As for all the little saying and rhyms, Most people say plus or minus when we talk, never really say minus or plus and as we always read from the left or pretty much start from the left when we do most things on paper just think of that, Add to the left minus to the right. This video has really hit the nail on the head tho with the ball as like yourself so many people find it hard to understand yet at the same time find the concept of it easy lol good luck with your map and compass skills
watched this for entertainment really but have to say it was very well demonstrated. The ball idea was a good way to explain I love navigation of all sorts. I just use a gps most of the time now when on my own but all ways take a map and compass and do know how to use them. To many people just go off in to the hills or mountains with a phone then wonder why they have to call for rescue.
What about electronic compasses in smart phones for example? Do the operating systems provide them with information about north, also with regard to the deviation, calculated according to the current location of the device? Or is it necessary to program the deviation into the applications that are supposed to serve as a compass, based on information about the current position obtained from GPS or from the mobile network provider, or entered manually? Do operating systems provide to applications only raw information about north, as they get it from a sensor sensitive to a magnetic field? Which compass app do you think is the best?
Great question. I haven't yet used them, partly because I find smartphones very unsatisfactory to use in the outdoors (bright sunlight, cold hands, rain on the screen.. these all interfere with function) and I would never recommend relying on one; this is why my navigation course concentrates on paper maps and basic compasses. However these apps can be useful and I will look into this, thank you for raising a good topic.
I've just installed and done a quick test of Compass Steel by Simply Werx on Google play store (I have an android phone), didn't see the one you mentioned. First impressions are good, easy to install and calibrate (remember to remove case with magnetic clip!! :) and it can show True north if location is on, so it appears to be able to use a combination of a magnetometer, accelerometer and phone or gps data, though exactly how I don't know. It doesn't appear to enable setting local declination so you'd still need to make a note of that. Also it doesn't have an equivalent to the dial/bezel which you can use to make following a bearing easier - maybe other apps do? So you'll have to write down or memorise a bearing. You've got me curious now and I'll investigate further, maybe make a video on this, thank you!
@@chris-terrell-liveactive I also think it's not a good idea to rely on sensitive electronics, but an electronic compass could be useful for people who don't know about navigation to at least calibrate their manual compass according to it before hitting the road. Thank you for your great course. I am old, and it saddens me that such important information is not taught in our primary schools. I always thought magnetic north is really north. I think many programmers who develop apps that serve as a compass also don't know anything about navigation, they just know that the sensors give them some data that can be graphically displayed somehow.
That would be ideal I suppose but it would mean republishing those maps nearly annually. If we are in the beginning of a magnetic pole reversal, it might start to do unpredictable things anyway and make compasses almost useless, which is why the other navigation skills are vital too, if we're not going to rely totally on technology.
Absolutely true, all good Surveyors know that the 8 inches per mile squared only applies to the horizontal lengths that start at one mile. The Compass causes the line to curve sideways not lover a ball. They have charts made up about it in their books on surveys.
