I ordered a Davis Mark 25 sextant. Thought it was a good time for me to learn celestial navigation. So on 1/9, the sextant arrived.
First off, I was surprised to find a note in the box that stated if I wanted to upgrade to a metal sextant, I have 90 days and will receive a full refund towards the new sextant. Now that is nice.
OK... the Davis is plastic. I was expecting a heavier or thicker plastic but was disappointed that the plastic is not very sturdy. It looks like any exposure to the sun will cause the plastic to expand.
The feel of the sextant is comfortable, but I am not used to holding something up to my eye for any period of time. And even though it is light weight, my arm gets tired quickly.
The movement of the index arm is very smooth. The micrometer drum also rotates smoothly. I cannot state accuracy of the markings but the documentation states around 15'.
The sextant comes with a regular siting tube and a telescope. The tube is great for day shots but the telescope helps enlarge the celestial target. Moon and sun are easy to find even with the telescope, as was Jupiter. The north star took some time to find. My only complaint is the focus on the telescope. I literally have to pull the focus tube almost all the way out to obtain focus. I didn't think I was that blind. And, it is difficult to make an observation with my glasses on. So that is a big negative for this sextant. I may (if I keep the sextant) look for better scope to use. One that has a larger focusing range. Maybe a small piece of tape or a thin layer of rubber based caulk will tighten up the focus slide.
That's it. I will be doing test readings for the next several months. I need to get a Nautical Almanac. Then I can do the sight reductions as well.
First off, I was surprised to find a note in the box that stated if I wanted to upgrade to a metal sextant, I have 90 days and will receive a full refund towards the new sextant. Now that is nice.
OK... the Davis is plastic. I was expecting a heavier or thicker plastic but was disappointed that the plastic is not very sturdy. It looks like any exposure to the sun will cause the plastic to expand.
The feel of the sextant is comfortable, but I am not used to holding something up to my eye for any period of time. And even though it is light weight, my arm gets tired quickly.
The movement of the index arm is very smooth. The micrometer drum also rotates smoothly. I cannot state accuracy of the markings but the documentation states around 15'.
The sextant comes with a regular siting tube and a telescope. The tube is great for day shots but the telescope helps enlarge the celestial target. Moon and sun are easy to find even with the telescope, as was Jupiter. The north star took some time to find. My only complaint is the focus on the telescope. I literally have to pull the focus tube almost all the way out to obtain focus. I didn't think I was that blind. And, it is difficult to make an observation with my glasses on. So that is a big negative for this sextant. I may (if I keep the sextant) look for better scope to use. One that has a larger focusing range. Maybe a small piece of tape or a thin layer of rubber based caulk will tighten up the focus slide.
That's it. I will be doing test readings for the next several months. I need to get a Nautical Almanac. Then I can do the sight reductions as well.
