compass use

[valleyforge.1777]

Our forefathers, the trappers, the pioneers, the exporers, did not use GPS units. Not because they thoguht GPS units to be inferior, but because they did not have them, obviously. They also did not ride in trucks or fly in planes or have air-conditioned homes. Again, not because it would have made them weak and unmanly. I carry topo maps and compass in my pack whenever I am in the woods. But I never get them out unless I am looking for a specific trail that I know is marked on the topo (most of the trails I use are not marked on the maps). I carry a Garmin GPS unit and look at it often wile moving through the woods, even if I am on a trail to know about where I am, if my departure point from the trail is coming up, etc. And, of course the GPS keeps track of my routes and helps me to get directly to certain places. It really is a better resource than using a compass. Maps still have their place for various reasons including getting to see a wider area, being sometimes better able to identify land features that are of potential interest, etc. And of course if the GPS stops working you can get the compass out of your pack and use it and the map to get to where you are going, but not because that is the superior mode of navigating. With today's downloadable maps, color screens, multi-receivers that pick up the GPS, Russian GLONASS, European Galileo and integrate the info from those systems the GPS units for consumer use are pretty amazingly accurate. Older, less expensive models are not as good, but like anything else you get what you pay for.

Oh, and for terrain association, yeah. I guess that I don't really know how to do it. When I am in the woods and want to know where I am, I look around and 99% of the time here's what I see: lots of trees in front of me, lots of trees to my left, lots of trees to my right, lots of tress behind me. Look on the topo map now and what I see is 50 square miles of forested terrain. Oh great, now I know exactly where I am: in the woods somewhere. Like I said, maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

 

[yobuck]

Our forefathers, the trappers, the pioneers, the exporers, did not use GPS units. Not because they thoguht GPS units to be inferior, but because they did not have them, obviously. They also did not ride in trucks or fly in planes or have air-conditioned homes. Again, not because it would have made them weak and unmanly. I carry topo maps and compass in my pack whenever I am in the woods. But I never get them out unless I am looking for a specific trail that I know is marked on the topo (most of the trails I use are not marked on the maps). I carry a Garmin GPS unit and look at it often wile moving through the woods, even if I am on a trail to know about where I am, if my departure point from the trail is coming up, etc. And, of course the GPS keeps track of my routes and helps me to get directly to certain places. It really is a better resource than using a compass. Maps still have their place for various reasons including getting to see a wider area, being sometimes better able to identify land features that are of potential interest, etc. And of course if the GPS stops working you can get the compass out of your pack and use it and the map to get to where you are going, but not because that is the superior mode of navigating. With today's downloadable maps, color screens, multi-receivers that pick up the GPS, Russian GLONASS, European Galileo and integrate the info from those systems the GPS units for consumer use are pretty amazingly accurate. Older, less expensive models are not as good, but like anything else you get what you pay for.

Oh, and for terrain association, yeah. I guess that I don't really know how to do it. When I am in the woods and want to know where I am, I look around and 99% of the time here's what I see: lots of trees in front of me, lots of trees to my left, lots of trees to my right, lots of tress behind me. Look on the topo map now and what I see is 50 square miles of forested terrain. Oh great, now I know exactly where I am: in the woods somewhere. Like I said, maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

Well just remember that it could be worse.
All some people see is water water everywhere.
And they also have wind and current to deal with.
There is little doubt that modern electronics have changed the world many of us live in.

 

[valleyforge.1777]

I am going to back off a little bit on what I said above.
Turns out that the Garmin GPSMAP 66i device with built in InReach features only has a single receiver for GPS and does NOT include the other (Russian, European, Japanese) systems. That forces the buyer to make a compromise to get the InReach type features. My 66sr has the Russian GLONASS, American GPS, and European Galileo, and the newer ones also include the Japanese QZSS. But that specific model, the 66sr is their only one in the GPSMAP line that includes those multi-system receivers and it does NOT include the InReach. I have used the Garmin GPS units for 25 years and I can say that having the multi-system receivers is a HUGE advantage for accuracy. Not wanting to get political about the Russians, and word has it they have let their GLONASS system age-out a bit, but their system added to our GPS gives a very accurate pinpointing of location. The European system is not fully deployed but already also adds a lot to accuracy on a GPS.
Our forefathers did amazing things with primitive maps. You can, apparently, walk (and paddle) from St. Louis to the Pacific coast without a GPS device, but Lewis and Clark would have used GPS if it had been invented (Little known fact, they actually started in Pittsburgh, PA, not St. Louis)

 

[VICTORNTN]

Having been a scout, (but never an Eagle scout) I have been interested in maps and compasses since the early 1960s. I still have my second compass. The first bit the dust.

I agree with a lot of the posts here. If I'm going to be away from my truck, I'll have a map, compass and my GPS with me in the pack.

 

[warboar21]

Like many here my introduction to land navigation was through the Boy Scouts. My Scout Master was Former Special Forces during the Vietnam war and Land Navigation was something he really taught us well. When we would go on campouts you better believe we were going to be doing some sort of Land Nav course.
When I joined the Army I excelled on the Land Nav courses. The instructor asked where I learned and I told him Boy Scouts and he thought I was joking. But I told him about my Scout Master being former SF and then he believed me. In the Army was my first introduction to GPS units. The Army used the PLGR. Was sent to a 40hr class on how to operate it and then had to teach my Soldiers on how to operate it. When I got to Germany I bought a Garmin Etrex and would also use that. I liked it as it was smaller than the PLGR and it didn't burn through batteries nearly as fast as the PLGR. Dismounted the Etrex was also nice to through in the pocket and use.

I recently bought another Cammenga compass due to the other one's tritium getting dim enough it's hard to see. I still will carry maps and a protractor with me while out hunting and will sometimes use them to stay up on my map reading. I did buy FM 3-25.26 Map Reading and Land Navigation and have been teaching my Son who is 11. He is picking it up pretty quickly and likes the challenge of trying to figure where we are the old school way.

 

[yobuck]

With the type and quality of modern day electronics, there really isnt much reason for us to be using things like compasses to be finding our way around.
Other than the self satisfaction we might get from using them.
And of coarse the possibility that the lights could go out on the electronics.
Today, boats of all sizes will probably have a depth finder, many of which are called fish finders. And the fish finders will mostly also have a GPS unit built into it.
That way you can navigate right back to where you caught all those fish last time.
Or to the favorite stump you have been sitting on for many years while deer hunting. lol
But for those fishermen who wish to turn ( pro ), and guide others to the hot spots for a fee, they need to first get a license. Its called a captains license, and theres a test you must pass administered by the US Coast Guard in order to get it.
The test is broken down into several different sections, none pertaining to how much you know about fishing. lol
But one section is completely based on navigation, with charts math and hand held tools along with compass bearings being the only permissible things to use for the answers.
Several of the questions will require multible answers in order to get to the final answer. Due to wind speed and direction, as well as current speed and direction, and what affect they have upon the compass coarse. And there might be several legs of the route to the final destination, each having to be correct in order to have the final answer correct.
Needless to say that section of the exam weeds a few people out.
Of coarse nobody today navigates a boat using those methods.
We simply punch in the waypoint to the location of desired spot. And along the way the machine will keep track of any error being caused by the wind and current.
Push a button and a corrected new coarse will be shown on the screen. And i suppose the latest models might even do that automaticly.
But it no doubt will always be still possible for the lights to go out.

 

[SuperJetr333]

I use a combination of a compass and a GPS

 

[Darryle]

I keep a couple of old school compasses around, mainly because I like to know and I like the challenge of navigating via old school magnetics. I suck at it, but I have fun doing it.