Junior Navigation
This site is provided as a means of communications with the USPS National Offshore Navigation Committee (ONCom). We welcome your questions and comments on our courses, Learning Guides, and associated materials.
R/C
Kenneth Beckman, SN
Stf/C Merrill F. Sproul, SN
Stf/C Charles A. Perkins, SN
Topics
|
|
|
|
News
JN07 Homework Solutions and Quiz Answers Available for Download
The initial release of the JN07 Course Instructor CD, USPS
version: 03/22/07, contains a PowerPoint presentation for each of the 13
chapters of the JN07 course, but does not contain the homework solutions
nor quiz answers in PowerPoint. Several instructors have asked that
we develop this capability, for ease of projecting these questions and answers
while reviewing them in class. Homework
solutions and quiz answers are available in the Instructor’s manual,
but they had not been previously formatted into a PowerPoint presentation.
We have completed developing PowerPoint presentations for each chapter’s
homework, as well as for each quiz, and these files are now available for
JN07 instructors to download, if desired. All releases of the JN07 Course
Instructor CD issued after the 03/22/07 version will contain these homework
and quiz files. (26 July 2007)
New Junior Navigation 2007 Course
The new USPS Junior Navigation 07 course is now available for Squadrons to order! This is the first of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation for the recreational boater in which students learn about current offshore navigation electronic tools and software as well as conventional route planning techniques. Students also learn traditional celestial navigational skills to determine position, using these techniques to check their electronics and as the backup navigation technique in the event electronics fail.
Today’s recreational boater uses electronics as the primary means of positioning, and employs celestial positioning techniques as a check that the GPS is working correctly, and as backup in the event that electronics fail. In Junior Navigation, the student will continue to use GPS as the primary position sensor, as they learned to do in Piloting and Advanced Piloting. However, the offshore environment impacts how one uses the GPS and other electronic tools; the student will learn about some of these considerations in the course.
In the offshore environment, accurate determination of position is just as important as when one is navigating in coastal waters. While offshore, visible terrestrial landmarks are no longer available to the navigator as reference points. In the Junior Navigation course, the student will learn to substitute celestial objects such as the sun as reference points. The course begins with the study of celestial navigation, teaching the student to take sights on the sun with a marine sextant and derive a line of position from that observation. The sun represents but a single reference point, so the student will apply the principles of the running fix learned in Advanced Piloting, and be able to plot a running fix of one’s position from the sun sights. Once the student has learned the basics of celestial sight reduction, the course continues with planning, positioning, and checking one’s position in the offshore environment, using both electronic and celestial tools.
The new JN07 Instructor Manual for this course includes lesson plans for each chapter and comes with a PowerPoint CD. The PowerPoint presentations for each chapter include animation to help the student in his understanding of the material.
Check out the updated Education Department Catalogue for ordering information of the new Junior Navigation 07 course and instructor materials. (05 April 2007)
Junior Navigation 99 course expires 31 October 2008
With the release of the revised Junior Navigation 07 course, the test elements for the previous Junior Navigation course, JN99, will be available for a limited time.
If your Squadron:
- has old inventory of the JN99 course (HQ has been out of stock since Fall 06 and JN99 will not be re-printed); OR
- is currently in the process of teaching JN99; OR
- has completed the classroom instruction for JN99 but all students have not successfully completed the Open Book exam, Closed Book exam, and/or the Sight Folder for JN99;
members have until 31 October 2008 (18 months) to complete the three test elements of this course. Exams and/or Sight Folders must arrive at Headquarters no later than 31 October 2008; this includes re-exams and resubmissions of Sight Folders.
Please be aware that if only one or two of the test elements for JN99 (or the previous version of the JN course, JN89/92) are completed by 31 October 2008, credit for these test elements will not be retained in the student’s record. This means that to complete the JN course after 31 October 2008, students will need to successfully complete both the JN07 Open Book exam and the JN07 Sight Folder, since credit for the part of JN they had completed previously is not retained.
Also note that the test elements of the JN99 and the JN07 courses are not interchangeable. All test elements of either JN99 or JN07 must be successfully completed to complete the Junior Navigation course. For example, if a student has successfully completed the JN99 Open and Closed book exams, but has not submitted his/her JN99 Sight Folder, they may not submit the JN07 Sight Folder to fulfill the Sight Folder requirement. The emphasis of the two JN courses is very different: with JN99, the emphasis was on traditional celestial methods, and the Sight Folder reflected this emphasis; in JN07, the emphasis is on electronic positioning with celestial as the backup, and the JN07 Open Book exam reflects this emphasis.
Students who have partially completed the JN99 (or JN89/92) course requirements may choose to take the JN07 course at any time – they do not need to wait until 31 October 2008. (12 April 2007)
Updated Celestial Tools Program
An updated version (V1.1.1) of the Celestial Tools program is now available. (05 Jan 07)
Junior Navigation Course Description
Junior Navigation is the first in a two-part program of study in offshore navigation, followed by the Navigation course. It is designed as a practical "how to" course. Subject matter includes:
- Precise time determination
- Use of the Nautical Almanac
- Taking sextant sights of the sun
- Reducing sights to establish lines of position
- Special charts and plotting sheets for offshore navigation
- Offshore navigational routines for recreational craft
Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions or comments about the Junior Navigation course, please contact the National Offshore Navigation Committee chair by e-mail, phone or postal service mail. Please be sure to keep your SEO and/or DEO advised of any correspondence you may have with the National committee. Addresses for the National ONCom chair are listed in The ENSIGN and on the Committee Chairpersons page.
We will try to answer your questions as soon as possible, but please allow 5 working days for an answer.
 |
|
|