Sexton advice?

[tom_sail]

I just walked out of the charity shop with a sextant costing a grand total of £2. Plastic I will admit.

The UV lens need replacing as well as the mirrors. Do you think it's possible to buy replacements or get them made.

If not I'll just it as a wall decoration

Thanks

 

[tom_sail]

* I did mean "sextant" iPhone auto corrected

 

[Skylark]

I'm sure you can buy spares, which make is it, the common plastic ones are Ebbco or Davis?

It is perfectly possible to take reasonable sun sights with a plastic sextant. The optics aren't really good enough to catch the elusive little bug-gars that we seek at twilight. It should get you sufficiently hooked to buy a better one, though

 

[electrosys]

I'd agree with the above - great for practising noon-shots (use a tray of old engine oil if you're in a town), but not so good at dawn and dusk: partly optics limitations, but too much background light - at least in my neck of the woods.

I cut new mirrors for mine from a girl-friend's compact - gave 'em a lick of Hammerite around the edges and on the back - been as good as gold ever since (must be a good 6 years ago I did this).

 

[DanTribe]

I cut new mirrors for mine from a girl-friend's compact -

Did that help you see stars?

 

[tom_sail]

Thanks for the help, its an Ebbco Special.

The mirror should be quite easy to make the UV lens not so.

 

[mjcoon]

* I did mean "sextant" iPhone auto corrected

Perhaps it was "thinking" of sexton beetles...

Mike.

 

[rotrax]

Perhaps it was "thinking" of sexton beetles...

Mike.

My mate was a Sexton. He dug the graves by hand down the Garrat lane Cemetery in Tooting. He was a fit bugger.......

 

[ithet]

Thanks for the help, its an Ebbco Special.

Wow the special! That means it originally had surface silvered mirrors - like a proper sextant.