True Or Magnetic North

[+CondorTrax]

Apologize in advance for newbie question. I have a new GPS and am also new to Geo Caching. What is the default setting for "North" on a GPS in Geocaching? Does it make a difference? Thanks in advance........

[+Renegade Knight]

It makes no difference for most purposes. It took me 3 years to even figure out what my GPS defaulted to (true). In 900+ caches I've never once needed to know.

[+fizzymagic]

It doesn't really matter for geocaching.

 

But since the GPS understands coordinates and velocities relative to the Earth's geometry, unless you regularly use a magnetic compass in the field it is probably better and more natural to use true north in your GPS.

 

My GPS has a magnetic compass built in but I leave it turned off, since for most situations it does not add any useful information. A magnetic compass is not a high-precision device.

[+EraSeek]

On my GPS there are several setting that may fit your question.

 

There is NORTH UP or TRACK UP. This setting asks you if you want the screen to always be oriented with north at the top of the screen or if you want the top of the screen to be oriented to the direction you are going at the time. I keep mine at NORTH UP because the screen has to do less re-drawing and is quick and confuses me less.

 

I agree with fizzymagic:

Another setting is Magnetic or True North. Your GPS will probably be in True North, and that is where I keep mine. This means that all compass readings are give with the true north pole as reference. If you change it to Magnetic your GPS will compute the declination for your area and apply it so that the reading match your magnetic compass. I change my compass heading to match true, rather than changing the GPS to match my compass.

 

I have a seperated electronic compass and don't like it and never use it. You may have on in your GPS features. The only real benefit is that when you are stopped dead it will still point the right way. Without an electronic compasss in your GPS the GPS determines direction via satellite readings. If you are stopped (not walking) it may not point the right way. That's when I pull out my magnetic compass.

[bnolan]

It depends on how you use your GPS.

 

If you shoot bearings with a magnetic compass and don't want to adjust for the local declination, set your GPS to magnetic north.

 

If you can adjust you compass for declination, you can set the GPS to true.

 

If you use a protractor to project directions off of the edges of a quad map, set the GPS to true north.

 

If you use a protractor to project directions off of the UTM lines on a quad map, set the GPS to grid north.

 

If you don't do any of these things, then it doesn't matter how you set it.

Edited June 23, 2005 by bnolan

[+Deneye]

On the odd cache where projections have been needed i've seen true or magnetic indicated for bearings.

 

I normally keep mine on true so that i really know which way is north and also N, S, E & W align properly with the streets & avenues...

[+EScout]

The setting of the north reference, true or magnetic, is very important when you are doing navigational caches. After 100 or so finds, you may get bored and want the challenge of doing caches with such things as projecting a waypoint and triangulation. These are found in some multi-caches. I encourage you to do these. You will learn about the advanced features of your GPSr and become more skilled with using it in the field.

Also, if you are new to using a GPSr, you should have it on often, during drives, breaks, etc. This will help you get familiar with using it. You will be pulling up waypoints to see how far you are from: your house, work, other places. It will also tell you your bearing to those places. YOu should know what it is set to. I recommend True North, because it is how we look at maps and visualize directions.

[+CondorTrax]

I'd like to thank you all for responding with your comments/suggestions.