Messages

1

New Member Introductions / Re: New to the forum

« on: September 06, 2016, 09:43:15 AM »

Hi Archie, and welcome 

Yes ,the forum has been inactive whilst other projects have been on the go, plus the site is being updated & renewed for the launch of something special to be announced January 2017

All members will be pinged then so you are now on the list 

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New Member Introductions / Re: New to the forum

« on: October 27, 2014, 09:52:20 AM »

Welcome Brynglass Strange how frequently what we set out to do in life is not what we end up actually doing, I guess it’s what makes life so colourful I have no doubts whatsoever that your navigational learning, albeit seemingly locked away in inaccessible areas of your brain, will come back to you easily when on the hill.

Jenny Changleng, another member on this forum, instructs kids in navigation and she is the best I have seen do this (I know her thru TVMRT) you might want to ask her for a few tips and I am sure other members will chip in too.

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New Member Introductions / Re: Hello from South Wales

« on: October 27, 2014, 09:45:28 AM »

Brains bitter was our mainstay after yomps across very wet parts of South Wales Wayne, happy days. Welcome

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Administrator Announcements / Out of the picture

« on: October 27, 2014, 09:44:10 AM »

Currently, because of personal circumstances, I am unable to dedicate as much time as I would like to the site. However, I am determined to keep it open and paying for it as it is an excellent resource for all things navigation There are lots of well-informed, and in many instances better informed than me, members, who I know are willing to continue to help address people's questions.

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General Discussion / UK SAR Helicopter Service

« on: October 27, 2014, 09:40:46 AM »

As the start of the transition-in of the new UK SAR Helicopter Service approaches, the end of service is in sight for British military SAR flights across the country. When the first flight closes next March, it will be 62 years to the month since the world's first dedicated search and rescue helicopter units were formed. By that time, Fleet Air Arm helicopters had already saved hundreds of lives and captured the imagination of the general public both in the UK and abroad through their outstanding work during the North Sea floods of January 1953. Since that time, many thousands of people have been saved from suffering and death by British military helicopters

For the seventh year running, The Sun newspaper is running its Military Awards, aka The Millies 2014. Although much focus is centred on overseas conflict, there is a category highlighting outstanding service at home.

You might feel that this is the right time to highlight the service of RAF SAR Force and the Fleet Air Arm's SAR Helicopter units. If so, then here is the link to the internet page at the bottom of which you will find the online nomination form.

THERE ARE ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT!     Closes 31st October!     

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/millies/6005605/Prince-Charles-reiterates-support-for-Military-Awards-as-we-ask-for-your-nominations.html

6

New Techniques & Learning / Re: Free climbing rope book

« on: August 19, 2014, 12:41:07 PM »

Great stuff Callum & Krenaud

I have a difficult relationship with old kit, especially if it still looks in great condition, I continue to use it. Whilst this is fine with my old stove, I just end up with cold tea for ropes and associated kit it is more problematic. 

Again, like so many aspects of safety we discuss on the Forum it is centred upon acceptable personal levels of risk and these obviously vary amongst us. If the risk is individual then this is our prerogative, if the risk involves other, and climbing with a partner using my ropes does, then this is different. It is an issue I wrestle with and have not satisfactorily resolved. 

7

General Discussion / Re: The Water Myth

« on: August 11, 2014, 11:22:07 AM »

If this individual did pick up the snake then it explains why he was also reportedly struck - bitten - three times. I learned that British Adders strike in defence and once they have done this, they make good their escape. It does make me wonder why anyone, unless they are a herpatologist or involved in some sort of research involving them, would need to handle an adder

The reason that I highlight If in the previous sentence is because, as always, the British press is so inaccurate in its reporting, the last death in the UK was a 5 year old boy, in Scotland, in 1997 (Watson AA, Harland WA. Adder-bite fatality in Scotland. Med Sci Law. 1977 Jul;17(3):190–192) not a  39 year old woman in Essex in 1998 as some papers have reported.

8

General Discussion / Re: Preventing water bottles freezing in winter

« on: August 05, 2014, 05:42:43 PM »

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths" - Walt Disney.

I like curiosity Hugh

Contrary to your experience Hugh, whilst working with the Spetsnaz, East of Murmansk and living in a snow hole, with outside temperatures frequently less the -30°C our vodka, a particularly good bottle of Stoli,  froze. More field tests are needed I think

9

General Discussion / Re: The Water Myth

« on: August 02, 2014, 03:21:47 PM »

Boogyman used your link to view the Fitbottle from the USA.

