- Logbook
A Logbook was originally a book for recording readings from the log, and is used to determine the distance a ship traveled within a certain amount of time. The readings of the log have been recorded in equal times to give the distance traveled with respect to a given start position.
Today's ship's log has grown to contain other types of information, and is a record of data relating to a
ship orsubmarine , such as weather conditions,crew complement or whatport s were docked at and when. It is essential to traditional navigation, and must be filled in at least daily.Most Admiralties specify that logs are kept to provide a record of events, and to help crews navigate should
radio ,radar or theGPS fail. Examination of a log is often used to try to explain some sort of disaster, in much the same way as a "black box" is used onairplanes (see "Mary Celeste ").The term logbook has spread to a wide variety of other endeavors and logbooks are widely used for e.g. complex machines like nuclear plants or particle accelerators where one is more and more using a computer based version of a logbook called electronic logbook (see
Electronic logbook ). In military terms, a logbook is a series of official and legally binding documents. Each document (usually arranged by date) is marked with the time of an event or action of significance.Use in fiction
*The Hornblower series mentions logs to explain plot development, or to make the story more realistic.
*Reading a log can make a dramatic explanation of a mysterious disaster in mostsci-fi .
*InStar Trek the "Captain's log", a form of ship's log, is used to fill in the audience as to the events in progress, and acts as a more realistic form ofsoliloquy .Alternative connotation
A Logbook is also a colloquial term for the
V5C car registration document in the UK.In the
fishing industry , a Logbook is used to record catch data as part of the fisheries regulations. It is then submitted to the fishing authorities of the vessel's flag state.For
Amateur radio the logbook is where the hams register their QSO and radio activity. There are several programs to help radio operators in the management of their logbook.ee also
*
CLIWOC (climatological database for the world's oceans)
*Navigation External links
* [http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/ssp/sheel_en.htm European electronic logbook for fisheries]
* [http://fish.jrc.it/ European electronic logbook research group]
* [http://www.jaa-logbook.eu European electronic JAA logbook for pilots]
* [http://myshiplog.com Free online nautical logbook]
* [http://www.logbook.fr Marine and fisheries electronic logbook news]
* [http://www.km.kongsberg.com/ks/web/nokbg0240.nsf/AllWeb/68C3B566F8C26076C125723B00534423?OpenDocument Merchant marine electronic logbooks]
* [http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/PDFdocs/fls_summary.pdf NOAA fisheries logbook guide]
* [http://www.pilotpal.com Free online logbook for Pilots]
* [http://www.pilotoutlook.com/log_book Online logbook for Pilots]
* [http://jaime.robles.es/eklog.php Linux KLog: log for radio operators]
* [http://www.qsl.net/pg4i/linux/xlog.html XLog: another log for radio operators]
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