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Is a electronic compass essential?


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I'm pretty sure this is the spot for this topic but I was just wondering. Is the electronic compass essential to geocaching? I was just wondering if any of you who do not use them: are you guys successful like any other geocacher, and whats your reason for not using the compass?

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I'm pretty sure this is the spot for this topic but I was just wondering. Is the electronic compass essential to geocaching? I was just wondering if any of you who do not use them: are you guys successful like any other geocacher, and whats your reason for not using the compass?
No, it is not essential, and there are compass bigots around (who will chime in any second) who will further tell you that they're awful, should never be turned on, are a tool of the Devil hisself, and do nothing but run your battery down. A lot of people have found a whole lot of caches without one, either because they refused to turn it on, or because their GPS didn't come equipped with one.

 

Me, I use it all the time. It's best use is when you are standing stationary, trying to figure out how to navigate a particular bit of terrain while shooting a bearing to the cache. The units without a mag compass require that you remain on the move. Once you stop, whatever position drift the unit has will just set the pointer to spinning uselessly. It's second best use is when the terrain requires that you back up and triangulate a position to a cache (happens against canyon walls, tall buildings, bridges, etc.). You're not forced to keep moving to get a bearing.

 

The only downside to a mag compass on a Garmin unit is that they are voltage sensitive, and the readings are not reliable once the batteries start to wear down a bit, requiring a recalibration of the compass. Ditto if you recalibrate while they are down a bit, and throw in a new set of batteries. My own solution to that has been to switch to a battery chemistry not often seen, but that produces a very consistent voltage until the cells are depleted (NiZn). My previous alternative was to toss in a fresh set of NiMH cells before I got to the 1/2 way point on the "gas gauge".

Edited by ecanderson
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I use the electronic compass all the time. I started with a lowrance I Finder and recently upgraded to an Endura Safari. I learned to cache with one and just can't imagine not having it. Robin on the other hand keeps the compass in her PN40 turned off and prefers to hunt without it. Honestly I can't say one outperforms the other.

 

On a couple of occasions while caching in an area with lots of bounce I have set the unit down while I poked around and returned to find the unit (with compass enabled) pointing to the cache.

 

Back to your question, as far as caching is concerned the compass is an option. Just another bell/whistle on a tool that will get you to a limited search area, your skills/geo-senses get you to the cache.

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To answer your question: No, they are not essential. I have units with an electronic compass and units without and they all find Geocaches. I do carry a Silva Ranger and a topo map when I go in the woods so I can find my way to civilization if the electronics go bad (I had a GPSr tell me that I was at 16,000 feet of elevation and moving at 40 mph while I was standing still at 600 ft above sea level).

 

To be honest, I don't use the electronic compass all that often. All of the GPSrs I use have the position of the sun and/or moon on the compass rose (arrow page). Simply aligning the sun(moon) icon to the actual sun will align the bearing arrow with the actual direction to the cache.

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I don't know anybody in my group of friends that uses it. it swings wildly to much and all you have to do is walk a few feet with it turned off for it to figure out your direction.

That's not true in all situations. There have been times I found myself in a rather tight and even very thorny locations and attempting to walk a few feet reliably in a single direction was not be accomplished. Being able to stand, orient, and have the floating compass point the bearing towards the waypoint is a very handy tool to have.

 

Is it essential? No. Is it another tool to be used when iti s warranted? Ubetcha

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... it swings wildly to much ...
I found that some 2009 technology seems to have resolved that problem for me -- newer Garmin with 3-axis compass and some batteries that avoid upsetting the compass chip. Between the two, the things actually work the way a person would hope they would.

 

Treated with understanding, even the older electronic compass design will treat you right. I haven't had "wild swings" since about the first month after I bought my first eTrex Summit HC and figured out how to use the thing in ways that would avoid causing me pain, even with the design issues. The "You'll do this the way I want you to do it or I'll disable your feature!" approach doesn't work with most technology, little of which leaves the factory with perfect behavior in the first place.

