Car Compasses. Do they work?

I've got an aging HN5 or something - works sufficient for my needs. I've set it so that the map on display is North-South, irrespective of the direction I'm travelling. That one also has a street GPS (which is okay, Garmin equivalent) and a third system for use in combination with a computer and sat-phone for really remote areas (which I've never needed).

Also:
Find Your Way Without the Internet: 7 of the Best Offline Maps Apps

Also - there's adequate advice already from other respondents.
And also! - the old Boy Scout compass - the ones with a rectangular transparent base with a simple twist-and-point - works well if you follow the instructions! Of course, it's step away from the car or the powerlines, but... $35 would see it done.

One final tip: if you get a compass with a mirror as well - it tells you who's lost!
(Okay, so that joke is older than I am, which means - ancient...)

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Originally Posted by alittlebitconcerned

Hello wise forum.

I’d love to get a (non electric) compass for my county because if I were to shut my eyes, do a pirouette, i’d get lost. :)

There’s a bunch online that are the ball type floating in liquid. Some say they have compensators built in to allow for anomalies, but there’s not much info on what those anomalies might be.

My concern is that my county will act as a Faraday Cage and foul the reading of any compass placed inside.

what say you wise forum?

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You said ‘non electric’ but most didn’t take any notice of that it seems. Maybe HEMA might suggest a product?
Good luck.

Many moons ago I had one of those floating ones installed in my 110 song it helped us navigate across the Sahara in pre-GPS days.

I riveted the bracket to the ceiling above the mirror and it worked reasonably well - perhaps within 5 or 10 degrees. (It had some sort of adjustment but I can’t remember the details.)

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Originally Posted by rick130

When I was a kid my family had a Jeep Wagoneer with a big, beautiful compass in a binnacle on top of the (steel) dash.
It looked great, factory fitment I believe, too.

It didn't work.

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They bought a Jeep, they were already lost [bigrolf].

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Originally Posted by loanrangie

They bought a Jeep, they were already lost [bigrolf].

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I bought one in a camping store yonks ago, but it lives in the centre cubby and I rarely use it. The GPS does the job. I also downloaded a compass to my phone. And my phone has Google Maps. Or I can just look at the position of the sun and guess by the time of day.

We are in the 21st century so just use a GPS unit and be done with it, Even the cheap units will at the very least give you an accurate direction of travel.[thumbsupbig]
A compass will only give you a "Magnetic" direction and depending on where you are you will have to know and apply the magnetic variation for that particular area to get a "TRUE" direction So using even the Most expensive/accurate compass available you will still need a bit of Math and knowledge to work out an accurate heading.

With off-road 4WD work or at sea a compass is pretty much a backup system as navigating with a GPS is FAR more accurate and user friendly So why put all your trust into an outmoded and complex system of navigation using a compass, a map/chart and dead reckoning when a much better, easier and far more accurate navigation can be achieved using a GPS unit. [biggrin][thumbsupbig]

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Or I can just look at the position of the sun and guess by the time of day.

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That doesn't work so well in the far north of the country, especially in summer!

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I bought one in a camping store yonks ago, but it lives in the centre cubby and I rarely use it. The GPS does the job. I also downloaded a compass to my phone. And my phone has Google Maps. Or I can just look at the position of the sun and guess by the time of day.

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Using the sun will give you a ROUGH direction in an emergency But I certainly wouldn't want to bet my life on it.

Had one in my Subaru many moons ago, found it was a little inaccurate while driving but when sitting still it would come good after a while. A bit of a gimmick IMO, easier in this day and age to have your phone in an approved holder with google maps running on it if you need just a direction.