Can someone tell me if those electronic digital compasses, the ones that tell you your course in a large readout, are worthwhile? I'd love an LCD screen with a backlight.

I was doing some land navigation yesterday in my survival course. I found that while my compass work was very accurate, I had a difficult time setting and reading the compass.

I am extremely nearsighted, and those two-degree tick marks were murder to make out under the fading daylight. They were also difficult to read with my Inova X5. They're just too bloody small.

-- Craig

Craig:

Go to Radio Shack and buy one of those small magnifiers with a built it light for easier reading.

Cheaper than the LCD device.

Bountyhunter

I would think the electronic compasses to be pretty poor for working with maps. If just sighting bearings taken off a GPS, they'd probably work OK. Of course, there is the risk of battery loss, but hey, who doesn't carry extra batteries these days. You could always bring a small simple magnetic compass as well - just as a backup.

Did your navigation course use a GPS? Many don't, and I think that is too bad. GPS's are here to stay and darn reliable. People need to know navigation both with and without a GPS.

Also remember to have a UTM grid with you whether on the compass or using one like those sold at http://www.maptools.com/ (nice UTM grid tools). Don't forget to pre-draw the UTM grids on your map. Unless you're determining your current location from visual landmark references, the best way to determine your current postion is to take UTM coordinates off of a GPS, and then use the UTM grid tool to locate the positon on your map.

Take a look at the Brunton Eclipse series of compasses. They all have a built-in magnifying glass over the reading area and the circle-over-circle aligment method (thus the "eclipse" name) is VERY easy on the eyes. I have the 8096 GPS and the 8099 and like them both.

Some compass have glow-in-the-dark markers for night use, but I've never had much luck with them. Mostly because the compasses are packed away and don't get a chance to "charge" them up in the daylight hours. Even when charged, the markers never glow for very long.

My advice would be to wear an LED headlamp, which would help ensure that the electronics are far enough from the compass to prevent interference.
---------------------
Eclipse 8096 GPS - $30 - Baseplate compass with adjustable declination and built-in UTM grids & map scales. Kind of big, but feels real nice in my hand.

Eclipse 8097 - $35 - Baseplate compass with adjustable declination that comes with a lanyard that has a whistle and also has a pretty nice pocket clip.

Eclipse 8099 - $75 - Fancy compass with mirror sighting, several clinometers, UTM grids, and survival cards. I also have a Silva Ranger (actually the original one sold in the U.S. as the Brunton 15TDCL but built by Silva Europe). I like the Ranger's simplicity, but find the Eclipse 8099 easier and more accurate to use for sighting bearings from the GPS. The 8099 gets mixed press, but I like mine.

"VERY easy on the eyes" is apparently what I need.

An idea worth looking into as well.

Not sure why you say people need to know how to navigate with a GPS i have been to remote parts of the world quite happily without a GPS. technology is no substitute for proper map skills. i rarely need to use my compass as i know where i am on the map. GPS maybe necessary for group leaders on legal aspect but they dont not make the wild places safer.

I didn't say people need to use a GPS. I said a course on navigation should include coverage of how to use a GPS & UTM grid with a map and a compass. The four devices (GPS, UTM grid, map, compass) work VERY well together and the methods are quite easy.

A GPS is no substitute for a good working knowledge of how to use a map & compass by themelves. All the GPS does is tell you where you are right now. Most also have the ability to provide direction bearings to a destination AND provide as-the-crow-flies distances. The other nice thing about a GPS is that it can help provide direction & distances if the user gets off course while on the way to the destination. Of course a user could create a fairly accurate UTM grid on their own if necessary.

A compass certainly doesn't tell you where you are, it only tells you which way is north. By itself, a compass is only mildly useful.

As you say, by combining a good map with a knowledge of how to read the map and a knowledge of your surrounding area (visual clues), a user can often tell which way is north AND where they are on the map. On the other hand, visual clues are not always available - such as in dessert or flat-land woods. In that situation a compass will tell you which direction is north, but you still may not know where you are. That is where a compass along with a GPS comes in very handy.

Touche! ! ! ! ! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Ken,
Was browsing thru old posts and came across this one. I agree with you 100% about using GPS and UTM. I rarely find anyone that even knows what UTM is. A suggestion as to drawing grids on topo maps, I lightly draw EVERY OTHER ONE, vertically and horizontally, and it doesn't clutter the map up so bad. You still have four corners to find the correct block. Some maps are coming with the grids already drawn on them. There is a move afoot to get the USGS to draw the grids on ALL topo maps. It has been my experience that people that poo-poo a GPS simply don't understand them and won't, or can't, understand how they work.

You mentioned glow in the dark compasses. Be advised that the tritium military version works great and does not require any "charging" before use. Actually, in total darkness, it glows to the point that it actually projects to the wall or ceiling in a room after your eyes have gotten used to the dark. The old "glow" compasses had some kind of dangerous ingredient and have been outlawed for years. You can pick up the military compass on eBay for around $50 to $60. I have to say they are worth it. The "glow" material is said to last about ten years before it begins to fade away.

Speaking of batterys, have you tried the new AA lithiums in your GPS? I have a Lowrance iFinder Hunt and a pair of lithiums will last several weeks and don't weigh as much as alkalines.

The grid issue sounds like an American problem. In the UK, maps are derived from Ordnance Survey maps and carry the OS grid, and our GPS units can be set to use the same grid and datum. I've never seen a topographic map which didn't have the grid squares, and I make sure my road maps have it too. The UK is a small country so it is relatively easy to produce good maps for all of it.

(I bought my first GPS unit a few weeks ago, so I have just recently learned about how they interact with maps. Here we are usually advised to set GPS north to grid north, rather than magnetic north or true north.)