Anyone use a compass near the equator?

D

DocGP

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Feb 22, 2009
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About to embark on a mission trip to EScuador. Will be flying into country and visiting equator, but mission trip should take us about 100 miles south into the jungle. Will the compass be functional if one gets off the equator by that far?

Any input appreciated. I know the needle should point south.

Doc
 
In general a compass will always align to the earth's magnetic field. In other words it will still point north anywhere in the world. The caveats to this rule are the declination(adjustments) that will need to be taken into account for the difference in magnetic and true north and when standing near the poles.

I have a variety of compasses both magnetic and electronic that work equally well in Texas and Congo.
 
It's my understanding that compasses are balanced on the pivot, so they swing freely. There are some universal compasses which have done away with this balancing problem, but most of the older compasses were balanced for a particular zone. This gives a handy overview of the balance problem. As an example, a mate of mine bought a nice pair of Steiner binoculars with an inbuilt compass from the USA. Unfortunately, living in southern Australia, he has to dip the bino's to allow the compass to swing freely.
Anyway, good luck. If you're only going to be travelling a few hundred miles, I cant see any real problem.
G
 
I don't see how you can't get around this problem by tilting the compass slightly? I don't think Captain Cook kept swapping his compass.

Andy
 
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