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Hwo Often Do You Use Your Compass?


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Yes its me again with yet another question. I'm wondering how much that others really use the compass feature (if you have that in your GPS) or use a compass at all while geocaching? I'm wondering that because I'm wondering if the extra $50 that having the barometer (which I really dont care about or need) and the electronic compass in the 60CS, is worth it. Seems like you could just as easily spend $10 for a seperate compass and still have the option, but yes you dont have it all built into one.

 

What are others thoughts?

 

MH

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Counting today? Never. I once wished I had a compass when a cache wanted me to shoot a bearing. I improvised with the compass on my GPS V. That was an interesting side trip but I found the cache anyway.

 

I'd like to see how people who do use their compass on every cache trip actually use it because they are either doing extra work or I'm missing something entirely.

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I can't say I need the compass on every hunt as some are easier than others, but the better the hide, the more I use the compass built into the 76CS.

 

I also had a 76s with compass and liked it.

 

I also use the compass while canoeing for taking visual sight-n-go readings and comparing to maps.

 

Other than geocaching, hiking & canoeing, I do not use the compass (i.e. driving).

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I have never used a compass while caching (can't really see where I'd need it except for following instructions on a multi or something). As for the electronic compasses, I wouldn't trust them! When I'm hunting in the bush (not walking along some path) I use my compass for navigation and the GPS for marking departure points or arrival spots.

 

Mike

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If you once use the 60cs with it, then I'm sure (like me) that you'll wonder how you did without it. At most of the online discount outlets the price difference is in the $35 range. I'm sure you'll even get use out the the barometer and elevation features, particularly in mountain terrain. Love the 60cs and love the compass!

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I use a cheap, separate compass on -EVERY HUNT-.

 

Love it, need it, gotta have it. WHen I forget it, it becomes much more difficult to find a well hidden cache.

The n00b said it all. If I can't find the cache within 5 to 10 minutes than I'll biangulate (is there such a word?) B) or triangulate with the compass every time. Quite often I'll shoot a compass bearing before even reaching the cache area at about 20 to 40 metres. My Silva Ranger hangs around my neck on every hunt.

 

Cheers, Olar

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We use a compass most of the time.

 

I give the compass to one daughter and the GPS to the other. The daughter with the GPS reads off the bearing to the cache, the other dials that bearing into the compass and we follow the compass to the cache. They stop and update every hundred yards or so.

 

When we are in a place with bad reception (near a cliff or under a tree) I'll find two nearby spots with better reception and use the compass to triangulate.

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As for the electronic compasses, I wouldn't trust them!

 

That's a strange statement. Then why would trust the GPS? It's electronic too. Yet you follow it to the cache and more importantly back to the car.

 

Like some one else said, once you use an on-board compass, you'll wonder how you ever did without it. Why carry two instrument in two hands- free up one of the with a combo unit. GPS and on-board compasses are seamless. The compasss is just another part of the GPS navigation instrument. You're spending so much already, spend a lttle more. Go ahead. Make the others jealous! B)

 

Alan

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As for not trusting electronic compasses, I guess it comes down to the fact that my Sunito is batteryless and always works even in heavy cover!

 

Electronics are subject to breakdown (ie dead batteries and the Garmin Screen scramble) so that's my reasoning.

 

The only time I got lost in the bush, I only had a compass and I came out 100 meters from the trucks. Pure luck, but the compass worked just fine. Now, if I had a GPS then (I didn't) I might have got to where I wanted to go and not have to bail out like I did.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

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As for not trusting electronic compasses, I guess it comes down to the fact that my Sunito is batteryless and always works even in heavy cover!

 

It's true that the GPS requires batteries. But GPS with on-board magnetic compasses are not effected by heavy cover either because they're magnetic too. The problem is with non-magneti GPS. They require satellite locks and movement of the cacher to calculate the direction you are travelling. That's why those cachers have to switch to a second device - the magnetic compass.

 

Electronics are subject to breakdown (ie dead batteries and the Garmin Screen scramble) so that's my reasoning.

 

That's true although in 2 1/2 years I never lost my Vista's operation to get me back to the car. I carry extra batteries. Also, one should carry a backup regular compass just in case. ( don't for small city parks, a mistake. But usually carry one in deeper woods).

 

Whatever you use, mark you car's parking spot waypoint! B)

 

Alan

Edited by Alan2
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First time i went out caching i didnt take my mag compas with me.. hunted 3 caches that day...

 

the next day i decided to take it with and it made a huge diffrence. The (what i now know is called the) boomerang effect was cut by about 80% by doing so.

