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» Online Classroom   » Celestial Navigation   » Public Discussion of Cel Nav   » Minor Issues with StarPilot

   
Author Topic: Minor Issues with StarPilot
Lance


 - posted March 16, 2021 12:59 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
An interesting feature of StarPilot: If I delete all of my sights, the dialog showing the sights being reviewd vanishes and is apparently destroyed, so if I then enter new sights, StarPilot can't let me review the new sights. All I have to do is to exit StarPilot and restart so the dialog is recreated.

Another interesting feature: If I do multiple DR calculations, hitting update after each one, the DR positions calculated are apparently not saved, so I have to write down the final position, then retype it into the settings dialog. Presumably previous users have found it inconvenient to have the DR position updated with the calculations.

From: Hobart, Australia
David Burch


 - posted March 16, 2021 05:16 PM      Profile for David Burch           Edit/Delete Post 
Please tell us what version of the StarPilot are you using: HP calculator, iOS, or PC.

Super convenient DR is a key feature of the StarPilot, so we have to track down what you refer to once we know the model.

Also if you care to post the logbook section you want to plot, we can make a video showing how to enter it, learn the result at each step, and how to see the final step and indeed save it to the ongoing DR used in the cel nav computations You can do DR with speed, time, and distance, or with Log and heading, selected in the Settings.

From: Starpath, Seattle, WA
Lance


 - posted March 17, 2021 01:21 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
Many thanks. A screenshot of the help|about is attached. The version is StarPilot PC on a Toshiba Satellite laptop. I was attempting to do problem 8 in HBS. T


From: Hobart, Australia
Lance


 - posted March 17, 2021 02:31 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
Oops. Let me finish that last message:
I am attempting problem 8 in HBS.

The logbook entries I'm using are directly from HBS page 9, with fixes or DR positions inserted between the log entry and the course entry)
25 9 2159 992 N37° 06.4' W132° 32.1' 197 5.7
26 10 0000 1003 N36° 55.9' W132° 36.1' 197 5.7
27 10 0500 1032 N36° 28.2 W132° 46.6' 276 5.7
28 10 1334 1082 N36° 33.4' W133° 48.2' 210 4.8

The 2159 entry gives the fix, calculated using SPPC and is very close to the answer given in HBS. All other positions are my DR positions, calculated using SPPC via the log and heading method. In each DR calculation, I entered the speed and course shown in the logbook at the start of the leg and the succeeding log entry. I recorded the DR position in my logbook and then clicked on 'Update'.

I prefer not to use auto update because I want to be able to compare the current DR position with the newly calculated position for a reality check. Once I was satisfied that the answers passed my reality checks, I clicked on 'Update' and the calculated positions appeared in the current DR position boxes in the dialog as expected.

After the 3 dr steps to 1334, I had my dr position at 1334 recorded in my logbook, but the DR position in the settings dialog was unchanged from the 2159 position. I had to copy the 1334 position back from my logbook into the settings dialog. It would be convenient if the new DR position replaced the old DR position in the settings, not just in the F8/Update DR dialog - but I accept that it may not be the designed program behaviour.

I attach the fix using calculation. As you can see, I've used the course and speed from the 0500 logbook entry, so my fix doesn't match the answer in HBS. If I use C263, S4.5 as per the answer on page 29, I get:

N 036°22.9' W 133°17.9'

That's almost exactly as per the book. I would expect a slight difference because I checked all the sights from 10:55;29 to 13:34:46 using the sight analyzer and kept them all because I thought they were all good. Oddly, if I eliminate all but the 11:02:02 and 13:34"46 sights selected in the book, still using C264 S4.5, I get:

N 36°23.4' W 133°16.6',

HBS gives this position on page 29:

N36° 22.9' W133°17.8'


From: Hobart, Australia
Lance


 - posted March 17, 2021 02:36 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
Oops. typo in the last post in the 4th last line:

"still using C264 S4.5, I get:"

should read

"still using C263 S4.5, I get:"

From: Hobart, Australia
David Burch


 - posted March 17, 2021 03:55 PM      Profile for David Burch           Edit/Delete Post 
In your initial post you wrote this:

"Another interesting feature: If I do multiple DR calculations, hitting update after each one, the DR positions calculated are apparently not saved, so I have to write down the final position, then retype it into the settings dialog. Presumably previous users have found it inconvenient to have the DR position updated with the calculations."

