There was some earlier discussion about how the vertical component of the changes in the magnetic field can mess up "Silva" type land compasses when they're used in latitudes other than the one they're manufactured for. For this very reason, one company recently introduced the "Global" hand held compass, in which the needle, in addition to being pivoted, is gimbaled, so that it can balance throughout the world. (Interest to declare: my employer sells the "Global", but I'm not mentioning it here for that reason, but rather because of its relevance to the next question. Besides which, I don't think the "Global" is of much interest to buy for sea kayakers.) Anyway, the question was raised whether sailing compasses could or should be adjusted some how when used in different latitudes. I've never read of anyone doing this, and I believe it's because marine compasses are highly "gimbaled" anyway to allow for listing, and so would not be affected by the vertical changes. Comments? Philip Torrens "The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." **************************************** Mountain Equipment Co-op 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1K1 Tel: 640-732-1989 Fax: 604-731-6483 email: pid_at_mec.ca Visit our website at: http://www.mec.ca ***************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jun 08 1998 - 09:34:56 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:29:57 PDT