Another great video Dave and an excellent application of ancient knowledge into a no frills pathfinding tool. It truly is a great age in which we live that a wannabe adventurer such as myself can simply mouse over to RUclips and receive this knowledge for nothing but the time invested. Thank you for continuing to put up interesting - not to mention potentially lifesaving - information. I'm always glad to see you've posted new content.
Hey Dave, big fan of all your work here! Just a thought, the board can be set in water to get it flat on any surface. A cut down board could be floated in a cooking pot of water, or any standing water if you are in a survival situation. If you have a billy or a bowl you can put it wherever you want. Always flat!
I honestly did not think I would enjoy this series but after watching each episode I enjoy it, especially after hearing you say that this was an experiment in possibly replacing your compas if you needed to. Please keep it up and thank you.
I cannot put into words how much this is blowing my mind. I never understood how the sun could be used for navigation, and now it almost seems obvious. Thank you for teachings
Dave, this is exactly what I was getting to in my messages earlier. Awesome video and easy for others to follow. Thanks Remember people, if you remain on the same latitude the angle of the sun is going to differ by 47 degrees between summer and winter solstice. At around each solstice the distance the shadow moves vs. number of days past is the smallest increasing towards the equinox. So if you are close to one of the two solstices your shadow board will be ok for longer.
Awesome demonstration and explained extremely understandably. One thing we have to be careful about is to make sure that we align the shadow on the west side of the arc in the morning and on the east side of the arc in the evening. That might be a little more difficult shortly before or after high noon.
Thank you for your affords . Very good video. Learned a lot in this 20 min. Keep those great videos coming. All the best from Austria and please excuse my poor english. MAC
Very interesting, (I think i have got the idea) So you first spend one day getting the curve.(presumably you may even be able to be moving while doing this, as long as don't move to far north or south) Then on any following day you match the shadow to the curve to get the board re orientated. Use the left side of the curve in the morning and the right side after noon. (would you have to have to redo the curve through out the year? ie every month.) At the equator you would have a straight line but it would still work as the distance from the nail to points on the line will still vary.(just realised you could get the lines but how would you tell if you are facing east on the East West line or visa versa for North South line? don't think you could) And south of the equator the curve would be flipped so just rotate the compass headings 180, so N and S are swapped and E and W are swapped. I really like the idea of having the board being multi functional like the example of using it as a chopping bard ect. Great vid, thanks for sharing the knowledge.
Dave, This is really cool. Like you said it can be done using shadows from trees, and I have done for years. This is the first time I have seen it done like this to stay on course, and is a whole lot more accurate than tree shadows. Geoff
Great stuff right there! You have an iPhone in your shirt pocket? What happens when you want to travel with no sun? I think that would be great to go over as well. I have a way to but was curious as to what way you would.
Great video, Dave! This installation in your series on Sun Shadow Tracking really brought all the essential elements together needed to determine "solar" north in a concise, easy to understand lesson. Is this method of navigation included in any of your books?
Dave How long will the marks that are used to create the arc accurate? Will the board be useful for days, weeks months? Should you keep track of when the marks were made during the day or if as long as the shadow lines up with a mark on the board it is properly oriented to true north? Thanks Jm
Where are you located? The fact that the north/south line that you draw aligns with your compass seems like a coincidence. Your compass is pointing to the magnetic north, which for the most part is not aligned with the north/south line that the sun sets. Having said that, the board does indeed mark a repeatable line -which was the main point- just not the magnetic north as your compass.
I haven't had a chance to play with this in real life yet, but wouldn't it be true that if a line was drawn from the nail (nomen ?) straight out through the part of the arc closest to the nail, you would establish the north/south line? The apex of the arc would represent local noon, and if this was done in the Northern Hemisphere, the shadow must be pointing north. Is this correct or am I not figuring in something?
