Anyone use a compass?
 

In an unfamiliar city, I depend on the position of the sun to determine the relative direction where I need to head on a map.

But when it's overcast or after sunset, this doesn't work.

Looked at some cheap compasses on Amazon but saw some Casio watches with digital compass integrated.

Anyone use anything like this?

I regularly use a small (0.5") fluid filled compass that fits on my watchband. I buy them on ebay or in the dollar stores for about a buck. Its quite handy and has saved me mucho steps and mucho time. Makes it easy to see what direction the plane is flying too.

MisterNice

I use to, but if I need it now I just use the GPS or the google maps on a blackberry or something like that. It's much easier.

Only when orienteering.

Plus, in Denver, you don't need a compass. Mountains = west. :D

There are times that doesn't work, though--coming up out of an unfamiliar subway station and being completely disoriented. In order to figure out which direction you're headed, you have to walk a few dozen feet (sometimes more, especially in an urban canyon where the GPS signal is weak). A compass (such as the one built in to the iPhone 3G S ;)) can still add value there.

Several times, I've come out of subway stations, gotten disoriented, and stood for 30 seconds trying to remember which direction the train was headed and how many 90-degree turns I made coming up the stairway to try to figure out which direction I'm pointed, only to walk a block and find I'm going the wrong way...

I have a cheap and nasty one that is like a keyring on my backpack.

I've also got a Tissot watch which has a compass built in (not cheap though).

Generally I don't use compasses for navigation. Not sure why, but I tend to use street names and landmarks more.

I've relied on maps in guide books instead of full street maps. So often can't tell by street names alone.

Casio watches with compass are about $50 on Amazon.

But already have a watch which is only a couple of years old so probably will wait.

Absolutely. I ran into just this situation earlier this year. Came out of a subway station. And it wasn't just that I didn't know where I came out, I thought I had come out somewhere else, so was completely disoriented. The GPS map on my iPhone 3G didn't help me with that until I walked a partial block to get my location and orientation locked down. Now that I've upgraded to the 3GS with integrated compass, that won't happen next time :-)

But other than what's now in the 3GS, I've never carried a travel compass when in a city. It's just one more thing to carry around that I never bothered with. I usually have a good subconscious sense of direction, so I just kind of know which way I'm pointing. When I get disoriented, using a map and landmarks will eventually solve the problem.

I've carried a small compass in my purse since I learned to drive (a very, very long time ago)--it made my parents, who always worried about my wanderlust, feel a little better.

I've used one as often in cities as in the countryside. It has saved the day on several occasions over the now many years. I traded up to the 3GS for the compass and have a Nuvi, but still carry a small, fluid-filled compass. Used it in France last month when the road signs were missing.

+1 "Used to, before GPS"

+1 I've used the compass on the iphone 3gs

Does the digital compass on the 3GS work with international data roaming off?

A lot of GPS apps. require an Internet connection.

I just downloaded Offmaps on my 3GS. It supposedly allows you to pre-download maps onto your iPhone, so you don't need to use data roaming overseas. GPS and compass should work with data roaming turned off.

My next trip overseas isn't for another few weeks, but I downloaded a map of downtown Dubai. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

The compass should. It's just a magnet in the iPhone. The GPS might not, though--it does seem reliant on an external assistance server. I don't have a 3G S, but AFAIK, the two systems are independent.

FWIW, I do have a pretty good sense of direction (like Steve M) and am not easily disoriented. Some older subway systems, though, do get me, with their myriad of twists and turns coming up from underground...

I still travel with an old school compass :cool: Usually always in my laptop case~

It can come in handy when using a paper map, or just navigating around a town... :p

The compass on the 3GS works in airplane mode, so no outside info required (beyond the magnetic field).

So far, I've found my 3GS compass function to often be less accurate than it would appear from the specific degree readings it provides. For example, it has put true North in a different place on multiple sequential trials (not a whole lot different [25 degrees or so], but enough to mess you up if you're trying to identify an exit on a roundabout with a lot of exits and no signs). Inexplicably, mine (at least) does get better over time with trials in the same location.

My $8 pocket compass is very consistent, if not very specific.

I've never used one in a city, although I do have some experience in the wilderness.

I've never actually thought to bring along a compass. I usually can orient myself OK using a map and street names, but sometimes this requires walking a block to find the next street (if I can't see the street sign because it's too far way). I might try it next time!

I use the sun, and if not that, then try to orient using street signs, landmarks, and hopefully a sense of direction and idea of which way the subway was going and what turns I made exiting the subway station. In the worst cases, I just ask someone.

I could buy a compass, but I guess I haven't.

<mod>
As this isn't particularly Technology related (though a compass certainly is some of the best old-school technology out there) I'm going to move this thread over to TravelBuzz! where I think it might be better suited.

-sbm12
</mod>

When I can't use the sun, I normally use satellite dishes on nearby buildings (especially in less developed countries). Since the satellites are in geostationary orbit, that means that satellite dishes in the northern hemisphere face south, and those in the southern hemisphere face north.

Although I guess if I was ever near the equator, then this might not work so well....

