On Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 11:58:39 AM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
On Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 10:47:02 AM UTC-5, Krispy Kreme wrote:
On 12/16/2016 11:33 PM, micky wrote:
I have a long foreign trip planned starting in March and plan to rent a
car, maybe a Kia Picante (I think it is) or a Mazda 2.

I will have a phone with maps, most days (If I know where I'm going the
night before and take the time to dl the proper map) and I may have
paper maps of much of the area (I really prefer paper maps.) but there
will be times when I'm just wandering around, on roads that wind and
have barely any relationship to north, south, east or west.

I just installed a rear view mirror with a compass in my own car, and
it's great. I've used the sun or the shadow of telephone poles and
speed limit signs to navigate in the past, but that's really hard when
it's anywhere near noon, or when it's overcast.

The rentacar will probably be this year's model or last year's, and I
think they will be too cheap to have a compass, but they may have a
electically self-dimming mirror... Do you think even these little cars
will?

So I wonder what you think about the idea of taking my rear view mirror
with me on this trip, and changing the mirror for my own until I return
the car?? Likely to work? I don't see how I can get in trouble,
right? Is a cheap, small Japanese car likely to have an electric
mirror. (used for self-dimming)

I planned to take a hand compass, but that might mean stopping and
getting out of the car each time I want to check direction.

My own car doesn't have the standard 6 pin connector which iiuc late
model cars have for the rear view mirror. But it was easy enough to
figure out which 3 of the 6 pins on the compass/mirror were needed** and
make my own adapter to fit my two pin connector, an adapter that I can
take with me. It has two wires that are stripped, twisted, and soldered
so that I can insert them in the 2-pin socket that is meant for the
mirror.

Won't the rentacar have either a 2-pin socket like mine, or a 6-pin
socket that will just plug into my mirror without any adapter? These
things are standardized aren't they?

I would go look at such cars at local dealers to see if the mirrors are
electric, but I don't think they have those models here. (I"ll still go
to look at the connectors (but I don't think they'll let me unplug
anything!)

I can buy an allen wrench, or bring one if my luggage is not too heavy.
If it doesnt' take an allen wrench, I can buy whatever it takes. I can
buy or bring a cheap meter to verify which lead is positive, but won't
the 2-pin connector be just like mine, and the 6-pin connector go on in
only one way? So I won't need a meter.

Just this past Monday I was coming back from Camden NJ on local roads,
headed for the Delaware Mem. Bridge. The sun was down but it was still
light out. Two cars in front of me turned right and one car behind me
did, and I figured that right was the way to go, but the compass showed
I was going west and if I turned, I'd be going north, away from the
bridge! I love the compass.


**It also has a thermometer, but a) the car already has one, b) I'd have
to install a sensor near the grill and run a wire, so I'm glad about a.

Paper maps and a compass? Will you be packing a sextant as well? Are you traveling by horse?

I can't recall using a compass in a mirror in a car for anything other
than novelty amusement. With so many GPS tools available as either
standalone or as part of a smartphone, a compass is kind of a relic
and not particularly useful. If you need to get from A to B, the GPS
will tell you how, the best route, etc. The compass will only tell
you what direction you're headed in and with twisting turning roads,
even that isn't much use.

For the last many years, I have depended on my smartphone for navigating.
I haven't updated my Garmin GPS in I don't know how long. Why bother?

Then last month I took a trip out west. Nevada and California. Las Vegas,
Reno, San Francisco, etc. I had no clue that there were so many areas
where cell coverage doesn't exist. On one occasion I mapped out a route
using Google Maps on my laptop and wrote down a number of via points to
put into my phone because I knew didn't want to take the direct route
that my phone would use. That's always worked for me back east.

Well, you get out into the deserts of Nevada or outside the major metropolitan
areas of California and your smartphone doesn't do you any good. I've got a
list of via points with me but no way of knowing if I am on the correct
route or not.

At one point we were driving from Tonopah, NV to Reno, via a very scenic
route when we lost cell coverage. I assumed I was still heading the right
way but I didn't know when/where the next turn was going to be. When you
are out in the middle of nowhere, one missed turn and you could drive hours
out of your way. So we're driving along, feeling lost (but not really knowing)
and suddenly we see a sign that says "We miss you already! Come back soon!"

Wait...what? Who misses us? Come back to where? The next sign we see is
"Welcome to California". Huh? California? What are we doing in California?
It was totally my fault, but as I was mapping out the scenic route from
Tonopah to Reno, I neglected to notice that we were going to pass into
California for a short period. Luckily, California has those agricultural
inspection stations soon after you cross the border, so we were quickly
assured that we were on the right road. The nice lady even told us how
far we were from our next turn so we felt a lot more comfortable after that.

The next time I head out that way you can be sure I'll have my Garmin with
me.