 

If i had to buy again, that (built in) feature would be toward the top of the list.

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I don't use the compass on my Platnium that much, I probable would use it allot more if Magellan did not include the northfinder on all their GPSr (displays the sun and the moon on the compass screen, you then rotate that to match up with the sun or moon in the sky and it will point to north-after a while it becomes second nature to do this). I got use to use that feature on my 315, and still use it now with my Platnium (I think I prefer north finder over the compass).

 

If my GPS V had the meridians compass in it I think I would probably use it allot. I remember that I was lost without the north finder (or a E-compass) on the GPS V and I kind of wondered how the Garmin people could stand not having that feature.

 

Wyatt W.

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I have a really good sense of direction out in the woods, so I usually know the general direction I'm facing. If I want/need a little more clarification on what direction is where, the electronic compass on my Sportrak is usually sufficient.

There was a cache last weekend, though, that said to be on the East facing side of particular structure. I was like, "umm, where's East?" And tree cover was making the GPS useless. Luckily, I remembered I had a small compass buried in on of the pocket of my hiking pack.

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The problem is with non-magneti GPS. They require satellite locks and movement of the cacher to calculate the direction you are travelling. That's why those cachers have to switch to a second device - the magnetic compass.

That's where the "Northfinder" feature on all Magellan GPSr's comes in handy. You don't have to be moving. Just line up the sun and/or moon icon on the screen with the actual position of it in the sky, and the compass rose is oriented correctly. It's a feature that is simple and easy to use, and worth it's weight in gold. It's also never let me down. I carry a good compass with me as backup, but have yet to ever need to pull it out of my pack and use it.

 

If you're a Garmin owner who has never used Magellan's Northfinder, it probably sounds cheesy, inaccurate, and unneccessary. If you're a Magellan owner who has used it, you know how handy and accurate it really is. A useful, inexpensive feature that I still have trouble figuring out why Garmin hasn't adopted, as well.

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I didn't know that the GPS' with compasses were magnetic. I only thought they were electronic...so I stand corrected.

 

There is a directional page that re-orients itself once you start and keep moving. This is not a compass, but a frame of reference only. When you're really confused, you could make many errors relying on this.

 

I have been caught once with no spare batteries (forgot them in the car) and had to backtrack before going out again to find the cache. But, it could always happen when you need it most.

 

As for the sun and moon positions, the Legend has a page with this information as well and I figure the 'line em up' mentioned here would work as well. Anyone tried this?

 

Mike

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The problem is with non-magneti GPS.  They require satellite locks and movement of the cacher to calculate the direction you are travelling.  That's why those cachers have to switch to a second device - the magnetic compass.

That's where the "Northfinder" feature on all Magellan GPSr's comes in handy. You don't have to be moving. Just line up the sun and/or moon icon on the screen with the actual position of it in the sky, and the compass rose is oriented correctly. It's a feature that is simple and easy to use, and worth it's weight in gold. It's also never let me down. I carry a good compass with me as backup, but have yet to ever need to pull it out of my pack and use it.

 

If you're a Garmin owner who has never used Magellan's Northfinder, it probably sounds cheesy, inaccurate, and unneccessary. If you're a Magellan owner who has used it, you know how handy and accurate it really is. A useful, inexpensive feature that I still have trouble figuring out why Garmin hasn't adopted, as well.

The beauty of the electronic magnetic compass is the addition of the bearing to the cache no matter what direction you are looking while standing still. During the last 50 feet to the cache, I'm typically using the compass to point in the specific direction of where the cache is in relatioinship to the bearing I'm walking on. That does two things for me.

 

Assuming the coordinates were correctly given and entered:

1. I know where to look versus where not to look at close range <50'.

2. I have a live triangulation occuring that allows me to narrow down to an even smaller spot.

 

What folks tend to forget though, if the coverage is iffy and the coordinates are jumping, your compass bearing on the waypoint will also jump accordingly.

 

Not trusting electronic compasses... Weak. Otherwise somebody better alert the military and the civilian industry that they can't be trusted. They've been in use far longer than the GPS system has been flying.

 

Batteries running out... Weak. If you're not carrying spares, you haven't learned from experience; yours or somebody else's.

 

Below, the image shows the direction the GPS is facing indicated by the dotted line, the direction I'm walking in indicated by the double arrow, and the cache bearing indicated by the cross-hatched box. Sorry for the fuzziness. I might add here too that this also has the Northfinder feature. It's difficult to see here because of the reflection, but the sun is on the right side and the moon is under the double arrow.