On the homepage I was instantly suspicious with the claim “Removes up to 99.99997% of bacteria, viruses & harmful chemicals” because percentage contaminant removal values (the 99.99997% claimed) used are based on Log reduction values to show the relative number of particulates removed. Simply this is a way to express levels of decreased biological contamination in water by factors of 10 which are then easily converted to the corresponding percentage removal, where 1-log = 90% / 4-log = 99.99% / 6 log = 99.9999% and so forth, there would not be a 99.99997 at the end.

Reading on, they claim to remove metals such as mercury and nickel, volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde, even viruses such as hepatitis and norwalk (winter vomiting virus) and all confirmed by “rigorously tested by a nationally certified laboratory” using “a patented filter media design” – this is a miracle product, achieving more than water utility companies, both in your country, Belgium and here in the UK, who are responsible for providing safe and clean drinking water who have to use a seven stage process of treatment to produce water to 6-log, not 7-log.

There is an old adage: If something seems too good to be true it probably is!

Despite several requests direct to the firm to provide me with the details of the national certified laboratory and their patent registration, in addition to an on-line search for such a patent – nothing

OK, this fir is at the extreme edge of making unsubstantiated and false claims about their filters to share in the US$15 Billion bottled water market, yet they are not alone; it’s a murky industry

I had hoped to publish the results of my research sooner rather than later, however I have to await approval from the rest of the group before I release any finding and it may well be some week, possibly months yet.

10

Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: GNSS trustworthiness in mountainous and forested areas

« on: July 30, 2014, 04:10:49 PM »

Ths CP You have helped me get my head around this topic, in part

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Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: GNSS signal multipathing

« on: July 30, 2014, 04:09:49 PM »

Captain Paranoia wrote " 'Think it possible that your GPS may be mistaken...'"

An excellent statement CP and one we all must continually be cognisant of.

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Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: MEMORY-MAP ANDROID GPS TX3

« on: July 30, 2014, 04:07:43 PM »

Just your way of politely reminding me to upload all the articles Pete, hint taken

Here is my article about smartphones in this month’s Trail Magazine – August 2014

Memory-Maps TX3 is not the replacement for handheld satnavs because of its batteries:

•   They are not replaceable, which is also a major drawback with iPhones
•   When smartphone batteries are replaceable, as found in many Samsung models, they are bespoke batteries and not standard sizes.
•   The biggest issue with batteries, that small companies like Memory-Map, along with giants like apple and Samsung, all have not yet resolved, is battery life. There needs to be a substantial breakthrough in battery technology before power-hungry smartphones can be used for long periods of time in navigation.

Lastly, I still have major concerns about putting all your eggs into one basket: phone/compass/satnav etc.

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Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: GNSS trustworthiness in mountainous and forested areas

« on: July 28, 2014, 09:37:38 PM »

CP would predictive ephemeris help negate this situation?

14

Forecasting / Big skies

« on: July 28, 2014, 09:35:10 PM »

We get big skies where we live and I just had to share the magnificent one rhis evening

URL=http://s842.photobucket.com/user/XQP/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140728_210415_zps8663b551.jpg.html][/URL

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Satnav (GPS GLONASS COMPASS Galileo) / Re: The first consumer anti-jamming and anti-spoofing product

« on: July 28, 2014, 12:56:13 PM »

Thanks for the link Sandy

Sandy wrote: "Its seems they will be employing a Controlled Radiation Pattern Antenna (CRPA) set up. Which nulls sectors on the antenna nullifying the jamming signal to allow the relative weak (compared to the jamming signal) GPS signal through."

The military anti-jamming GPS kit I have experience of uses directional antennas that can be pointed directly at the satellites, reducing the receiver's sensitivity to jammers. However, these antennas are too expensive for most commercial applications, so GINCAN, as you say, could be a real breakthrough.

Sandy wrote: "I cannot personally think of reason why I would need anti-jamming capabilities when out walking, biking etc."

The reason I believe the likes of GINCAN are important for us when we are out in the great outdoors, is that if we are using our handheld satnavs to navigate we will usually be unaware if they are being spoofed (giving a false reported location) or jammed, rendering them useless, and the occurrence of jamming and spoofing is rapidly increasing, plus some folk - read a lot - rely solely on the handheld satnavs Sandy

Back in 2011 a government funded study, called Sentinel, identified on one stretch of motorway over 60 separate incidents of jamming were detected over a 6 month period, and it is estimated that there are now thousands of ‘personal’ jammers in use.

Because the GNSS signals originating from the satellites are so weak, so called ‘personal’ jammers can affect a large area.

In 2010 an engineering firm worker in New Jersey had a GPS jammer in his truck so his bosses don't know where he was all the time. However, his route took him close to Newark Airport and his 'personal' jammer interfered with the airport's landing system, leading to disruptions and an investigation spanning several months.

Plus of course there is legitimate jamming & spoofing and again, unless somebody has read this thread Satnav (GPS) Jamming Notices they will most likely be unaware of it.