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Post by Coolkat on May 23, 2022 11:42:00 GMT -8
About a month ago I drove 40 minutes to the closest orienteering course with a couple of friends to verify that I still know how to use a compass. Upon going through the motions of drawing orienteering lines on the "blank" map noticed that my orienteering arrow (not the magnetic needle) is no longer pointing 0o Not sure how it got this way. Maybe I was pressing too hard has I turning the bezel??
It's a Suunto MC-2G and I see now they running almost $100 so I was thinking about seeing if Suunto would repair it. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience in getting a compass repaired or should I just bite the bullet and purchase another one?
As backup I'm using a Brunton Arc 20 but I hate how wobbly the needle is. I'm not sure how people deal with how picky it is. I have to have the thing perfectly level for the needle to work. :(
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on May 23, 2022 12:36:56 GMT -8
Are you talking about the rotating bezel or the declination adjustment? Both of those are adjustable. Or is it something else?
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Post by dayhiker on May 23, 2022 13:43:49 GMT -8
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Post by Coolkat on May 24, 2022 3:34:48 GMT -8
It is the part labeled "orienteering arrow" on the following diagram. This is not my model of compass, just an example. For some reason my "orienteering" arrow is pointing about 87 o now.  |
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on May 24, 2022 5:29:52 GMT -8
We can definitely help with that. Open your compass and grab the baseplate with one hand, then grasp the round dial (bezel) with the fingers on your other hand and rotate either direction. The bezel will have a little resistance but it will move. The orienting arrow is also called the shed. When you are fixing a bearing you allign the shed over the red magnetic north needle putting “red in the shed”. Now your bearing will show up at the index pointer. That is the direction you are facing or the direction of a landmark.
So try physically rotating the bezel (the dial). You will use this function for taking a bearing or setting one for a course. Take two bearing off landmarks approximately 90° apart and you have triangulated your position. We do that all the time so we can find our vehicle, camp or some important landmark.
Also make sure you set the declination of the area that you will be hiking. To do that you flip the compass over, find the little screw and turn it with the little piece of metal on your lanyard. For instance my area is 10° E. This will change over time so don’t trust an old map for this info.
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Post by Coolkat on May 24, 2022 6:07:46 GMT -8
I will give this a try today and report back.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on May 24, 2022 7:14:52 GMT -8
Actually if it is the MC-2 then the adjustment screw on the back should do it. If you have a little piece of metal on your lanyard then definitely.
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on May 24, 2022 11:14:18 GMT -8
I’ve used Suunto compasses for navigation literally thousands of days and never once had one accidentally change the declination setting. They are rock solid, easy to set precisely and they stay put. Never seen one set at 87° so if that is the issue then it might have been done deliberately whether purposely or cluelessly. Did you hand it off to anyone at the recent event? There is no place in the USA that I know of that is much more than 20° east or west so I can see how confusing that would look.
Every Suunto of the several I’ve used whether mirror or not, even the matchbox issue, all have the declination screw on the back and the tool to adjust it on the lanyard. That will adjust very quickly and keep your navigation accurate as you travel to various hiking destinations.
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Post by Coolkat on May 27, 2022 7:32:53 GMT -8
Thanks guys for all the suggestions. After a bit more examination I found a small rubber nodule (for lack of a better term) that will move declination adjustment much faster than using the adjustment screw. All is right with the world now and I don't have to purchase a new compass and I can stop using this nasty Brunton Arc 20.
It was my lack of experience in using declination that caused my confusion. I know what declination is but I've never factored it in before. Maybe this is why I'm usually off a few meters to the right of the goal.
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Post by geezinbutnotweezin on Jul 3, 2022 15:39:32 GMT -8
I find this very heartening that a group of folks are discussing compass use and adjustment. There will come a day soon when the planet will be bereft of any human who know how to use a compass. Or a map for that matter. Or telling time of day by the position of the sun. Daily Geezin' over and out.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jul 3, 2022 17:11:03 GMT -8
Map reading will actually expand as everyone who uses a gps enabled map display still has to read it. Whether screen or Tyvek it’s still a map.
Compas? Oh I carry one but find my Thommens altimeter far more useful, likely Sierra specific a bit. Open alpine with lots of elevation variation.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Jul 5, 2022 12:30:15 GMT -8
Map reading will actually expand as everyone who uses a gps enabled map display still has to read it. Whether screen or Tyvek it’s still a map. I don't know about that. For most people their experience with GPS maps is the GPS tells them what to do. "Turn right at the next corner". You don't need to figure out where you are along a trail, the GPS just tells you. No map reading needed. I believe map reading is like understanding math. For a small percentage of people it comes easily and is enjoyable. For many others it if they work hard at it they can get it but it makes their head hurt and there is frustration involved. The final group will never get it. For them the representation on the map has no correspondence to anything. So most people are not motivated to learn to read a map, screen or otherwise. Why work at it when the GPS will just tell you. |
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jul 5, 2022 13:12:25 GMT -8
That’s vehicle gps: quite a bit different from hiking gps (aka no streets) and things like cliffs and rivers matter.
Some will follow trails if that’s selected with vector based maps, others when the maps are images they don’t differentiate trails from the rest of the pixels.
That’s actually a big trap for some: expecting the mobile hiking gps to behave as it does in their vehicle. People have gotten cliffffed and worse from that.
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on Jul 5, 2022 13:25:37 GMT -8
Map reading will actually expand as everyone who uses a gps enabled map display still has to read it. Whether screen or Tyvek it’s still a map. I don't know about that. For most people their experience with GPS maps is the GPS tells them what to do. "Turn right at the next corner". You don't need to figure out where you are along a trail, the GPS just tells you. No map reading needed. I believe map reading is like understanding math. For a small percentage of people it comes easily and is enjoyable. For many others it if they work hard at it they can get it but it makes their head hurt and there is frustration involved. The final group will never get it. For them the representation on the map has no correspondence to anything. So most people are not motivated to learn to read a map, screen or otherwise. Why work at it when the GPS will just tell you. Totally disagree. A GPS can’t really tell one how to get from one point to another in canyon country which gets folks into a bunch of trouble at times. Once we could see our camp down there but getting to it was epic. However I think you are onto something with map reading and I’ve seen it in others many strange times. For more than 30 years I navigated with maps very precisely every single day of my career, mostly 7.5’ quads but every other kind you can imagine because when I started some areas out in the west were not covered by detailed maps. Once I had to navigate with a crazy 1910 map but it made just enough sense. So it totally baffles me when someone can’t figure spatial relationships but it doesn’t surprise me anymore. So many folks I’ve observed bend the map to any delusion they can talk themselves into. Carrying a map and compass don’t mean much unless… |
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Jul 5, 2022 13:54:17 GMT -8
On the compass thing. I currently carry three compasses on the trail usually. My phone is my GPS but it also has a magnetic compass in it that I have an app for. (Android - Compass 360 Pro). My watch is my clock and altimeter primarily but it also has compass. And finally, because I am an old school map geek, I carry a small mechanical compass. It doesn't need batteries and should work after an EMP. |
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