In the Army, we teach young Privates (and 2nd Lts) to find a big tree and shake it REALLY hard, while looking at the map to see which tree is moving. THAT'S where you are.
I remember when I was a kid this is in the like 1978-79 my mom's friend took me and my brother fishing. We got lost in the fog. So he pulled out his charts and using the visible lights and light house's he was able to determine our position and get us to a safe bay until the fog lifted. Very impressive. He was coast guard reserve.
You’ll be satisfied to know they still teach this, and usually a ship (or boat) is guided by GPS now however there is one designated person keeping constant track of the vessel by charts. Compass and rules and the old school doodads. Former USCG member.
I've just got a couple of OS maps for the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales (UK). I've never used a map and compass and came to RU-vid for some tips. I've probably spent the last 3 hours (over two days) looking at videos, and by far, yours are the best. Straight to the point and really easy to understand. Brilliant stuff. Thank you !!
Like I've said before. Your videos will save my life someday. And just think your videos might save someone else's life some day. That's so dang cool to think about.
Very cool to see someone from Schuylkill County! Grew up in all of these areas you have shown so far with your map examples! Thanks for the content as I'm learning a compass in order to leverage from some deep timber hunting.
Thats cool. I took map reading and this stuff in JROTC in high school. Never used it much after stompin all over Az I know my way around pretty well. So forgot all of this. Awesome refresher, cant wait to teach the family this. Thanks man....!
I now see that when you oriented the map while offsetting for declination, you eliminated this problem or need to reverse the declination rhyme! Absolutely blew my mind🤯
Great breakdown of the process, Dan. So many try to put it all in one vid... results in information overload! "In the land of make-believe"...I wouldn't need a compass cause I'd never get turned around! 😁
So great how you've broken the necessary components into workable chunks. Like layers. Last I like to check my calculations by walking a course and reshoot the objects I believed were the reference points. But that's just me.
I love triangulation. Now you have to navigate around that pond to get to town... Maybe winter with the pond frozen over. Pick a point on the far side of the pond on the bearing line, walk around the the edge to that point and pick up the bearing. Also note where you were on the other side to take a back bearing to double check.
Good information Dan I get my Topo Map at the US Forrest Service I got the different quadrangles that match up here where I live mountains in every direction lol close lol upper East Tennessee is just mountains anyway good video Dan
Great Video mate! After shooting the bearing and prior to plotting it on a map but for clarification shouldn't the bearing be adjusted for magnetic variation? Loved your video!
In Florida where I live,everything is as flat as a flip flop and there are no distinguishing landmarks and if you are in the woods,you are lucky if you can see 30 yards through vegitation.This works on big bodies of water, though.
If you orient the Map with the compass set to Magnetic North are the bearings you take on the map magnetic ? Or would it make it easier to keep it to oriented to true north? Sorry if this is confusing Thanks in advance, trying to learn.
I'm not sure why you feel you need to orient the map North before starting. You can do this with the map in any orientation if once you have your bearing dialled in, you line up the side of the compass with the target of the bearing and then rotate the compass ( keeping the endplate on the target on the map ) until the grid lines in the bezel line up with the grid lines on the map.
He is using the compass needle instead of the protractor feature. Your technique is more modern, and you can only do your method by adding or subtracting declination unless you have changed your semi-permanent declination. If you have done the inner adjustment, you use the parallel lines to match the Eastings. You can no longer use the engraved needle to point north.
excellent info. Is there a specific type of topo map that is the best to use, measurements/details it should have, amount of area (scale) it covers (what's too big or too small)?
Another problem that you forgot to mention is that because you’re going from a magnetic bearing (compass) to a true bearing (map) the declination is reversed. In navigation you are going from a true bearing (map) to a magnetic bearing (compass). East of the agonic line = westerly declination West of the agonic line = easterly declination Navigation = declination west, compass best; declination east, compass least Triangulation = declination west, compass least, declination east compass best
Love these land nav videos. For this one I was wondering if I have west magnetic declination (shown on the map), wouldnt I have to shoot my bearing, then subtract that before drawing the line on the map to convert from compass angle to map angle?
Yes, you want to ensure that you have accounted for magnetic declination in your geographical location and the bezel should be pointing to north so that the dog can get in the dog house at the declination that you preset. Unless your compass doesn’t have a declination adjustment option. Therefore, you’ll have to manually adjust for declination. Set the degree of declination on your bezel to where the declination degree is pointing north on the bezel. Then, put the dog in the dog house. This is how you get true north on the map accounting for declination, which shouldn’t be confused with grid north. That’s a different animal hahaha
When I was in the infantry in Germany my squad leader and I were a little bit turned around so we were humping along through the woods weren't quite sure where we were but we came over this ridge and there was this pretty little village down in the valley so I proposed we walk down into town find the sign that identified the town and locate it on the map and while we were at it we could fill our canteens. It worked, all except filling our canteens in the old fountain in the center of town, that's when we learned what "Kine Trinken Wasser" meant.
Great video! I gotta ask though, your Suunto compass has adjustable declination, why do you not set the declination for your area? One less task to do is one less task to forget :)
Technically this method is called Resection. Triangulation involves using geometry to find the distance between a known baseline, and 2 known angles. 2 totally different things.
The process for one landmark is shooting two bearings from two positions adjacent to the landmark. STEP ONE: record the first bearing line from landmark through your position with a pencil. STEP TWO: Shoot a bearing 90 degrees of the landmark (left or right) and walk along that line until you have exceeded a minimum of two degrees of bearing change to the landmark (how far you walk depends on distance to landmark.. closer is less walking, further is more walking distance) Do not record this walking line on the map, only note bearing. Use pace count beads to measure walking distance to your second shooting position. STEP THREE: Record your second bearing to the landmark with a pencil line as in step one. Next, you will have a angle “pie slice” of measurement to work with, along with your pace count distance. Apply pace count distance onto the map distance scale. Slide distance result along bearing line paths until distance aligns with both bearing lines. Mark both lines and draw a line through them. This will place you well within the ballpark.
Haven't done this for a while, so I wanted a refresher, but yet another video about triangulation that uses bizarre names for parts of the compass. Is this just an American thing?
Yes it is. Technically, most people use the term triangulation incorrectly. Triangulation is finding the location of a unknown distant point with the angles FROM 3 or more known points; if YOU are the unknown point, finding your position with the angles TO 3 or more known points is Resection.
Triangulation is basic dog fuck to the Australian infantry soldier. It is one of the first skills taught at the SOI and one of the first skills they retrain once you get to your battalion, so it's not something that's easily forgotten. Magnetic to Grid = Add variation but only once after you've done your back bearing. You should be able to find your variation on your map. An awesome skill to know if you ever get geographically embarrassed out field. 4yrs as a grunt, 7yrs as a combat storeman, 11yrs RAInf. They should have let me go back to grunts instead of kicking me out. I was the fittest I'd ever been since I joined both running and pack marching and I would still be in now. I could have easily relearnt my bush skills.
What you have said is all true but you know about where you are if you have no I see which most people do not k ow then you are SOL. It is not easy. To convey such is his information.
