Electronic compass

[+Jordan29]

This has probably been discussed before so I apologies if it has. So electronic compass vs not. I am looking at buying a GPS and don't know what is the difference and if you could use a none electronic compass. I know that the electronic is performed but any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Forkeye]

You have opened a huge can of worms again...lol. Do you need one? Not really, for most things, I like having mine though.

Can you use a real compass? Yes that's the best, cheapest and most reliable way to go for sure. You never need to calibrate the compass and it will almost, almost be correct. Just keep away from any metal while using it though. I would get one that you can adjust the declination on, to make it a little easier to use, because then you can use true bearings without doing any math or dial adjustments. Some people seem to have lots of issues with the electronic and others have no isssues. Mine has always worked fine on both of my Garmins, but for all hiking trips I always take a real compass. for geocaching, no, I don't need either, but My GPS has it. A good map is what you need most, it shows your location and where you want to go and the distance and bearing to get there, and you can download lots of good free ones. I think all Garmins have a pointer that points the way, lots of non compass people use it.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Forkeye

[+geodarts]

With the electronic compass you can use the compass functions while standing still - such as determining the bearing to a cache or looking at the pointer arrow. In other units you must be moving (although it can be slow).

 

Some people consider this to be a "must have" feature. Others do not. I found caches in all types of terrain without one, and caches with one. I'm on the middle. It's nice to have but I don't think its essential.

 

Generally I use compass features while walking to a cache so it does not that make that much difference to me. Others state that it helps avoid dancing from one direction to another. It might depend on how you use the gpsr as you approach the cache site.

 

The electronic compasses require calibration on occasion but that is a simple process.

Edited April 5, 2014 by geodarts

[+BAMBOOZLE]

For geocaching purposes don't think of it as a compass. When looking for a cache the compass arrow becomes a pointer that will always point right at the cache even if you are moving slow or stopped. On a non-electronic compass unit you must be moving a certain speed for the GPS pointer to function. In difficult terrain it is difficult to move at all much less fast enough for a non-electronic unit to function.....its great at those times to be always pointed to the cache.Its also nice to step out the car, stand still and see that the pointer is indicating the cache is behind a certain rock or tree. I have about a dozen units with the electronic compass ( I prefer quad helex ant. units ) and a half dozen without.......DON"T BUY A UNIT WITHOUT A THREE AXIS ELECTRONIC " CACHE POINTER ".

 

In the early years the electronic compass got a bad name because of certain units where the compass would be quirky...ironically one was the venerable 60 CSx which had a 2 axis compass. However, even in 2003 the Meridian Platinum had a perfect performing compass....I used a Platinum and never could understand the fuss until I bought a 60 CSx. All newer units perform well....the last to experience problems with the compass was the Etrex 30, I'm not sure but I think it's O.K. now.

 

Most negative comments you will hear are from those who have never used a GPS with a GOOD electronic " pointer" for geocaching any length of time.....once you use one you'll never want to be without it.

[Mr.Yuck]

First read this article at GPSreview.com, it tells you the difference in layman's terms. The non-electronic compass is known as a differential compass. Note that almost all automotive GPS units have a differential compass. In the handheld world, it has turned out these days that only "lower end" units use the differential compass. Read the article and make the decision for yourself, based on what you want to pay. But I will tell you two things; One, that I'm a cheapskate, have owned 4 or 5 handhelds over the years (caching since 2003), and I have NEVER owned a unit that had an electronic compass (although in the smartphone era, I obviously have one on my phone), and two, the differential compass has improved over the years. Most notably Magellan has made improvements in the last few years. My Explorist does not spin AT ALL while standing still, even at a traffic light.

[+ecanderson]

• Differential 'compass' (non-electronic) makes and includes lots of assumptions. It's not a compass. It only knows (roughly) your personal orientation, and hence, presumably, the orientation of the unit itself such that it can correctly orient the arrow, due to your direction of travel, and tries to compute an angle to the cache from that and display it. Even that Explorist will be wrong if you turn the unit once you've stopped. It will assume it is still pointing the same way, even if you turn your body. Again - no motion, no awareness by the unit.
• Electronic 'compass' knows the orientation of the unit even if you are still or moving very slowly, and will point towards the objective no matter what way you are pointing the device compared to your actual direction of travel or body orientation.

• Differential: First, you need to be moving along at a decent clip since it's using the difference in your location from moment to moment to assume your direction of travel. Next, things get strange if you are necessarily altering course quickly while moving due to terrain issues - every GPS has a certain amount of drift, and that needs to be separated from any truly erratic movement on your part - not easy. Next, it assumes you are pointing the device straight ahead on your line of travel. It has no idea of the actual orientation of the device in your hand. So using the big faux-compass pointer on a unit with a non-electronic 'compass' requires more attention to what you're doing to keep things accurate.
• Electronic: Hold it more or less flat and see where it points ... doesn't matter if you're moving or not. There's some damping in the algorithms for setting the pointer direction, so rapid changes in direction may throw it off for a moment or two, so it's necessary to allow it to recover.

