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Full Version: Bobby Schenk Yacht Module; Answer from Bobby himself
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I mailed Bobby and he answered;

Apparently there is no English manual.

Anyone care to translate the mains of it? If I knew German, I would do it myself and then publish it, but unfortunately I took four years of French in school instead (and was left with only one rude French sentence that I never got to use :(

After I participated considerably in hijacking your last thread in this matter, I think it's adequate offering you some translation work. Hope it won't be tenths of pages though ;)

Although it was one hell of a good hijack, I'll take you up on the offer. Send me an e-mail to g@isene.com, and I will send you a copy of the manual for translation. Just translate what you believe is important in order for me to actually use the module.

And: Thank you very much.

Now let the hijacking begin :)

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Now let the hijacking begin :)

OK, here goes:
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Hope it won't be tenths of pages though ;)

Walter, if it's only a few tenths, it should not take long at all!

OK, OK, I am really just teasing you! No offense intended!

Martin, I can take that :) and after all it's "only" 41 pages in that language with nonsensical features (according to a few forumers writing another one, whichs ambiguities I'm exploiting).

Just for curiosity: which language(s) can you offer translationwise? ;)

Edited: 16 Nov 2010, 5:12 a.m.

Geir,

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Although it was one hell of a good hijack, ...

Thank you. I'll try hard to make a hijack worth two hells next time ;) Anyway, you've got mail.

Do not use the HP-41 Bobby Schenk Yacht Module for serious tasks. The navigator who once sold me this module told me that it has errors (beim Koppeln). Also I was never able to find the error I would like to warn you before something goes wrong.

IMHO the modue is a nice toy. It is quite useful to do some theory at home. But in practice in rogh conditions I put the HP-41 back to a secure place and used traditional technique (Karte und Besteck): map, ruler etc.

The module is protected. After removing the protection I had the impression that the programming was done in an other language and then migrated to the HP-41 as the code is not optimized for it.

My 0.02$
Ciao.....Mike

I will ask Bobby about this.

Bobby is darn quick.

He says the module was indeed programmed in FOCAL by him, it sold in a few thousands and never was any bug reported. He also sailed with this module from Tahiti round Cape Horn and then to the med (with only one stop) and relied 100% daily on this module.

I'd say that's pretty serious undertaking.

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Do not use the HP-41 Bobby Schenk Yacht Module for serious tasks. The navigator who once sold me this module told me that it has errors ... I would like to warn you before something goes wrong.

After over 100 posts and a major (albeit fun) hijack, you tell us this NOW? {:-)

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Posted by Martin Pinckney on 16 Nov 2010, 8:45 a.m.

Sorry, you're 2.5h late with this reaction. Read Geir's post above. BTW, how many users of BSYM do we have here?

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Sorry, you're 2.5h late with this reaction.

Walter, I have often been accused of reacting late...

But in this case, I knew I was late, I just thought there was some humor in the sequence of events that should be pointed out anyway...

Primo: As I sayed, I was told about a bug from the seller who was navigator on a cargo vessel. Alas I was never able to figure out the error in dead reckon. So my warning is somewhat vague.

2nd Primo: If Bobby did the programming in FOCAL on his own - well - he probably programmed it in an other language before, for a Sharp, or in BASIC. But before I get a legal dispute with a judge: this is just my impression. <VBG>

Ciao.....Mike

I am not going to attempt to beat Bobby's sailing feat. If the module was good enough for his sailing and he used it as his primary tool for that long trip, I would also trust it. And, if there is no verifiable bug, it may well have been a misunderstanding on your sellers part instead.

On page 67 of the German manual, users finding an error in said module are requested to report it to the editor. So there's some probability that errors - if existing - were reported. OTOH, if nothing was ever reported, then probably no error was found - Bobby should know.

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I just thought there was some humor in the sequence of events that should be pointed out anyway...

and sure it was - thanks. Looks like there's some susceptibility in the air... which BTW translates into Spanish as "susceptibilidad" - such an easy tonge!

Keep up the spirit!

Edited: 17 Nov 2010, 9:57 a.m.

Would have been really super great if posted between 4:57 and 6:13 a.m., but after that the fun contained in that post decreased exponentially IMO. I won't quote Mikhail Gorbatchov, however, ... Only my 20m€, of course.

Edited: 17 Nov 2010, 11:30 a.m.

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Just for curiosity: which language(s) can you offer translationwise? ;)

I can translate reasonably well from Gullah to English, but not necessarily vice versa.