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I use the electronic compass all the time. I started with a lowrance I Finder and recently upgraded to an Endura Safari. I learned to cache with one and just can't imagine not having it. Robin on the other hand keeps the compass in her PN40 turned off and prefers to hunt without it. Honestly I can't say one outperforms the other.

 

On a couple of occasions while caching in an area with lots of bounce I have set the unit down while I poked around and returned to find the unit (with compass enabled) pointing to the cache.

 

Back to your question, as far as caching is concerned the compass is an option. Just another bell/whistle on a tool that will get you to a limited search area, your skills/geo-senses get you to the cache.

Best answer right here! ↑↑↑↑↑

 

It's all a matter of opinion. We use a PN-40 with 3-axis compass. Calibrated it when we got it. Have not turned it on since then. We never go caching w/o my lensatic compass, but that is only for the "what-if" situation. It stays in the pack pocket, and is tethered too boot!

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Nope, it's absolutely not necessary to have an electronic compass to geocache. In fact I have never used my electronic compass or for that matter my Brunton compass when geocaching. However, I do use my electronic compass all the time when I out hunting. Personally, I wouldn't buy another GPSr without an electronic compass because of the convenience of not having to pull out another piece of gear when on the trail. Don't get me wrong always take my Brunton compass with me in case something happens to my Vista HCx but the last two years it hasn't seen the light of day. If you can afford it I think having an electronic compass is worth the investment but by all means it certainly isn't necessary.

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I have a really nice electronic compass in my Nautiz X7 (Getac PS236), but I use my "analog" compass most of the time. Ones in time I was active in the orienteering sport, and the use of a compass feels natural for me.

 

Im think it´s quite neat to take out a compass bearing from distance at places with bad GPS reception, and it´s far easier to break out the physical compass than drawing more battery using the electronic compass. One less program running on the PDA is also a plus imho.

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Personally, I found that since the introduction of the high sensitivity units, there was little use for the electronic compass when caching. This is due to the small movements required to make the GPS navigation based arrow accurate. In general, I find it easy to leave it off and move a bit to determine direction than to get the electronic compass to work properly.

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... than to get the electronic compass to work properly.

 

Please read my signature...

 

I've owned and used many many GPS units for around twelve years. The biggest problem is that you need to stop and hold it steady to work. Once you move, they work poorly and it is better to use the GPS signal to determine direction. It is easier to move a bit than to deal with turning the compass on and off. n older Garmin units, you could specify the compass switching setting and this could be set happen automatically fairly seamlessly.

 

Regardless to all of this, I see no use Geocaching. There is no need to ever stop moving. Just watch the arrow and walk straight to ground zero. The GPS based arrow works perfectly 100% of the time for this use. I can guarantee I can find the accurate zero location as fast as anyone, anywhere.....

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I hate the things. They require frequent calibration. They are jittery in use from all distances. The 2D ones require me to hold the unit too flat.

 

All I have to do is move a few feet to get the unit pointing in the right direction without it - or briefly reference the compass I carry with me anyway so I can march off the right way.

Edited by StarBrand
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Personally, I found that since the introduction of the high sensitivity units, there was little use for the electronic compass when caching. This is due to the small movements required to make the GPS navigation based arrow accurate. In general, I find it easy to leave it off and move a bit to determine direction than to get the electronic compass to work properly.

I don't find that GPS is sensitive enough to accurately pick up that movement and give a reliable bearing.

 

The PN-40 uses GPS at speeds to 1.5MPH and higher to show your direction based on your movement. Below 1.5MPH, they've determined that relying solely on the electronic compass is more accurate so the device switches to that mode.

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I've owned and used many many GPS units for around twelve years. The biggest problem is that you need to stop and hold it steady to work. Once you move, they work poorly and it is better to use the GPS signal to determine direction. It is easier to move a bit than to deal with turning the compass on and off. n older Garmin units, you could specify the compass switching setting and this could be set happen automatically fairly seamlessly.

