Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 26

Thread: Car Compasses. Do they work?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    sydney
    Posts
    847
    Total Downloaded
    0

    Car Compasses. Do they work?

    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?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Geraldton WA
    Posts
    8,284
    Total Downloaded
    0
    The accuracy of a compass Will be affected by the steel in your county But I imagine that if you got a top quality compass and also got it calibrated it Could be used for navigation, However this would be a VERY expensive exercise.
    Good off road/road combination GPS units are easily sourced, reasonably priced and are easy to install So personally I would be going down that road for your navigational needs.

    I run a Hema HX7 in my D2a and I also carry paper maps and a hand held compass when I go bush, You need to be several meters from the vehicle to use the compass for it to work with any accuracy So it is a PITA to use.
    You only get one shot at life, Aim well

    2004 D2 "S" V8 auto, with a few Mods gone
    2007 79 Series Landcruiser V8 Ute, With a few Mods.
    4.6m Quintrex boat
    20' Jayco Expanda caravan gone

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Fremantle WA
    Posts
    3,742
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by alittlebitconcerned View Post
    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?
    I have one in my D4. It can vary anything up to 20 degrees from magnetic north (depending on how much crap is in the dash area - eg mobile phone in holder connected to GAP Tool, triple CIG plug extension, TomTom GPS, Safety Dave rear camera screen).
    Had instructions for setting and worked better in the D2a where it had a clearer location.
    MY16 D4 TDV6 - with a little Cambo magic for towing "The Brick"
    MY95 RRC LSE Vogue Softdash "Bessie" (turning circle comparable to QE II) with MY99 TD5 and 4HP24 transplants. Back home Nov 22 after a magic overhaul by Chivalry
    SADLY SOLD MY04 D2a TD5 auto Classic and MY10 D4 2.7 both with lots of goodies

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    403
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Hi

    Just to prove that we are indeed wise :-)

    Quote Originally Posted by alittlebitconcerned View Post
    Hello wise forum.
    My concern is that my county will act as a Faraday Cage and foul the reading of any compass placed inside.
    A Faraday cage stops electromagnetic fields which have time varying electric and magnetic components. The electric component of a radiating field induces currents in the conducting mesh or surface of the cage which cancels the effect of the radiating field within the enclose. So it does not work for slowly varying fields or static fields such as magnetic fields.

    But your right in that the County is a big lump of steel and will adversely affect a compass. As others have suggested go for a GPS.

    Mike
    Our car: Fuji White MY13 D4 SDV6 SE 3.0 Litre, 8 spd auto.
    My car: Series 2a Workshop, 109 inch WB, ex mil., 1971. To be restored.
    Wife's car: Series 2a FFT, LWB, ex. mil., 1966. To be restored.

  5. #5
    JDNSW's Avatar
    JDNSW is offline RoverLord Silver Subscriber
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Central West NSW
    Posts
    28,804
    Total Downloaded
    0
    These "ball type" compasses are feasible for use in Landrovers because of the largely alloy body, and the County is better because of the non-magnetic windscreen frame. I had one in my Series 1 and 2 in the 1960s, and it worked moderately well, even with the steel windscreen frame.

    It should be mounted as far as possible from any substantial steelwork, a suction cup below the mirror perhaps.

    Some of them have permanent magnet adjusters which can be adjusted to compensate for permanent magnetism in the vehicle. None have soft iron correctors or Flinders bars that are needed to fully correct for soft iron magnetic effects of the vehicle, which, fortunately, are relatively small on a County.

    With permanent magnet correctors it should be possible to get within ten degrees accuracy, but don't expect much better.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    NSW far north coast
    Posts
    17,279
    Total Downloaded
    0
    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.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    The new Gold Coast, after ocean rises,Queensland
    Posts
    13,078
    Total Downloaded
    0
    go buy a really cheap phone and download a compass app onto it...it wont be affected by your vehicle.

    or if the suns out you don't need a compass , just use a stick and draw a clock on the ground. the bigger you draw it the more accurate it will be.

    if it's night time use the stars.

    there you go, two easy things to learn that might just save your life.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    403
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Hi

    Quote Originally Posted by ramblingboy42 View Post
    go buy a really cheap phone and download a compass app onto it...it wont be affected by your vehicle.
    And how do they work? If it's not using GPS i.e. it's using the devices inbuilt magnetometer chip, then it's still using the Earths mag field and will be just as wrong as a Boy Scout's compass.

    Mike
    Our car: Fuji White MY13 D4 SDV6 SE 3.0 Litre, 8 spd auto.
    My car: Series 2a Workshop, 109 inch WB, ex mil., 1971. To be restored.
    Wife's car: Series 2a FFT, LWB, ex. mil., 1966. To be restored.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Warwick Qld
    Posts
    1,977
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by ramblingboy42 View Post
    go buy a really cheap phone and download a compass app onto it...it wont be affected by your vehicle.

    or if the suns out you don't need a compass , just use a stick and draw a clock on the ground. the bigger you draw it the more accurate it will be.

    if it's night time use the stars.

    there you go, two easy things to learn that might just save your life.
    Don't even need to draw circles, if you know the approximate time. Using your analog watch ( or if you don't have one, just imagine the face). Point the 12 position at the sun, half way between that and the hour hand, is North.
    Good enough to get you out of (or maybe into) trouble
    -----
    You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
    -----

    1999 Disco TD5 ("Bluey")
    1996 Disco 300 TDi ("Slo-Mo")
    1995 P38A 4.6 HSE ("The Limo")
    1966 No 5 Trailer (ARN 173 075) soon to be camper
    -----

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    The new Gold Coast, after ocean rises,Queensland
    Posts
    13,078
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by speleomike View Post
    Hi



    And how do they work? If it's not using GPS i.e. it's using the devices inbuilt magnetometer chip, then it's still using the Earths mag field and will be just as wrong as a Boy Scout's compass.

    Mike
    fiik , if it's in a mobile phone I have no eye dear

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Search AULRO.com ONLY!
Search All the Web!