FEASIBILITY OF A REDUCED POWER-CONSUMPTION MAGNETOMETER FOR USE IN A DIGICOMP LENSATIC COMPASS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS THE INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF THE VARIABLE PERMEABILITY MAGNETOMETER, DEVELOPED BY PRECISION NAVIGATION, INC. (PNI), FOR A HAND-HELD DIGITAL LENSATIC COMPASS (DIGICOM). THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO HVE POWER CONSUMPTION REQUIREMENTS WHICH ARE OVER AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE BELOW CURRENT FLUX-GATE TECHNOLOGY, WITH COMPARABLE SIZE REQUIREMENTS. PRIMARY RESEARCH WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARDS OPTIMIZING THE POWER CONSUMPTION OF THE EXISTING DESIGN AND WILL PROVIDE QUANTIFIED ESTIMATES OF OPERATING LIFE FROM COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE BATTERIES. RESEARCH WILL ALSO BE CONDUCTED INTO THE FEASIBILITY OF INCORPORATION OF PERFORMANCE FEATURES NOT PRESENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE M2 LENSATIC COMPASS. THESE INCLUDE: A CLINOMETER, ALREADY DESIGNED AND BUILT BY PNI FOR TILT COMPENSATION OF THE COMPASS, MEMORY FOR STORING READINGS, CALCULATOR FUNCTIONS, AUTOMATIC MAGNETIC DECLINATION CORRECTION, TIMEKEEPING. THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF EACH FEATURE ON POWER CONSUMPTION WILL BE ADDRESSED. IN ADDITION, OVERALL SIZE AND WEIGHT ISSUES WILL BE ADDRESSED.