When all you've used is one manufacturer's 2D electronic compasses, I can see how you'd get discouraged.

 

The tri-axial compass in my PN-40 is quite accurate, regardless of the device's orientation. And only really used when you're not moving fast enough for the GPS readings to be used for an accurate determination of your direction of travel.

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Please read my signature...

Sorry about that. The Colorado 300 wouldn't qualify as my favorite electronic compass, either -- it's on par with all of the eTrex models (like my Summit HC).

 

I've owned and used many many GPS units for around twelve years. The biggest problem is that you need to stop and hold it steady to work.
??? Stopped - RIGHT. That's the only time I find the electronic compass especially useful, so I guess that's OK. If you're moving, the GPS works fine for guiding the pointer, just as you say. I can't help but think we're talking across one another here. But I note below that you never stop moving. More on that later. That said, the 3-axis units available in the Oregon and Dakota models now don't require a level hand -- a big improvement over prior technology.
Once you move, they work poorly and it is better to use the GPS signal to determine direction.
Which is why they're configurable. Mine is set to go back to GPS compass mode if I'm moving more than 2mph for 5 seconds. I often wonder how many people realize that's how these units are intended to be set up for what we do?
It is easier to move a bit than to deal with turning the compass on and off. n older Garmin units, you could specify the compass switching setting and this could be set happen automatically fairly seamlessly.
You mean the Colorado does NOT have that setting? Now there's an oops by Garmin (if true). If that's the case, I understand why the feature isn't useful to you. It wouldn't be useful to me, either, and is an exception to the rule. The eTrex models with a mag compass could be so configured, as can the Oregon and Dakota models that employ a mag compass chip. What happened with the Colorado? Is it really non-configurable for magnetic/GPS switching by itself?
Regardless to all of this, I see no use Geocaching. There is no need to ever stop moving. Just watch the arrow and walk straight to ground zero.
When it's convenient to do that, more power to you. That works for me most of the time, too. The problem occurs most often when you start seeing terrain ratings above 3.0 or so. See the post above by TotemLake and others in the alternative thread. I could also site numerous instances out here in mountain terrain where having to keep moving wasn't always convenient - or even safe for that matter. Just yesterday I was out looking for a cache that required that I sort out how I was going to navigate around a large boulder field on a steep hill. Being able to stop and shoot a bearing from where I was standing was a definite convenience. For low terrain caches, it's a different story. The idea that "there is no need to ever stop moving" implies a lot about the nature of the cache location that isn't always true where I cache. Edited by ecanderson
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You mean the Colorado does NOT have that setting? Now there's an oops by Garmin (if true). If that's the case, I understand why the feature isn't useful to you.

Correct, none of the newer Garmin have the setting adjustable.... On older units, I have adjusted the settings on dozens of other people's units to set the compass switch point correctly.

 

When it's convenient to do that, more power to you. That works for me most of the time, too. The problem occurs most often when you start seeing terrain ratings above 3.0 or so.

If you are bored, have a look at my owned and found caches..... I'm an experienced mountaineer and have been navigating by map and compass for 40 years. For MYSELF, there is no need to stop in order to take a bearing to a cache and evaluate the terrain ahead for the best path. With a GPS, this is simple enough to do while moving. You can stop all you like and take bearings. I will be at the cache waiting for you.

 

The OP wanted to know "Is a electronic compass essential?". In MY personal opinion, no.... It is just as simple to use the GPS signal to determine accurate bearings for geocaching. The only real use for determine accurate bearing is for triangulating your position on a map. Unless the GPS breaks, there is not much need for doing that.

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I found the E compass in my Meri Plat useless. I have no use for them. I don't miss it at all, since I switched to the Meri Color and now the eXplorist GC. Couldn't care less.

