Here are a couple of links I found very helpful when learning how to
use a compass to follow clues:

http://www.williams.edu/Biology/orienteering/compass.html
http://www.chasetrek.org.uk/tutorial/compass.html

SpringChick


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, bgagnon905@e... wrote:
> Some of the clues to boxes involve using a compass. For example
got
> to point A and take a reading of 160 degrees. How do I do this?
Do
> I have the compass point to North and then see where 160 degrees
is
> and go that direction? Thank you!

That's it exactly. Most compasses will allow you to turn the
outer circle to align N up with the red arrow. It is usually not
necessary to turn the whole compass. Then look to see where
160 degrees leads you. It has been my experience that about
10 percent of the directions are wrong. so be prepared to look
around for that stump or fallen log!


----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 6:27 AM
Subject: [LbNA] How to use a compass


> Some of the clues to boxes involve using a compass. For example got
> to point A and take a reading of 160 degrees. How do I do this? Do
> I have the compass point to North and then see where 160 degrees is
> and go that direction? Thank you!
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>

Since we're talking about compasses, I wonder if
anyone would care to share what features they think
are most important for a compass? Does anyone think
one compass is especially good?

Since starting to look for a new "real" compass, I
realized I should have paid more attention to the
compass my dad carried - he had a really good one!

Thanks,
Lucy




__________________________________
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--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Barefoot Lucy
wrote:
> Since we're talking about compasses, I wonder if
> anyone would care to share what features they think
> are most important for a compass?

I really like the bright red lanyard that helps you find it in
fallen leaves after the heat of stamping.

>Does anyone think one compass is especially good?

Suunto and Silva are two good ones to look for. The main thing is to
ask for an ORIENTEERING compass, which has the baseplate and
rotating bezel that everyone's been referring to in their "how to"
notes. The Silva "Ranger" is a nice midline model.

> Since starting to look for a new "real" compass, I
> realized I should have paid more attention to the
> compass my dad carried - he had a really good one!

... But probably a really good lensatic, not orienteering type.
They're more difficult to use.

Aud

We use a generic Suunto compass. It does the job just fine and they
run about $18 at EMS. Our general take on compasses is this...you can
spend a lot of money for a "high quality" compass, but if you can't
use a basic model, why bother?

Think of it as buying a hammer... you can spend $9 to drive in
nails.... or $60 for the fancy model that does the same thing!

As far as tips for using compasses... Jay explained it well. Set your
bearing, line us the red "north" needle with the "north" indication
and go for it. Keep in mind that a 5 or 10 degree error can really
magnify when you then travel on that course for 100 paces.

-Steve, Heidi and Madras

And if you want to test your skills, try Compass Rose in Norwich CT!


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Barefoot Lucy
wrote:
> Since we're talking about compasses, I wonder if
> anyone would care to share what features they think
> are most important for a compass? Does anyone think
> one compass is especially good?

At 06:12 PM 5/23/2004, you wrote:

>Since we're talking about compasses, I wonder if
>anyone would care to share what features they think
>are most important for a compass? Does anyone think
>one compass is especially good?

I much prefer a lensatic compass over an orienteering compass for
letterboxing. A lensatic compass has a cross-hair that lets you sight on a
bearing and get a much more accurate reading. Make sure that the compass is
liquid filled, or else the needle may never really "settle down." You can
get a fine lensatic compass for under $10; I have a Coleman model that
works fine. I picked it up on the run after I wore out my orienteering
compass (the printing on the base of the compass wore down to the point
where I couldn't read the markings) and have been satisfied with the
Coleman so I haven't been shopping for a better model.

I haven't really used a mirror (or Brunton style) compass in the field very
often, but that would be another good option. It takes a little more to get
used to using a mirror compass, but it will also give you a highly accurate
reading. Suunto and Sylva are brands to check out.

One final caveat -- it doesn't matter how accurate your compass is in many
cases, since it all depends on the accuracy of the compass used by the
planter of the letterbox! If you get a really good compass and then take
highly accurate bearings, it might not help you find a box more quickly,
and only serve to point out the poor compass reading skills or equipment of
the planter!

This should remind us that compass bearings in clues should point finders
to particular landmarks (a certain tree, a notable rock), and NOT just send
people out in the woods a certain number of steps at a certain bearing,
then another certain number of steps at a certain bearing, then another
certain number of steps at a certain bearing -- the length of each person's
step and their compass readings may differ so much that the end point of
such instructions may be dozens of yards apart from individual to
individual. And if you do use very specific compass bearings in your clues,
please use a quality lensatic or mirror compass.

Doug



|-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-|
Silent Doug, P37 F310 E10 X62
silentdoug@letterboxing.info
http://www.letterboxing.info

my opinion - important parts of a compass.

