Signals and signaling; United States. Army -- Communication systems
_Assembling._--There are two ways of assembling the heliograph and
the position of the sun is the guide in determining which of the two
should, in any given case, be employed. When the sun is in front of
the operator (that is, in front of a plane through his position at
right angles to the line joining the stations) the sun mirror only is
required; with the sun in rear of this plane both mirrors should be
used. With one mirror the rays of the sun are reflected directly from
the sun mirror to the distant station; with two mirrors, the rays are
reflected from the sun mirror to the station mirror, and thence to the
distant station.
_With one mirror_: Firmly set one of the tripods upon the ground;
attach the mirror bar to the tripod; insert and clamp in the sockets
the sun mirror and sighting rod, the latter having the disk turned
down. At a distance of about 6 inches, sight through the center of
the unsilvered spot in the mirror and turn the mirror bar, raising or
lowering the sighting rod until the center of the mirror, the extreme
point of the sighting rod, and the distant station are accurately
in line. Firmly clamp the mirror bar to the tripod, taking care not
to disturb the alignment, and turn up the disk of the sighting rod.
The mirror is then moved by means of the tangent screws until the
"shadow spot" falls upon the paper disk in the sighting rod, after
which the flash will be visible at the distant station. The "shadow
spot" is readily found by holding a sheet of paper or the hand about 6
inches in front of the mirror, and should be constantly kept in view
until located upon the disk. The screen is attached to a tripod and
established close to, and in front of, the sighting disk, in such a way
as to intercept the flash.
_With two mirrors_: Firmly set one of the tripods on the ground; clamp
the mirror bar diagonally across the line of vision to the distant
station; clamp the sun mirror facing the sun to one end of the mirror
bar and the station mirror facing the distant station. Stooping down,
the head near and in rear of the station mirror, turn the sun mirror
by means of its tangent screws until the whole of the station mirror
is seen reflected in the sun mirror and the unsilvered spot and the
reflection of the paper disk accurately cover each other. Still looking
into the sun mirror, adjust the station mirror by means of the tangent
screws until the reflection of the distant station is brought exactly
in line with the top of the reflection of the disk and the top of the
unsilvered spot of the sun mirror; after this the station mirror must
not be touched. Now step behind the sun mirror and adjust it by means
of the tangent screws so that the "shadow spot" falls upon the center
of the paper disk on the station mirror. The flash will then be visible
at the distant station. The screen and its tripod are established as
described in the single mirror assembling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account