Originally Posted By: MostlyHarmless
When I pop out of some public transport system in an urban area it takes some time to get my bearings. Such as a large train or bus terminal, or coming up from a hole in the ground.
I have a Casio watch with electronic compass, which I use like that. Actually I have a poor sense of direction, so if, for example, the tour bus parks on the east side of a market square, my watch makes me more confident I can find it again. For proper navigation I'd take a proper compass (and GPS); the advantage of a watch is I always have it on me. (I used to carry a button compass, and now I don't have to.)

I trust my watch more than I do my phone. That said, I was quite impressed at how well my phone did on my last holiday. I have a dedicated GPS unit which I trust most, but it didn't have local maps, which the phone could get via free hotel WiFi. A compass would probably be better if I was stuck in a building during a power cut.

One test of a magnetic compass is to turn it on its side so the needle can't spin, then rotate it, and return it to level so the needle is pointing south, and see how long it takes find its way north again.
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