Compasses - Digital or Liquid?

I'm pretty weak on info on compass "dip' caused by magnetic inclination. I'm in the process of research and learning now but I do know that all hand held compasses are affected by it and have to be calibrated for it depending on where you're at. You are correct in that latitude is the determing facter here. There's 5 zones compasses are calibrated or 'weighted' for and commonly here in the states compasses will be MN or Magetic North. Sometimes they mark the underneath side of the compass vial. There are also 'global' compasses out which work anywhere.
This said it doesn't mean a compass made for here won't work in South America. It does mean however that accuracy will be affected depending on how far you go from where it was designed to be used. I've got one that's set up for MS or Magnetic South and it works fine here but if you look closely you can see the needle slightly dipping from a horizontal plane. Accuracy is slightly affected because the needle is designed to turn in a level plane on it's bearing mount.

I'll post up the reveiw site when I get through all the field test later in the year. There should be a lot of good info and I promise some myth-busting info that will surprise a lot of people.
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Mike
 
There are actually several 'global needle' compasses out. Suunto and Brunton both have figured out a way. Most companies have figured out how to make only two different calibrations for all five magnetic zones and the 'global needle' thing is the newest push. Corsa actually states their compass has accuracy to 2 degrees so it'll be interesting to see if it holds to that. The Suunto "Global Leader" is part of the batch that's in this evaluation.
The "Corsa" eletronic compass is also part of the reveiw more out of curiosity than anything else. We felt that since the eletronics are creeping more and more into everything we do then we'd include at least some of it in this review. Personaly I wouldn't pick an eletronic over a regular compass simply because I don't think it is 'forever' as a good quality regular compass is. Also the eletronic compasses haven't caught up with everything a traditional compass can do ---yet. Mike


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Went and looked at the RVstuff site, Everything in their info came out of Corsa's references on the compass. RV doesn't appear to have tested it. The 5 degree accuracy may be a misprint since the same reference where they got all their info states 2 degree accuracy. Mike
 
Speaking of compasses with additional capabilities, I would like to see the following get a good workout: Brunton Model 8099 Eclipse, Brunton Sighting Master, Suunto KB-14 Sighting Compass, Eschenbach Precision Lensatic Compass. The latter two can be mounted atop hiking staffs for greater accuracy in taking bearings, and should be accurate enough in both inherent accuracy and sighting accuracy for rough map making, determining distance to terrain features through trigonometric calculation, etc.
 
I agree those are good compasses but one of our criteria we set from the start on evaluating compasses was a ceiling of $50 each.

There are a few folks and most professionals (geologists, engineers, etc.) that cost doesn't matter --they want the best accuracy they can get. I know several geologists that have a Brunton Pocket Transit (a compass on hormones) which is an industry standard worldwide but they carry a price tag of about $290.

We may get to the higher priced compasses later but for now decided to stick with what most people are likely to buy. Bear in mind also, no one is comping us ANY of these compasses we are testing. It's all out of pocket. For that reason we figured we could test more different makes and models which account for most of sales.
btw, Everything I've read and heard on the Brunton 8099 has been good. Mike
 
Originally posted by K Williams:
There's a new compass(made by Suunto) that can be used anywhere in the world. It's called a Global Compass.
http://www.benmeadows.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/p-101884.html?L+scstor e+khtj5304+970359041
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If I understand this right, it means that the needle is balanced in some way so that it rotates freely even if you incline the compass 20 degrees?
That's of course useful, but you still have to know how much off from true north/south the needle points in each place you are.



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The Suunto is supposed to work +/- 20 degrees. You are correct-- this 'global needle' only takes care of inclination. You still have to know the declination and account for it. Mike
 
I think the inclination thing is something of little worry for the average hiker/survivalist on foot. The compass I had from Colorado worked sufficiently for me in Alaska, after accounting for declination. It may not have been accurate to less than a degree, but I don't think I can hike a straight line accurate to less than a degree. Perhaps a sport orienteerer would notice a difference, or a surveyor, but I don't think the difference is substantial enough for us lowly hikers to notice. Then, maybe the change from Colorado to Alaska wasn't enough of a latitude change to see a difference.


Stryver
 
Brunton says that inclination is not an issue for their top of the line compasses in ordinary navigation except in polar regions or when changing entire hemispheres, and they make "north" and "south" hemisphere models. I really don't think inclination is going to be that much of a problem for most people. Even though Brunton probably makes the best and one of the more expensive electronic compasses on the market, they do not recommend it for use without a ordinary model for backup OR for precision navigation, instead they recommend the Model 8099 Eclipse. The Brunton geologist's transit is a fine compass and workable for navigation, but a bit confusing with its compass card and is no more accurate when handheld according to several surveyor shops I checked. A hiking staff/monopod mount will improve repeatability and accuracy. As a general rule, I like the precision of the better compasses for desert navigation.
 
I was just surfing around on this forum (first time here
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), but I need to write here a bit...

Digital or conventional compass? For what purpose? This is Wilderness & Survival forum, so I expect that the indended use. If so get a normal conventional liquid filled compass! It works always (no battery problems), can be as durable (probably more), is easy to use (you don't need to calibrate it and so on...) and very clear, they also usually have aids for working with maps. And they're accurate enough. Sure digital compasses are accurate (after you have calibrated it properly, which needs to be done everytime you change batteries at least), but they are also very sensitive. The "needle" moves all the time. The sensitivity makes them also much more sensitive to all distracting magnetic fields. Also they have to be very level to give right reading. That all brings to useable accuration down. Yes, and the digital ones are much more expensive too. Suunto makes very good compasses, check them out.

But if you're looking for a cool gadget? Then get one of Suunto's Wristop Computers. They are cool, but also recarded as the best wristop electronic compasses (with altimeters, barometers and even hart rate monitors - oh, and the usual watch stuff also
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)!

Hugo.
 
Hi guys what about the compass in the Casio G-Shock triple sensor, I used to have a similar one when i was 13 and it didn't work to well no matter which way it was pointing it thought it was NE/NW or true N. I'm sure I just didn't know how to calibrate the thing (came with no directions) but I was wondering if the newer ones where coming into thought here and if it is being included in Mike Perrin's review.

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Mykl Clark, I think they are much better now that they were... when ever you were 13.
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Calibration is important with these.
The Suunto wristop computers that I linked above have usually been regarded as the best in test of these watch/compass/whatever -thingies. Also huge majority of people who actually use these when in outdoors have chosen Suunto. (They probably have normal compasses too, but for instance in the mountains the altimeter can be very important - as well as barometer for predicting the change in weather) I don't think Casio would be bad, but Suuntos are better (and have much nicer design also - size is about the same).

Hugo.
 
I have the Suunto Vector and it is nice. The compass is very dependable. The altimeter, however, usually needs to be calibrated every day or else it will give you incorrect readings.
 
I would always want at least a small regular compass for backup, no matter what other devices I had. That said, I just picked up an OutdoorLife, Oct. 2000, and it "fell" open to an add by Garmin for their Etrex Summit GPS unit, which includes an electronic compass and a Barometric altimeter.

I believe I recall seeing some info on www.equipped.org on the subject of GPS, including the watch one that you wear on your wrist. I have been posting too much, so am not going to take the time to look...its an interesting site in any event. Either Jeff Randall or Ron Hood did mention the issue of differences in reception between brands, e.g. under a jungle canopy. I would be interested in knowing if these still exist.
 
Originally posted by E__WOK:
I have the Suunto Vector and it is nice. The compass is very dependable. The altimeter, however, usually needs to be calibrated every day or else it will give you incorrect readings.
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That's true, but that just the way they work. The altitude is measured from the change in air pressure when you ascend or descend - but as you know, air pressure changes with the weather too(or the other way around). So actually the barometers and the altimeters are kind of linked together. Every time you start a ascend or descent you should check the altimeter against a known altitude and calibrate it. I don't own any of these, so there might be some heuristics going on, but in theory that's how it is. (I hope this is somehow explained in the manual of the Vector...)
Altitude from GPS is different, that doesn't depend on the atmospheric pressure. But even these days it's not that accurate... (don't know how accurate it is though) ...just look at the eTrex Summit from Garmin, which also has barometric altimeter even though it is capable of calculating the altitude from the GPS signal too. Of course you can loose the GPS signal and this way you still have the altitude... ok, I might be wrong about this GPS altitude accuracy
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Hugo.

 
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