08-01-2017, 10:52 PM
James,
It mostly depends on how much you want to pay. Carl Plath sextants are usually expensive but very high quality. Tamaya are very good too. Celestaire has theirs made in China (what a surprise!) but are quite suitable for marine, or land, use.
Cassens & Plath are extremely good too- https://www.cassens-plath.de/en/sextants/
Freiberger sextants are a delight to behold- http://www.fpm.de/lang_en/index.php?c=1&s=drumsext
However, if you're buying a used sextant through ebay you're in good stead as most sellers have a gracious return policy ("like it or return it"). If they do not allow a "return if not satisfied" then don't buy it.
Sextants, while precise, aren't too difficult of adjust and often require more patience than technical know-how. I've removed my Astra III-B Index and Horizon mirrors many times, for practice, then reassembled it all and adjusted for alignment. It's not really difficult.
The Davis Mark 15, plastic sextant, is technically a sextant. But, it's quality reflects its accuracy and stability- not very good. But, it will work if needed.
Ed
It mostly depends on how much you want to pay. Carl Plath sextants are usually expensive but very high quality. Tamaya are very good too. Celestaire has theirs made in China (what a surprise!) but are quite suitable for marine, or land, use.
Cassens & Plath are extremely good too- https://www.cassens-plath.de/en/sextants/
Freiberger sextants are a delight to behold- http://www.fpm.de/lang_en/index.php?c=1&s=drumsext
However, if you're buying a used sextant through ebay you're in good stead as most sellers have a gracious return policy ("like it or return it"). If they do not allow a "return if not satisfied" then don't buy it.
Sextants, while precise, aren't too difficult of adjust and often require more patience than technical know-how. I've removed my Astra III-B Index and Horizon mirrors many times, for practice, then reassembled it all and adjusted for alignment. It's not really difficult.
The Davis Mark 15, plastic sextant, is technically a sextant. But, it's quality reflects its accuracy and stability- not very good. But, it will work if needed.
Ed