Land surveyors needed for yacht measurement

ORCi is a rating system that has evolved from IMS and is partly dependent on accurate hull data so that a boat’s potential performance can be calculated.

The hull file is a 3D model collected using a reflector-less total station; the model is used in the ORC Manager 2 software in conjunction with data from in water tests of the boat’s righting moment and measurement of the rig and sails to produce a detailed rating.

Measurement of a boat’s hull typically takes one day on the hardstand, but needs some preparation and follow up data editing to complete the entire hull measurement process.

Ian Souter, land surveyor and Sydney-based sailor, is currently assisting Yachting Australia with measurement.

“The measurement process is pretty simple for someone who has the gear, can operate a theodolite, and has an understanding of either dinghy class measurement, or rating systems,” he said. “Now that we’ve done a couple of complete hull measurements, and with my background as an International 420 class measurer, it’s an easy enough task for us.”

In-water testing, such as inclining and measurement of the freeboards, rig and sails required by ORCi, are a separate process undertaken by a Yachting Australia appointed Measurer and can be done at any other time.

So that it can maintain its capacity to service this area of the sport, Yachting Australia is looking to increase its network of people who have the appropriate skills and experience to measure hulls for ORCi.

Land surveyors with access to a reflector-less total station and sundry surveying equipment, who also have a strong background in ocean racing, rating systems or class measurement, can contact Glen Stanaway at Yachting Australia by emailing glen.stanaway@yachting.org.au or by phoning 02 8424 7408.

Priority areas for Yachting Australia are Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, with boats currently awaiting opportunity to be measured. Yachting Australia would like to hear from interested land surveyors in these cities as soon as possible.

Details about ORCi can be found at: www.yachting.org.au/orc and www.orc.org/

Hunter Research and Technology is pleased to show Theodolite app for iPad 2

1. Hunter Research and Technology today is pleased to announce that its popular Theodolite app series is now available in a special new version for iPad 2. Theodolite HD is a viewfinder-based compass, GPS, map, zoom camera, rangefinder, and two-axis inclinometer. The app looks to repeat the success it has had on iPhone, becoming the #1 selling paid navigation app in the US iTunes store in December 2009 and September 2010. Theodolite has been featured numerous times in iTunes, including “Rewind 2010: Hot Trends in Apps” and “Augmented Reality: The World Around You”.

Theodolite HD overlays real-time information about position, altitude, bearing, range, and horizontal/vertical inclination on the iPad’s live camera image, turning iPad 2 into a sophisticated electronic viewfinder. Theodolite HD lets users take geo-stamped and geo-tagged camera images and screenshots directly from the app with 2X and 4X digital zoom options, and has a fast photography engine with buffered background image saves. Uses are endless, and the app is great for navigation, outdoor sports, home projects, and photography. Theodolite has a strong professional customer base, and is used in the field by surveyors, geologists, architects, engineers, military personnel, competitive sportsmen, and search and rescue workers around the world.
The new flagship of the Theodolite series, Theodolite HD includes features for serious users such as a zero reference angle mode, an A-B calculator for height, distance, heading, position, triangulation, and relative angles, a built-in map with standard, satellite, and hybrid views, two mil-based rangefinders, colored lens filters to improve use in dark conditions and preserve night vision, e-mail export with KML data, system-wide clipboard integration, percent grade display, optical rangefinders, military grid reference system (MGRS) coordinates, universal transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates, and four latitude/longitude formats.
The software implements an advanced “fusion” algorithm that combines gyro and magnetometer data to provide a more accurate, more responsive, and more robust compass measurement. Theodolite is able to provide stable compass bearing to any landmarks visible in the camera viewfinder, regardless of how the user holds or points the device. This provides a significant increase in utility over traditional palm held compasses and compass apps.
Device Requirements:
* iPad 2 Wi-Fi and iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G
* Requires iOS 4.3 or later
* 3.8 MB
Pricing and Availability:
Theodolite HD 2.4 is available for $3.99 on the iTunes App Store and works on all versions of the iPad 2. Users with iPhones and 4th-generation iPod touch devices can check out the Theodolite Free, Basic, and Pro apps for free, $1.99, and $3.99, respectively. More information, including screenshots, is available on the Hunter Research and Technology website. Media professionals interested in reviewing Theodolite HD can request a promotional code to download the app from iTunes at no cost.

