http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1215_051215_north_pole.html

I was reading last month's National Geographic when I came across this article. With the Magnetic North moving up to 25 miles a year, does this mean the days of the compass are numbered or just that you need to update your maps on a regular basis?

New compasses will be unveiled at SHOT show. They are scheduled to be released April 1, 2007. At least 3 companies have new models ready for release. The new compasses will feature a programable adjustable declination feature.
By adjusting the declination to match the shift of Magnetic North the compass will not need to be replaced periodically
in order to keep up with the shifting of Magnetic North.
Declination data can be downloaded from online sources or automaticaly downlinked from LEO sattalite. Prices have not been announced yet, but are expected to be only slightly higher than the obsolete old style compasses. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Actually I think that the compass will seek Magnetic North, no matter it is. Maps and the rest of us need to keep up on the changes in declination.

Dave

With magnetic compasses (as opposed to electronic compasses) it just means that you need to check the area's declination on-line rather than counting on "historic" or on-map values. The best place I've found to determine declination is

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/declination.shtml
(note the Compute your declination link in the first bullet of that main page.

It is also yet another reason not to draw mag N/S lines on my maps. Some of the other reasons are that I don't like drawing big ugly lines on my maps since I tend to goof up a line here and there, and I'm too lazy to do it. The adjustible declination on my compass, using true north on my GPS, and orienting my maps to true north pretty much take of it for me.

What have I missed here? You can't be talking about replacing a magnetic compass, since declination can be manually set into to all but the smallest/cheapest compass. I imagine few of us use an electronic compass, although we realize a GPS unit can also be used as a compass.

"There is nothing so frightening as ignorance in action."

Surprisingly the compass will still show magnetic north. Most good maps give the average yearly variation in declination. So you can estimate the actual declination and use it. If the map shows ancient roads as "in the building phase" you might wish to get a new one for more accurate results.

I was looking through "Be Expert with Map & Compass" and this same thing caught my eye. The magnetic deviation/declination for my area was probably about 20 degrees when the book was published -- today it is closer to 16 degrees. Right there is 4 degrees difference.

Thanks for the link to the NG article. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I can adjust my compass. But along with this shift the Northern Lights are going to be in Siberia eventually <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />