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compass help

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 02:32:49 No.285600 View View Reply Original Report

Hello out

I need a compass to use when playing chairsoft to better navigate during larger operations.

I looked around on amazon and am reading horror stories about how some of them do not reliably point north. How hard could it possible be?

can you please recommend a budget compass that works.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 02:40:44 No.285604 Report

Quoted By: >>285606 >>286204 >>286496

>>285600
> not using the sun and a dial watch for true north er' time

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 02:42:54 No.285606 Report

Quoted By: >>285607

>>285604

if other people are issuing out orders based on direction of their compass which points north, you need one too. The sun cannot help you in that situation because your north might be different from theirs

...right?

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 02:46:29 No.285607 Report

Quoted By: >>290620

>>285606
It depends on the inherent magnetic declination of your AO. Plus orders should be compensated for md to true north anyway.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 02:59:25 No.285612 Report

Quoted By: >>285628

Are those expensive military compasses worth the price?

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO IMG_20140312_200430.jpg, 1MiB, 2048x1536

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 03:25:02 No.285628 Report

Quoted By:

>>285612
If you are directing mortar or cannon fire, navagating on foot more than 5-10 miles or installing microwave relay communication towers, then yes.

Just don't buy a Chinese shit clone.

Me, Silva Ranger or Silva Polaris and Milsurp Swedish map cases filled with 7.5' series topos typical; hand drawn custom pic related.

Diverfag

Diverfag Thu 13 Mar 2014 03:28:30 No.285632 Report

Quoted By: >>285783 >>285791

>http://www.suunto.com/en-US/Products/Compasses/Suunto-M-9/

Suunto makes good stuff.

>http://www.suunto.com/en-US/Products/Dive-Computers-and-Instruments/suunto-sk-7-dive-compass/Suunto-SK-7-Wrist-Dive-Compass-NH/

I use this one for diving.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Suunto M3G.jpg, 121KiB, 1280x720

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 10:34:39 No.285783 Report

Quoted By: >>285791 >>286281

>>285632
Suunto seconded, they're pretty much the best on the market right now.

Also their global compasses that work in both hemispheres are even better than regular ones, they're much faster, more accurate, and don't even need to be layed flat to work. They're a bit more expensive though. Pic related is my favorite compass.

Also don't go for any lensatic type of compass, most just copy the shape and style but are actually worse than $10 baseplate liquid filled Chinese compasses, even if they can cost up to $200.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 13 Mar 2014 11:03:56 No.285791 Report

Quoted By: >>286209

>>285783
>>285632
>based Suunto

Started teaching my kid to use mine last fall. He's too young to get most of it because he lacks the background knowledge of reading a contour map, but he gets how the compass works.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO sasquatch_chupacabra_go_fishing.jpg, 1MiB, 1600x1074

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 10:31:39 No.286173 Report

Quoted By:

>>285600
They probably have no idea what they are doing.
If you want to get into compass use you need to educate yourself a bit. Mainly on the difference between magnetic north and truth north. They differ depending on where you are in the country(US) or the world. And they change sometimes dramatically over the years. A decent compass is super reliable if you know what you're doing. On more than one occasion I've just wondered a few miles out into the Arizona desert. Looked around, figured out where I am via compass and USGS map and made it back to where I started within 20ft.

I've enjoyed my Silva and like others Suunto is a good brand as well.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 14:04:08 No.286200 Report

Quoted By:

Teh poles have reversed thousands of times through history and they think we are in the middle of another pole reversal.

If you look hard enough, you can always make a good estimate of where the sun is in the sky but I should learn to use a compass properly again but will probably just go pure GPS. You might get severe anomalies in or near large magmatic formations like the huge caldera under the NW US, the closer you get to the poles the more erratic they can be.

Anyway, that's a shitty idea, you could lose your whole pan of stirfry.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 14:14:52 No.286202 Report

Quoted By: >>290620

Compasses don't point north.
They show the horizontal vector of the earth's magnetic field lines at your current position.
The difference can be up to 45 degrees, depending on your current position.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 14:24:21 No.286204 Report

Quoted By: >>286207 >>286273

>>285604
this technique is really only useful at a small range of latitudes

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 14:33:51 No.286207 Report

Quoted By:

>>286204
It's actually useful pretty much everywhere people go hiking? But then it's not like it's anywhere near the precision of a compass. I often use the sun to locate myself at a glance, but it's just impossible to accurately use it to find your position or follow a precise direction.

People who use the sun just don't know how to use a compass, and wouldn't even have any need for one if they had one. But it's kinda hard to explain them that.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 14:37:44 No.286209 Report

Quoted By: >>287213

>>285791
That's pretty cool man. Good on you. I wish my dad had done that. He loved the outdoors, but I never saw him use a compass. I learned how way later in life and now it's pretty routine. I use a Suunto and a Brunton.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 12977157630052641712.jpg, 58KiB, 300x600

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 18:14:59 No.286273 Report

Quoted By: >>286311

>>286204
> not being Nordic and using Sunstones for all the right reasons.

> south is south

http://www.livescience.com/16831-viking-sunstone-crystal-compass.html

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 18:27:51 No.286281 Report

Quoted By:

>>285783

Suunto M3 thirded. Silva have let their quality slip a lot over the years.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 20140314_143335.jpg, 731KiB, 2048x1152

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 19:34:33 No.286311 Report

Quoted By: >>286312 >>286439

>>286273

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 19:36:23 No.286312 Report

Quoted By:

>>286311
Sorry about the sideways shit I'm on my phone between classes.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO M9OnWristFromTop.jpg, 45KiB, 576x378

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 19:49:00 No.286320 Report

Quoted By:

Suunto makes good compasses that will surely point to north, especially in northern hemisphere.

You can use a wrist compass for general direction and a normal one for accurate navigation. The important question here is HOW accurate do you need it to be? I mean, what kind of distances are we talking about?

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 20130128_171408.jpg, 2MiB, 3264x2448

Anonymous Fri 14 Mar 2014 23:03:43 No.286408 Report

Quoted By: >>288057

Remember dogs shit north-south. If you don't have a dog, you shouldnt be innawoods anyways.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 15 Mar 2014 00:03:48 No.286439 Report

Quoted By:

>>286311
>brother

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO find north with your watch.gif, 9KiB, 433x260

Anonymous Sat 15 Mar 2014 01:11:58 No.286496 Report

Quoted By: >>286613 >>287904

>>285604
> gear whore fags

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 15 Mar 2014 05:15:02 No.286613 Report

Quoted By: >>287907

>>286496
except that only works when the sun is out, and even then it's not all that accurate, even if your watch is set to local solar time, which it almost certainly isn't.

It's funny but for some reason all the times I've really needed a compass to get myself unlost, I haven't been able to see the sun or stars.

>>285600
Silva or Suunto, liquid filled

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 09:32:32 No.287213 Report

Quoted By:

>>286209
We're at the "Dad will show you the map part again and you can pick out a landmark to hike to" stage.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 17 Mar 2014 09:05:26 No.287904 Report

Quoted By: >>287930

>>286496
>suddenly clouds
>suddenly night
>suddenly need 5° precision to locate yourself

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 17 Mar 2014 09:10:18 No.287907 Report

Quoted By:

>>286613

>Silva or Suunto, liquid filled

this

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 17 Mar 2014 11:48:19 No.287930 Report

Quoted By: >>288032

>>287904
> suddenly North Star
> suddenly city glow
> suddenly dead reckoning skills
> suddenly moss on one side of tree

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 17 Mar 2014 15:49:48 No.288032 Report

Quoted By:

>>287930
>Suddenly lost
>suddenly rain
>suddenly sad realization none of your armchair operator navigation techniques work in dense bush far from settlements on a cloudy night
>slowly succumb to hypothermia

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 17 Mar 2014 16:15:04 No.288045 Report

Quoted By:

I'll take declination diagram for $1,000 Alex.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 17 Mar 2014 16:43:43 No.288057 Report

Quoted By:

>>286408

>I'm bored so I look it up

ITS FUCKING TRUE!

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 22 Mar 2014 07:22:00 No.290620 Report

Quoted By:

>>286202
Ha, I actually understood this.
>>285607
>Plus orders should be compensated for md to true north anyway.
We're talking about plastic pellet gun battle maneuvers right? Maybe you can clear this up for me. Thanks in advance.

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