IMAGE003.JPG

Edited by TotemLake
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I sometimes use it when I'm really close to a cache, but cannot find it right away. I zoom the onscreen map in to a maximum. I turn on the compass, turn it off again, place the GPSr on a rock with a properly alligned map, and then let things settle.

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I've never used one and never felt like I had to. I've hunted approximately 200 caches (*granted not via this site but side, personal caching trips my buddies and I take) and that's why I didn't pay the extra $30-50 for a 60CS, rather opted for the 60C. My 10 year old Silva compass is always with me but I've never felt the need for it...I would rather let my GPSr get me close then start the visual hunt, for me this seems more fun and sometimes a bit more of a challenge.

 

*In reference to above, my buddies and I take cool camping trips whereby we spend 1 full day caching for each other, the next day or two we spend seeking them. It's dynamite! Normally we do it on very large (5000+ acre) state parks/areas in the Texas Hill Country or private ranches where passers-by are very limited if even. In addition, our extended families live in similar cities so we normally cache one or two items for each other whenever we make the treks...makes the drive a bit more enjoyable!*

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OK,

 

You techies stick with you electronic compasses and I'll burden the extra 1/10th of a lb that carrying my Sunito with me requires (by the way, I LOVE my electronic gadgets).

 

Some of you fail to see my point. If you are really lost in the bush, you begin to lose grip on reality. Doesn't matter if you have a GPS or a compass, errors are made all the time. The compass will never stop working, but a GPS (even with a spare set of batteries) will eventually die.

 

You also lose your sense of direction. Even if your GPS compass said that this way was north, wouldn't you check it with your real compass?

 

There's a thread in this area that states without a doubt that an error with the compass in the 60 was just recently corrected by Garmin.

 

We had a guy unbelievably lost last year. He was expected to be headed north but actually went south for over a mile. Had no idea where he was. Would a GPS have pointed him in the right direction? Absolutely.....he would probably have killed for a little Etrex at the time. We got him out of the bush right before dark and just prior to a major rainstorm and then six inches of snow.

 

Twice I have been unable to find the location that I've been heading for (prior to obtaining a GPS) and I ended up in a location where I wasn't sure where I was. I knew the general surroundings of my area and simply used my compass to hit a road. Again, I'm talking about complete bushwacking and not some trail system.

 

Call be weak if you want, I'd rather be home safe and dry then out in the bush cursing my GPS because: I forgot to mark the trucks/camp; my batteries died as did my spares; the waterproofness of the unit has been completely comprimised, etc, etc, etc.

 

I also carry a topo map of the area (it too weighs in heavy at 1/10th of a lb).

 

Mike

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Call be weak if you want, I'd rather be home safe and dry then out in the bush cursing my GPS because: I forgot to mark the trucks/camp; my batteries died as did my spares; the waterproofness of the unit has been completely comprimised, etc, etc, etc.

 

I also carry a topo map of the area (it too weighs in heavy at 1/10th of a lb).

 

Mike

You mistook my post for calling you weak. Really, I merely pionted out the reasons for not trusting an electronic compass was weak. I don't rely on one set of spare batteries to get me through a day. I carry 3 spare sets recently charged in the event I'm lost for overnight. My penlight carries two batteries, and my camera has 4 more of the same size.

 

Nobody said not to carry a backup compass. Heck... I typically carry 3 backups. One on my wrist (a Suunto watch/compass) one in my backpack as a waterproof match container/whistle/compass, and normally a compass in my pocket. I recently misplaced it and have been looking at others that carry the UTM markings to replace it. Always carry a backup.

 

I never say technology is a catchall - I do say it is very convenient and the cost of having one built into the GPS easily compares to the cost of compasses some folks buy.

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I don't see how you can use a compass geocahcing using a 60cs. For optimum performance you need to hold the unit

vertical for your sats. For optimum performance with the compass you have to hold the unit horizontal now isn't this a

screw up. My feelings if you want a Garmin that works great with a built in compass by the VISTA. I think it out performs

the 60cs. The best thing you can do using a 60cs is bring a seperate compass. If anybody can educate me on this

please do. This is what I have experienced using and owning both units.

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I don't see how you can use a compass geocahcing using a 60cs. For optimum performance you need to hold the unit

vertical for your sats. For optimum performance with the compass you have to hold the unit horizontal now isn't this a

screw up. My feelings if you want a Garmin that works great with a built in compass by the VISTA. I think it out performs

the 60cs. The best thing you can do using a 60cs is bring a seperate compass. If anybody can educate me on this

please do. This is what I have experienced using and owning both units.

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