 

I do have an affinity for high quality earth mag compasses though. Since my very beginning I have always used a compass in the other hand. I search the cache location in a visualized grid pattern with the coord screen and a compass. Having a hard time with the new GC because it's hard to nav to the coord screen. I'm split now. The Meridian was the perfect GPSr for so long, but the ease of loading GPX on the GC is awesome. I just wish the GC was laid out like a meridian and loaded the GPX via cut n paste.

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I hate the things. They require frequent calibration. They are jittery in use from all distances. The 2D ones require me to hold the unit too flat.
So your experience with previous generation compass technology has soured you on the whole concept. I fully understand that. Let's just be clear that your feelings have been colored by the technology in use. Both of your (valid) complaints can be overcome with more current gear. What you "hate" are the 2D units and cells with discharge profiles with a significant slope. Both of those situations require work-arounds that aren't always convenient, although I must say, it's easy enough to hold the unit flat when you're standing still - which is the only time a normal Garmin should bet set to switch to the mag compass. Avoid those issues altogether, and life gets pretty good in compass-land. A properly configured Oregon 450/550 or Dakota 20 plus NiZn cells will help a bunch.

 

My point in all of this is to avoid allowing the previous angst some folks have had with their mag compass to improperly characterize the current state of the technology, and keep the anecdotal information that included misuse and misconfiguration of the older technology from dissuading someone else from trying it a different way with potentially much better success.

 

As an example, you'd be surprised at how many people I've talked to that had no idea that their eTrex and map60 units with a mag compass were programmable for auto-switch mag/GPS operation mode, had never even paid note to the screen that reads "Switch to compass heading when below..." (under Setup/Heading) or if they did see it, had any idea of what that setting actually does to/for the operation of the compass. That feature on the more recent Oregons and the Dakota 20 is even more confusing on the Heading config menu until you can find some docs to explain it. They expect someone to know what Compass-Auto and Compass-Off means to operation based upon the vague information that comes with these units? And what happened to the speed and time selections from the eTrex days? Garmin's skimpier and skimpier documentation is partly at fault, too. No wonder the Wiki pages for the new units are getting so popular.

Edited by ecanderson
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The OP wanted to know "Is a electronic compass essential?". In MY personal opinion, no....

On that, I suspect everyone here is in agreement, as was I with my 1st post. Zillions of cache finds have been made on units that don't employ a mag compass chip at all. Zillions more have been made with the mag compass feature turned off either deliberately or through ignorance of the availability of the feature. It can't be argued that it's essential.

 

Whether it is a convenience while geocaching depends upon some combination of 1) where you're caching, 2) your caching style, 3) how well the technology in the GPS that you own actually works, and 4) whether you're prepared to work with that technology to get the best possible use from it.

 

There's a reason that we have posts above from cachers that wouldn't buy a unit without one. For some, the convenience outweighs any extra effort that might be required to make it work well for them, and current technology makes that extra effort less and less. Evidently a lot of other people like to stop and shoot a bearing, too, else they wouldn't be saying that, would they? Or do they realize that they may be in GPS compass mode when on the move? Who knows...

Edited by ecanderson
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I hate the things. They require frequent calibration. They are jittery in use from all distances. The 2D ones require me to hold the unit too flat.
So your experience with previous generation compass technology has soured you on the whole concept. I fully understand that. Let's just be clear that your feelings have been colored by the technology in use. Both of your (valid) complaints can be overcome with more current gear. What you "hate" are the 2D units and cells with discharge profiles with a significant slope. Both of those situations require work-arounds that aren't always convenient, although I must say, it's easy enough to hold the unit flat when you're standing still - which is the only time a normal Garmin should bet set to switch to the mag compass. Avoid those issues altogether, and life gets pretty good in compass-land. A properly configured Oregon 450/550 or Dakota 20 plus NiZn cells will help a bunch.