Has that problem been resolved?

From: Starpath, Seattle, WA
Lance


 - posted March 17, 2021 06:47 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
Sorry, no. I attach a calculation from 11th July, 0605 (in HBS) TO 1110. Course is 197.


From: Hobart, Australia
Lance


 - posted March 17, 2021 06:48 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
After I click on Update, this is what I see, the expected values are now in the DR.


From: Hobart, Australia
Lance


 - posted March 17, 2021 06:59 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
But when I close the DR dialog, even though I clicked on Update and the DR position is updated in the DR dialog, the old DR persists in the Settings dialog, the DR before I updated the DR, which of course is carried into the default DR for the fix.
If I do a set of, say three, DR updates, everything looks fine in the DR dialog, but the underlying stored DR, seen in the settings dialog, is not updated. This may be intentional, depending on how you want the program to work, but I think I would prefer the DR update to carry through to the settings and hence the celestial fix dialogs, rather than have to update them manually.

When I reopen the DR Update dialog, the old DR is still there, of course - unless I manually update the DR in the Settings dialog.


From: Hobart, Australia
David Burch


 - posted March 17, 2021 07:19 PM      Profile for David Burch           Edit/Delete Post 
OK. As soon as we can we will post a video on how to do DR with the StarPilot. We have several practice problems in our course or workbook and will use one of those. This will be thursday or Friday.
From: Starpath, Seattle, WA
Lance


 - posted March 17, 2021 08:20 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
Many thanks! I'll look forward to it.
From: Hobart, Australia
David Burch


 - posted March 20, 2021 11:02 PM      Profile for David Burch           Edit/Delete Post 
Update DR from Logbook Entries, Computed by Log and Compass
(6m:11s)
https://youtu.be/k-jzUOD8Spc

Update DR from Logbook Entries, Computed by Speed and Time
(8m:11s)
https://youtu.be/GHYHTDMy9Ug

From: Starpath, Seattle, WA
Lance


 - posted March 23, 2021 04:32 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
Hi, again. Thank you for the videos. I watched the one on updating DR in "log" mode using "Auto Update" and I get the results expected if I follow that procedure.

The problem I mentioned arises if the Auto Update box is not checked. Apparently the "Update DR" button only copies the New DR lat and lon text into the top left text boxes but doesn't update the DR position.

You can see this in the attached images. If I:

(1) clear the auto update box and click on "Compute" (top panel of attached image) ...

(2) click on "Update DR", (middle panel) ...

(3) close the DR dialog and open the settings dialog (bottom panel)...

I find that the new DR position has not been saved. My workaround is to write down the new DR positions and manually update the settings dialog ready for the next fix.

I'm guessing it's just a minor programming bug, which could be fixed with a couple of lines of code.


From: Hobart, Australia
David Burch


 - posted March 23, 2021 04:44 PM      Profile for David Burch           Edit/Delete Post 
I believe that is a feature, not a bug! Have you tried an actual sequence of sights, to see if the update is properly updating what you care about between sights. That is the key update.

The setting is i believe just where you want to start from scratch... ie no matter what you do, you come back to that. When you are doing practice problems, it should prove a convenient feature... or if you are star gazing mostly from home or some anchorage and do not want to have to enter that every time it is stored, without having to make an archive.

Please check to see if that works properly for you. I will also check this myself as soon as i can. Namely, start with some DR... do a fix updating the DR between sights if you like, then get a fix then update the DR... then do more sights, and when you update the DR it should carry on from the last update, and so on.

From: Starpath, Seattle, WA
Lance


 - posted March 24, 2021 07:21 PM      Profile for Lance           Edit/Delete Post 
Yes, that's right. If I do a set of sights and get a fix, then click on 'Update DR', the new fix is transferred to the DR in the Settings dialog, as expected, where it is available for more DR or more fixes.

In the "Update DR" dialog in log mode, the computer only updates the DR position and the log if "Auto Update w [compute]" is checked, regardless of whether or not I click on "Update DR".

A workaround is to check "Auto Update w [compute]" and click on "Compute" a second time. It then updates both the DR position and the log, as you can see in the settings dialog.

If I had a choice, I would like the DR dialogue to update the DR position and log when I click on "Update DR", but the workaround will work for me as long as I remember it.

From: Hobart, Australia


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