Dan H.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pierre Poulin" <pipo305@hotmail.com>
To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2004 7:41 AM
Subject: RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Last Launch and Trials
Hi Dan,
Not sure if it's pertinent but...
When I was in the army, We used a regular compass to orient ourselfs
while
inside a tank (APC). If I stand inside the crew commender hatch, witch
was
"magnetic center" of tank, no problem.
You could try it while the sub is on the trailer. Go far of anything
metal,
take a reading and spot a far object. Then climb inside persistence and
spot
again the same object. While moving the compass inside the sub you should
be
able to find the "magnetic center" of your sub.
Hope this help!
Pierre Poulin
Building a dry ambient
Québec Canada
>From: "Dan H." <jmachine@adelphia.net>
>Reply-To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
>To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
>Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Last Launch and Trials Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004
>22:15:49 -0500
>
>Hi All,
>
>I apologize for not posting sooner. I was hoping to have more to post.
>
>I took my sub, Persistence, to the lake where I first launched it for a
day
>of diving. Although not a great dive location, it's close to home and
has
>a nice launch ramp. There are also two docks on it, about 800 feet
apart,
>where I planned to do timed runs to determine it's speed.
>
>Since the lake is located within a state park, it's patrolled by park
>rangers. The part time "rent a ranger" that was there on Sunday had
>some
>issues with my safety. Like HE was going to save me from my own demise
>by
>not letting me in the water that day. He insisted that I would need a
>"surface boat and a scuba diver in the water to be safe to go in that
>thing." After discussing the situation for twenty minuets, I could see
>that his mind was made up.
>
>I did launch that day in another lake about an hour away but the
>location
>didn't lend itself to testing the subs speed and we already spent a lot
of
>daylight.
>
>I got to test my fish finder / sonar more and found it pretty difficult
to
>tell much with. Maybe with more practice I'll learn how to find more
>information in the squiggly lines. It's great for determining depth and
>watching as I'm approaching the bottom. It counts down until I touch
down.
> I turned the pickup facing upward but it won't read the distance to
> the
>surface when sitting on the bottom. I guess it can't detect the
>boundary
>between the water and the air.
>
>Another thing I tried out was a mirror I located on the top of my hatch
>cover on the outside of the up looking viewport. When the sub is on the
>surface, but still at neutral buoyancy, none of it actually sticks above
>the surface. I can only glimpse out of the up looking viewport. Seeing
the
>sky isn't much of a help when trying to get a fix on a direction or
>proximity to an object. It takes time and air to inflate the MBT's
enough
>to get the conning tower viewports out of the water. With a small
mirror,
>fixed at 45 degrees, located above half of the hatch viewport, I can
>look
>up and see forward just enough to scan the surface. I know it's no
>periscope, but it's simple and doesn't have the hazards of a periscope
>in
a
>small sub.
>
>I recently posted a request for help in choosing a method of keep on
course
>under water. I thank each of you who posted suggestions. After reading
>your postings and considering my options, I've decided to try to find a
>liquid filled dash board compass to mount outside the pressure hull as a
>first try. They're hard to find now with electronic ones on the market.
>
>My second choice would be an electronic compass made in two parts. If I
>can find such a unit, I'd encapsulate the sensor in epoxy and mount it
>under my fiberglass MBT, pass the wires through a thruhull and mount the
>readout inside. I've found some one piece electronic units and some
>sensors but I don't have the electronic skills to separate the one piece
>units or marry together a sensor and readout. I don't want a whole
>computer in the sub.
>If anyone knows of an off the shelf unit or could give me explicit
>instructions, I'd like to try an electronic compass with remote located
>sensor.
>
>My last choice, probably the most expensive, is to install a 28 volt
>aviation gyro compass. The biggest draw backs are it needs to be set
each
>time, it's noisy and an electronic gyro is expensive. They are a nice,
>easy to install and use, one piece unit that will work well in a sub.
>
>That's it from Persistence! If I get a chance to test speed or a
guidance
>system before the lakes freeze over, I'll post my progress.
>
>Cheers to all, Dan H
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603-529-1100
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