 

My point in all of this is to avoid allowing the previous angst some folks have had with their mag compass to improperly characterize the current state of the technology, and keep the anecdotal information that included misuse and misconfiguration of the older technology from dissuading someone else from trying it a different way with potentially much better success.

 

As an example, you'd be surprised at how many people I've talked to that had no idea that their eTrex and map60 units with a mag compass were programmable for auto-switch mag/GPS operation mode, had never even paid note to the screen that reads "Switch to compass heading when below..." (under Setup/Heading) or if they did see it, had any idea of what that setting actually does to/for the operation of the compass. That feature on the more recent Oregons and the Dakota 20 is even more confusing on the Heading config menu until you can find some docs to explain it. They expect someone to know what Compass-Auto and Compass-Off means to operation based upon the vague information that comes with these units? And what happened to the speed and time selections from the eTrex days? Garmin's skimpier and skimpier documentation is partly at fault, too. No wonder the Wiki pages for the new units are getting so popular.

 

yikes :anicute:

 

Can I still hate them even if it is a new whiz bang 3d compass model on the newest GPS units. Cause I do........

 

Just my opinion.......

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yikes :anicute:

 

Can I still hate them even if it is a new whiz bang 3d compass model on the newest GPS units. Cause I do........

 

Just my opinion.......

Well SURE you can! We're an equal opportunity compass hating house here. ;) But you may have to avoid some of the old reasons if asked why.
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Do I consider it essential? No, I'd keep using my Silva if my GPS didn't have the electronic compass. It's a convenience thing - one less thing to take with me to the local parks.

 

However, if I needed to shoot a precise bearing (like for projecting a waypoint), I'd still take the Silva, as my GPS doesn't do projections.

Edited by dakboy
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....as my GPS doesn't do projections.

 

What GPS does not do projections??

None of the DeLorme PN-series devices will do a projection the way Garmin does it. All you can do on a DeLorme is locate a point on the map screen using the bearing & distance indicated for the cursor position vs. your current location.

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None of the DeLorme PN-series devices will do a projection the way Garmin does it. All you can do on a DeLorme is locate a point on the map screen using the bearing & distance indicated for the cursor position vs. your current location.

Interesting. Have recently cached with a guy with a 40, and thought it was just a matter of not having enough time with it yet. He was having me use my Garmin to deal with required projections on a couple of multis. Will let him know that he needn't try to figure it out.
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None of the DeLorme PN-series devices will do a projection the way Garmin does it. All you can do on a DeLorme is locate a point on the map screen using the bearing & distance indicated for the cursor position vs. your current location.

Interesting. Have recently cached with a guy with a 40, and thought it was just a matter of not having enough time with it yet. He was having me use my Garmin to deal with required projections on a couple of multis. Will let him know that he needn't try to figure it out.

I have done one very simple projection with the compass screen on my '40 combined with another person and a healthy dose of reckoning. It basically boiled down to "ok, I'm standing at this point, I'll turn till the compass is pretty much where I want it to be. Now you go walk 150' that way...nope, to your left...a little back to the right...ok, you need to be somewhere within 25 feet of that."

 

The Silva would have been easier just because it's meant for shooting a bearing.

 

Which is pretty much what you're doing with the map screen, except that only requires one person.

Edited by dakboy
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IMHO you asked about the wrong feature......

 

The Compass is ABSOLUTELY NOT "necessary"

 

However, in this day of map file sizes and data file sizes.....the SD card ability is MUCH closer to being an absolutely required feature than a compass feature.

 

Ask that question and I'll bet you get a totally different series of answers

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An electronic compass is not essential. I purposely bought the Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx because it doesn't have a compass. The majority of stuff I read about the compass is that its a resource hog and needs so much calibration that it isn't worth the hassle. I have found all my nearly 400 finds WITHOUT a GPSr compass. So no, it is not essential and shouldn't make or break the deal when buying a unit. If you're concerned about it, go buy a cheap magnetic compass. I always have one in my vehicle just in case, but I've never used it for geocaching. :)

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I'm pretty sure this is the spot for this topic but I was just wondering. Is the electronic compass essential to geocaching? I was just wondering if any of you who do not use them: are you guys successful like any other geocacher, and whats your reason for not using the compass?

