Muro deGrizecomurodegrizeco@toad.social
Jul 24, 2026, 8:54 PMAlthough I totally didn't need one, I bought a slide rule.
I had one as a kid, but didn't really figure out how it worked. Maybe a half century later, I can give it another try?
Replies
- Muro deGrizecomurodegrizeco@toad.socialJul 25, 2026, 3:56 AM
AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.orgJul 25, 2026, 2:03 AM@murodegrizeco NICE! Great to learn how to use one. I have one around here but always have to look up usage to remember.
NullNoMoreNullNoMore@mastodon.socialJul 25, 2026, 2:11 AM@ai6yr @murodegrizeco - slides (ha) in with a recommendation for Isaac Asimov's An Easy Introduction to the Slide Rule. I quietly read it in high school earth science, charming the teacher. Gave me extra credit, still wouldn't let me take drafting.
Jul 25, 2026, 2:25 AM@NullNoMore @ai6yr @murodegrizeco Still have my dads
- Muro deGrizecomurodegrizeco@toad.socialJul 25, 2026, 5:53 AM
Thank you for showing us your dad's sliderule
lonely extrovertrothko@beige.partyJul 25, 2026, 4:40 PM@cvvhrn @NullNoMore @ai6yr @murodegrizeco i think my dad might have had this one, or similar. i *think* @tomwsmf collects them, but i might be thinking of someone else. ...tom?
- AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.orgJul 25, 2026, 5:02 PM
@rothko @cvvhrn @NullNoMore @murodegrizeco @tomwsmf I believe @w6en here also collects slide rules.
Jul 25, 2026, 8:24 PM@ai6yr @rothko @cvvhrn @NullNoMore @murodegrizeco @tomwsmf
Guilty as charged. 😊
Lest anyone suggests to you they're obsolete, note the E6-B is still used by pilots and a small one with trig on it is a great addition to a compass for "analog" wilderness navigation. (Once you set a triangulation angle results can be read *faster* than punching in a multiplication on a calculator; no batteries ever required).E6B in Aviation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK5rpQ0w8Ks
Navigation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuxgWcW_2U4
The rest of your mechanical computing rabbit-hole-diving needs: https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisStaeck- AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.orgJul 25, 2026, 8:25 PM
@w6en @rothko @cvvhrn @NullNoMore @murodegrizeco @tomwsmf Hmm, I should learn how to use that one for headings in wilderness.
- YevheniiaYevheniia@burnout.cafeJul 25, 2026, 8:27 PM
@ai6yr @w6en @rothko @cvvhrn @NullNoMore @murodegrizeco @tomwsmf Sorry to bother you. If you’re in contact with Adron Hall (@adron), could you please ask him to get in touch with me as soon as possible? It’s regarding an important matter that needs his attention.
- Jul 25, 2026, 8:53 PM
@ai6yr @rothko @cvvhrn @NullNoMore @murodegrizeco @tomwsmf We should chat about that application. I think something interesting could be made with a few navigation-specific scales and a footprint that slides in neatly behind/within a sighting compass...or even just a quick reference on the back on how to use it.
The paper one in the photo is just a laminated "print your own" rule I keep in my compass kit for big hikes.
Douglasdouglasvb@m.ai6yr.orgJul 25, 2026, 8:28 PM@w6en @ai6yr @rothko @cvvhrn @NullNoMore @murodegrizeco @tomwsmf this reminds me of the Recreational Dive Planner fondly known as "the wheel."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_Dive_Planner
I learned it back in the day but quickly switched to a dive computer. It was better than the tables and a stopwatch that I originally started with.
Eric LawtonEricLawton@kolektiva.socialJul 25, 2026, 4:40 PMThat leather case is similar to mine.
Haven't used it for almost 60 years, I wonder if any museums want it.
- Muro deGrizecomurodegrizeco@toad.socialJul 25, 2026, 5:51 PM
Thanks for sharing the image of your slide rule.
What sort of problems did you solve with it?
- Eric LawtonEricLawton@kolektiva.socialJul 25, 2026, 5:58 PM
I was still in school when I last used it, so mostly physics.
My dad was a textile mechanic, and used his six-inch rule every day for setting up machinery.
Darkstardarkstar@mastodon.nlJul 25, 2026, 5:42 PM@murodegrizeco still have the one I used at high school