I like it. I have an evolution of the idea. How about to try to draw an exact parabole and then kalibrate it to the date and time. It could be the same parabole which starts and ends earlier in the Winter as in summer. If we had for example such a drawing as a sheet of paper it could be folded kept until needed. Than glued on a flat surface and used like a board. Than we don't need to draw a curve on the first day. Greetings form Poland. Damian
South of the equator the curve would be flipped so just rotate the compass headings 180, so N and S are swapped and E and W are swapped. ie: here the nail is south of the curve, southern hemisphere the nail would be north of the curve. (I think)
Hey Mr. Canterbury, what do you think of sticking a couple tacks in the endgrain of the board to secure paper to the board so as to make different sun shadows when the seasons change so as to not be inaccurate?
Undoubtedly a stupid question- are these season or lat/long specific? As in- will one made in January work in July or one made in Alabama work in Oregon?
FANTASTIC VIDEO! Thank you for explaining this is such an understandable manner. Is the arc such that if it was measured it could be translated to a circumferential arc or is it to variable for that? just thinking out loud.
***** Let's suppose that time didn't exist, or that something happened and track of time was completely lost. That is, there was no way of knowing the exact hour. Would it be possible to use a shadow board in order to determine how much sunlight is left in the day without knowing what time the sun came up?
I have watched almost all of your videos, and this has to be one of my absolute favorites. This technique is amazing! Do you know if it would change much over a longer period of time? (weeks or months?)
G'day Dave, Well, in the real world, the only instances I've heard of where people have used Solar Compasses, they have been trying to reach the North Pole or the South Pole, where a Magnetic Compass claims every direction is South or North, right around the Horizon..; some were flying, others were on the Ice, but before GPS and Gyro-Inertial Navigation was developed the Solar Compass was The Best There Was for finding one's way near the Poles. Of course, seeing that the Earth is "technically overdue" for a Magnetic Pole-Reversal..; we could wake up tomorrow and find that ALL Magnetic Compasses have been reduced to the level of the Ornamental, until the New Poles settle down and some bright Cartographer generates a whole new Grid... And in the meantime, Solar Compasses will be all there is available, on a sunny day, for identifying Waypoints on a particular Azimuth... ;-p Ciao !
***** G'day, Well, maybe...; does that mean Dave's teaching us to be Louis 16th, he used to call himself the Sun King didn't he ? Perhaps the new Sun-Kings will be crowned with Metalic Hats fashioned from the debris gleaned from fallen Satellites ; they'll all fry while the Geomagnetic Field is down..? What's the best shape for a Tinfoil Hat, anyway ; and does the Shiny Side go on the outside or facing in..? (lol) ;-p Ciao !
***** Cool, it sounds like you're up to speed on all the big bits. I was Registered Nurse In Charge at the Vegetable Creek Hospital at Emmaville, from '84 to 86..; the original plan was to survive the Fallout from whatever the USSR dropped on Pine Gap (upwind to the West, 1,000 miles), and generally the last thing to stop in a Village is the Hospital. Take it easy, ;-p Ciao !
Incidentally, did you know that the British Long Range Desert Group of WWII used a sun compass to navigate through the desert, while they were harassing the German army?
Theory that with dots the sun will make an arch on the board??? What?? The Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Mayans all used shadows from figures to make calendars and compasses and even calendars. May be a new delivery on an old idea, but far from a theory.
Yep too bad somewhere the Survival Community lost this knowledge or never harnessed it-The theory was truley that this curved line could be used as a compass, with repeatability over time and location vs the straight line of an Ottoman Sun Compass
Another great video Dave and an excellent application of ancient knowledge into a no frills pathfinding tool. It truly is a great age in which we live that a wannabe adventurer such as myself can simply mouse over to RUclips and receive this knowledge for nothing but the time invested. Thank you for continuing to put up interesting - not to mention potentially lifesaving - information. I'm always glad to see you've posted new content.
This one made complete sense, thanks for going over it again in a fashion that is do-able in the woods. Great video!
Sorry about the wind in the beginning it is short lived-
Hey Dave, big fan of all your work here! Just a thought, the board can be set in water to get it flat on any surface. A cut down board could be floated in a cooking pot of water, or any standing water if you are in a survival situation. If you have a billy or a bowl you can put it wherever you want. Always flat!
I honestly did not think I would enjoy this series but after watching each episode I enjoy it, especially after hearing you say that this was an experiment in possibly replacing your compas if you needed to. Please keep it up and thank you.