They may not be necessary to a lot of cachers, but I won't buy a GPS without one.

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Thank you everyone for posting your replies, the main reason I asked this was because i'm considering the Dakota 10 or the Dakota 20 and the 20 has the compass among a few other things (SD card input). Just wondering which one i should consider
No contest. As has already been noted, get the 20 for the microSD card ability. Once you've got it, you can load it up with all kinds of topos and routable maps for the areas you want to visit. During a recent visit to the Quintana Roo area, I didn't want to plunk down the extra to pick up the Mexico maps for my TomTom for just a week of use, and instead found perfectly serviceable maps for my Dakota 20 at http://garmin.na1400.info/routable.php. I left it on my Dakota 20 SD, and darned if I'm not headed back there in June and will use them again.

 

As for the compass, you'll find the 3-axis model a VAST improvement over the previous design if you have had any experience with those. If you plan to actually use it, I would seriously consider those NiZn cells made by Powergenix that I was mentioning earlier. You'll quickly discover that the need for frequent calibration with battery use and replacement goes away. I'm also looking forward to trying them in the cold (not that I'm in any hurry to get back to THAT already!) as unlike NiMH, they should go pretty well to true depletion before the Garmin says it doesn't like the voltage anymore. I believe a good NiMH will still provide longer service in warm weather, though -- haven't done the serious testing yet to prove it one way or the other.

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An electronic compass is not essential. I purposely bought the Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx because it doesn't have a compass. The majority of stuff I read about the compass is that its a resource hog and needs so much calibration that it isn't worth the hassle. I have found all my nearly 400 finds WITHOUT a GPSr compass. So no, it is not essential and shouldn't make or break the deal when buying a unit. If you're concerned about it, go buy a cheap magnetic compass. I always have one in my vehicle just in case, but I've never used it for geocaching. :)

They aren't nearly the resource hog on the newer units as the old ones used to be. Power consumption is pretty miniscule by some reports. I haven't noticed a significant longevity difference on the PN-40 with it off versus on.

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The OP wanted to know "Is a electronic compass essential?". In MY personal opinion, no.... It is just as simple to use the GPS signal to determine accurate bearings for geocaching. The only real use for determine accurate bearing is for triangulating your position on a map. Unless the GPS breaks, there is not much need for doing that.

 

My home territory looks like this: http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/st...nal/6567545.jpg

 

It´s often not possible to get a good gps reception beside a high and almost vertical cliff. A lot of the caches here are placed in positions near those cliffs . Someone told me that sweden being high up north makes the positioning more problematic, but I´m not what initiated on gps technology to know if thats true.

 

My Nautiz X7 almost every time gets me within a meter of a cache, if coordinates are OK, but those bad reception sites are imho easiest to handle by backing a little and use the compass to get direction. I can of course use the electronic compass, a rock steady no flickering one, but in my PDA that means switching software. With my equipment an analog compass is a good solution, but that´s may not be the best way to go for everyone.

 

I have no experience with "ordinary" GPSr. The Nautiz X7 is aimed at professional users and need quite active handling. Are electronic compasses on consumer GPSr:s "button on/off" and easy to use?

Edited by The Kamikaze Clan
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That's the kind of terrain we have in parts of Colorado as well. I agree 100% about walking back away from the wall and triangulating on a cache - I even suggested that in the last "compass thread" we had going here. I've also used that technique near bridges and other structures that block the signal too much when up close. Good technique, and thanks for sharing that amazing photo.
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Second to mapping, its the feature I like best and wouldn't want to cache without a 3 axis electronic compass again ( we used an Etrex briefly when we started caching)

If you have a Nuvi or similar unit for driving then the mapping is redundant and the compass would be the MOST important feature.