Dial with degrees marked.
Orienting outlines for N & S needles.
Clear base with walking arrow down the middle.
Lanyard is nice.

My son's opinion - a lid with a mirror is necessary in case you get lost in
the woods and have to signal to passing airplanes.

:o)

Mohmers


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I think that for letterboxing purposes I'd recommend just shopping around to find one in the price category you would want ot stay in, and make sure that it's clear what you are looking at. Fool around with it and see how easily it orients itself to north. If it sticks a lot and doesn't spin freely, that's not good. If it's so sensitive that it bobbles a lot when you move, that's not good, either. Find one that feels comfortable to carry around and is easy to read. You've already gotten lots of good info on the types of compasses and how to use them, but I think maybe once you pick one up and play with it, you'll figure it out. Unless you are getting heavily into orienteering or writing clues that require very exact measurements, I'd suggest you not spend a lot of money.

We sometimes find ourselves either without a compass ("I thought _you_ had one!") or it's in the gear and more trouble than it's worth. If the sun is out, and you have a pretty good idea where it would be at that time of day, you can generally get where you need to be. If the trail has a 3-way split and the trails are real close together, it would be a little harder. But when guessing, say, where the trail at 20 deg. is when you have a choice between 2 paths that are 180 deg. apart, it's pretty easy. And most placers give those helpful landmarks so we know pretty soon if we've goofed up. Betz would sometimes argue with me when I went by the position of the sun but I don't recall ever being wrong and we found the box. We found a tough mystery box this way, or rather, didn't find it because someone had removed it, but found exactly the right spot.

Dan has one of those inexpensive plastic see-through compasses you can use on a map. I have a more expensive kind with the floating needle and a hairline sight to help. Mine has been really handy at times but generally it's overkill. And I think maybe the liquid is not adequate anymore (for whatever reason) because the needle doesn't flow as freely as it used to. Still, mine is probably way more accurate than his when perfectly balanced, and yet he takes compass readings way more seriously than I do.

The hardest part, to me, of using a compass is figuring clues based on the position of the person holding the compass being "at" the bearing. For instance, when a clue says "35 paces at 130 deg." and you'd think you would head at a bearing of 130 deg., but sometimes the writer means the opposite: you stand at 130 deg. and the object you seek is 35 paces in the opposite direction, so if you stand at the box, you are looking at 130 deg. to where you stood. Those directions baffle me. I understand them if they are a triangulation, because I found a different box that way; it made sense to find a spot where landmark x was "at" so many degrees, y was "at" another reading, and z was "at" another reading, because by lining up those landmarks from the outside and drawing an imaginary line inward on the opposite bearing from where I was "at" each landmark put me in the center when I followed all three lines inward. So where those three lines converged and you stood at that spot, each landmark was "at" the bearing in the clues. Hope that made sense.

Still, Dan had the compass. I found the three landmarks and figured out about where the lines would converge, and went in to look. He came walking towards me following the compass line, I jumped up with the box and yelled, "GOT IT!" If the landmarks had been really far apart, I would have probably been lost. But my point is that for a lot of boxes that I've gotten, you really don't need a compass. Between generally knowing where north or south are and following all the other information, and looking at where you might stash the box yourself, with a little luck and perseverance you can find your treasure without going cross-eyed focusing on a compass.

Could it be that I really don't know how to use a compass and I'm just lucky flying by the seat of my pants? Could be!! If I had to rely on a compass for survival I might perish. But for boxing? Whatever works and makes it fun, go for it! If I have the time to play at finding them, that would be my first choice. YMMV Compasses are good when you are scratching your head and feel lost. They must be invaluable to certain people: soldiers, navigators, explorers, but most of the boxes I have gone for are not in the wilderness and there's plenty more in the clues to go by. Certainly, using compasses and feeling comfortable with finding your way around using them is not a bad idea. And heed Doug's caveats.

Mary (RI)

----- Original Message -----
From: Silent Doug
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 8:38 AM
Subject: Re: [LbNA] Re: How to use a compass


One final caveat -- it doesn't matter how accurate your compass is in many
cases, since it all depends on the accuracy of the compass used by the
planter of the letterbox! If you get a really good compass and then take
highly accurate bearings, it might not help you find a box more quickly,
and only serve to point out the poor compass reading skills or equipment of
the planter!

This should remind us that compass bearings in clues should point finders
to particular landmarks (a certain tree, a notable rock), and NOT just send
people out in the woods a certain number of steps at a certain bearing,
then another certain number of steps at a certain bearing, then another
certain number of steps at a certain bearing -- the length of each person's
step and their compass readings may differ so much that the end point of
such instructions may be dozens of yards apart from individual to
individual. And if you do use very specific compass bearings in your clues,
please use a quality lensatic or mirror compass.

Doug



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]