Navigator

Description

Navigator is a remarkable program, and has received high praise from many expert navigators. It embodies many features rarely found in one program, and certainly not at such a low price. Its many celestial navigation features are:

• Perpetual Almanac for all bodies (to year 2031)
• Star Finder
• Meridian passage calculation
• Lines of position calculation
• Fix calculation
• Print star finder and star charts
• Print daily pages of the almanac

The star finder is a polar chart of the visible sky at a given time and position. You can point at a star and see its name, altitude and azimuth. Or you can point on the speadsheet and see the corresponding star on the chart.

Lines of position are actually plotted on a small inset chart (centered at your estimated position) with all the data affecting its computation shown. Fixes are shown as a result of the LOPs.

Daily nautical almanac pages can be printed out. All that is needed is the initial date of a 3 day period. These pages are very similar to the official Nautical Almanac in arrangement and data, and show: star position tables (SHA and dec), sun and moon hour tables complete with increments and semi-diameter, planets hour tables with increments, Aries hour table. Not included are: The latitude functions such as twilights and sun and moon rise and set, sun equation of time and meridian passage, and moon meridian-passage. While not intended to substitute for the official Nautical Almanac, it nevertheless is quite enough to do celestial navigation using the traditional methods.

Charting Features

• Scan your own charts
• Import GIF and JPEG images as raster charts
• NMEA GPS interface
• Create routes and tracks
• Plot position and save track in real time

It should be understood though, that this is primarily a celestial navigation program, and is not meant to replace other more expensive and more complete charting software. It will not read commercially available raster or vector charts. It will, however, read charts you scan yourself, and save as a GIF or JPEG image. In fact you will have unlimited zoom in or out capability with excellent clarity. This feature of making your own charts from paper charts, cruising guides, or even roadmaps is becoming very popular with navigators using other programs (such as Fugawi).

The program comes with a beautifully illustrated and comprehensive printed User1s Manual. System requirements are PC running Any Windows (32 or 64 bit). SW .3 lb.