I cannot put into words how much this is blowing my mind. I never understood how the sun could be used for navigation, and now it almost seems obvious. Thank you for teachings
Dave, this is exactly what I was getting to in my messages earlier. Awesome video and easy for others to follow. Thanks
Remember people, if you remain on the same latitude the angle of the sun is going to differ by 47 degrees between summer and winter solstice. At around each solstice the distance the shadow moves vs. number of days past is the smallest increasing towards the equinox. So if you are close to one of the two solstices your shadow board will be ok for longer.
Love it! Gonna practice with this for the next few days. Thanks for another great video Dave.
Awesome demonstration and explained extremely understandably. One thing we have to be careful about is to make sure that we align the shadow on the west side of the arc in the morning and on the east side of the arc in the evening. That might be a little more difficult shortly before or after high noon.
That a pretty sharp invention you've got there. I could see how a marble could help level your board.
Another great series Dave!!!
Great video. I'm going to try this with my son's. We watch your videos and then apply the lessons on our hikes.
Thank you, Dave, for sharing your knowledge with us. Thank you very much.
This really neat, im going to build one weekend and have a try.
Ah, I was initially looking at the sighting of the distant object incorrectly, initially. Thanks for clearing that up.
Thank you for your affords . Very good video. Learned a lot in this 20 min. Keep those great videos coming. All the best from Austria and please excuse my poor english. MAC
Brilliant simplicity.
Very interesting, (I think i have got the idea)
So you first spend one day getting the curve.(presumably you may even be able to be moving while doing this, as long as don't move to far north or south)
Then on any following day you match the shadow to the curve to get the board re orientated.
Use the left side of the curve in the morning and the right side after noon.
(would you have to have to redo the curve through out the year? ie every month.)
At the equator you would have a straight line but it would still work as the distance from the nail to points on the line will still vary.(just realised you could get the lines but how would you tell if you are facing east on the East West line or visa versa for North South line? don't think you could)
And south of the equator the curve would be flipped so just rotate the compass headings 180, so N and S are swapped and E and W are swapped.
I really like the idea of having the board being multi functional like the example of using it as a chopping bard ect.
Great vid, thanks for sharing the knowledge.
Im a land surveyor, and i found this video really interesting
Great info Dave.. awesome video
Dave, This is really cool. Like you said it can be done using shadows from trees, and I have done for years. This is the first time I have seen it done like this to stay on course, and is a whole lot more accurate than tree shadows.
Geoff
you rock Dave !
Amazing! Great job explaining and thank you
Great stuff right there! You have an iPhone in your shirt pocket? What happens when you want to travel with no sun? I think that would be great to go over as well. I have a way to but was curious as to what way you would.
Great video, Dave! This installation in your series on Sun Shadow Tracking really brought all the essential elements together needed to determine "solar" north in a concise, easy to understand lesson. Is this method of navigation included in any of your books?
G'day Dave, interesting to compare the shape of an arc at different latitudes (my English is correct?)
Dave
How long will the marks that are used to create the arc accurate? Will the board be useful for days, weeks months? Should you keep track of when the marks were made during the day or if as long as the shadow lines up with a mark on the board it is properly oriented to true north?
Thanks
Jm
Where are you located? The fact that the north/south line that you draw aligns with your compass seems like a coincidence. Your compass is pointing to the magnetic north, which for the most part is not aligned with the north/south line that the sun sets.
Having said that, the board does indeed mark a repeatable line -which was the main point- just not the magnetic north as your compass.
How do you know which way is north and which way is south once you draw the north-south line?
I haven't had a chance to play with this in real life yet, but wouldn't it be true that if a line was drawn from the nail (nomen ?) straight out through the part of the arc closest to the nail, you would establish the north/south line? The apex of the arc would represent local noon, and if this was done in the Northern Hemisphere, the shadow must be pointing north. Is this correct or am I not figuring in something?
Man I love this stuff !!!!!
I like it.
I have an evolution of the idea.
How about to try to draw an exact parabole and then kalibrate it to the date and time. It could be the same parabole which starts and ends earlier in the Winter as in summer.
If we had for example such a drawing as a sheet of paper it could be folded kept until needed. Than glued on a flat surface and used like a board. Than we don't need to draw a curve on the first day.