So there are times where the electronic version has some benefit vs. the alternative. I'd try caching with folks who can put both into your hands in a challenging terrain situation and let you decide if you think it's worth a few extra bucks. If you're going to cache urban all the time, it probably isn't worth it, even if it's still nice to use that way.

Edited April 5, 2014 by ecanderson

[Forkeye]

The difference between models with or without a compass is not that much its more about having all the bells and whistles or not if you are ok with the extra cost.

The difference in cost where I live equals the cost of a good mirror sighting compass or 2 x the cost of a baseplate compass with adj declination, you also get the altimeter/ barometer when you get the electronic compass version, for more fun and games and possibly confusion.

For hiking trips its nice to have, for geo caching you could go without. But I like it for both.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Forkeye

[wmarek74]

I use electronic compass in eTrex 30.

It makes rotation of the map much quicker and easier than in the same branch unit - eTrex 20.

Since FW 2.80, the differences arised, as Garmin increased significantly the threshold of speed when the electronic compass work instead of GPS-one.

Some my friends complain that eTrex's GPS response at low speed is weak (sometimes speed shows 0 for a long time, when climbing slow = therefore GPS compass does not oreintate map properly).

 

Therefore, I would wote for the units with an electronic compass (preferably 3-axes ones).

Edited April 5, 2014 by wmarek74

[+geocachingcop]

A must if using the gps while hunting.

[+Walts Hunting]

As long as you are moving their is no difference. If you are standing still it is kind of nice but after a few steps the non electronic compass swivels around just fine. I turned mine off on my Montana for awhile to see if it made any difference and it didn't. I turned it back on because it is nice to have. I wouldn't make a decision about what to buy based on that.

[+luvvinbird]

There's been some controversy over whether or not it's necessary to re-calibrate the electronic compass after a battery change. Someone here said if you use Eneloops it's not necessary. Is that true? For geocaching purposes, I rarely re-calibrate after I change my Eneloops and the compass always seems to be about right.

[+gpsblake]

Having both types of units among several different models, I personally don't think on it's own that it is worth the extra money. But sometimes you get more options on top of the electronic compass. Others really like the electronic compass.

[+DonB]

Before I had a GPS with the electronic compass I would carry a regular compass because I like to stop every once in a while, let the compass settle down and point the direction to the cache which the standard GPS compass will not let you do.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

There's been some controversy over whether or not it's necessary to re-calibrate the electronic compass after a battery change. Someone here said if you use Eneloops it's not necessary. Is that true? For geocaching purposes, I rarely re-calibrate after I change my Eneloops and the compass always seems to be about right.

 

True.....its all about voltage. Using a good MAHA charger and 2500 Eneloops I rarely have to calibrate. When I used NIMH PowerX I calibrated maybe 50% of the time.....of course calibration takes all of 10-15 seconds.

[+coshida]

To complicate the discussion, many of the Garmin units have 'Sight 'N Go' or similar which lets the user point the hand-held at a heading and walk to it in the manner of a bearing or 'marching' compass

 

The basic Magellans (110)and upwards have a user-switchable 'compass' overlay (heading indicator) which can be overlaid on the map screen. There's a second 'compass' on one of the Magellan dashboards.

 

For geocaching any pointer which points to the target might be considered useful.

 

In the question of whether an electronic compass is useful, it's down to the users. Hikers like them, I'm told. The choice is between a two-axis, which needs to be kept level, and three-axis which doesn't. Three-axis compasses are useful in aircraft, I might add, but both consume battery power, if that's an issue.

Edited April 7, 2014 by coshida

[+fishgeek]

The basic Magellans (110) and upwards have a user-switchable 'compass' overlay (heading indicator) which can be overlaid on the map screen. There's a second 'compass' on one of the Magellan dashboards.

 

I wish they would not call those things compasses. It's only a direction indicator. I like having the electronic compass, but I found thousands of caches with an eXplorist GC, which does not have one.

 

A GC trick I learned to get oriented when standing still - if the sun (or moon) is out, rotate the unit to align the sun on the dial with the real sun.

[+ecanderson]

I wish they would not call those things compasses.

At times, I do, too, but understand that the units with the 'electronic' compass really can operate as a compass, indicating your (its) orientation vs. magnetic north (or true, with some declination thrown in). The chips involved really are sensing that huge anomaly over there in Greenland or wherever it is, just like the little ones with the needles. What I wish they'd do is avoid the word entirely for all units that do not incorporate that sort of technology. Call it a 'differential bearing indicator' or something instead.

[joel0711]

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Posted 05 April 2014 - 03:01 PM

 

A must if using the gps while hunting.

 

+1 on the above !