SOLAR NAV

Shark Spotting

Map-based Shark Spotter V1

Equatorial Sundial

Simple Shark Spotting

If arrow vandalised during summer, use watch time to set up box as Equatorial sun dial that points North (in Southern hemisphere). String gnomen then points South at angle = latitude of spotter = -34.0 +- 0.1 degrees

Sundials, walking sticks, prawn pumps, compasses and spotters

SOLAR COMPASS includes cardboard busola and string and an app that requires you to enter the shadow angle measured whilst pointing the busola to the target and using the string as gnomen. Works fine. A simpler approach is to have a sticker of a protractor, if you have one. I showed tools i used, but at the very least you can tear cardboard in any shape and use cap of ginger beer bottle (only this bottle; do not know why only this bottle cap) to make markings and draw an arrow extending outwards from 0 degrees and pointing to target direction.

SOLAR MAGIC. Calibrate your phone's magnetic compass to point to target, in any direction (and display true azimuth)

Shark spotting - for debate purposes

No sun ? Use the piggyback compass if you have no compass sensors on your phone. Better still, is make your own magnetic compass and keep further from the phone

Using sun to set up an arrow to true north at the beach, then enabling others to spot with an app on sensorless phone OR by using a simple half or full 360 degrees protractor, that even a kind would have in their schoolbag.

My grunter spotter protractor mounted onto a yabby pump whilst walking. With the web app, it completes my solar compass.

Solar compass web app together with an external protractor. There are two other versions that do not require an external protractor with gnomen. The web app converts shadow to target and target to shadow. (Who cares about North ?) It would be great if chatGPT voice could do this, but chatGPT cannot run a program to reply to a request to calculate target azimuth from shadow or vice versa, according to chatGPT). This app was tested on Samsung, Hisense, and feature phones Smart T and Vodacom Vibe. Its so easy to do its rediculous to think that no one can, at all ! To find North, enter shadow of 0 degrees, the target calculated will then be used as the new shadow value to line up the "0" on the protractor so that it points to True North. This app completes my ton of apps created for poor people (and eventually exceedingly rich people, aswell). Yet i cannot afford the web hosting fees, lawyers etc, being retired. Have a happy day spotting grunter at the Keurbooms river in Plettenberg Bay, where the simplest yabby / prawn pump ever was invented too: "The coke bottle prawn pump" or "The bottlehead prawn pump" that works only with 3 parts and is 100%. Not 99%. It is the Ferrari of prawn pumps ! Not the golf, as my sister suggested yesterday, until i let her test 1 today. Was invented many years ago now.

Walking kit

My solar compass pocket kit