Hunter Research and Technology today is pleased to announce the release of Theodolite 2.3 on the iTunes

 Hunter Research and Technology today is pleased to announce the release of Theodolite 2.3 on the iTunes App Store. This novel multi-function augmented reality viewfinder app serves as a compass, GPS, map, zoom camera, rangefinder, and two-axis inclinometer. Theodolite has been featured numerous times in iTunes, including “Rewind 2010: Hot Trends in Apps” and “Augmented Reality: The World Around You”. It was the #1 selling US Navigation app in December 2009 and September 2010.

Based on the concept of a centuries-old astronomical instrument, Theodolite overlays real-time information about position, altitude, bearing, range, and horizontal/vertical inclination on the iPhone’s live camera image, turning the iPhone into a sophisticated electronic viewfinder. Theodolite lets users take geo-stamped and geo-tagged camera images directly from the app, with 2X and 4X digital zoom options, and contains a built-in map with standard, satellite, and hybrid views. Uses are endless, and the app is great for navigation, outdoor sports, home projects, and photography. Theodolite is used in the field by surveyors, geologists, avalanche researchers, military personnel, and search and rescue workers around the world.

Theodolite comes in three versions – Free, Basic, and Pro – to cover a range of customer needs. The flagship Theodolite Pro includes features for serious users, such as a zero reference angle mode, an A-B calculator for height, distance, heading, position, triangulation, and relative angles, e-mail export with KML data, system-wide clipboard integration, percent grade display, optical rangefinders, military grid reference system (MGRS) coordinates, universal transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates, and four latitude/longitude formats.

Version 2.3 of Theodolite implements performance improvements for smoother rendering, lower CPU usage, and a reduction in overall memory usage. The app also sports a refined UI look and feel. Basic and Pro versions of the app now take high res 960×640 screenshots on devices with a Retina display and include a faster photography engine with buffered image saves. Theodolite Pro adds colored lens filters to improve use in dark conditions and preserve night vision, a recalibration of optical rangefinders with proper lens specs on all devices, and an additional mil-based rangefinder. With these new capabilities, Theodolite continues its role as a technology demonstrator app, showcasing the latest and greatest in iOS hardware and software capabilities.

Pricing and Availability:
As the name suggests, the demo version “Theodolite Free” is available for free on the iTunes App Store. The mid level “Theodolite Basic” costs $1.99 (USD), and the full-featured “Theodolite Pro” is $3.99. Theodolite runs on any iPhone with iOS 4.1 or later and also works on the new 4th generation iPod touch. More information, including screenshots, is available on the Hunter Research and Technology website. Media professionals interested in reviewing Theodolite can request a promotional code to download the apps from iTunes at no cost.

Nikon NE-103 Series electronic digital theodolites from TDS

Easy-to-use, accurate instruments for construction and survey environments. Designed for general construction and survey applications, Nikon NE-103 Series electronic digital theodolites from TDS give you accurate measurements in an affordable, easy-to-use platform. Nikon NE-100 Series theodolites can run 48 hours under normal operating conditions on a set of six AA alkaline batteries. Each of the four models has an ergonomic keypad with one-touch keys for all functions and a large, backlit LCD display help you work productively in the field. 

One-touch keys for common functions. NE-103 series theodolites feature five easy-to-use, one-touch keys: four to perform all common functions and a fifth to control the backlit LCD display and reticle illumination. You can instantly convert vertical angles to percent of grade, reset the horizontal angle to zero and lock the horizontal angle displayed on the LCD while you reposition or repeat a measurement. The 103 model offers 5-Inch angle accuracy. Extra light for dark conditions this series features a built-in reticle illuminator and backlit LCD display that allow you to work inside buildings as well as in tunnels, mines and other environments with little or no light. These features also come in handy during low-light conditions outdoors, such as near dawn or dusk. Rugged, all-weather reliability. With the Nikon NE-103 Series theodolite models, you can count on reliable performance in tough conditions.

It has a higher rating of IP56 which means it is waterproof and dustproof. Works longer on standard AA batteries Unlike other instruments that require specialized batteries, it uses six standard AA alkaline batteries. Those batteries can power all models for about 48 hours. A three-level bar graph on the LCD screen displays remaining battery power. Built to perform, it performs well in rugged environments.It has a vertical compensator.

