Anyone who has ever been on the high seas, in the mountains, or deep forest, in the fog, without a compass, will appreciate what a frightening and risky situation that is. It makes sense for us all to place a high value on improving the depth of our compassion, on an ongoing, life-...
Understanding bearings and how to use them Also read our companion article,How to Use a Topo Map. Then take a class with theREI Outdoor Schoolor another outdoor organization and practice these skills until you master them. Why not rely exclusively on a phone or GPS receiver? Because batterie...
The sun has more uses than being the mere source of all life on our planet. Given that the sun is a creature of habit and rises in the east and sets in the west, just by noting its position in the sky we can get a rough but workable idea of our bearings. In the Northern Hemisph...
Compasses, on the other hand, are nigh-indestructible. They don’t take batteries, don’t have screens to break, and don’t need software updates. When protected with either waterproof coatings or careful storage, maps rarely fail.Keeping these two simple items in your...
@Michael - A person could stand pretty much any place and take a bearing with their compass along those two directions. So, having two directions can not identify a point. You would need to know the latitude/longitude of where the person stood when taking each of the bearings in order to...
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place and take a bearing with their compass along those two directions. So, having two directions can not identify a point. You would need to know the latitude/longitude of where the person stood when taking each of the bearings in order to know the latitude/longitude of where they ...
Baseplate: The plastic rectangle that makes up the base of your compass. The straight edges on the sides help to shoot bearings. Direction of travel arrow: The arrow fixed on the middle of the baseplate. Magnetic needle: This arrow, often red, is what points you north. ...
Bearings are given in degrees between 0 (North) back around through 360 degrees to north again. To take a bearing on a distant object, hold the compass away from your body with the direction of travel arrow on your compass baseplate (and sighting line if you have on) pointed directly at...
Originally developed for oceangoing navigation, its strength is that compass bearings are true and straight anywhere on the globe.Another strength of the Mercator is that it is "conformal"; that is, within smaller regions (say, Australia) local landforms agree with their true shape on the globe...