the horizontal and vertical angles to help find Polaris.

We were set-up with numerous Wild T-2's on the bank of the Santa Ana River and used John's program to compute the desired information. I turned the computed angles and couldn't see anything that looked like a star. John came over and turned both tangent screws and there it was. Polaris had been hiding behind the intersection of the cross hairs. I was impressed! One might be tempted to say "Big deal, I can find Polaris with my naked eye".

Except that this was during the middle of the day!! That was why I was so impressed, being able to observe Polaris during the daytime. He had proved that you can see Polaris even during daylight hours, if you can find it.

John Sands was a great teacher and mentor. One day in 1965, while he and I were sitting on a hilltop eating lunch, he very carefully peeled his orange in one piece so he could put it back together to explain geodesy to a young chainman, and still eat his orange.

I'm very proud to say that I was and still am a STM (Sands Trained Man)!!

Dave Karoly, PLS · Post by **Dave Karoly, PLS** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:24 pm

I have calculated the zenith angle to Polaris using the ephemeris on Cadastral.com and the formulas in Elementary Surveying, Ninth Edition by Wolf and Brinker and find it is fairly consistently about 1' below the horizontal cross hair.

I brought home another book I borrowed that seems to be better written and more thorough to see if maybe my formulas and calculating methods aren't quite right.

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:13 pm

Skip, Have you adjusted the solar attachment?

Kind of tricky as I recall, but will do it again.

Keith

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:17 pm

Skip,

I am sure you remember the days back in Billings, where we would go out in the park and adjust the solar attachments before the field season.

And the problem was that a girls dorm at Eastern College was not that far away and the scopes worked fine.

Keith

cals6406 · Post by **cals6406** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 1:57 pm

http://www.californiacentralvalleysurve ... _lands.pdf

Now if anyone has a 1st or 3rd Edition copy of the Redbook they are interested in selling to a collector, let me know.

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:38 pm

Skip,

I have a red book someplace, but sure would like to have another one!!

Keith

Dave Karoly, PLS · Post by **Dave Karoly, PLS** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:54 pm

Keith-

Did you do your solar or polaris observations yet?

-Dave

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 12:31 pm

Dave,

Have not done the observations yet, been too busy.

This retired life has lots of things to do and honey do's to do.

One of these days and will have to figure out how to make a dec sheet again.

Keith

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:57 pm

Skip,

Thanks for the phone call today and I look forward to the book!

Keith

Keithwill · Post by **Keithwill** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:34 pm

Thanks again Skip, I got the book in the mail today!

Looking forward to using it.

Keith

Dave Karoly, PLS · Post by **Dave Karoly, PLS** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:40 pm

I did an hour angle solar observation with my Dietzgen last Saturday morning at 10:30am.

The results were, simply put, AWFUL.

I think maybe the sun was too high for a good observation.

I need to try again earlier in the day. I can't tomorrow, though.

California Surveyors Forums

Sun and Star shots

John Sands Understood Geodesy

Red Book (pdf version) available in the Central Valley Chapter Library