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Compass


emudpup

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I need a compass to do a cache. Instead of buying a compass it would be fun to find one in a cache instead. It doesnt seem to be many Victoria cachers here on the board which is a shame because caching is a hoot, but if you find a compass in a cache please tell me which one so I can trade for it.

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There are actually plenty of Victoria cachers here, but we have our own place to play. What kind of GPS are you using? You may or may not need a compass....but they are still very handy.

I have a yellow etrex and need a compass so I can do my precious geocache by zoomzoom. I got the first part. And I did a cache last month that said I had to go on a bearing for 25 meters and the gps wasnt a help but we found it after a long search. W we had router problems so didnt get to go looking for caches with or without compass's but im back in action now so let me know if you see one please!

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My GPSr can only point north when I'm moving so when I get close to a cache and slow down, stop and look around, I really need a compass to figure out where the cache is. Just make sure you're GPS is set to magnetic north if you're lazy (like I am) and you don't want to do the math everytime.

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I really need to go caching with one of you guys who uses a compass to help find the cache. In general I never use one and even reading how it's used I just don't get how it helps instead of making the entire process more complex. Yet those who use them say it makes their hunt easier.

 

Seeing is believing.

 

Edit: The one cache that required me to shoot a bearing like you would with a regular compass, I didn't have a compass for so I forced my GPS to do the job and it's not that great at it. So now I carry a compass just in case.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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I have a electronic compass in my GPS and NEVER use a compass to find a geocache. I used to with my old machine though... The electronic compass is well worth the money, for me at least. However, one should always carry a compass to get himself out of somewhere in a pinch. You can get a good one with a sighting mirror for $35.00 bucks or so, one of the little Silvas.

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From my experience, I find that only knowing how far I'm from the cache is not enough. I need to know in which direction the cache is too. And unless your GPSr has a built-in compass, you need a compass to translate the heading/bearing to the actual direction (unless you're really good at finding your direction with the sun/stars!) :o

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As for what compass to purchase, if you already have and use a GPS, any decent liquid filled compass with numbers around the edge that can be rotated (a rotating bezzle) will do fine (~$10). I cannot imagine the need of a sighting compass to follow GeoCaching bearings.

 

I found my first 20+ GeoCaches with nothing but a map and compass (and yes, a sighting compass does come in handy for highly accurate, long distance, location finding).

 

I received a GPS as a gift recently, and have nabbed the two or three GeoCaches in my area that I was not able to find with map & compass alone. I cannot imagine GeoCaching without a compass, BUT, my friend The Geometer" would probably dissagree.

 

The Geometer would say, if you can figure out which direction is north and you know your current coordinates and those of your destination why use a compass? Every 0.001 minutes of latitude (the last digit of most GPS location listings) is amost exactly 6 feet. At 49 degrees north (where I live), every degree of longitude is about 4 feet (the COS of 49 * 6). Simple addition and subtraction should do the rest.

 

I probably shouldn't admit it, but, last night I actually went GeoCaching with only my Garmin Geko 301 GPS, and the built it compas worked very well. My poor Silva Ranger is now doomed to my junk drawr except for serious back-country trips where battery life and reliability become issues.

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My opinion would be not to skimp on a compass, buy the best you can afford. If you are not familiar with compass use, go to a better outdoor store like Mountain Equipment Co-op and follow thier advise. Also you should carry a paper topo map of where you are going. If you are doing serious back country caching, and you have planned ahead, read the map and have an emergency "bail out" bearing that will get you to a road etc, you will be okay. Plan for WHEN the electronics fail, not if.

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Paper topo maps are very expensive... $15 per map. Selected GPS/outdoor stores or bookstores are often authorized dealers. They are the best option in terms of print quality, but also a pain to carry around. If you have one or two areas where you are spending a lot of time, probably worth it, but don't try to buy your entire area, you'll go broke.

 

You can get free maps at www.toporama.ca. These maps are based on the same areas as the standard paper topo maps numbering system. They have both 1:250,000 and 1:50,000. The quality of these maps is lower, but hey, they are free! You can print them out, view them on your computer, and if you want to get some mapping software you can work with them right on your computer or even a PDA.

 

If you're serious about digital maps, there are a number of companies that will sell you scans of the entire paper map set for your province. It's usually $100-300, and the maps are higher quality than toporama. You get the equivalent of about $10,000 worth of the paper maps. Check out this page for a good comparison of various digital map products for Canada.

 

http://members.shaw.ca/davepatton/mapcompare.html

 

Finally, if you're willing to spend the bucks consider a mapping GPS. If you buy a Garmin, you can get their Topo Canada maps for about $150 covering the whole country. These are excellent vector maps that you load right into your GPS. Vector maps scale much better and can also hold information like place names, elevations, and so forth. The catch is, you need a suitable GPS in the $300-$500 range.

 

Regards,

Anthony

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I need a compass to do a cache. Instead of buying a compass it would be fun to find one in a cache instead. It doesnt seem to be many Victoria cachers here on the board which is a shame because caching is a hoot, but if you find a compass in a cache please tell me which one so I can trade for it.

 

G'day mate, I started collecting small "Junk" compass's when I started Geocaching after finding a few in caches (I leave Canadian stuff like flag pins key chains etc) and I am a Map and compass person as I was a communicator and Land navigation person in the military so I like to find caches with just a map and compass also there are many active cachers on the forums in the Victoria BC area and I believe we are one of the most active cache areas in the world.

 

Cheer's Glen

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My opinion would be not to skimp on a compass, buy the best you can afford. If you are not familiar with compass use, go to a better outdoor store like Mountain Equipment Co-op and follow thier advise. Also you should carry a paper topo map of where you are going. If you are doing serious back country caching, and you have planned ahead, read the map and have an emergency "bail out" bearing that will get you to a road etc, you will be okay. Plan for WHEN the electronics fail, not if.

 

Very well said! Get a Suunto MC‑2G Mil Scale Compass less then a GPS and will last a life time, I also have an old Silva Ranger sighting compass 30 years old now and still is 100%

 

Oh and Silva is now made in India and there quality has dropped off (IMHO)

 

Learn Land Navigation the military way fast easy and well worth the effort you will never get lost when the batteries die!

 

Cheer's Glen

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