Interesting article on Navigation and Magnets

[baggins]

Hi Guys,
I thought i'd just share this article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-43063365
I know we all know about not keeping our compasses near a magnet, but its amazing how many of these little magnets we now have.
I didn't even think about my Sealskinz sporting gloves. They have small rare earth magnets in both the thumbs and forefingers. I've not tried it, but surely these must effect the accuracy.

 

[Janne]

Excellent warning!

Remember also that many steels can be magnetized.
Knife for example.

I was taught to keep the compass away from all metals.

 

[Broch]

I was taught to keep the compass away from all metals.

Yep, me too - even to the point of using it in my right hand (away from my watch)! - not sure that's really necessary but a habit started as a teenager is hard to break

 

[Robson Valley]

Hold a steel/iron rod in a north/south orientation. Bang on one end 20X with a hammer = magnet.

Hunting alone, I've become disoriented a couple of times in sudden snow storms.
Pack and rifle under some convenient tree. Take 10 paces out on the open.
Out with the compass. Trust it.

It's just me but I have to be sure.

 

[Janne]

Looking on the trees and boulders from where you are now - everything looks unique and you will remember.
Walk for 25 meters, turn three times - you are on a new planet.

An accurate compass and a map are the two things I learned not to leave in camp.

 

[Robson Valley]

My Recta Prospector (1965) developed a gigantic bubble. Got me out of the woods once.

Field and Stream magazine publishes a "Best of the Best" equipment list every year.
Not subject to individual opinions, they beat the crap out of everything. Pretty funny reading, some years.
Do you need the best or will you settle for #2? What's good and what's barely adequate?

That particular year (?) in the compass category, the Brunton Eclipse 8066 was declared the best on the planet.
I have one, the $100.00 prototype has been discontinued in favor of some dumbed down version. Too bad.
With all the instruction cards and rare earth magnets, it's half a day to see what all it will do for navigation.
Got my butt out of 2 snowstorms. Get something good. Not second best.

 

[baggins]

Totally agree Robson.
i always carry my Silva 54 in a leg pocket, away from all my other gizmos. its a very accurate bit of kit, and great for both sighting bearings and map work. i was very surprised i hadn't even thought about the little magnets on my gloves. Am extra careful after reading that article.

 

[Nice65]

My keyring compass never seemed accurate. Because it was hanging right next to the immobiliser key. Doh!

 

[Janne]

Robson V, I think that in Europe that is a Silva compass?
The Swedish Silva owns Brunton, but can not market in North America under the name Silva, so they use the name Brunton there.
But marketed as Silva in Europe..
Complicated........

 

[Robson Valley]

No. My old compass, steel case and radioactive markers, is RECTA.
It says so in the steel on the underside of the pull-out drawer of the bezel.
Nothing to do with Scandinavia.

Then it says:
Recta Watch Company Bienne
Made in Switzerland
Patented
= = = =
The needle, in that day and time, was balanced for the Northern Hemisphere.
In the years that I lived in Australia, I had to hold it nearly vertical and the function was normal.

 

[Janne]

I referred to the Brunton.

 

[Robson Valley]

When did Silva aquire Brunton? I thought you meant the Recta.
My Brunton Eclipse is old enough that all it says on the rubber-eraser case is "Patent Pending."

If I had the chance, I'd get the Recta restored. Just get the gigantic bubble filled.
They changed to a plastic case which destroyed half the magic of the unit.

 

[Janne]

Wiki says they bought it in 1996.

They invented the baseplate compass. The first ones had the liquid filled housing made of metal.
A Finn invented a celluloid (?) see through housing.
You know the brand called Suunto.

Most modern compasses have a combination of those two inventions.

 

[Janne]

Manufacturers like plastic. Cheap to make, breaks. Good for business.
I still have the old 1970’s Silva I was issued.
Thick plastic baseplate, aluminium (?) housing. The scales for distance is callibrated to old Swedish military maps.
Small bubble, like when I got it.

 

[Robson Valley]

My Recta compass is 1964 or earlier. Hudson's Bay Company Trading Post, La Ronge, SK.
Bought it new. No stack of beaver pelts needed. Down the road from The Zoo. You can't miss it.

I looked at the Suunto compasses. Top of the line ones look OK.
I refuse to buy cheap life insurance.

 

[Janne]

Check out the Silva, but do it on the factory site, www.silva.se
The Expedition S looks nice.

I would never buy a compass I had not held in my hand. First I would check where it is made.

 

[baggins]

as i said above, i have the Silva type 54, which is a base plate compass with a sighting prism built into the housing, rather than using a mirror. had it for years, well made and super reliable.

 

[Robson Valley]

baggins: I looked up your Silva 54, tons of them used in the forest industry here.

Scrolling the pictures, I found one of a Recta #25 Prospector compass in the matchbox case ( that I bought in about '64.)
The picture was taken in a museum! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! I'm Cretaceous or Jurassic.

 

[Janne]

By discussing compasses we show we should be on the Extinct list.
When we start discussing adjustments of the compass, or calculationg magnetic deviations, people will call the ambulance services.

 

[Robson Valley]

Compass is good. Never quits for dead batteries. GPS can't see enough satellites as the local side valleys are so narrow.
Cellphone service will never happen. I don't know anybody rich enough to run a SatPhone (am I showing my age, again?).
But, I'd suppose they would work without scrambling to a cliff edge to get out in the open.

Google Earth is fantastic. I can figure out side tracks and directions, even after dark in the rain, here at home!
You could fly with me just as easily.

I got turned around once in Devil's Club over my head and a solid cedar canopy, jumping roads.
I got turned around once in a September snowstorm the likes of which I have rarely experienced.
Out with the compass. Just buy a good one, like the Silva 54 that baggins uses.

.