some help please
- Thread starter mal
- Start date
If it's a genuine US issue, then yes, they are very good.
If it's US military "style" (like 4.99 - 5.99 etc.. etc..) then don't expect pin-point
accuracy....
If it's US military "style" (like 4.99 - 5.99 etc.. etc..) then don't expect pin-point
accuracy....
There are two military compasses, the standard one you're probably referring to and the 'artillery version' wich is very precise but also heavy & cumbersome. The only significant advantage of the artillery compas is the possibility to measure angles and the great drwaback is that it lacks the scale on the side which you can use on the average survey map.
So, the standard compass, usually made by Stocker & Yale, is a very robust and precise instrument. It gives you degrees (0-360) and MILS (0-6400), the latter representing 1 meter at a distance of 1 kilometer. Excellent for plotting a track and very good to determine your position by triangulation (OK, you can do it with two points...). Navigation is really easy as long as you remember that every 'click' on the wheel is 3 degrees.
Be carefull because the US army compass is probably the most copied compass. Check the manufacturer and check if it has a NSN (NATO stock number) en DLA number (Defence Logistics Agency).
Good luck & check this article: http://www.kifaru.net/compass1.htm
So, the standard compass, usually made by Stocker & Yale, is a very robust and precise instrument. It gives you degrees (0-360) and MILS (0-6400), the latter representing 1 meter at a distance of 1 kilometer. Excellent for plotting a track and very good to determine your position by triangulation (OK, you can do it with two points...). Navigation is really easy as long as you remember that every 'click' on the wheel is 3 degrees.
Be carefull because the US army compass is probably the most copied compass. Check the manufacturer and check if it has a NSN (NATO stock number) en DLA number (Defence Logistics Agency).
Good luck & check this article: http://www.kifaru.net/compass1.htm
thanks guys this was the one i was looking at http://www.surplusandadventure.com/...age-2/u-s-military-metal-lensatic-318217.html
This is what it says: "These military-grade compasses". Frankly it doesn't look like the real thing. The issue compasses are a lighter shade of green.
Check out some US site ancd you'll probably find the same thing at the same price...
Check out some US site ancd you'll probably find the same thing at the same price...
iv found one http://www.thecompassstore.com/military3h.html what do you think it sound like the real deal.
Mal
I bought one last year from the ebayer forsaleinflorida ( 675 ). He still has them listed under
Item number: 260201722500 (approximately £37.00) (Black)
Item number: 310013827072 (approximately £36.49) (Olive)
If the above links don't work go onto ebay and search for the item number.
I found the service excellent.
As to the compass, I like the fact you can lock the indicator dial (needle) once you have taken a bearing and the inductive damping, which will work pretty well in all temperatures (well those I’m likely to encounter anyway). I am slightly irritated by the bezel indexing in 3 degree intervals and that mils is the dominant scale. I believe some versions only have a mils scale which, unless that is what you want, is something to watch out for. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to take a bearing to an accuracy better than 2 degrees anyway with any compass of this size so I can live with the 3 degree indexing; it may even have been designed that way to remind me that compass bearings in the field are never 100% accurate. The pouch is US army ALICE and, although it is secure when fitted to a 50mm belt, it strikes me as a bit ‘flappy happy’; alright for walking but I wouldn’t like to leap about with it. Mind you I’m finding that with all ALICE gear.
Hope the above helps.
I bought one last year from the ebayer forsaleinflorida ( 675 ). He still has them listed under
Item number: 260201722500 (approximately £37.00) (Black)
Item number: 310013827072 (approximately £36.49) (Olive)
If the above links don't work go onto ebay and search for the item number.
I found the service excellent.
As to the compass, I like the fact you can lock the indicator dial (needle) once you have taken a bearing and the inductive damping, which will work pretty well in all temperatures (well those I’m likely to encounter anyway). I am slightly irritated by the bezel indexing in 3 degree intervals and that mils is the dominant scale. I believe some versions only have a mils scale which, unless that is what you want, is something to watch out for. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to take a bearing to an accuracy better than 2 degrees anyway with any compass of this size so I can live with the 3 degree indexing; it may even have been designed that way to remind me that compass bearings in the field are never 100% accurate. The pouch is US army ALICE and, although it is secure when fitted to a 50mm belt, it strikes me as a bit ‘flappy happy’; alright for walking but I wouldn’t like to leap about with it. Mind you I’m finding that with all ALICE gear.
Hope the above helps.
I would always go for a Silva compass myself.
Not much streetcred but they are cheap and work, simple and robust and have versions from the most basic to the most heavily featured (clinometers,the lot!) and are widely available. Easier to use with OS maps as well!
Not much streetcred but they are cheap and work, simple and robust and have versions from the most basic to the most heavily featured (clinometers,the lot!) and are widely available. Easier to use with OS maps as well!
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