[Rhodes22-list] Slim's Compass

[Ronald Lipton]

I do the same thing - set the course using the GPS waypoint information
and then steer by compass.

Ron
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Walker" <david.walker5 at comcast.net>
To: "Hank" <hnw555 at gmail.com>; "The Rhodes 22 mail list" 
<rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Slim's Compass


> Ed,
>
> GPS will give you course over ground which is in fact the direction the 
> GPS
> itself is moving (and hence only when it is moving). It doesn't make any
> difference which way the unit is pointed.  There are new GPS "Compasses"
> coming out with two GPS antennas spread over a baseline of a few feet that
> will give you a static direction.  The neat thing about GPS is that
> variation is accounted for automatically and there is no deviation.
>
> I use a magnetic compass to steer by having chosen the course by 
> information
> from the GPS.  That way the magnetic compass is only giving me real time
> relative feedback and the absolute heading value is not important.
>
> Dave Walker
> David Walker
> David Walker Photography
> davidwalkerphotography.com
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Hank" <hnw555 at gmail.com>
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 9:11 AM
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Slim's Compass
>
>
>> Ed,
>>
>> It is true that the GPS tries to show a heading of where it is
>> pointed, but I suspect it is deriving that from forward movement.
>> Next time you go out, put the GPS perpendicular to your direction of
>> travel for a few minutes and see what it shows for a heading.  I
>> suspect it will be based upon your movement, not on where it is
>> pointed.
>>
>> Hank
>>
>> On Apr 7, 2005 9:00 AM, ed kroposki <ekroposki at charter.net> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > 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.)
>> >
>> > __________________________________________________
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>> >
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