The iPhone uses true A-GPS, which means that it is assisted by an external server but does not require it. My 3G can get a GPS lock even with no cell/wifi signal; it just takes longer to do so. (Of course, I have no useful map in that case.)

Indeed, it's not very accurate at all. Many websites are quoting a nearly 45-degree uncertainty in position, useful for general orientation but not accurate direction-finding. Your 25-degree number confirms this.

Personally, I don't carry a compass... I tend to use street names or other landmarks to orient myself when reading a map, but most of the time I just try to remember actual directions (e.g. left/right), since I don't usually think in terms of compass directions.

Ah. I was never able to get a GPS lock on my location without external assistance, even when I let it sit for several minutes. Maybe I just wasn't patient enough. Can't test it now, though--my GPS finally died from too many drops (my next iPhone will definitely be getting a nice, rubberized case!), so I'm stuck with Skyhook cell tower/wireless access point location services only. :(

I usually have a pretty good innate sense of direction, even when exiting a subway system, but sometimes when you're shoving through hordes of people and have to make multiple changes in direction before surfacing (like some NY subway stations), I'll need to walk a block before getting straightened out--which takes time away from sightseeing! Maybe I should get a compass...

I was caught in Malaga a couple of months ago. It was overcast during the day and I didn't have a street map.

Soon, it got dark and I was completely turned around. Couldn't tell which way was the ocean, which would be to the south of the city so had no reference point at all.

Had to take a bus.

I've used the satellite dishes too.

Yeah carrying a separate compass would be just another thing to worry about packing. But integrated into a watch or some other device you would have anyways could be helpful.

I did have a Garmin for this trip as I drove around Andalusia but for this walk, I left it back at the hotel room.

I, too, have a good sense of direction and typically would prefer to just navigate with a good map. However, every once in a while there's a situation in which I get "off" and, being used to being well-oriented to the four points, I can get myself (and those with me) plumb lost by thinking I know what's where. So, the compass saves my hide in those times when my spatial self-confidence gets me in trouble.

I've been there. However I still like to use the GPS. =)

I always carry a compass with me when I travel. Paired with a map, I never lose my way. Since I neither own a cellphone or GPS, the compass has proved reliable time and again, particularly in cities that are not mapped in the typical grid fashion.

Once I get my bearings I'm fine, but when you initially arrive, it's great to know which direction you need to walk instead of wasting your time (and tired feet) walking for a kilometer one way only to find that you had to travel the other direction.

Mine is a cheap thing that I picked up at the hardware store that has a whistle function (great for hailing cabs) and latches onto my bag. It's small enough to be unobtrusive

I was using pocket compasses 20 years ago-helped a lot.

I tried using a GPS while walking in a few bit cities recently-the signal was tough to connect, even in Paris where few buildings are more than 8 stories tall. This was no help and I wouldn't try it again.

At an Apple store, a helper told me that having GPS plus an IPhone positioning app would allow cell phone signals to supplement signals from a satellite to provide better assistance. Anyone know if this holds up?

Duplicate

That technology is called A-GPS. The iPhone's implementation allows the phone to gather location data from cellular base stations and nearby registered wireless access points (using data from a company called Skyhook and possibly also Navizon). Getting a general idea of location data helps the iPhone get a true GPS fix faster, as the assistance server can then give the iPhone up-to-date orbital data and GPS almanac details on the satellites within view of the phone, which can drastically reduce the time required to establish a fix.

I usually carry a small compass when traveling -- amazing how often it comes in handy -- maybe because I don't have a great sense of direction!

I typically carry a compass, my phone's GPS would be pretty expensive as I travel all over the world (was just in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos). It is very small and though I don't use it often it saves a lot of time when I do use it, plus allows me to walk in the right direction and not have to worry about checking a map every few minutes.

Thanks for the tip about Satellite dishes btw. I knew they were aligned to satellites, but didn't realise they had a North/South alignment based on hemispheres!

Communications and broadcast satellites orbit in a geostationary orbit 22,236 miles directly above the equator. Therefore, a satellite aimed at one of these satellites will always be pointed towards the sky above the equator--to the south if you're in the northern hemisphere and to the north if you're in the southern hemisphere.

On the equator, satellite dishes will be positioned like upside-down umbrellas (you'd better not need to orient yourself in Quito! :D). In the extreme northern latitudes, they are almost completely vertical--in fact, depending on the design of the dish, some are even pointed slightly down (towards the ground)!

Check these out:
http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/sa...1-pictures.htm
http://blog.timrettig.com/2009/07/03...aska/p7020162/

What dollar store chain?
 

I want a bunch of those to put in all my bags! Any particular dollar store chain that carries them?

They come and go in different $-stores. I bought my last ones in a shopping center across from the Metrotown Hilton in Toronto for 80 cent Canadian. Check dealextreme.com as I bought some there before. The little watchband sucker guided me back to the U-bahn in Dusseldorf today far better than the hidden sun and the high buildings and narrow streets screwed up my new Garmin 275t GPS.

MisterNice

I did, but all I ended up doing was going around in circles

Yes I do. I have a Finland made Suunto compass that I've been carrying in my backpack for about five years or so.

Sometimes, analog works better than all the digital equipments. For one, it doesn't need a battery recharge :D