On 9 Jun 2015 16:39:18 GMT, KenK wrote:

Last week on the way to downtown I found my main east/west road was closed.
Trying to avoid a two mile drive to and from the next e/w main road I
ducked into the residential area nearby. This is a dry agricultural area so
there are lots of irrigation ditches and I kept getting blocked by them.
Quickly became lost. Finally ended up on the next main road I was trying to
avoid driving to but with many side trips on the way. sigh I had wished I
had a compass. Can you still put one in the car? There used to be many more
places to fasten one around the windshield than nowdays on a modern car.


I had no problem attaching one to my dashboard with 2-sided tape.
A compass isn't a GPS, and serves a different purpose.
Sometime you just want to know in what direction you're heading.
A compass does that best.

Vic Smith wrote:
On 9 Jun 2015 16:39:18 GMT, KenK wrote:

Last week on the way to downtown I found my main east/west road was closed.
Trying to avoid a two mile drive to and from the next e/w main road I
ducked into the residential area nearby. This is a dry agricultural area so
there are lots of irrigation ditches and I kept getting blocked by them.
Quickly became lost. Finally ended up on the next main road I was trying to
avoid driving to but with many side trips on the way. sigh I had wished I
had a compass. Can you still put one in the car? There used to be many more
places to fasten one around the windshield than nowdays on a modern car.


I had no problem attaching one to my dashboard with 2-sided tape.
A compass isn't a GPS, and serves a different purpose.
Sometime you just want to know in what direction you're heading.
A compass does that best.

GPS has compass function. Compass heading is displayed all the time.

On Wed, 10 Jun 2015 11:19:26 -0600, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Vic Smith wrote:
On 9 Jun 2015 16:39:18 GMT, KenK wrote:

Last week on the way to downtown I found my main east/west road was closed.
Trying to avoid a two mile drive to and from the next e/w main road I
ducked into the residential area nearby. This is a dry agricultural area so
there are lots of irrigation ditches and I kept getting blocked by them.
Quickly became lost. Finally ended up on the next main road I was trying to
avoid driving to but with many side trips on the way. sigh I had wished I
had a compass. Can you still put one in the car? There used to be many more
places to fasten one around the windshield than nowdays on a modern car.


I had no problem attaching one to my dashboard with 2-sided tape.
A compass isn't a GPS, and serves a different purpose.
Sometime you just want to know in what direction you're heading.
A compass does that best.

GPS has compass function. Compass heading is displayed all the time.

Yeah, and mine has a time function too, but I use the dash clock.
I only use the GPS for the mapping it provides to an address, which
means I usually don't bring it.
Unless your GPS has an electronic compass (mine doesn't) you have be
moving to get a bearing, and you have to have a signal. It's a
differential compass.
Electronic compasses have to be kept calibrated, and need a steady
mounting.
My floating ball magnetic compass does a better job telling me what
direction I'm going. I'm happy with it.

Vic Smith wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jun 2015 11:19:26 -0600, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Vic Smith wrote:
On 9 Jun 2015 16:39:18 GMT, KenK wrote:

Last week on the way to downtown I found my main east/west road was closed.
Trying to avoid a two mile drive to and from the next e/w main road I
ducked into the residential area nearby. This is a dry agricultural area so
there are lots of irrigation ditches and I kept getting blocked by them.
Quickly became lost. Finally ended up on the next main road I was trying to
avoid driving to but with many side trips on the way. sigh I had wished I
had a compass. Can you still put one in the car? There used to be many more
places to fasten one around the windshield than nowdays on a modern car.


I had no problem attaching one to my dashboard with 2-sided tape.
A compass isn't a GPS, and serves a different purpose.
Sometime you just want to know in what direction you're heading.
A compass does that best.

GPS has compass function. Compass heading is displayed all the time.

Yeah, and mine has a time function too, but I use the dash clock.
I only use the GPS for the mapping it provides to an address, which
means I usually don't bring it.
Unless your GPS has an electronic compass (mine doesn't) you have be
moving to get a bearing, and you have to have a signal. It's a
differential compass.
Electronic compasses have to be kept calibrated, and need a steady
mounting.
My floating ball magnetic compass does a better job telling me what
direction I'm going. I'm happy with it.

Also you know that magnetic North is not true North.

On 6/10/2015 11:23 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:
Vic Smith wrote:

Yeah, and mine has a time function too, but I use the dash clock.
I only use the GPS for the mapping it provides to an address, which
means I usually don't bring it.
Unless your GPS has an electronic compass (mine doesn't) you have be
moving to get a bearing, and you have to have a signal. It's a
differential compass.
Electronic compasses have to be kept calibrated, and need a steady
mounting.
My floating ball magnetic compass does a better job telling me what
direction I'm going. I'm happy with it.

Also you know that magnetic North is not true North.

If you are standing on the North Pole facing the Sun on June 21, which way is South, to your right or left?