[Rhodes22-list] Slim's Compass

[ed kroposki]

Slim:
	If you are going to keep the compass on the boat, then do a basic
calibration.  If your drive is paved, then get a cheap scout compass and a
piece of chalk.  Plot N-S, E-W on the driveway, or street in front of your
house.  Adjust the compass to N-S, then E-W, then S-N, then W-E and again to
fine tune.
	The headings may not be perfect, but they will give you the general
direction, so that you do not do Brad's trick of going in circles.  If you
decide to do serious navigating then do more serious calibrations of the
compass.  Keep in mind it will never be perfect to a degree.
	As to which way do charts use, just look at a navigation chart in
the light.  The answer is usually somewhere on the chart in degrees.
	Bill said that a GPS is referenced from where you are coming from.
On my Magellan Meridian, it tries to show a heading of where it is pointed.
If you use a Meridian GPS, you should be able to calibrate the compass to
within a few degrees.
	Are you planning a cruise across Lake Superior this summer?
Are you planning a visit to your mother's anytime soon?  

Ed K
Greenville, SC, USA
Addendum:  Navigators answer:   A number of different approaches are being
tried. (We are still guessing at this point.)