|
-
-
-
 Use back
to return.
-
-
- navigating
your way.
-
-
- As a member of the family of
scouts, you should be able to use a map and compass. But in a survival
situation you might not have either. In this case you should be able to navigate
the way our ancestor did, by using the sun and the stars. All should know that
the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and midday is roughly south. Here are a few fun ways to find
east and west.
-
-
-
-
- Navigation
by Shadow.
-
- (a): Find a clear piece of ground
and place a stick about a meter in length upright in to the ground. Mark the
tip of the shadow with a marker, (this could be a stone, stick or any piece of
equipment). Then wait 15 to 30 minutes and do the same. A line drawn between
the two points will run East to West with the first point been West.
-
- (b): Although this next method
will take longer it is more accurate. Set up your stick and mark the first
shadow in the morning. Using a piece of string, draw an arc through this mark
and around the stick. At midday, the
shadow will shrink and disappear. In the afternoon, it will lengthen again.
Mark the point where the shadow touches the arc. Draw a line through the two marks
to get an accurate East/West line.
-
-
- Navigation
by Watch.
-
- This method can only be used if
your watch is set to GMT in the UK,or to true local time if abroad.
-
- (a). The Northern Hemisphere: Holding
your watch flat, point the hour hand towards the sun. Now bisect the angle between
the hour hand and the number 12 on your watch to give you a North/South line.
-
- (b). The Southern Hemisphere: Hold
your watch flat with the number 12 pointing towards the sun. The line that
bisects the angle between the hour hand and the number 12 is the North/South
line.
-
-
- Navigation
by Stars.
-
- People have always used a group of
stars to help them find the North Star. Slaves thought the group of stars
looked like a drinking gourd. Being able to find the North Star enabled people to
travel during the night.
-
- (a). The Northern Hemisphere: The
best way to find the “North Star” (Polaris) is by using the constellation “The Plough”
(Ursa Major), looks a bit like a big “Pan”. Using the two small stars that form
the edge of the “Pan” away from the handle. Follow the line these two stars
create to find the North Star.
-
- (b). The Southern Hemisphere: The
best way to find the South is by using the constellation “Southern Cross”
(Crux). By using the four bright starts in the shape of a cross, (don’t mistake
the “False Cross” which is to the right which has a dimmer set of stars set
further apart). Take a line down the cross, also a line down the two bright
stars on the left. Where these two lines meet is south.
-
-
- Making A Compass.
-
- Stroke the dull end of a needle across the magnet 60 times,
going in the same direction each time.
- Now place the small leaf on top of the
water in the center of the bowl. Set the needle on top of the paper and gently
move the paper to cause it to spin slightly.
- Make sure there is no metal near
by (does the table youare working on have metal on it or under it?) Also make
sure the magnet you used to magnetize the needle is at least 2 feet away from
the bowl.
- If the paper gets stuck to the side of the bowl, gently nudge it
toward the center again. Now, wait. What is happening? When the needle and
paper have stopped moving completely, the sharp end of the needle is pointing
north.
- You can prove this compass is really pointing north by setting a
manufactured compass nearby.
- Don't set the two compasses too close to each other
because they will
- interfere with each other.
-
- Be Smart,
Be Cool, Be Prepared.
|