Museum acquires artifacts of tragic polar expedition by theodolite

Museum officials recently acquired the artifacts from a descendant of the late Charles Wright, the Toronto man who found the bodies of Scott and his comrades after they perished on their return from the Pole a century ago.
One of the instruments, a theodolite, is the navigation tool that helped Wright plot a route across the icy expanses of Antarctica to eventually locate the dead bodies of Scott and his companions frozen inside their snow-shrouded tent.
The other is a roughly crafted sundial given to Wright as a memento on the Beardmore Glacier by the expedition’s chief scientist, Edward Wilson, in December 1911. “Uncle Bill” Wilson was among those who died with Scott, pinned for days at their last camp by a ferocious storm.
The artifacts were originally among a treasure trove of Wright’s Antarctic memorabilia, most of which was sold piecemeal last Sept. 22 in London, England, by the Christie’s auction house.
But the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board refused to let the theodolite and sundial out of the country, citing the “significance of their association with the Scott expedition and with a Canadian scientist recognized in his own right.”
The federal body is a watchdog that keeps important cultural artifacts in Canada.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum then made a successful offer to Adrian Raeside, Wright’s grandson, and the two relics of Antarctica’s golden age of exploration will soon go on public display in Ottawa.
The review board also refused Christie’s an export permit for Wright’s box camera, and it was purchased in Canada last fall for $21,600 by an unidentified buyer believed to reside in British Columbia.
Wright’s medals and decorations, also restricted to Canada, were sold for more than $96,000 to a mystery bidder.
Science museum officials said they cannot disclose what they paid for the theodolite and sundial, under rules that protect the seller’s privacy.
Raeside, a well-established editorial cartoonist living in Whistler, B.C., recently wrote a book about his grandfather after visiting some of the Antarctic locales of Scott’s expedition. He is also working on a film.
Scott’s adventure in the south is one of the best-loved tales of exploration, even though he died on the return journey from the Pole and was beaten to the prize by upstart Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen more than a month earlier. The British team found Amundsen’s tent at the Pole with letters awaiting them inside.
But the full story of Scott’s death march might never have been told had Wright not spotted a speck of dark material slightly off the trail of the search party. Inspecting it, he found a snow-covered tent with the frozen bodies of Scott and two other men. Also inside were Scott’s now-famous diaries that told the horrid tale — diaries that have never been out of print since.
That contrasts sharply with another famous polar expedition that also ended in tragedy. Sir John Franklin died in Canada’s Arctic in 1847 after his two ships failed to find a northwest passage through the thick Arctic ice.
Dozens of rescue ships were dispatched to locate him, but none ever did and the full story of his demise remains a mystery even today. Franklin’s grave has never been found.
The science museum plans to display the Wright objects in the next few weeks as part of its current Franklin exhibition, “Echoes in the Ice: History, Mystery, and Frozen Corpses,” which ends March 20.
The theodolite is a telescope-like instrument made of brass and platinum, its dials and eyepiece covered with soft Chamois leather to protect fingers and eyes in the bitter Antarctic cold. One of six built in 1910 for Scott’s expedition by T. Cooke and Sons Ltd., an English manufacturer based in York, the precision device was assigned to Wright for his fieldwork as a glaciologist and navigator.
The rough sundial was crafted at Scott’s base hut by motor engineer Bernard Day, likely using plywood from a packing case. Designed specifically for use in high latitudes, it is accurate to within about 15 minutes but was not for most science work, which relied on much more precise chronometers.
Senior museum official Randall Brooks says the two objects are a highlight of his career, ranking alongside artifacts belonging to Canadian Nobel-prize winning scientists John Polanyi and Gerhard Herzberg.
“The sundial is quite unusual and was designed specifically for use at high latitudes where the sun rotates around the sky during the summer without setting,” said Brooks, vice-president of collection and research. “I’ve never seen one like it.”
The remainder of Wright’s Antarctic possessions appear now to be scattered around the globe. Daughter Pat Wright sold her father’s diaries to the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, England, for 12,000 pounds in 1988. And some of the material from last September’s Christie’s auction — including photographs and a pair of skis — was sent as far afield as New Zealand.
Scott was a heroic figure for decades after his death, inspiring a feature film, a symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams and a spate of memoirs. His standing has diminished since the 1980s, though, as polar historians began to question his preparations and stiff leadership style.
Wright, who died 1975 in retirement on Salt Spring Island, B.C., spent the rest of a brilliant scientific career in Britain helping to develop early radio and radar. Reticent all his life about his south-polar experiences, his diaries and memoirs reveal a deep resentment that Scott had not properly provisioned his hard-working field parties.
Wright, knighted in 1946, believed trail rations were far too small, and half-starved men pulling heavy sledges readily succumbed to the cold and bad weather.