Greetings form Poland.
Damian
great video!
Love the video! Do you know how you would have to modify the board if you are in the southern hemisphere?
South of the equator the curve would be flipped so just rotate the compass headings 180, so N and S are swapped and E and W are swapped.
ie: here the nail is south of the curve, southern hemisphere the nail would be north of the curve.
(I think)
Hey Mr. Canterbury, what do you think of sticking a couple tacks in the endgrain of the board to secure paper to the board so as to make different sun shadows when the seasons change so as to not be inaccurate?
Well explained, another great tutorial :)
Undoubtedly a stupid question- are these season or lat/long specific? As in- will one made in January work in July or one made in Alabama work in Oregon?
Lol you can tell Dave got excited in this video
FANTASTIC VIDEO! Thank you for explaining this is such an understandable manner. Is the arc such that if it was measured it could be translated to a circumferential arc or is it to variable for that? just thinking out loud.
Dave, With those original dots you put on the board, could you also possibly tell the time of day it is as well?
This is a great tool. Thanks
***** Let's suppose that time didn't exist, or that something happened and track of time was completely lost. That is, there was no way of knowing the exact hour. Would it be possible to use a shadow board in order to determine how much sunlight is left in the day without knowing what time the sun came up?
I have watched almost all of your videos, and this has to be one of my absolute favorites. This technique is amazing! Do you know if it would change much over a longer period of time? (weeks or months?)
awesome stuff
Dave, but dont you need different lines for at least every month (not to mention lattitudes)?
Awesome! You got it done already. Just add some sort of leveling device on it. The rest is easy.
G'day Dave,
Well, in the real world, the only instances I've heard of where people have used Solar Compasses, they have been trying to reach the North Pole or the South Pole, where a Magnetic Compass claims every direction is South or North, right around the Horizon..; some were flying, others were on the Ice, but before GPS and Gyro-Inertial Navigation was developed the Solar Compass was The Best There Was for finding one's way near the Poles.
Of course, seeing that the Earth is "technically overdue" for a Magnetic Pole-Reversal..; we could wake up tomorrow and find that ALL Magnetic Compasses have been reduced to the level of the Ornamental, until the New Poles settle down and some bright Cartographer generates a whole new Grid...
And in the meantime, Solar Compasses will be all there is available, on a sunny day, for identifying Waypoints on a particular Azimuth...
;-p
Ciao !
*****
G'day,
Well, maybe...; does that mean Dave's teaching us to be Louis 16th, he used to call himself the Sun King didn't he ?
Perhaps the new Sun-Kings will be crowned with Metalic Hats fashioned from the debris gleaned from fallen Satellites ; they'll all fry while the Geomagnetic Field is down..?
What's the best shape for a Tinfoil Hat, anyway ; and does the Shiny Side go on the outside or facing in..?
(lol)
;-p
Ciao !
*****
Cool, it sounds like you're up to speed on all the big bits.
I was Registered Nurse In Charge at the Vegetable Creek Hospital at Emmaville, from '84 to 86..; the original plan was to survive the Fallout from whatever the USSR dropped on Pine Gap (upwind to the West, 1,000 miles), and generally the last thing to stop in a Village is the Hospital.
Take it easy,
;-p
Ciao !
*****
Yep,
I have a secluded piece of Land, out of the way..
;-p
Ciao !
Incidentally, did you know that the British Long Range Desert Group of WWII used a sun compass to navigate through the desert, while they were harassing the German army?
Btw, thanks for debunking the accuracy of the standard shadow-tip method. You showed that that is pretty unreliable.
It seems to be the same concept as a Viking sunboard
Theory that with dots the sun will make an arch on the board??? What?? The Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Mayans all used shadows from figures to make calendars and compasses and even calendars. May be a new delivery on an old idea, but far from a theory.
Yep too bad somewhere the Survival Community lost this knowledge or never harnessed it-The theory was truley that this curved line could be used as a compass, with repeatability over time and location vs the straight line of an Ottoman Sun Compass
good info this is interesting
i believe the curve is a hyperbola and not a hyperbola.
So that why we learn geometry in school.
Oh Okay I seen you fixed that:-)...My bad:-)