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This is not intended to argue or inflame.... but just think about it.

 

A GPS is designed to determine it's specific location and ,if desired, will direct you to another location at a particular set of coordinates as specified by the operator.

 

A cache is just a specific location. (set of coordinates) to be found.

 

No "Pictures" are REQUIRED. (either maps or images)

 

No Compass is REQUIRED Note: Every individual in the entire world has a slightly diifferent "bearing" to that location, but that fact does not change the "location".

 

The GPS will accurately point you toward the location based STRICTLY on the "difference" in the two locations, whether it be N,S,E,W from your location. So....why care.....you must go the direction that you must go to get to the new location. If you have to detour around an obstacle...so be it.

 

Maps ,Imagery,and Compasses on GPSs are purely just part of the "Fluff and Frills" convenience features that have been added and are part of the "Lifestyle to which Cachers have become accustomed".

 

REQUIRED ? Absolutely NOT

 

Hey Dude, " Like Totally Awesome Desired features" which make things more convenient ? ......Probably.....

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The GPS will accurately point you toward the location based STRICTLY on the "difference" in the two locations, whether it be N,S,E,W from your location. So....why care.....you must go the direction that you must go to get to the new location. If you have to detour around an obstacle...so be it.

There's the rub... it can only POINT you to the location if either [a] you're moving so that it can use GPS data to determine your direction of movement and provide you with a differential bearing, or if you aren't moving, you have the mag compass and have it enabled so that it actually knows the current orientation of the device against "north" - which is why standing still without a mag compass isn't capable of producing any useful pointing information. That's something that a lot of newcomers to the GPS game (for whatever use) sometimes don't understand.

 

Yeah, you can infer a direction from a static position from the present coordinates that are displayed ... providing you know which way to go in order to start lowering the numbers again. That's how I found my first couple of caches with my TomTom GO720 ... and quickly decided that probably wasn't the most effective approach :) .

Maps ,Imagery,and Compasses on GPSs are purely just part of the "Fluff and Frills" convenience features that have been added and are part of the "Lifestyle to which Cachers have become accustomed".
Yup. While Mondo has been known to say "Just give me the coordinates!", I don't know of anyone who caches who doesn't appreciate having more information than that when out on the search. For my money, pointing is always helpful, any way I can get it! Edited by ecanderson
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I have several Garmins including a 60 CSx as well as an iphone and the electronic compasses on these things are quirky at best so I understand the complaining posts. I don't understand problems with the Meridian Platinum compass......a 3 axis ( you don't need to hold it flat) compass thats rock solid and smooth. I've worked with DOZENS of these units and the compass always worked beautifully. Who wants to have to walk a certain speed for a compass/pointer to work. A couple of folks that I've got these units for are cripple and can't walk around easily. Also if you're in the thick stuff its hard for anyone to walk about and expand the search.

All I'm saying is if you ever had a unit that always pointed smoothly at the cache even if you're standing still you would never want to cache without one. You only need to calibrate on a battery change and in 7 years I've only changed batteries in the field about 6 times....you can drive from New Orleans to St. Louis, unit on or off, and never need to re-calibrate .

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I use the compass page so little, that I went to the Page Sequence and removed it to the Menu Page. Out of the way, but there if I need it.

 

I did find a fun use for the Compass Page, when in the Demo Mode. Hold down the rocker UP (top) and watch the speed go up to 1150 mh. Left or right on the rocker controls direction that you want to go on the Map Page. Now explore the New location from the Sat Page, say go to the east coast, make a waypoint on the west coast, then "west bound, hammer down". Zoom in and out, etc. And more stuff that I haven't found yet. Keep experimenting.

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:) I wouldn't be in the woods without my 55 yr old magnetic compass and a topo of the area. There is no battery to go dead and if the north pole goes dead we're in big trouble. I AM Terry.
She ask" Back already" as the back door slammed shut.
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